10 Essential Steps to a Better LinkedIn Profile in 2023

Are you frustrated with your LinkedIn profile?

Do you feel like it’s not getting you the results you want?

Do you wish you could make it more attractive, engaging, and effective?

You’re not alone.

Many professionals struggle with creating a LinkedIn profile that showcases their personal brand, highlights their achievements, and opens up new opportunities for them.

But don’t worry. There is a solution. In this article, we will show you 10 essential steps to create a better LinkedIn profile in 2023.

By following these steps, you will be able to transform your LinkedIn profile into a powerful tool that boosts your visibility, credibility, and growth.

Are you ready to take your LinkedIn profile to the next level?

Let’s get started!

Why Should You Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile?

You might be wondering why you should bother optimizing your LinkedIn profile in the first place. After all, you already have a resume, a portfolio, and a personal website.

Isn’t that enough?

The answer is no. Your LinkedIn profile is more than just an online resume. It’s a powerful tool that can help you achieve your professional goals in 2023 and beyond.

Here’s what an optimized LinkedIn profile can help you with:

Increase Your Visibility and Reach:

According to LinkedIn, users with complete profiles are 40 times more likely to receive opportunities through LinkedIn. By upgrading your profile and incorporating relevant keywords, you can rank higher in search results, attract more views, and expand your network.

Showcase Your Personal Brand and Value Proposition

Your LinkedIn profile is an opportunity to tell your story and highlight your relevant skills, achievements, and passions. By optimizing your profile page, you can differentiate yourself from the competition and communicate your value to potential hiring managers, clients, or partners.

Access New Opportunities and Resources

LinkedIn is not just a platform for finding jobs but also for discovering new opportunities and resources. You can access features like LinkedIn Learning, which offers thousands of online courses to help you learn new skills, which you can later test by taking a skills assessment.

LinkedIn Live allows you to stream live video content to showcase your personality, skills, or projects, and LinkedIn News keeps you updated on the latest trends and insights in your industry.

Build Trust and Credibility

Your LinkedIn profile is a reflection of your professional reputation and credibility. The platform allows you to demonstrate your expertise, achievements, and recommendations from your peers. This can help you build trust and credibility with your network and potential employers, clients, or partners.

But how do you optimize your profile?

Stay tuned!

Real-Life Examples Behind Optimization Potential

Still not convinced of the incredible potential in optimizing your LinkedIn profile for personal and professional growth in 2023?

Let the stats do the talking:

According to a LinkedIn survey, a staggering 117 job applications are submitted every second, with 45% of hirers relying on skills data to fill roles.

61 million people search for jobs on LinkedIn weekly, leading to 8 hires every minute.

An optimized profile significantly boosts your visibility, increasing your chances of getting noticed, hired, and soaring ahead.

Another LinkedIn study reveals that users with listed skills on their profiles receive 13 times more views than those without. Imagine the exposure and connection to potential employers seeking talents like yours through an optimized profile.

Jobvite’s findings speak volumes, as 87% of recruiters use LinkedIn to seek candidates. Embrace optimization and expand your opportunities to connect with recruiters actively seeking someone just like you.

Let your profile radiate with excellence and unlock boundless possibilities for growth and success.

Step 1: Choose a Professional Profile Picture and Headline

Your LinkedIn profile picture and headline are the first things that people see on your profile. They can make or break your first impression and influence how other LinkedIn members perceive you.

Users with a profile photo get 21 times more views and 9 times more connection requests than those without one.

But not any photo will do. You need a professional and attractive photo that shows your face clearly, reflects your industry and role, and conveys confidence and friendliness.

Here are some tips on how to choose a good profile photo:

• Use a recent and professional headshot that matches your current appearance.
• Dress appropriately for your industry and current position.
• Smile and look at the camera.
• Avoid selfies, group photos, filters, or distracting backgrounds.

The second thing that people notice on your profile is your headline.

It’s a short phrase that summarizes who you are and what you do. It’s also an opportunity to highlight your value proposition or unique selling point. A headline also helps people understand what you can offer them and why they should connect with you.

But a headline with just a job title won’t cut it.

You need to go further and write an informative and compelling headline that showcases your role and achievements, reflects your passions and goals, and incorporates the right keywords for SEO.

By following these tips, you can transform your profile picture and headline into powerful magnets that attract your ideal audience and showcase your personal brand and value proposition.

Step 2: Writing a Compelling Summary

Your LinkedIn summary is a section of your profile that unveils the essence of your career path, offering a glimpse into your accomplishments, skills, and aspirations. It’s a short paragraph that can help people get to know you better and understand what you can offer them.

But writing a good summary is not easy. You need to be concise and impactful while also incorporating the right keywords for SEO.

Why is SEO important, though?

Well, LinkedIn is based on SEO ranking, just like Google.

This means that the more relevant keywords you use in your profile, the higher you will rank in search results, and you are more likely to be noticed by recruiters, employers, clients, or partners.

But how do you write a good summary?

To start, write a compelling hook that grabs the reader’s attention – highlight your most impressive accomplishments or what you do in one sentence.

For example, “I’m a digital marketer who helps e-commerce brands grow their online presence and sales”.

Next, focus on your core skills and expertise.

Be specific about your achievements and the impact you’ve made in your previous roles. Also, quantify your successes whenever possible to add credibility to your claims.

Here’s one good example:

“I have over 5 years of experience in digital marketing, specializing in SEO, social media, and email marketing. I have helped dozens of e-commerce brands increase their traffic, conversions, and revenue by up to 300%. I’m passionate about creating engaging and valuable content that connects with customers and drives action”.

Lastly, end your summary with a call to action. Invite readers to connect with you, follow your updates, or reach out for potential collaborations. A clear call to action encourages engagement and facilitates further networking. You can write something like this:

“If you want to learn more about how I can help your e-commerce brand grow online, feel free to contact me or visit my website“.

Remember, you only have 2,000 characters for your LinkedIn summary, so make sure to use them wisely. Don’t write too much or too little, but just enough to capture your audience’s attention and interest.

Step 3: Detailing Experience and Education

Within your experience and education sections lies the canvas to present your professional path and academic credentials. These segments transcend the boring enumeration of past jobs and degrees; instead, they compose a captivating narrative of your career evolution and personal growth.

These sections hold paramount significance, particularly when seeking opportunities in a specific industry or fulfilling distinct educational requirements.

To achieve this, embrace these simple yet powerful tips:

• Cover all aspects of your career: Include all the job titles you’ve held, along with any gaps in your career. Explain the reasons for any gaps and how you used that time to learn new skills or pursue new interests. The more transparent you are, the better.
• Quantify your achievements when possible: Go beyond merely listing your responsibilities and duties; instead, highlight the results and outcomes you’ve achieved. For example, instead of saying “Managed social media campaigns”, say something like “Managed social media campaigns that increased followers by 50%”.
• Use bullet points and action verbs: Utilize bullet points to emphasize your achievements and duties in each position, streamlining the information for easy scanning and quick access by readers. Use action verbs that show your skills and achievements, such as “led”, “created”, “improved”, etc.
• Include relevant coursework: Incorporate any career-relevant courses you’ve completed into your education section to showcase your expertise in specific domains and align with your professional aspirations
• Add academic honours: If you have earned any academic distinctions like cum laude or dean’s list, include them in your education section to showcase your outstanding academic achievements..
• Mention your GPA: If your GPA is above 3.0, think about incorporating it into your education section as a means to highlight your academic accomplishments and future potential.
• Add media or links to showcase your work: If you have any media or links that showcase your work or projects, such as articles, videos, portfolios, websites, etc., you can add them to your experience or education sections. This can help you provide evidence of your skills and achievements and make your profile more interactive and engaging.

With these savvy tips in your back pocket, you’ll rock those experience and education sections, letting your professional journey and impressive credentials take center stage for all to see.

Step 4: Skills, Endorsements, and Recommendations

Your skills, endorsements, and recommendation sections on your LinkedIn feed are not just a list of your abilities and credentials. They are a way of showing your social proof and reputation – proving that you are not just talking the talk but also walking the walk.

With that in mind, let’s break down some LinkedIn profile tips that will help you upgrade these sections and make your profile stand out and get noticed by hiring managers:

• Choose relevant and in-demand skills: When writing skills, be sure to include only those that are relevant to your current goals and interests. Focus on the key skills that are in demand in your industry or field or those that differentiate you from others.
• Get endorsed by your connections: Don’t ask for endorsements from random people that are a part of your Linkedin network, but only from those who know you well and can vouch for your skills. You can also endorse others for their skills, and they might return the favour. Moreover, reorder your skills to prioritize the ones that you want to be endorsed for.
• Receive recommendations from your colleagues and peers: Don’t ask for recommendations from anyone, but only from those who have worked with you closely and can provide specific and positive feedback. You can also offer to write recommendations for others, and they might reciprocate. You can also customize your recommendation requests to make them more personal and relevant.

At the moment, the most in-demand skills on LinkedIn are:

• Management
• Communication
• Customer service
• Leadership
• Sales

Step 5: Utilizing LinkedIn’s Featured Section

One of the best ways to make your LinkedIn profile stand out is to use the Featured section.

This is a relatively new feature that LinkedIn introduced in 2020 – a mini-portfolio that you can use to highlight your personal brand and demonstrate your value to potential employers, clients, or other professionals.

You can feature anything that showcases your work, such as a portfolio, a website, a blog post, a video, a case study, or a testimonial. Here’s what we mean:

Don’t hold back on interesting content you’ve created or shared on LinkedIn – a thought-provoking article, a resonating post, or an engaging comment – all contributing to your digital masterpiece.

Unlocking the path to success involves strategically handpicking content that aligns seamlessly with your unique brand and career aspirations.

Choose pieces that eloquently showcase your specific skills, expertise, and remarkable achievements. Emphasize relevance, freshness, and superior quality when curating your content, leaving no room for mediocrity.

To further elevate your profile’s appeal, thoughtfully organize your featured items by category, date, or importance, creating a cohesive and engaging experience for visitors. While the option to add up to 10 items exists, remember that it’s quality that reigns supreme over quantity.

Let each carefully selected item shine brightly, illuminating your professional prowess and captivating anyone who encounters your remarkable profile.

Step 6: Engage with Content: Sharing and Commenting

Another way to boost your LinkedIn profile is to engage with content that is relevant to your industry, niche, or interests.

This means sharing, liking, commenting, or reacting to posts that you find valuable, informative, or entertaining. Engaging with content can help you build relationships with other LinkedIn profiles, showcase your expertise, and increase your profile visibility.

Here are some tips on how to engage with content effectively:

• Share relevant content that reflects your brand and captivates your target audience: Whether it’s showcasing your work, sharing insights, expressing opinions, or revealing your passions, aim to inspire and engage. Add value, spark conversations, and inspire action with content like articles, videos, podcasts, or projects that you’ve created or enjoyed.
• Leave comments on posts that pique your interest or align with your goals: Look out for posts that encourage questions, feedback, or discussion, and seize the opportunity to contribute. For instance, you can comment on posts sharing tips, trends, challenges, or success stories. Engaging with influencers, thought leaders, and potential employers through your comments forge valuable connections and showcases your expertise.
• Be consistent and authentic in your engagement: Find the right balance in engaging with content – regular, yet not excessive; sincere, but not aggressive; respectful, yet not overly formal. Aim to interact at least once a day, but avoid excessive engagement, keeping it to a maximum of 10 times a day.

This is a powerful way to showcase your beliefs and demonstrate your value to your professional network. It can help you attract more attention, generate more leads, and increase your chances of getting hired.

Step 7: Networking Strategy: Connecting Thoughtfully

• achieve from the connection.
• Maintain your relationships: Don’t just connect and forget. Stay in touch by engaging with their content, sending them messages, or congratulating them on their achievements. Provide value by offering your expertise, feedback, or referrals. Also, you can ask for help by seeking their advice, recommendations, or introductions, which will demonstrate to them how much you value their opinion.

Networking is a powerful way to grow your personal brand and advance your career on LinkedIn. But it can also be time-consuming and tedious if you do it manually. That’s why you need a tool like AimFox to automate and optimize your LinkedIn outreach.

It takes a lot of time to find qualified leads, follow up with them and convert them into paying customers. But once you incorporate AimFox into your strategy, you will be able to automate your day-to-day actions and spend your time doing what matters.

It’s the ultimate time and money saver!

Step 8: Privacy and Security Settings

While having an optimized LinkedIn profile can help you increase your visibility and opportunities, it can also expose you to some risks and challenges as well.

That’s why you need to manage your privacy and security settings to ensure the right balance between being seen and being safe. You can access Settings by clicking on your profile picture in the top right corner and selecting Settings & Privacy.

Here are some steps to manage your privacy and security settings:

• Choose who can see your profile: Tailor your visibility settings to be seen by everyone, only your connections, or exclusively by recruiters. Customize your profile page to your preference, choosing which sections to showcase or keep private from the public eye.
• Choose what information you share: You hold the reins to disclose or keep private your email address, phone number, birthday, and other personal details. Additionally, you can choose to reveal or conceal your activity, such as profile updates, company follows, and group memberships. Take charge of your connections as well, deciding who gets to see the valuable network you’ve built.
• Pick how you interact with others: You have the freedom to allow or block messages from unfamiliar individuals, invitations from outside your network, and endorsements from sources you don’t trust. Tailor your notification preferences as well, enabling or disabling alerts when someone views your profile, comments on your posts, or sends you messages.

Managing your privacy and security settings can help you protect your personal information, avoid unwanted contacts, and enhance your online reputation.

Step 9: Leveraging LinkedIn for Job Searching

LinkedIn is the place to be if you’re looking for a new job in 2023. It’s the world’s largest professional network, with millions of members and job postings.

So, here are some tips every job seeker on LinkedIn should have in mind:

• Use the “Open to Work” feature: This feature lets you signal to recruiters that you’re open to new opportunities. You can display a green badge on your profile photo or share your career interests privately. Also, it lets you specify what type of job you’re looking for.
• Apply for jobs directly on LinkedIn: LinkedIn makes it easy for you to apply for jobs without leaving the platform. You can use the “Easy Apply” button to submit your profile as your resume or upload your CV and cover letter. There’s even a feature that lets you track your application status and get notified when a recruiter views your profile or messages you.

These tips can help job seekers stand out from the crowd and land them their dream job.

Step 10: Regularly Updating and Auditing Your Profile

The last step to having an optimized LinkedIn profile in 2023 is to regularly update and audit your profile. This means checking and revising your profile information, content, and settings to ensure that they are accurate, relevant, and aligned with your current professional goals.

Updating and auditing your profile can help you:

• Keep your profile fresh and current: Stay ahead of the game and avoid an outdated, stale, or inactive profile. Let your profile page radiate with your latest accomplishments, skills, and passions. Regular updates are the secret to showcasing your constant growth, progress, and boundless potential.
• Avoid mistakes and inconsistencies: Your profile deserves crystal-clear, concise, and unwavering information that aligns seamlessly with your resume, portfolio, and overall online presence. Conducting a thorough audit ensures any mistakes or inconsistencies are promptly spotted and rectified, safeguarding your chances of landing that dream job.
• Optimize your profile for search engines and recruiters: Be sure your profile has keywords, content, and settings that make it easy to find, rank, and attract attention.

Conclusion

In this article, you’ve learned the 10 essential steps to creating a better LinkedIn profile in 2023. These steps will help you make your profile professional, engaging, and relevant to your career goals. You’ll be able to showcase your personal brand, highlight your value proposition, and demonstrate your fit for the jobs you want.

But reading this article is not enough. You need to take action now and start implementing these tips on your LinkedIn profile. Also, keep investing time and effort in your LinkedIn presence by learning new skills, creating new content, and achieving new goals.

LinkedIn is a powerful tool to grow your personal brand and advance your career. But it’s up to you to make the most of it.

While you’re at it, using a helping hand might come in handy.

With AimFox, you can get a reliable and steady stream of high-quality leads and scale your startup fast – without having to scale your team.

Sign up now!