22 LinkedIn Profile Tips

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Featuring Tips From John Bartlett, Rachel Denton, Jason Early, Pedro Martin, & Matt Studdert

Read: 3 Minutes

Looking for ways to make your LinkedIn profile stand out? Trying to figure out how to showcase your personal brand on LinkedIn in a way that makes you unique? Read on for tips and advice from the experts on how to improve your profile (and get the job of your dreams).

Pedro Martin, GA Distinguished Faculty Member & Software Engineer at Red Badger

1. Don’t recreate your resume. Most profiles just list skills and previous jobs. If you can tell a story, you’ll stand out to employers.

2. Be sure to demonstrate your work as part of a team.

3. If your portfolio showcases a common theme, recruiters are more likely to take notice. 

Matt Studdert, Professional Developer & Founder of Frontend Mentor

4. Be concise and to the point with your skills. A shorter list of technologies you know well is much better than a long list of technologies you hardly understand.

5. Rewrite your responsibilities to focus on transferable skills. For example, if you presented in front of clients as a developer but want to make a career change to a UX designer, highlight that you’re comfortable talking to and in front of key stakeholders.

6. Get references from past colleagues and bosses. These will highlight your personality and work ethic from a different perspective.

7. Be sure to have multiple people proofread your profile. As people will be reading your profile, demonstrating proficient written communication is key.

8. Coming across as driven, interested, and interesting are great ways to grab attention and show your individuality. Mention interests outside of work or write articles on LinkedIn.

9. The best way to show a portfolio is by building your own website. Short of that, I recommend finding a template or designing and recreating one yourself.

10. Include a profile picture, a brief description of your interests (both relevant to your field and not), your skills and preferred tools, and a showcase of projects you’ve built or contributed to. 

Rachel Denton, Senior Program Manager at Atlassian & GA Instructor Since 2016

11. Start with a strong profile picture coupled with a strong summary at the top that captures your skill sets, your experience, and the essence of who you are.

12. Having a few recommendations from colleagues over the course of your career is a great bonus.

Jason Early, Independent UX Consultant & GA Instructor

13. Use LinkedIn as a resource to help build a client base and find new projects. Reach out directly to learn more about their needs.

14. Comment on posts, and contribute your own commentary to the posts you share. Your profile stands out by you being recognized and involved.

15. As an employer, I look for involvement. Does the applicant have a perspective on the industry? Are they sharing it well? Are they involved in groups? It’s a great way to evaluate how they communicate. 

16. Your profile should show that you are moving forward professionally. How you do that can vary but show that you’re doing something.

17. If I’m looking at a designer’s profile, can I get a sense of personality from it? Are they making it reflect themselves? How are they using it as a tool?

18. If you are focusing on visual design, then your portfolio should be mostly visual with explanations as to why the entries look the way they do. If you are focusing on user experience design, then your entries should be written out, with images to support the strategy.

19. Have a system for easily updating your portfolio so it can be customized to your audience.   

John Bartlett, 20-year Product Manager, GA Instructor since 2015, & Mentor to Hundreds of Aspiring Entrepreneurs

20. What stands out the most on someone’s LinkedIn profile is seeing the products they’ve worked on and their role in that success.

21. If you’ve built a product that you can show in a portfolio, that is ideal. If not, show your final project presentation.

22. Remember to save something for the interview. Most hiring managers are interested in your thinking so showing your best work in person lets you walk them through it. 

Disclaimer: General Assembly referred to their Bootcamps and Short Courses as “Immersive” and “Part-time” courses respectfully and you may see that reference in posts prior to 2023.