03 Feb 8 Improvements for Your LinkedIn Profile in 2023
Though January has already passed, we are still in the transitional period for the new year. Like the beginning of most years, now is the time to give yourself a fresh start. For some, this means small adjustments and a few new processes. For others, this means completely starting over—a new job, a new location, or a new outlook on life. On the career side, there are a couple of things that need to be refreshed with the start of 2023. This includes your LinkedIn profile.
The modern job market brings us closer to digital impressions. This means that we need to stay on top of how we present ourselves online. If you’re looking to apply for new jobs this year, LinkedIn will be the first spot hiring managers look.
Keep up to date with your LinkedIn profile in 2023 with these eight simple improvements.
LinkedIn Profile: Visual Updates
Staying visually up to date on your LinkedIn profile is the first step to being ready for 2023. Not only your images, but the layout of your profile will be the first thing many people see before diving deeper into the content. If the visual aspect of your LinkedIn profile is unappealing, many might not want to read further.
Profile Image
The first step to updating your LinkedIn profile should be your profile image. It’s always a good idea to keep a recent picture of yourself (or company logo) as the profile image.
Though you might not think so, a year can change your looks quite a bit. From a change of hairstyle to a change of clothing, you’ve undergone some adjustments throughout the year. Make sure your profile picture matches that.
Background Image
The same can be said for your background image at the top of your profile page. Even if you have a simple scenic background that could fit with anything, it’s best to refresh it each year. Match it with your profile image or give it a new “theme” for the 2023 year. Keeping it fresh will make your LinkedIn profile that much more appealing to see.
Headline Statement
Lastly, you should consider updating the headline statement that appears underneath your name. When you create your own posts or react and comment on others’ posts, there are three main things others will see from your account.
1. Profile Image
2. Name
3. Headline Statement
This headline statement is a small description of who you are. Typically, people will use this space to input their current job titles. However, this particular styling has become too normal for people on LinkedIn. It’s used far too much and doesn’t make you stand out.
So, get creative with the headline statement on your LinkedIn profile. Add a couple of emojis that still encompass who you are or add a bit more detail about you as a person. Some include their favorite quotes, some have sales pitches, and some list upcoming events they’re putting on. The idea is not to be too outlandish, but to show that you’re more than just your job title.
LinkedIn Profile: Personal Content
Once the visual aspect of your LinkedIn profile is refreshed, it’s time to dig deeper. The content.
On your profile, you can include a number of different things—this includes your past work experiences, publications, education, skills, interests, and more. These sections are important to update each year because they’re constantly changing. The more experience you gain, the more you have to show.
About Section – Your Summary
Not everyone can be good at talking about themselves, but LinkedIn almost requires it to a certain extent. One of the most important sections on your LinkedIn profile will be the about section. Though a bit different for everyone, this is the section to detail what you do, what you have done, and what you are going to do.
This summary paragraph is the story of you—or, at least, your career. It’s a place to market yourself to possible employers or clients and a place to strut your stuff a bit. It’s more personal than the other sections on your profile, so make it worth it.
Experience Section
If any of the following four things apply to you from the past year, it’s time to update the experience section of your LinkedIn profile:
1. You quit a job,
2. You started a job,
3. You gained more responsibilities at work / were promoted,
Or 4. Your company changed names / was acquired by another company.
One of the major plus sides to LinkedIn is that it will keep track of the years/months of experience you have within a company. As long as you have the start date and the end date, LinkedIn will add that time to your profile. Similarly, it will keep tallying the time for jobs still marked “Present.” This makes the experience section not something to worry about all of the time.
However, you need to reflect any changes that happened within the past year accordingly. From job titles or company name changes to responsibilities within each job and accomplishments, these are a few of the things you need to worry about keeping up to date in this section.
Publications, Projects, & Awards
Much like the experience section, there are a few specific sections on your LinkedIn that you need to keep updated as they happen.
As your career expands, there’s no doubt that you’ve stumbled into major projects, various awards, and a couple of publications along the way. If any of these were done in the past year, make sure you add them to your LinkedIn profile.
LinkedIn Profile: Cleaning Up & Clearing Out
While you might be adding a lot of things each year to your LinkedIn profile, you will need to clear out just as many things. Areas like your experience section, publications, or awards can be consistent throughout your entire career. These are things that you’ve done already and they won’t be going away any time soon. They won’t stop being impressive at a later time.
However, there’s another side to this coin. There are many things on your LinkedIn profile that need to be tailored to you and your current situation. This includes things like your skills, connections, groups, tags, posts, etc.
Skill Assessments
The skills assessment portion on your LinkedIn profile showcases to possible employers or clients that you have what it takes to finish the job. LinkedIn created these assessments for the sole purpose of receiving a Verified Skills badge.
These skills will make you stand out on applications and will prove that you’re not just tooting your own horn. With the new year, make sure to keep your skills up to date on your LinkedIn profile by adding new ones or removing old ones that are no longer applicable to you and your career.
Connections & Groups
For a good portion of time, those on LinkedIn were saying the best way to increase your visibility and/or spread across the platform was to increase the number of people you connected with. They recommended connecting with basically everyone you came across.
Of course, now we have come to our senses a little and realized that you shouldn’t be connecting with everyone you happen to see on the site. Just those you either know from work-related things and those in the same industry as you (or one you are interested in).
This isn’t to say you can’t have a lot of connections, but you should be curating your list of connections to match your current career path.
Similarly, you might need to trim up the various groups you’ve joined on LinkedIn.
If you find the group or connection no longer relates to where you are in your career, perhaps it’s time to remove it. It will give you much more space on your LinkedIn feed for things that actually pertain to you.
Get Your LinkedIn Profile Optimized by a Professional
Before you apply for a new position, make sure to optimize your LinkedIn profile to match your current skills and resume. If you’re having a hard time doing this, have one of our certified Career Coaches help you!
At The Jonus Group, we offer a wide range of career services. This includes LinkedIn profile optimizations, resume rewrites, interview help, and more! Feel free to check out all of the services we offer here and sign up for a free, 15-minute consultation on our calendar here.