Ready to boost the power of your LinkedIn Profile in 2022?
Use these tips for an engaging LinkedIn presence and personally branded Profile.
No matter if you’re in the midst of a job search or simply keeping your options open, it’s important to present a strong online image and attract employers by updating your LinkedIn Profile, connecting with new users and employers, and adjusting your LinkedIn activity.
Here’s what you need to do in 2022 to get your LinkedIn Profile to work harder for your job search:
1 – Adjust your LinkedIn Settings – frequently.
In 2022, there are now more than 200 Settings you can adjust on your Profile. Take the time to look them over and ensure you’re using them wisely during your job search.
For example, you can decide what data LinkedIn will save when you apply to a LinkedIn Jobs posting, ensure recruiters see the companies you want to work for by creating a job alert, and choose options for openly showing your Profile updates or activity.
If you’re in a job search, tune your LinkedIn Settings under Edit Your Public Profile, Who Can See Your Last Name, or Sharing Your Profile When You Click Apply, among other settings.
These options will allow you to create a Public Profile (visible from outside LinkedIn and findable by search engines), show your activity (which is important if you’re engaging in professional discussions within your industry), and share your Profile with companies when you apply on LinkedIn Jobs.
Staying visible on LinkedIn is also important; you won’t benefit if your photo or other identifying information isn’t readily apparent. For more insights on best options for your Settings, see Serious LinkedIn Mistakes Making You Harder to Find.
2 – Follow ideal employers on LinkedIn.
When you follow companies on LinkedIn, you get a front-row seat to their announcements, including information on new divisions, company updates, and job openings.
As an added bonus, the company will notice you are among their followers if you decide to apply to their LinkedIn Job postings – which quickly indicates your interest in what they do and could signal your intent to become a top employee.
3 – Built a healthy set of LinkedIn Connections.
LinkedIn is built on the premise that you’ll engage with both those you know and people you’d like to meet – so don’t turn down invitations!
Ensure your Profile grows to at least 1,000 connections in order to maximize your ability to reach others (and for employers to discover you).
Remember, every connection could be your lifeline to a recruiter’s call or a prime new job opportunity.
4 – Swap out your Cover Image (behind your headshot).
Instead of the default, bland cover image provided by LinkedIn, add some color to your Profile by adding a photo or illustration aligned with your industry and personal brand.
For example, a technology leader could find an image representing the speed of technical connections or a city with apparent Wifi hotspots shown on it. A creative professional could either build a new graphic image showing their interests, or find an illustration showing the phases of creative work.
You can find new images for your Cover Photo that fit the horizontal image requirements at sites like Canva.com, Big Stock Photo, Dreamstime, or Pexels – most of which offer free or reduced-price downloads.
5 – Add sufficient keyword content to your Profile.
Resumes aren’t the only place you need keywords!
Strengthening your keyword density will help your Profile rank higher in employer searches, so add your areas of specialty to your Headline, About, Job Titles, and Skills sections.
To find the right keywords, use job descriptions from postings in your industry, then paste the text into a tag cloud tool such as TagCrowd or WordClouds. You’ll quickly see the most prominent words to incorporate in your Profile (assuming you have these skills).
By adding these terms in the above fields and sections, you’ll stand a better chance of being sought for roles aligned with your target jobs.
6 – Develop (and stick to) a LinkedIn engagement strategy.
Look around at the users you see all the time and how well-connected they are! Because LinkedIn rewards those who comment on and share content, they’re popping up in your feed with a highly visible presence.
It’s easy to create an engagement strategy like this for yourself by committing to spending a few minutes on the site each day: first, note activity related to your professional interests, then post a comment.
Interaction and engagement (such as comments, posts, polls, and articles) can raise your visibility – enabling employers to become more aware of you and colleagues to start featuring you on their posts.
Are You Making the Top LinkedIn Mistakes in Your Job Search? points out how you can use engagement to elevate your presence among competing job hunters and become more widely known as a thought leader.
7 – Actively use and tune your feed on LinkedIn.
As mentioned above, a commenting strategy will benefit you as a job seeker, especially when you provide feedback on topics relevant to your profession.
Not only will others notice your activity, but your comments will also serve as a history of your actions whenever someone views your LinkedIn Profile.
You can also “tune” your feed to ensure LinkedIn shows you content of value to your career, as described in LinkedIn’s tips on Best Practices to Customize What You See on Your LinkedIn Feed.
8 – Remove your current job title from your LinkedIn Headline.
Your LinkedIn Headline allows 220 characters – so why waste them advertising your employer? Your current job is added by default, but you can expand it to show your expertise and emphasize a future-focused career goal.
In The Surprising Problem With Your LinkedIn Headline, you’ll find reasons to carefully construct this field and leverage all the available space, along with examples.
Remember – your Headline introduces you before you’ll even have a chance to post content or connect with others. In 2022, make sure it’s compelling, intriguing, and keyword-rich.
9 – Publish or share articles on LinkedIn.
No matter your professional interests, there’s always an audience on LinkedIn.
By publishing articles on LinkedIn (or sharing white papers, blog posts, and other professional information), you can demonstrate an area of skill, discuss trends in your industry, or consistently promote your knowledge as a thought leader.
In How to Create LinkedIn Articles People Will Read and Share, Social Media Examiner points out simple ideas for choosing a topic of professional interest, inserting images, and sharing a new article.
Remember that articles will show in your Activity feed when other users click on your Profile. If you’re creating content related to your professional and leadership strengths, employers will also be able to get a glimpse of your strengths and professional skills.
10 – Get and use a branded LinkedIn headshot.
Your LinkedIn photo is one of the first items others see when they look at your Profile or see your comments. Ensure it represents you as a leader and sought-after expert in your field – putting your best foot forward in 2022.
While a professional headshot is still an advantage as a job seeker, you can also enlist a friend or family member to take an array of photos – enabling you to choose one that suits your personality and reflects your energy and enthusiasm.
After you’ve selected a new headshot photo for LinkedIn, you can also turn to Photofeeler.com, where viewers can vote on how well it represents your leadership personality and credibility.
11 – Browse (and apply) for LinkedIn Jobs.
Finding a job on LinkedIn – and throwing your hat in the ring – has never been easier than it will be in 2022. However, it’s a good idea to be aware of best practices in applying for a job on the site.
For example, there’s an Easy Apply function on LinkedIn that lets employers see your Profile. However, you may want to hold off unless you’ve expertly tuned your Profile to represent your value proposition.
As stated on The Muse in Here’s When You can Use the “Easy Apply” Option on LinkedIn (and When You Can’t), it’s a good idea to ensure your Profile clearly aligns with the target job and is easy for employers to recognize as a great fit.
Most career experts recommend submitting both a branded resume and LinkedIn Profile when applying via LinkedIn to ensure you’ve covered all the bases.
12 – Earn (and display) a LinkedIn Skills badge.
In 2022, there are even more opportunities to show what you know by placing a Skills badge on your Profile. Rolled out a while back, Skills Assessments are used to verify specialized knowledge in software development, Microsoft Power BI, Adobe XD, and other areas.
To earn a badge, look for Skills Assessments in LinkedIn Help to see the type of proficiencies listed in Technical, Business, or Design categories. Select and complete the desired exam; if you score in the top 30%, you’ll be able to place the badge on your Profile.
13 – Visit and capitalize on your LinkedIn alumni section.
Don’t miss out on the valuable networking and referrals you can gain from leveraging your alumni connections! LinkedIn even provides a free tool called Alumni to help you learn all about other users and their networks.
Here, you can search for your alma mater (or any other university, for that matter), then click on Alumni to access a wealth of networking information on where these former students work, live, and their areas of study.
This research can give you solid ideas on the companies that hire graduates of your university, and of course, provide you with an opening conversation point to network with them.
14 – Remove negative content from your LinkedIn posts.
If 2020 and 2021 have shown us anything, it’s that volatile subjects can take center stage, especially on social media. Don’t let this happen with your professional identity!
You’ll quickly find out that employers and recruiters will do a thorough search of your social media to find out more about you as a leader and candidate.
It’s easy for other users to view your LinkedIn Activity (which shows MONTHS of history when someone clicks “See all activity” on your Profile). Therefore, it’s best to keep your actions free of volatile topics, political sentiments, and other potential landmines that can make employers wary.
15 – Write a better LinkedIn About section.
Think of your About section as a summary of achievements – and use it to tout them!
The About section is one of the best tools to introduce yourself on LinkedIn. You can mention your success stories, talk about your passion for your field, and incorporate keywords that will help others discover your Profile.
In How to Write a Knockout LinkedIn Summary, I describe different ways to format a powerful message and content that you can be proud to display. Don’t stop there; tune your About section on a regular basis to find out which content produces the best results.
16 – Pay attention to (and leverage) Who Viewed Your Profile statistics.
LinkedIn offers the ability to look at visitors to your Profile (on a free account, you must also enable others to see you, so check your Settings to ensure you are visible while viewing others’ Profiles).
Now that you can see who is looking at your Profile, decide on a strategy for using this data. Will you reach out to others? If so, you can share a quick note indicating you’d like to connect or chat.
You can also interpret the users visiting your Profile as a sign of who you are attracting… and make adjustments to your content, connections, and activity based on these findings.
17 – Swap outdated entries in your Skills & Expertise section.
Perhaps you’ve only given minimal thought to the Skills listed on your Profile – or you haven’t populated them at all.
In 2022, you’ll want to quickly put new data in this section! It’s used by recruiters to search for candidates with your background.
If you’ve already populated Skills, review your entries to ensure they still represent your desired career path. You might also find some redundancies, such as Product Management and Product Management Strategy, for example. If this is the case, deleting one of these entries will allow you to add another (the limit is 50 Skills).
Use job descriptions to find desirable skills in your field, then add these to your Skills section; you can even pin your most valuable competencies to the top, where they’ll be featured prominently.
18 – Give a LinkedIn Recommendation – or ask for one.
If you’re wondering how you can help a colleague knee-deep in a job search, here’s an easy answer: write them a LinkedIn Recommendation. Employers will often look at this section for clues to a candidate’s strengths.
Not sure what to write? Reference a project or the skills you’ve witnessed in your colleague’s work. You can also mention this person’s reputation as a problem-solver, leader, or highly motivated employee.
On the same note, consider asking for a Recommendation from others who’ve witnessed your skills in action. How to Ask for a LinkedIn Recommendation That Works for You covers the best ways to approach and request a testimonial from your network.
19 – Pick up a new skill using LinkedIn Learning.
Just like other professional development and training programs, you can complete LinkedIn Learning courses (available for free to Premium users) and show the entry in your LinkedIn Education section.
The only problem you might have? Selecting the courses you want from the more than 5,000 LinkedIn Learning entries in categories such as Leadership and Management, Professional Development, Human Resources, Sales, and much more.
Like Skills Badges, LinkedIn Learning courses will be shown on your Profile after completion, with an entry in Licenses and Certifications. So not only can you pick up more valuable skills, you can also “advertise” them to future employers in 2022 and beyond.
20 – Add content to your Featured section (for a prominent display on your Profile!).
Another benefit to posting on LinkedIn or publishing Articles? You can showcase this content in the Featured section on your Profile.
To get started, view your Profile and click on Add Profile Section, where you’ll see Featured as an option. You can use the prompts to add any of your Posts, Articles, Links, or Media related to your work – including the URL for any sites on which you’ve been published or written content.
LinkedIn also allows you to rotate or rearrange the entries in your Featured section, so continue to add and shuffle these items according to the attention they draw from others in your network.
21 – Endorse others for Skills you’ve witnessed in use.
Endorsing another user on LinkedIn is simpler than you think – and there’s a host of reasons to do it. For one, you could be featured on their Profile just for doing so.
However, the main reason is that you’ve seen their expertise up close and want to commend them for these skills.
LinkedIn will occasionally prompt others to endorse you for your Skills. You can, of course, hasten the process by asking colleagues for Endorsements or endorsing them for their strengths.
In How to Endorse Someone on LinkedIn and Should You Do So?, you’ll find tips on best practices for issuing a quality endorsement to other users.
22 – Consider running a Poll.
While you can easily issue a post, share an article, or comment on others’ posts, LinkedIn Polls tend to garner a significant amount of attention – and when done right, this attention can benefit your job search.
First, decide what professional message you want to send with a Poll – and what you want to learn about your audience in doing so. You may want to ask a question related to your field of expertise, or post additional information that helps others consider their Poll answers.
Get familiar with Polls by taking a look at How to Use LinkedIn Polls for Better Engagement. Better yet, look around at some of the Polls you see on LinkedIn to see which Polls generate the most responses.
Then, get started by initiating a Poll of your own, noting the reactions you’ve generated and the traffic it produces. You may just want to continue realizing the benefits of a Poll and the discussion it generates!
This list of LinkedIn tips for 2022 is just the beginning!
To conduct an effective job search, get comfortable with LinkedIn. Learn how to navigate the site, find valuable contacts, issue comments and recommendations, notice changes, and apply for jobs.
You’ll see a corresponding increase in the ROI from LinkedIn by doing so… and set yourself up for more success in 2022.
