Your Linkedin profile has become something of a billboard for you and your skills. Although your resume and cover letter are still crucial, Linkedin is your number one tool for personal branding. Maximizing your profile has become a science in itself and here are the top five tips for boosting your profile today.

1. Photo
Elementary you might say, but do you have a professional photo uploaded or is it a random picture you copied from Facebook? As the photo space on Linkedin is small, you want your photo to be a head shot taken in a professional environment with no distractions in the background. Take a good look at your picture today and ask yourself what an employer’s first impression would be.

2. Employment History
A basic field that needs to be filled out properly. Transfer your resume data to Linkedin and make sure you get all dates right. Include all jobs you have done, unless it’s more than ten, in which case you only include the most important ones.

3. Summary
This section is often overlooked. In the summary section you want to put your elevator pitch. Write who you are, what your skills are and most importantly what you can do for the reader. Always think how you can add value and structure your skills and experience with bullet points to make it pleasing on the eye.

4. Specialities
Another overlooked section, mainly because nobody knows what it means. The specialities box allows you to throw in all the keywords that reflect your experience and skills. The beauty here is that every keyword is searchable, meaning you increase your chances of being found by recruiters.

5. Recommendations
Endorsements from peers can be essential for your job search. Although not a knock out factor in the early stages of a hiring process, it can be a deciding factor at the last stage. If there are two final candidates for a job, the number and quality of Linkedin recommendations can be the decider. Get two to three recommendations per job you have had. Aim high and ask previous managers and other people with impressive titles as it will look better on your profile.
That’s your five tips for today. Once you have updated all of these, you should strive for continual improvement and ensure your Linkedin profile does you and your skills justice.