Based on your networking activities, it helps to ask yourself the following questions: Who is my target audience, and what does it want? What is a company offering my dream job looking for? What qualifications and experience are relevant?

Tip: For advice on planning your career and finding suggestions on how to proceed when developing your strategy, go to “Career Planning”.

LinkedIn fact: Profiles with a photo get 21 times more profile views.

There is no second chance to make a first impression. This is no different on LinkedIn. Visitors to your profile decide within milliseconds whether to take a closer look or not. Having no photo is not a good solution either because you are either thought to be afraid to show yourself, or you do not take LinkedIn seriously enough. The important thing is for your face to appear friendly, which will invite people to look at your profile further. (Pixel size 1024 x 1024, file size max. 10 MB and format PNG, JPEG, GIF).

Tip: Use a current application photo and crop it to show mainly your face so that it is still easily recognizable as a thumbnail in the newsfeed.

LinkedIn fact: LinkedIn automatically adds your current position to this field if you do not add it yourself.

LinkedIn users often put their job titles in this field. This is not fundamentally wrong, but search engines and recruiters might find you more easily via relevant keywords (search words). This area, just below your profile photo, plays a crucial role in profile optimization because it shows quickly and prominently who you are and what you do, and it is also relevant for search engines.

Add your USP in the space provided for your profile headline: (professional headline [Desktop]: 220; [Mobile]: 240).

Tip: Look at the taglines of professionals in your target area: What keywords do they use?

The background image on your profile can be customized to present your career profile even better. In the best case, you integrate the message you have already developed for your profile slogan. If no suitable image material is available, a single-color banner with a personal motto is a good alternative.

Tip: Use the free graphics program Canva.com to create your LinkedIn banner in minutes. Background image (pixel size between 1000 x 425, file size max. 4 MB, format PNG, JPEG, GIF) at LinkedIn.

On most LinkedIn profiles, the information section is left empty. This is a pity because you can use this space to convince recruiters of your many talents. In max. 2,600 characters, you can describe your experience, motivation, and goals.

Keywords are also important here. They ensure that your profile is found and visited.

Tips:

a. Take various job ads that appeal to you and paste their text into e.g. Tagcrowd.com or ChatGPT. This will show you which keywords are used most frequently. Now compare them with your own keywords before formulating a summary. Suggestion for a ChatGPT prompt to extract keywords from the job ads:

"I have the text of [number] job postings that interest me and match my profile: [Insert text of job postings] Please analyse these texts and list the most frequently occurring keywords and phrases that could be relevant for my LinkedIn profile. Focus on the skills, experiences, and qualities that are being sought in the job postings.”

b. Of course you can also use your elevator pitch as a template.

c. In the information section, only the first three lines are displayed to the viewer. Make sure that the text in the first sentences is so exciting that profile visitors will be happy to click “see more” to read more about you.

d. A good LinkedIn “About” section includes the following information:

• Your experience in your focus area
• Your main skills and abilities; especially if you are looking for a job, it is worthwhile to research the skills required for your dream job and list them in your profile
• Your achievements and accomplishments
• What you are passionate about
• What type of role you are looking for (only if you are actively looking for a job, of course)

LinkedIn makes it easy for you by asking you to provide the relevant information in increments. This includes the company name, title (your job title, e.g., intern), location, period, and description. (Again, use your keywords; use terms people search for that make you stand out.) Highlight relevant experiences with a detailed description in the text box.

There should be at least three entries to show up well in LinkedIn searches.

Remember: Internships are also work experience, and volunteer work provides many opportunities to expand your skills and competencies.

Tip: If you find your work experience challenging to describe, take the reference letter from your former employer, in which you will find relevant keywords and short descriptions. Here, too, use bullet points instead of complete sentences.

Keywords can also be cleverly integrated into the descriptions of your educational background. If necessary, you can list courses or business projects that could be helpful in the context of finding the job you want.

Tip: When listing the university you attended, make sure you enter the correct name (for example, “ZHAW School of Management and Law”) so that the right logo appears automatically. This way, you can assume that you are linked correctly and displayed as an SML student or alumna/alumnus.

In addition to listing your work experience and educational background including your key skills accordingly, you should also focus on your knowledge and skills section. A list of relevant skills in your profile helps present your strengths to other members, especially recruiters. After adding your skills, you can ask your contacts to confirm them. When someone confirms (endorsement) that you have those skills, you are more likely to be discovered for job opportunities that match your skills. You can enter up to 100 skills. Ideally, think about what your top two skills are and highlight them at the top of this section. The other skills can be listed by priority. LinkedIn will take suitable terms from your profile and use them randomly if you do not formulate these skills yourself, that counts also for the top two skills, which may be rather randomly chosen by the algorithm.

Tip: Be original and ALSO use terms in this section that might be considered synonyms of your skills.

Adding skills to your profile can help make your job search easier. When you search for jobs on LinkedIn, the platform will show you job posts based on your profile and search history. In addition, when you open a specific job post you’re interested in, LinkedIn uses your skills to let you know if you’re a good fit for the job.

Recommendations on LinkedIn are like Airbnb reviews - pure gold. A recommendation is written to acknowledge or recommend a contact, such as a colleague, co-worker, or fellow student with whom you have completed a project.

Are you too shy to ask for a recommendation from your current or former employer? Then, just as we have described in the networking section, we recommend writing recommendations first before asking for one. Quite possibly, this function is not yet displayed to you; until you receive a recommendation, this feature is hidden. You can activate it by asking someone for a recommendation in the profile area under “More information”.

Tip: To make it easier for the person you have asked for a recommendation, it is a good idea to briefly tell them where you worked together, what your responsibilities were, and ideally, what they should mention.

By default, the URL link to your LinkedIn profile contains your name and a few random numbers assigned to your profile. We recommend including your name in the URL instead of a URL with random-looking characters. You can do this via Profile > Public Profile & Edit URL > Public Profile Settings > Edit Personal URL so that your URL is then displayed in a format such as this: www.linkedin.com/in/firstnamelastname

You can add your profile in another language (English) under the same URL. This is especially useful for international profiles. Fill out your profile entirely in one language first and then translate it into other languages.

Once your LinkedIn profile is complete, the most labor-intensive part is behind you, and you are ready to start networking.

• Invite your fellow students and colleagues to network with you. Then, continually expand your network with contacts in your field of interest. Also, check out relevant groups on LinkedIn. When networking with people you do not know yet, always use a personal message telling them why you want to network.
• Respond to your contacts’ posts. This means liking posts and sometimes commenting because every comment gives you visibility and is a chance to position yourself in a particular area.
• Post articles yourself to be perceived as an interesting person by employers and the network. You can find ideas for posts in your daily work, at events you attend, and in interesting articles you read.

• Basic or premium? With a free LinkedIn account, you can create a professional profile and network online with colleagues and acquaintances. The most important basic functions are all included. With a premium membership, however, there are additional services. For example, you can see who has looked at your profile and send messages to non-contacts. However, the free basic package is enough to find new jobs and build a professional network.
• Adding your city of residence will make your profile appear more often in profile searches, in fact, up to 23 times more. Plus, recruiters often conduct location-based searches.
• Check your profile regularly and make sure it is complete. It is in LinkedIn's interest that you use the platform effectively. LinkedIn has developed a “Profile Strength Meter” to help you determine how complete your profile is. With the help of the tips you will receive, you can add to your profile until you are rated an “All-Star”. For instructions on accessing the Profile Strength Meter, see LinkedIn Help.
• Put "no" under Privacy & Settings > Privacy > Profile Changes. This will prevent your contacts from receiving a message every time you update your profile.

• Beware of character counts throughout your profile.
  Characters include spaces and all characters (letters, numbers, symbols and, yes, even emojis).

  Use a character counter to help with the text lengths, e.g. https://www.charactercountonline.com/

• Why you should have a public LinkedIn profile (visible to everyone) rather than just sharing your profile with connections.
  A public profile provides:

  1. Increased visibility to potential employers. When your profile is public, recruiters and hiring managers can easily find you when searching for candidates, even if you're not directly connected. This broadens your exposure to job opportunities.
  2. Networking opportunities. A visible profile allows other professionals in your field to discover you and reach out to connect, share advice, and discuss potential opportunities. You never know who might view your profile and help advance your career.
  3. Establishing an online presence and personal brand. By making your profile public, you can showcase your skills, experience, and accomplishments to the broader professional world. This helps you build credibility in your industry.
  4. Connecting with alumni. Keeping your profile public makes it easier for alumni from your school to find you and offer guidance, mentorship, and connections. Many are eager to help students and recent graduates succeed.
  Attracting opportunities you didn't know existed. You may be surprised by the opportunities that arise from keeping a public profile. Serendipitous connections are enabled by visibility.