How To Set Up an Effective LinkedIn Profile: A Guide for Beginners

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“Are you on LinkedIn?” 

If you’re a job seeker or someone who intends to explore future career opportunities in the private sector, you should be. LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional platform, and it’s a powerful tool for networking, finding opportunities, and keeping a pulse on the job market. 

In an age where everything is digital, LinkedIn gives you access to -

• job vacancies around the world.  
• a strong network of professionals in your field.
• decision-makers, industry experts, and potential mentors. 
• job referrals, which vastly increases your chances of landing a job. 
• recruiters who want the ability to FIND YOU!    

According to Forbes, 95% of recruiters are on LinkedIn looking for job candidates. This reason alone should compel you to create a profile that will impress them. Whether you’re starting from scratch, you’ve got a profile that hasn’t been touched in years, or you’re looking for tips on how to boost your current profile, this guide has you covered.

Here are 7 things that make an effective LinkedIn profile. 

1) Profile Photo 

LinkedIn is not the place for your stern-faced military service photo. Instead, choose a photo that makes you look friendly and dependable—preferably with a smile on your face. Keep the background neutral or use an app to remove the background altogether. 

Make sure your profile photo is set to “anyone” so it’s visible to the public even if you’re not connected. After all, no one trusts a faceless avatar. 

What if you don’t have a decent photo? Not to worry… There’s no need to hire an expensive photographer to achieve a nice, professional headshot. Try taking one for yourself, or ask someone in your household to take one for you. 

Remember: Good lighting is the key to great photographs!

Once you have a well-lit headshot, use the auto-enhance feature in any photo app to ensure it has the proper balance and brightness. For an added professional touch, use remove.bg (free) or Canva.com to remove the background from your photograph and replace it with a color/texture that exemplifies your personal brand.

2) Background Photo  

Rather than using LinkedIn’s default gray image, upload a background photo that speaks to you and your career goals. If you’re feeling creative, you can use Canva.com to design your own personalized LinkedIn banner—for free. Otherwise, a quick Google search for "LinkedIn background images” will give you plenty of options to choose from. Look for something simple and inspiring like a cityscape, a landscape, or a nice texture that will catch the eye of someone who visits your profile.

3) Headline  

Can you define your value proposition in 220 characters or less?

That’s what you’re working with when it comes to your headline, so take some time to get it right. You might change your headline frequently as you evolve on the platform, and it’s completely expected—especially during a career transition.

🔥 HOT TIP: Put yourself in a hiring manager’s shoes! Look at job postings for your ideal role and pay close attention to the keywords they use. Your goal is to write a headline that appeals to your target employer and makes them want to learn more about you. 

There are many ways to write a headline, but these tips will help get you started -   

• Lead with the job title of the role you want. (Note to Veterans: “Senior Leader” is not a job in the civilian world, so don’t use this title in your headline.) 
• Include the certifications, qualifications, and keywords most important to people in your industry like PMP, SHRM, TS-SCI, etc.  
• Add “Veteran” or “Military Spouse” to the end of your headline so it’s easier to make a connection with others in the military community.  

- - - If you’re still struggling with your headline, it’s probably because you don’t really know what you want to do in your career.

In this case, we highly recommend conducting informational interviews with professionals in the fields that interest you: Informational Interviews - How LinkedIn Can Help You Get Your Boot in the Door

4) About Section 

Don’t underestimate the power of a well-crafted professional summary. It’s one of the first things a recruiter or hiring manager will read when they visit your profile, so use the opportunity to make a great elevator pitch about why they should hire you. 

You have 2,600 characters to work with in this section, but there’s no need to go overboard. Just make sure you cover the following –  

• Lead with a strong introduction that compels readers to hit “see more.”    
• Summarize your mission and motivation for what you want to do in your career. 
• Explain to employers how your skills translate into the role you want. 
• Showcase your professional strengths and highlight your accomplishments. 
• Use corporate terminology and leave out the military jargon. If you need ideas, look at summaries from leaders in your desired field to get an idea of what works.  
• Incorporate industry-specific keywords to boost your ranking in search results. 

5) Experience Section 

The goal of this section is to show evidence of your career growth, so include work history from at least the past 10 years.

If you’re not sure where to start, you can copy/paste bullet points from your master resume to provide insight into each of your previous positions. Include responsibilities and achievements for every role and use the X-Y-Z formula to show results—accomplished [X] as measured by [Y] by doing [Z].  

If you want to dive deeper, you can provide a brief narrative for each position and upload media like documents, photos, videos, links to articles, etc. to showcase the work you did. Your LinkedIn profile is a complement to your resume, so it’s the perfect place to expand on your professional story. 

As you develop this section, keep in mind the types of jobs you’re applying for. Emphasize your most relevant experience and accomplishments to target the role you’re currently seeking.

--- NOTE TO VETERANS: You might have a hard time translating your military titles and experience to equivalent civilian roles, so take advantage of the FREE resume services and career support offered by Hire Heroes USA .

6) Skills Section 

LinkedIn is first and foremost a search engine, so include the skills and keywords most relevant to your industry to increase your chances of showing up in a recruiter’s search results. If you’re a Transitioning Service Member or Veteran, don’t include military-specific skills unless they directly support your future career goals. 

The three skills at the top of your list are most likely to get recommendations from other LinkedIn users, so be strategic about choosing your top three.

Not sure which skills to choose? Take advantage of LinkedIn Premium* insights -   

• Search the "Jobs" tab for the position or job title you desire.  
• Check out several of the job postings for roles you might be interested in.   
• If you have LinkedIn Premium, take note of the “most common applicant skills” found in the Premium section near the bottom of the job post.   

* Veterans and Military Spouses can get a full year of LinkedIn Premium for FREE through LinkedIn’s Social Impact Program.

7) Recommendations 

Think of recommendations as endorsements or testimonials from colleagues, clients, and supervisors. They’re an important part of your LinkedIn profile and can help boost your credibility on the platform. Recommendations serve as a validation of your skills and abilities and set you apart from other professionals in your field. 

Here are a few ways to request recommendations on LinkedIn: 

• Reach out to your connections and ask if they would be willing to write a recommendation for you. It's a good idea to include a specific request, such as, "I was wondering if you would be willing to write a recommendation for me to highlight the skills and experience you've seen me demonstrate in our work together."  
• Offer to write a recommendation for someone else first. If you show that you’re willing to give more than you take, you may be more likely to receive a recommendation in return. Think about the qualities you admire in the person you’re endorsing and write a recommendation that showcases their strengths. 
• Ask for a LinkedIn recommendation as part of your professional development or performance review process. Many companies have formal processes in place for employees to request feedback from their supervisors or colleagues. If someone is already crafting feedback for your performance review, it won’t take much more effort for them to copy those positive points into a LinkedIn recommendation.  

Don’t worry; you’ll have the option to accept and approve recommendations before they’re viewable to the public. You can even ask for revisions if need be.

Grow Your LinkedIn Network 

Now that your profile is polished and ready to go, it’s time to start networking!  

If you’re a military-affiliated job seeker, connect with the HireMilitary recruiting team to stay updated on job postings, live events, and more:

• Lucy Robinson , Director of Talent Acquisition
• Amber Pitkin, MBA, PMP® , SkillBridge Recruiter

- - - Take control of your career and join the HireMilitary Talent Pool!