Making a great first impression on LinkedIn

By John Nykolaiszyn

The mark you’re about to make, either as an intern, a first-time employee, or in your next career step, will be helped – or hurt – by that first impression you make in your LinkedIn profile.

Where to start? Try this:

1. Update your photo: Is it a professional one or a “cut & paste” job done on the fly? You need that professional photo.

2. Review your summary: Why is your summary putting me to sleep? Your summary is the first chance to show me why you’re awesome.

3. Tell me a story: Did you accomplish something that let you grow professionally? Tell me. Make it interesting, not a bunch of sleep-inducing keywords.

4. Review/add skills: Share some of the new things you’ve learned. Reorder your skills so new ones top the list.

5. Clean out the groups/check the group settings: Do you belong to groups that aren’t active? Then it’s time to leave the group.

6. Follow some new companies: Are you interested in arbitrage? There are more than 700 companies that list arbitrage in their profile. Engage with them.

7. Catchy Headline: With 120 characters of prime real estate, you can instantly showcase your awesome skills to recruiters and hiring managers.

8. Customize the URL: Nothing says “I don’t care” louder than a system generated URL. A custom URL shows you get it. Example: linkedin.com/yourname.

9. Use a dedicated email address: Get a dedicated email address for your profile. Lots of free options, and always keep it professional.

10. Connect your other accounts: Don’t forget to connect your Twitter, Gmail and other accounts. This will help automatically expand your network.

11. Let them find you: Remember we’re networking here, there’s no room to be shy. Connect, engage, network!

12. LinkedIn is a great tool: But it’s only the first step. Nothing will replace real human interaction. Strive to eventually connect in real life.

John Nykolaiszyn is associate director of the College of Business’ Career Management Services. As a former corporate recruiter and HR generalist for some Fortune 500 companies, he’s well versed in talent acquisition.