.png?width=90&height=90&name=CIRCLE%20-%20TRADITIONAL%20(1).png "CIRCLE - TRADITIONAL (1)")
Every year, as the holiday season kicks into high gear, I set aside a little time to refresh my LinkedIn profile. After all, this—more than any other time of year—is when I find myself connecting and reconnecting with lots of old and new colleagues, friends, and family.
Here is my checklist in sequence (not in order of priority):
- Profile Photo — how does my photo look? This should be fairly recent (less than a few years old), professional-looking, and with a friendly expression. Need a new one? Have your significant other or a friend snap your photo the next time you feel particularly well put together (just make sure the background is plain - or remove it entirely and replace using a design program). If you want something more professional, but don’t know a photographer, try Shoott or another service like it.
- Background Image — does my background enhance my photo and personal brand? The background is prime real estate. Make sure to emphasize who you are and what you do — and update this as often as you do your headline. While most people have embraced this space, there are still a few holdouts. If that’s you—let this serve as your notice to get onboard (note: Canva has some good, free templates).
- Headline — does my headline accurately reflect what I have been doing over the past year? And where do I want to be a year from now? I will update this if I do nothing else because it is my elevator pitch. You can use up to 220 characters, including emojis. Be bold if that is on brand. Or humble or funky. For some, this will be their first impression of you.
- Contact Info — is my email, phone, and website information current? I strongly recommend using a personal email address for LinkedIn, at least in Settings/Sign In & Security, to ensure you always have access to your profile.
- Experience — do I have anything new to add? Would editing any of my past experiences help them to better align with current goals and objectives?
- Skills & Endorsements — do these skills align with my headline? Any to add? Anyone I want to endorse me that hasn’t already? Anyone I want to endorse? I try to add at least a couple each year.
- Add Profile Section — what new accolades, accreditations, and the like have I received this year? This is a great place to keep tabs on your accomplishments and let others know about them. These will make you more searchable, especially if they’re industry-specific.
- Edit Public Profile & URL — am I sharing the right information with the right groups? Is my URL optimized? Your profile picture should be public unless there is a specific reason to shield it. In fact, having a photo makes your profile 14x more likely to be viewed. Your URL does not need to contain the numbers that LinkedIn may assign.
- Settings/Visibility — can members of my network see one another? These and other visibility settings are important to revisit. At times, you may want to expand visibility to grow your network and share your brand. At other times, you may want to decrease your visibility, such as when you need to shield your client list from competitors or are looking for a new position under the radar.
- Settings/Communications — am I getting the right notifications from LinkedIn? Taking a little time here helps prevent LinkedIn from overwhelming my inbox, phone, and me.
With my profile refreshed, I reach out to at least 50 new contacts—either people I have been meaning to connect with but haven’t yet or LinkedIn’s suggestions. The rule of thumb these days is 500+, so if you don’t yet have that, upload your address book and be as inclusive as possible with your invites.
The final step of my annual refresh is to set reminders to do mini-refreshes before each major event I anticipate in the coming year, and of course, for the same time next year.
Would you like some help refreshing your LinkedIn profile? Are you looking to expand your professional brand and level up your career? Let us know how 360 can help.