How to Build a Remarkable LinkedIn Profile

Jun 15

LinkedIn’s mission is to connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful. But how do we meaningfully connect through our social and professional settings? More and more, the line between our work life and professional life is blurring. Instead of the elusive work-life balance, we’re now talking about work-life harmony.

Whether your goal is to find your dream job or just grow your network, LinkedIn should be many professionals’ first stop. Contrary to what you might think, it also happens to be a great place to authentically be your whole self.

In working with different people over the years to build a truly standout LinkedIn presence, I’ve found several quick tips that, when done correctly, can make all the difference. Whether you’ve used LinkedIn for years or are brand new to the platform, check out these tips to build a remarkable LinkedIn profile:

CUSTOMIZED URL

After creating your LinkedIn profile, the platform will auto-assign you a URL that includes your name and a series of letters and numbers. Not bad, but you can do so much better.

To truly stand out, you should change the URL to a personalized version. Bonus points if you can use the same handle across all social media channels to maintain consistency and help build SEO credibility.

TAGLINE

The tagline of your LinkedIn profile is probably one of the most underutilized pieces of digital real estate on the page. By default, LinkedIn typically sets your headline to “Job Title at Current Company.” This is your opportunity to stand out from the crowd.

“Account Executive at Chris Skaggs International” tells me very little about you personally or professionally. Make your headline entice the reader. In this short amount of real estate, list some of your key skills separated by the bar ( | ) or a bullet point (•) to make them stand apart. If you’re active on social media, include your handle in the tagline.

SUMMARY

Most people simply copied and pasted some (or all) of their resume into this section.

This section is your chance to be a storyteller. If you edited your tagline correctly, you hooked the reader. Now, you must keep them scrolling. The summary section of your LinkedIn profile is in the coveted position of being “above the fold.” It’s not always easy to write about yourself, but that’s exactly what you should be doing here.

The summary can be two to three sentences minimum, two to three paragraphs, tops. Write in prose format and first-person. Think of this section as your personal elevator pitch. Why would someone want to connect with you and add you to their network? What value can you bring them?

EXPERIENCE

The experience section of your LinkedIn profile is where you can dive into specifics about what you’ve accomplished in each role. Think about what you were responsible for, what deliverables you brought, who you managed, etc.

Summarize your major wins and, by all means, do not sell yourself short. Just as you did with your summary, use prose format and write in first-person. Use keywords here to increase your chances of appearing in LinkedIn search results, but be careful not to fall victim to keyword stuffing.

PICTURES and VIDEOS

The written word will always be strong, but the human brain’s attention span has naturally become shorter and shorter. Video is taking over, and as consumers, we prefer watching a short video to reading a wall of text. Many people don’t know this, but you can add media, pictures, videos, presentations, and links to the Summary and Experience sections of your profile.

Don’t miss the opportunity to showcase actual examples of some of the accomplishments you just wrote about.

SHARE CONTENT

Now that your headline, summary, and experience sections are beautifully narrating your story, and you’ve included different forms of media to support your message, what’s next?

To engage your network, you need to share content. This is where I believe the social aspect of LinkedIn comes into play. Lessons learned, successes, failures, and advice are great things to share, but don’t forget the personal side.

As our professional and personal lives continue to blend into one, it’s important that you show your whole self on LinkedIn. Don’t be afraid to incorporate your personality into your posts. Doing so will humanize your LinkedIn and reflect who you are in real life.

Your LinkedIn profile should always be a work in progress. The worst thing you could do is follow the tips above, think the job is done, and let your story go stale. Make sure that the story you’re telling is the most accurate representation of your authentic self.

Chris Skaggs

Digital and social media, branding, recruitment and content strategy are all skills Chris has developed as he has built teams, processes and strategies from the ground-up. In his previous experience, Chris has served in various roles including: recruiter, ambassador, director, vice president and co-founder. His work and experiences have been featured on CNN, Marketing Sherpa, Thrive Global, CBS Radio, Recruiter.com and Glassdoor to name a few.

Chris received a Bachelor of Arts in Human Ecology from The University of Texas at Austin where he was an active member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity.

He is passionate about giving back to his community. Chris is a current member of the board of trustees for the Texas Health Resources Foundation and a past board member for the North Texas Christian Academy. Additionally, he alongside his wife, co-founded Leighton’s Gift, a nonprofit with a mission to turn a tragedy into something positive in memory of the couple’s daughter, Leighton, who tragically passed away.

Outside of work, Chris can be found spending time with his wife, Amy, of 13 years, and his children Jaxon (7), Leighton (angel) and Olivia (4). He also enjoys wine, coffee, cooking and watching his beloved Longhorns in any college sporting event — Hook ‘Em!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrislskaggs/