How to leverage your LinkedIn profile for maximum impact

Your resume is your first impression that sums up who you are in a quick one-pager. First impressions get you in the door, but in order to win a job you need to have lasting substance, that’s where LinkedIn comes in.

This is a step that I largely neglected and was punished for time and time again. I would get interviews with companies but then after the initial phone screening they would never call me back. Part of this was because even though I thought I was great, I was actually terrible at interviewing.

But the other reason was because my LinkedIn didn’t reflect the promises I made in my resume and cover letter. There was a disparity between the two, and while you wouldn’t think that’s a big deal, it’s actually enough to disqualify you. This is simply because the hiring manager doesn’t want the hassle of unraveling your zig-zagging work history for you.

To fix this problem I turned to my good friend Tom Tran. After many months of suffering from the same blight of job seeking that I did, he sat down and dedicated weeks to learning about and mastering LinkedIn. As a result, his profile is now in "All-Star" status and he frequently gets unsolicited messages from recruiters who want to steal him from his current job. He’s living the dream, I know.

So here’s a cheat sheet that I learned on how to create an all-star LinkedIn profile.

• Headline: If your headline is just your job title you’re missing a huge opportunity here. Use your headline as the elevator pitch of how you help companies become successful. For example: “Helping Businesses Drive Growth with Media Planning and Advertising Across Search, Display, Video, Content & Social” This boosts you in recruiter search results and shows you know your market.
• About: This is the most important part of your profile. Write at least 4 solid paragraphs that detail your work experience and your character. Paragraph #1 should be a short summary that includes recruiter-friendly terms like, “builds strategic campaigns, engaging content, and connects with customers.” Paragraph #2 should lay out your work history in a concise story that shows forward progress and focus. Paragraph #3 should show how you work hard to take on additional responsibilities including special projects, non-profit work, etc. Paragraph #4 should finish off by saying what you’re currently doing.
• Experience: Fill out all relevant positions you’ve had in the past. Keep this to the same bullet points format as the resume so that it’s easily scanable (adding company logos is a good way to do this). You’re essentially trying to arm the Hiring Manager with weapons he can fire at you during your interview. The beauty of this is that by giving them the weapons here you’ll know exactly how to counter-punch when they ask you about your experience.

Important: Do not add work experience like being a server, a dog walker, etc. These kinds of positions should be well in your past and not relevant anymore.

• Education, Projects, Publications, Etc: This is where you put in all the extra stuff you’ve done. Even if you don’t think you have a ton of these, you should still fill this out as much as possible. A good way to fill this section out is by pulling projects & publications from within your work experience. Maybe you haven’t done these projects solo, but you’ve helped your company complete them and that should be reflected in your profile. For example, even though I was only an assistant on the Clinton Global Initiative and not a director, I still put it in my projects highlights to show that I’ve worked with important high-level leaders.