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LinkedIn Tips for Executives
There is more to an executive LinkedIn profile than the sum of its parts. If you want to make it stand out and to contribute to the growth of your community, you should aim to optimise it. There are many tips you can apply from picking the best headshot to crafting the perfect headline, working on your keywords to target search terms relevant to your job or updating your resume. All these actions can help make your LinkedIn profile simpler to navigate and sometimes even easier to find, but they certainly don’t make it unique. A complete profile is not necessarily an attention-worthy one.
Here are a few additional tips to level up your executive profile on LinkedIn!
Focus on your Achievements Rather than on your Job
Many people tend to list their skills and job descriptions without going into any detail as to how they were instrumental to the companies they have worked for. Don’t be so modest! If you made it as an executive, then your professional achievements should be measured in terms of what got you there. Don’t hesitate to use metrics and figures that illustrate how your efforts helped these businesses save money, streamline their processes or gain traction. The idea is to show recruiters that you won’t just fill a role: you will be able to address very precise goals and dedicate yourself to the success of the projects you are assigned to.
Make Yourself Approachable by Showcasing the “Story of You”
The human behind the executive LinkedIn profile is just as important – and arguable even more so – as their actual achievements. Without your personality, your personal experience and our very own outlook on life, you would not be where you are today. You should be straightforward about that narrative and show recruiters how your career evolved. Explain how you got your first management position, the opportunities you encountered along the. way that led you to join new companies. Don’t disclose everything but start the conversation. Your honesty and willingness to be open and transparent should appear through the lines.
Emphasise Your Soft Skills
Leadership is not a pain-by-numbers affair. Your job as an executive also has a human
dimension, so the person behind that profile is just as important as their achievements. If you look at how you’ve solved complex issues in the past, you will most certainly find that it has much to do with how you have guided people through that problem. If you aren’t sure what your leadership performance looks like in these more subtle terms, ask someone you’ve worked with to list your most valuable soft skills. Your industry expertise didn’t happen all by itself: recruiters want to see a LinkedIn profile that spells out exactly how driven you are.
Grow Your Network
As an executive, you already have a network of people who will vouch for your skills and talent. All these acquaintances are probably on LinkedIn too and are all in a very good position to write a short recommendation for you. This saves you the inelegance of name- dropping all while highlighting just how much senior executives in your industry appreciate you. Don’t go asking for recommendations: instead, take the time to write some. Very quickly, you will start receiving some very convincing words that will hit your mark like nothing you could have written yourself.
Write Posts to Show Off Your Expertise
Finally, LinkedIn is made for sharing and interacting with others, so go ahead and take advantage of this invaluable tool for what it is! Comment on interesting posts, join groups and, most of all, create some high-value content you can link to from your LinkedIn profile. This highly shareable content will no doubt find its way to the right people and help you garner the attention you deserve.