In a world where digital transformation has taken over almost every aspect of life, LinkedIn has become one of the largest digital professional hiring and recruiting networks, with more than 700 million users worldwide. Therefore, we believe, it deserves to be treated the same way as your resume.
If you are seeking a new job or career advancement, it is essential to maintain an optimized and updated LinkedIn profile. It has the potential to bring up your name and face in front of thousands of professional and hiring companies within your desired industry. To stand out from the crowd, your profile needs to be attractive, with clear and straightforward goals to connect with the right people who can help you in your career progress.
Hence, we have compiled valuable tips on creating a professional LinkedIn profile that will help you stand out in the hundreds, thus increasing your chances of getting hired faster.
Create Your LinkedIn Profile Picture
Your profile picture is the first thing someone sees when visiting your profile. Don’t underestimate its importance – you would be amazed to know how many recruiters navigate away from profiles that have unprofessional profile pictures.
As a rule of thumb, your profile picture for your career in Germany should portray two things: First, that you are a professional – so make sure you are wearing professional clothing instead of everyday street clothes, and look for a neutral / professional background. Second, that you are a nice person – so make sure to smile on your picture.
The rules are the same as for your CV picture. If you want to learn more about how to create great CV pictures, check out our article about that here.
Write an Appealing Headline
Your headline on LinkedIn is placed right below your display picture and is usually the second thing a recruiter or a visitor notices while reaching out to you. Though it fills up automatically by default, it is always a good idea to create an appealing headline to stand out from the crowd.
Rather than just mentioning your current job title, you can also add your top skill and how you can be beneficial to a company. Do not forget who your target audience is, and write accordingly.
A simple framework you can use is: “JOB TITLE at COMPANY | YOUR TOP SKILLS | Passionate about YOUR PASSION”
Change Your Profile’s URL
A LinkedIn URL is a web link to your profile. Although LinkedIn sets a default URL for every profile with your name and gibberish numbers, why not add a little personal touch to it? Go to your profile and edit your profile’s URL with the option given on the right side.
A customized profile URL makes it easy for customers or recruiters to recognize you immediately when searching your LinkedIn profile.
Add and Describe Your Job Experience
Similar to your CV, you should add all relevant job experience that you have to your LinkedIn profile. Adding some bullet points as a short description also goes a long way. Remember that recruiters also search for keywords on LinkedIn to find suitable candidates – so the more you add to your profile, the higher your chances are that a recruiter find you and approaches you with an interesting opportunity.
Indicate All Your Skills
LinkedIn let’s you add all the skills and competencies you have to your profile from a pre-selected list – and you should take advantage of that!
Really think about which skills you possess and add them to your profile. You should have at least 10-20 skills on your profile. For inspiration, you can also take a look at other people’s profile who have a similar job title as you.
Don’t forget to also add your language skills in the appropriate section and indicate how well you speak each language. This is something recruiters can filter profiles for as well.
Go The Next Step – Be Active And Make New Connections
Now that you have a great profile, it’s time to put it to use!
Did you know that LinkedIn will rank your profile higher in search results if you are active?
This is because LinkedIn wants to be more than just a digital resume, they also want to be a social networking platform. This means too get the most advantages out of LinkedIn, it is vital to keep your profile active. Stay updated on what others are posting about, be aware of the latest news, and engage with your connections by liking and especially commenting on other people’s posts.
To make more connections, get started with adding people that you already know from work or privately. Later, once you feel more confident, you can also send connection requests to people you don’t know yet. However, we would recommend to add a short message and explain to them why you want to be connected.
Doing this will expand your network and will keep you visible and noticed among potential employers who might be interested in knowing you more.
Summary: How to create a LinkedIn Profile that stands out
Today, LinkedIn has become one of the most powerful professional platforms, with some beneficial tools to make your profile stand out among other candidates for the job. Therefore, it is crucial to make the most of this platform by optimizing your profile, selling your most effective skills, and making new connections.
Especially if you’re looking for a new job in Germany, LinkedIn is a great way to attract potential employers while making it quick and easy for them to know who you really are and what benefits you can bring to the table for their organization.
If you liked this article and want to dive even deeper into how you can land your next job in Germany, we recommend to check out our Online Master Class – a step-by-step guide for how you can impress German employers and find your next job in just 3 steps.
