Holiday Hacks for Your LinkedIn Profile.

Maybe you’ve ignored your LinkedIn profile for the last several months, or maybe you never filled out all the sections when you first joined. Some profile sections are cut and dry - Education, Skills, Interests - so maybe you started with those and now are unsure what to do next.

Optimizing the rest of your profile might sound like a foreign sport, so when it comes to hacking the harder areas - Photo, Headline, About Section, and Experience - we’ve got you covered.

The holiday season is also a great time to make sure your profile is up to date and you’re engaging on the platform - there are more holiday gatherings happening this year compared to the last few years, which might mean you’re likely to meet new connections. It’s also a good time to review your accomplishments from the whole year and what you want to stress about your work. Here are some ways you can get your LinkedIn profile employer-ready and your career search in full speed this holiday season..

SMILE! (YOU NEED A PHOTO)

Sage advice you’ve probably heard already about your LinkedIn photo: Ensure it’s a good quality headshot (not an obvious selfie) in a professional pose, wearing attire that is appropriate in your industry. Next, you might be wondering how to get a professional-looking photo on the cheap.

Not to worry! You can get the photo you need this holiday season with minimal effort. Grab a friend or partner and ask them to take a quick snap for you against a plain background with appropriate lighting. Put on a nice top, put your shoulders at 45 degrees with your head facing forward, lean forward and say cheese.

Once you have your photo, use an editing app for any finishing touches, follow the prompts on LinkedIn for uploading, and you’re good to go.

CRAFT A GREAT HEADLINE

When you first set up your LinkedIn profile, your headline will default to your most recent job title and organization. This can be useful if you’re looking to stay in the same career, and it may even help you meet a recruiter’s keyword search. But if you’re looking to brand yourself as a professional aside from your current employer (or trying to shift roles or industries), you might change it to better reflect what you do and what you want to be known for. For example, instead of saying “Marketing Manager at Intex Development & Homes” you might use “Marketing & Branding | SEO & Analytics | Real Estate Development.”

Stumped on what to write? Do a little field research. One of the questions I like to ask family and friends is, “for what type of help would I be the person you turn to first?” or “if someone were to ask you what I do well, what would you say?” Take note of their responses, find the through-line, and translate to a great headline.

For example, if they all mention a combination of reliability, tech savvy, and being able to quickly share the main idea of a story or problem, you might say: Helping others master the tech tools at their fingertips to solve problems.

YOUR LINKEDIN ‘ABOUT’ SECTION

The About section is your introduction and career overview. And this section can be a beast to tackle; there’s no one perfect way to write this section.

You can start at the beginning with something like, “I started my career [doing xyz type of work…].” Then talk about where it led you and go chronologically.

You could also start with where you are now with something like, “With 10 years in marketing, I currently oversee the marketing efforts of [xyz company working on …].” Then reference a few of the most important past roles or accomplishments that you want to be known for.

Here are some other great examples of About sections that might give you ideas.

You can test out some of the things you share in your About section when you talk with folks at holiday gatherings to see how they land and how you feel about what you share. Work and rework your intro until it’s a great blend of beautiful form and function, succinctly giving the reader quantifiable details about your abilities and the “wins” of your work history, while also showcasing your personality.

This approach also works for your experience section, so we’ll delve into that next.

EXPERIENCE

You know what I notice about the experience sections of many LinkedIn profiles? The older positions listed have more robust descriptions- maybe they have lots of quantifiable achievements and KPIs, or a more general outline of job responsibilities. As users change jobs, they may update the company and their job title, but leave the description blank.

Don’t do this! Allow your experience section to display a thoughtful, engaging-to-read description about your abilities and what you currently do!

One easy format to follow is to use a few sentences to describe what you do as if you were telling a friend what you do at work. Something like, “After a year at the company, I was promoted to lead the new team that’s working on creating and implementing our employee engagement strategy. I get to work with managers and teams to help them build better functioning teams.” Then follow up those sentences with two or three ‘key accomplishment’ bullet points that showcase your impact and allow your reader’s eyes to skim those key metrics.

Again, you can “test out” your descriptions this holiday season by sharing anecdotes at different gatherings. During holiday dinners, when the topic of work is apt to come up, ask your family members what they remember you enjoying most in your previous jobs. In what areas would they say you are most gifted? And of course, return the favor for anyone else who might be teetering on the edge of career happiness.

CONNECTING WITH OTHERS ON LINKEDIN

Whenever you visit LinkedIn, you will receive suggestions for “People You May Know”. Former colleagues, friends, and classmates may come up in these lists. Since it’s been a while, you might connect with former and current colleagues, mentors, and managers you weren’t already connected with. Be sure to personalize your message when you request to link (you can opt to ‘add a note’ when you connect with someone).

Remember that the holiday season is a great time to expand your reach. A ready-made list of contacts that you may not have thought about is the people you send holiday cards to, more recent coworkers and/or clients you might have gotten to know over the last year. If you’ve gotten business cards throughout the year at conferences, or other events, add them to the list - the holidays are a great reason to reconnect.

‘Tis the season of giving, so start with an offer you are willing to make them. Maybe there is someone in your network you’d love to introduce them to, or you have expertise you can lend them in a short term project (write a guest post for their blog, proofread their dissertation, volunteer at a holiday fundraiser they are coordinating).

If you’re at a loss for a match between your skills and their needs, you can always reference a topic you previously discussed, a conversation you want to revisit, or even a pertinent article that you find worth sharing.

With a polished photo, well-crafted introduction, and some holiday help from your friends, you’ll jettison to LinkedIn success quickly, before the New Year even begins! You’re all set for your next round of connections!  

A version of this article was originally written by Victoria Crispo. Connect with her on LinkedIn.