11 tips to optimize your profile on LinkedIn

Employees, entrepreneurs, freelancers, recruiters, job seekers… LinkedIn, 23 million registered members in France in 2021, has become essential for many professionals. Marie Fray and Emmanuelle Petiau, coaches and specialists of this social network, intervene with professionals and individuals to explain to them how to get out of the game on the platform with multiple features. They share some of their tips.

Fill all the blanks

There are different levels of profiles on LinkedIn: beginner, intermediate, advanced, expert and absolute expert. “The more complete your profile, the higher your level, and the more LinkedIn will make your profile visible during searches ,” explains Emmanuelle Petiau. Hence the interest of completing all the fields: titles, location, summary, professional experience, training, volunteer experience, skills, recommendations... And this, while making sure to be precise: "In the experience part, we do not not to say the positions we have held. We detail what the company does, the mission carried out and the results obtained, and if necessary the scope of intervention and the objectives” , insists Emmanuelle Petiau.

Pay particular attention to the “content selection” section in which you can highlight posts that you have put online, photos, videos, PDFs… In short, content that highlights your know-how.

Properly set up your profile

Marie Fray and Emmanuelle Petiau have some advice on settings:- check that your profile and photo are public

- that your network is not visible, "especially if you come on LinkedIn to sell your services" , says Emmanuelle Petiau

- make sure that the feature that allows people who view your profile to have similar profile suggestions is disabled (this would allow recruiters to see your competitors)

- personalize your URL with your first and last name, by deleting the numbers and letters at the end, "which do not add anything" , explains Marie Fray. “You can be impactful by adding a few keywords: your profession, your sector, the words typed by your targets to come across you. This is interesting for your SEO on LinkedIn. »

Write a compelling summary

For Marie Fray, it is essential to introduce yourself in the “summary” part, which can contain up to 2,600 characters. “I recommend starting with an impactful hook to arouse curiosity. Then, to talk about your target, their problems and the solution you bring to solve them. In short, your added value. »

Work on your profile picture

It must absolutely be professional. “Gone is the photo at a wedding where Uncle Gérard was cut, the one with a beach in the background or with a Snapchat filter, recalls Marie Fray. You can go to a photographer or take a picture of yourself in front of a neutral background, in professional attire, with an upright posture, looking at the lens with a smile. »

To make the shot more dynamic, she recommends using the pfpmaker.com site, which allows you to add a colored background and patterns.She also offers to submit the photo on the Photofeeler site, where anonymous Internet users can give their opinion on the photo.

Put a personalized banner

Rather than setting for LinkedIn's default background on your profile, Marie Fray advises creating one (on the graphic design platform Canva, for example). “You can put strategic keywords that characterize your skills and a sentence to summarize what you do. It must be easily understandable for those who discover you. The important thing is that it's lively, impactful and that we get a glimpse of your personality and your creativity. »

Make an intro video

LinkedIn has allowed since 2021 to add, in addition to a profile photo, a 30-second “cover story”. Marie Fray recommends doing this so that “recruiters or potential clients can see how you express yourself. And then, it humanizes the profile. »

Work on semantics

“If you don't use the right keywords, your profile won't appear in recruiters' searches,” warns Emmanuelle Riau. It's as if you had a website that must be well referenced on Google: you have to be strategic. » How to proceed? “Look at the job postings in your sector, note the terms that come up and reuse them on your profile. »

Be strategic if looking for a job

You can indicate on LinkedIn that you are looking for professional opportunities. If you choose to share this information with all LinkedIn members, an #OpenToWork frame will appear in your profile picture. A feature that leaves Marie Fray skeptical: "The inaccessible often attracts much more..." She recommends instead to make your job search known only to recruiters and to be sure to indicate your telephone number in the "contact details" section, to be easily reachable.

For its part, the platform ensures that the #OpenToWork functionality is useful and relevant. “More than 10 million LinkedIn members have already used it around the world. Those who activate it are on average 40% more likely to receive InMails from recruiters than before, when they were not using this feature,” says Esther Ohayon, communications director at LinkedIn France. .

What about the location mentioned on your profile? “If you live in a village 70 kilometers from Angers and you are ready to work in Angers, indicate this city in your location rather than your village, advises Emmanuelle Petiau. This will make you more visible to recruiters. »

Better to be careful if you are still in office and you are prospecting elsewhere, she continues. “If you let recruiters know you're looking for opportunities, your employer who uses LinkedIn as a recruiter might come across your profile and learn that you're looking elsewhere. »

Ask for recommendations

LinkedIn allows you to request a recommendation from contacts in your network: a former colleague, a superior, a client, a supplier… “This reassures potential recruiters or clients. And the more recommendations you have, the more your visibility increases,” says Emmanuelle Petiau. Once the recommendation is received, you can accept it so that it appears on your profile, ignore it, or ask the person who wrote it to edit it.

Make a good network

For Emmanuelle Petiau, you must add to your network the decision-makers in the sector in which you operate and target several people within the same company that interests you: the CEO, the HR manager, the marketing manager, a manager… “ That way , if the recruiter likes one of your posts, it will appear in the newsfeed of their connections, and you will be even more visible to them. »

Interact

The key on LinkedIn: communication. To do this, several options: you can post content, share content from other users, like or comment. “Better to capitalize on comments than on likes or shares, assures Marie Fray. This makes you visible as if you were posting content. »

For her, do not hesitate to show who you are. “Your expertise is not obvious to anyone… It's up to you to change the situation. Content creation helps show your legitimacy. If you make a post by sharing an article, add your point of view, your vision. If you are in a creative profession, show your talent and the range of tools you master. And to summarize: “Recruiters are not only looking for a CV and skills, but also a personality! »

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