LinkedIn Profile Review Tool

To use Teal’s LinkedIn Profile Review tool just follow the below steps:

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• Download Teal’s free Chrome extension
• Go to your LinkedIn profile and open the extension
• Review the analysis to identify which LinkedIn sections need more profile optimization
• Follow the tips and suggestions such as add a profile picture, customize your LinkedIn url, update your LinkedIn summary, etc.
• Once you have a fully optimized LinkedIn profile that demonstrates your personal brand you will start showing up in more of LinkedIn’s search results

Your LinkedIn profile headline is what sets you apart from other job seekers in the social media cluster. It is tied to its search algorithm and is one of the most visible sections of your profile. Not only should your LinkedIn headline show your professional expertise, but it should also contain specific keywords that will help you appear higher in LinkedIn searches by recruiters or hiring managers.

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The keywords you choose for your headline should be relevant and important to your job function, expertise, and/or industry; and your headline can maximize the 220 character limit if needed. Your headline should also illustrate the value you bring to the table. 

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Here are a few tips for writing a successful profile headline:

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• Describe what you do, your work experience, and your goals
• Keep it simple and keyword-rich
• Keep the tone professional
• Avoid using overused buzzwords in your profile description
• Make your professional story informative, engaging, and simple

You have to sketch an ideal picture of who you are and what you can offer your clients in just 220 characters, so aim to be straight to the point. If you have someone at your company who is on the ball with social selling, take a quick look at their profile headlines for inspiration.

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There is not one perfect way to write a headline, but keep these tips in mind as you think about the best way to showcase your professional brand to the audience you want to target.‍

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One of the most underused sections of a LinkedIn profile is the "About" section. The average LinkedIn user will just throw in a line or two and call it a day. This is a complete waste of one of the most important sections of a LinkedIn profile.

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The "About" section of your profile has to be a hit. Consider this section of your profile as the product you want to sell to your potential employers.  This is the first impression that will set the tone for the rest of your profile. If your LinkedIn summary is weak, a prospective recruiter/employer won’t bother to scroll down to check the rest of the profile.

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A professional-looking "About" section should be detailed but compact. Make sure to not turn it into an essay that no one will want to read, as most people skim summaries anyways. Keep the tone and language engaging and use relevant industry jargon as necessary. Make sure to provide a brief rundown of your main technical skills if applicable.

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The main point of writing a solid profile summary is personal branding for yourself and show that you're fully engaged in building your career path. To learn how to write a good one, check articles, results of top LinkedIn profiles in your industry, social media posts, and more.   

In the detailed 2,000-character description, you can break your content into the following:

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• Hook your audience right away and make your first sentence count by showing passion and revealing your character
• A professional introduction explaining your present role and framing your past job titles
• Highlight your successes and the services you can offer to potential clients
• Call to action
• Your contact information

The "Experience" section of the LinkedIn profile isn’t something that is ignored by most LinkedIn users; on the contrary, in most cases, it’s the only section most people bother to fill out. The only problem? Most LinkedIn users just fill in the barebones details such as tenure, name of the company, and location, which doesn’t say much.

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The "Experience" section carries great importance once you have successfully grasped the attention of your potential recruiter. In this category, you have to boast about your success and work experiences. Make this section of your profile comprehensive.

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To make your profile stand out, what you need to do is flesh out each entry you make in the "Experience" section. Fill in details about your responsibilities, the skills you learned, major projects, etc. Summarize all your achievements and include all the experiences that have made you grow both in your professional and personal capacity. These details can tell a lot about a person and definitely something that a good human resources officer or employer will take note of when going through your profile.

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If you are currently employed, keep your description detailed and updated. Recruiters are most interested in your current role. If you are a fresh graduate, state all your project works, volunteer work, and internships.

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Make sure to include metrics in your descriptions for each role. Metrics help build proof that you have those abilities. Try this simple formula for success when writing about your achievements for each role: success verb + noun + metric + outcome.

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LinkedIn profile optimization is a crucial step of the job search process to ensure that your profile is visible to recruiters and sending the right message.  An easy place to start is with your education.

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Adding your education to your LinkedIn profile can be beneficial for several reasons. First, it demonstrates your qualifications and gives potential employers or connections an idea of your educational background and level of expertise.

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It can also help to establish credibility and make you more likely to be considered for job opportunities that require specific educational credentials. You should always list your highest level of qualification.

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Additionally, it can also help to connect you with alumni from your educational institutions and expand your professional network. The larger your network, the more opportunities you will be exposed to and have access to. Networking is one of the best ways to get your foot in the door for opportunities that excite you.

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Listing your education on your LinkedIn profile page also allows you to showcase any degrees, certifications, and awards you've earned, which can help you to stand out from other job candidates in recruiters' searches. Make sure to throw in keywords to this section to make yourself easier to find.

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During your profile optimization, keep this section professional by including schools/colleges/universities that relate to your job title and industry and show your specific qualifications.

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This section is where you list all the skills you have mastered. LinkedIn allows you to include up to 50 skills on your profile. State all the skills, even the ones outside your professional practices. This is an easy way to leverage LinkedIn optimization to build your personal brand and engage your network.

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When you add skills to your profile, your first degree connections can “endorse” you for skills that will actually help the strength of your profile. It will allow you to be discovered for opportunities that are related to those skills. 

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If you are in a job search, review the top keywords (soft and hard skills) that are listed in the job descriptions that you are targeting and make sure to add those to your skills section. Ask people in your network to endorse you for those top skills, as well, to help you come up higher in searches by employers. You can also “pin” your top 3 skills to the very top of your Skills & Endorsements section in a subsection titled Top Skills. 

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Add all the relevant certifications you have earned. This makes you more visible as hiring managers may search for candidates with certain certifications and skills. It also helps increase LinkedIn ranking. If you are associated with any non-profit programs, be sure to include these under volunteer experience.

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There are millions of profiles on LinkedIn and, naturally, several other people who have the same profession as well as your first name. To make it easier to be found in a recruiters' search, customize your LinkedIn URL with your last name and possibly some other words related to your industry. For SEO optimization, it is ideal to have your first or last name included in the customized URL.  This is a really easy, but impactful, area when optimizing your LinkedIn profile.

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If you are not familiar with the settings, simply go to your profile settings and select “Edit public profile and URL.” Here you can click on the pencil icon and change your profile URL to something personal and cleaner that makes it easy to find you.

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In addition to Teal’s LinkedIn Profile Review tool, there are other tools you can use to leverage your LinkedIn network within your job search.  With the Chrome extension, you can bookmark contacts directly from LinkedIn by utilizing the LinkedIn search results and identifying LinkedIn members by job title or with relevant skills that you want to save to Teal.  Go to their personal profile page on LinkedIn, open the extension, and press “save”.

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With the Chrome extension, you can also bookmark companies you are interested in directly from LinkedIn.  Anytime you are on a LinkedIn company page, just open the extension and press “save.”  This is a great way to find companies you are interested in that may have open jobs or to reach out to contacts who work at companies you are interested in for potential referrals.