The Actions I Took on My LinkedIn Profile and Why I Took These Actions
Prior to this assignment, I already had a LinkedIn profile, so all I did was to make some changes and adjustments which I will be reporting on below.
First, I added my last two job experiences and wrote an enticing description of the jobs as well. I did this because one of them is the most study relevant student job I have ever done since I began doing student jobs and I hadn’t updated my LinkedIN account since after the job (in the summer). And adding the other job experience was because I have learnt overtime that no job experience is irrelevant no matter how menial it may seem. Competencies such as stress resilience, trustworthiness, decision making, etc. are being sharpened in several kinds of jobs.
Secondly, I added more of my personal contact details on my profile, accepted connection requests and sent some of mine also. I did this to expand my LinkedIN network some more and also to make myself more reachable by potential employees. By so doing, I took the advice from video I had to watch in preparation for the class seminar on this topic.
Another very pivotal adjustment I made was in my industry headline. I made it catchier so that my networks and future employers who visit my LinkedIn profile will be attracted by the headline, which will then make them to go ahead and check the other items on my profile. This way, I have a better chance at building better networks and at getting job and internship offers.
Three Insights / Action Points I Developed Through These Activities
Always update my LinkedIn Profile Details: I discovered, from some friends of mine who are LinkedIn users, that people who update their LinkedIn profiles have good networks, so upon the realization that a constantly updated LinkedIn profile is a must to aid me in effective networking and also for better job opportunities, I decided to always update all the details on my LinkedIn profile as I garner more experiences in my professional field.
Add details of my job fields of interest: I discovered that I could add details of my job fields of interest and make it visible for only recruiters, so I did that to increase my chances of getting an internship company sooner than later. And since then, I have observed that my profile is being viewed by more LinkedIn users, which could comprise of future employers (I can only know exactly who viewed my profile if I upgrade to a paid plan on LinkedIn).
Be more active on LinkedIn: I got an insight that being more active on LinkedIn will increase my chances of appearing in people’s searches as well, so I began to react (the like, love, applause emojis) comment on other people's posts that I find insightful and comment on them as well. I also began to post more of my professional ordeals like seminars I attend, projects in collaboration with companies, book reviews, etc. on my LinkedIn space. And since then till now, my post views, reactions and profile visits have also increased.
Tips on creating an effective LinkedIn profile
From my observation of some fellow student’s LinkedIn profiles, I saw some poorly presented profiles. Browsing through the LinkedIn profiles of some business professionals and some teachers at Artevelde University of Applied Sciences as well, I saw some good level of professionalism which I learnt from and would like to recommend to fellow students as tips to a great LinkedIn profile. They are as stated below:
Add a description for every job you have ever done; linking it to study or career fields, no matter how menial the job might seem.
Add as many experiences and voluntary work, etc. as possible
Make more connections on LinkedIN
Add a professional profile picture
Add a catchy industry headline
To your contact info, add links to your portfolio website or other content websites if you own any
Customize your background photo (make it a more professional background)
First View of My LinkedIn Profile Below (As at 16/12/2019)
My post views and profile visits have also kept increasing since then. Below are the numbers as at 20/12/2019.
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