Having an up-to-date LinkedIn profile is crucial for anyone looking to advance their career or explore new job opportunities. With over 722 million users worldwide, LinkedIn has become the go-to platform for recruiters and hiring managers looking to source talent. Keeping your LinkedIn current ensures you take full advantage of the platform’s many benefits.
Increase your discoverability
LinkedIn profiles rank highly in search engine results pages (SERPs). In fact, LinkedIn pages tend to outrank personal websites and other social media profiles. Recruiters are relying more on LinkedIn to find qualified candidates for open roles. If you don’t have a complete profile, you are essentially invisible to recruiters.
By adding relevant keywords, skills, experience, and other details to your profile, you make yourself more discoverable to recruiters, hiring managers, and decision makers searching LinkedIn. Don’t underestimate the power of keywords – be sure to include industry-specific terminology that a recruiter may use to find candidates with your background and skills.
Demonstrate your know-how
Your LinkedIn profile provides an opportunity to demonstrate your expertise. Through written content and media, you can showcase a depth of knowledge and thought leadership around topics important to your industry. For example, an accountant can share tax tips, a marketer can provide analysis on an ad campaign, and an engineer can weigh in on a new tech product. This positions you as an authority in your field.
You can further establish credibility by getting endorsements from colleagues for the skills listed on your profile. Recommendations also lend validation and social proof. Don’t be shy about requesting endorsements and recommendations from people you’ve worked with who can vouch for your capabilities.
Expand your network
The broader your LinkedIn network, the more visible you become within your industry and local community. With a wider reach, your profile and activity have a better chance of being seen by the right people. Recruiters often look at who you are connected with to gauge the size and influence of your network.
Expand your LinkedIn community by connecting with colleagues old and new. Join relevant LinkedIn Groups that align with your professional interests and interact with the members. Connecting with key influencers, thought leaders, academics and experts in your field can be tremendously beneficial, even if you don’t know them personally. Follow companies you want to work for to stay on their radar.
Find hidden job opportunities
Not all jobs get advertised on public job boards. Recruiters frequently turn to their own networks and LinkedIn to fill openings. You could miss out on unposted jobs if you don’t have an updated profile that gets you on a recruiter’s radar.
Even job seekers not actively looking to switch roles can benefit from opportunities that come directly to them through LinkedIn. Keep an open mind, as you never know when someone may see your profile and want to connect you to a new role or project based on how you present yourself professionally through your profile.
Get insights on companies
Researching a company you’re interested in or interviewing with? Review their LinkedIn Company Page to gain valuable intel. Company Pages highlight useful details like the organization’s size, leadership team, mission statement, services, employee skills and demographic data. You can also see any current job openings.
Following target companies ensures you receive updates on their LinkedIn activity. This provides visibility into new initiatives, events, leadership changes and other happenings so you stay informed on important developments. Keep tabs on a company’s employee growth as a gauge of business health and opportunities.
Build your personal brand
Your LinkedIn presence serves as the professional face of your personal brand. As the largest professional networking platform, LinkedIn offers unmatched reach for establishing and strengthening your brand. The content you publish under your name provides social proof of your expertise. Recommendations, profile views and engagement with your posts all contribute to brand building.
A thoughtfully crafted summary statement, professional photo, media samples, published articles and profile highlights all help reinforce your personal brand. Consistency in how you present yourself on LinkedIn and other channels will drive greater brand recognition.
Get noticed by recruiters
With your profile in peak form, you substantially increase your chances of landing on a recruiter’s radar. Avoid getting passed over for being one of the 40 percent of LinkedIn members without a completed profile. Recruiters prioritize contacting candidates with fully fleshed out profiles that clearly communicate their qualifications. Profiles with thoughtful content and media make the best impression.
Signal that you’re open to new opportunities by setting your LinkedIn profile to “open to work.” Turn on notifications so you never miss a message. If you see interest from a recruiter, respond promptly to move forward in the process.
Uncover professional development opportunities
Beyond recruitment value, LinkedIn can support your professional growth and skills enhancement. The platform makes it easy to find online courses, training programs, workshops, certificates, conferences and other learning experiences offered by LinkedIn Learning, universities and professional organizations.
Follow thought leaders posting content in your industry to stay current on important trends and best practices. Join Groups focused on career advancement topics like leadership, project management and communications. Building your network also connects you to pros who can become mentors offering wisdom and coaching.
Get recognized by your community
Giving back to your professional community can enhance your reputation and relationships. Volunteer for industry organizations where you can share your experience by speaking at events, writing for publications or taking a role on a committee or board. Contribute to LinkedIn Groups by answering questions and offering guidance.
When you participate in professional communities in meaningful ways, you become more visible as a leader. Increased engagement on LinkedIn, through commenting, posting and liking content, can also improve your visibility and recognition.
Stay up to date on industry news
Make LinkedIn your go-to source for industry news and staying current in your field. Follow leading media publications, thought leaders, influencers, companies and professional organizations for a steady stream of news in your feed. Set up Google Alerts for important keywords so you never miss critical developments.
Reading articles and posts can spark ideas and opportunities. You may learn about a new approach, insight or technology that benefits your work. Ongoing learning and knowledge builds expertise over the long run. Also consider sharing news and resources with your own network to establish your thought leadership.
Make career pivots
LinkedIn enables you to explore potential career pivots by connecting with professionals thriving in alternate fields, learning new skills, following companies doing work you admire and building a presence in a new community.
Say you have a marketing degree and experience but are interested in transitioning into technology project management. On LinkedIn, you can join PM-focused Groups, connect with technical recruiters, follow tech firms, take online courses and publish articles highlighting PM thought leadership.
Venturing into a new field becomes less daunting and more achievable by establishing LinkedIn connections and proof points in your desired industry. Make your career aspirations known through your profile summary and headline.
Conduct competitor research
LinkedIn provides valuable competitive intelligence by allowing you to research other companies in your space. Review their Company Pages, employee profiles and Groups activity to gain perspective on their positioning, messaging, initiatives, strengths and weaknesses.
Look up key employees at competing firms to analyze their backgrounds and determine talent advantages or gaps. Competitor research enables you to differentiate and gain an edge. You can also identify customer needs your competitors may not be addressing as opportunities.
Showcase credentials
Spotlight awards, certifications, courses, patents, volunteer work, publications, speaking engagements, projects and other achievements through your LinkedIn profile. This elevates your professional status and expertise. You can include media samples demonstrating these accomplishments.
Prominently displaying credentials also enhances your discoverability. Recruiters often search for criteria like “PMP certified” or “CPA” when sourcing candidates. Ensure credentials appear in your profile headline, summary and experience descriptions for maximum visibility.
Expand business opportunities
For freelancers, consultants and other business owners, an updated LinkedIn profile serves as a digital storefront to attract new clients and contracts. Showcasing client logos, project examples and customer testimonials can help convey your capabilities and experience.
Networking on LinkedIn opens up lead generation opportunities. Join relevant industry and local Groups where prospects congregate. Share your expertise through posting and engaging with content. Building authority makes you more appealing to potential customers researching options.
Document your career journey
Think of your LinkedIn profile as your living resume. As you take on new roles and accomplish great things in your career, your profile reflects this journey. Recruiters want to see the full arc – not just your current role. The depth and breadth of your experience tells a story.
Recording achievements large and small, from a promotion to an award, provides proof points that build your reputation over time. Past jobs and experiences remain valuable even when no longer on your resume. Collect recommendations along the way to reinforce your narrative.
Keep your network updated
Relationships matter, both personally and professionally. When life changes occur, update your LinkedIn profile so your network stays current. Announcing a new job, relocation, newly earned degree, award win or other major event lets your connections celebrate your success.
Keep your network engaged by actively sharing career news and milestones. This maintains the strength of the relationships so your community continues supporting you. You never know when you might need to tap your network for career help down the line.
Be accessible
With a complete, up-to-date profile, you enable anyone who wants to reach out to you for career or business purposes to connect. Displaying your LinkedIn profile URL prominently on your name card, website, resume, email signature and other materials makes you easily accessible.
Optimizing your public profile settings allows you to be discoverable by those outside your network who could present game-changing opportunities. Keep your profile open rather than closed off so the right people can find you at the right time.
Track your professional progress
Maintaining your LinkedIn profile over time provides visibility into your own professional trajectory. Look back on past roles, skills gained, connections made and how far you’ve come. Measure growth in network size, engagement, page views and other metrics.
Evolution of your headline, summary and experience paint a picture of advancement. This data empowers you to be more strategic about the next steps in your career journey. LinkedIn becomes your record of accomplishment.
Conclusion
In summary, keeping your LinkedIn profile current ensures you fully leverage LinkedIn to propel your career or business forward. The collective power of an optimized profile, robust network, shareable expertise and active engagement can open doors to new opportunities.
Make updating your LinkedIn profile one of your top priorities. Regularly add new details that accurately reflect where you are now in your professional journey. Tend to your connections, content publishing and profile visibility to get the most out of LinkedIn.