Today I’m going to talk about what I like to call “curb appeal,” how to improve the appearance of your home on LinkedIn, which is your LI profile.
Next week, I’m going to talk about strategies for making the most of LI. In other words, once you have an attractive home on LI, how you can invite people into your home and how you can go visit other people’s homes.
Here are my top eight improvements for your LinkedIn profile:
 
1. Your Photo.
This should be a professional headshot of you. There shouldn’t be anyone else in the photo and the picture should be close enough and clear enough that someone could find you in a crowd based on your LI photo.
I recommend updating your photo about every three years; more often if you’ve undergone significant change such as a drastically different hairstyle or large weight loss.
You don’t have to incur the expense of a professional photographer, although it’s a good idea. When I worked in higher education, the campus photographer was glad to do a headshot for me – I needed them anyway for other work-related purposes.
Your photo should be appropriate to your industry and profession. You should look like someone a stranger would be willing to reach out to.

2. Your Background.
Your LI profile came with a stock background photo that looks like a constellation. I recommend changing this to be in line with your professional brand.
In other words, if you’re an avid surfer, your background photo should not be of the waves in Hawaii unless you’re also a surfboard sales person.
As an alternative, you can use an illustration in the background that you like. It doesn’t represent your brand or profession, but doesn’t detract from it, either.
When I am doing this for my clients, I select four photos from pixabay.com and try each on my client’s profile. This way, I can see which one works the best with the client’s photo, brand, profession, etc.

3. Your Headline.
Your headline is the statement directly underneath your name on your profile.
You have 120 characters for your headline, and most people completely waste this valuable real estate.
You can include your current job title and employer, but keep in mind that your employer’s name shows up in that top box anyway. And if you’re looking for a new job, what good does it do to cement your current employer with recruiters?
Including your job title is important for SEO purposes, especially if the work you want to do next is in line with your current job title. Otherwise, you’ll want to figure out how to get your new desired job title in there without being overt.
Here’s an example: Let’s say you currently have the job title of Customer Service Representative, but what you want to move into is sales.
Here are a couple of ways you could express this in your headline:
Customer Service Representative | Proven ability to upsell, resolve complaints, and provide exceptional post-sale care
Customer Service | Inside sales | Post-sale care | Resolving customer complaints with exceptional critical thinking

Here’s another example: You are currently an Assistant Manager of a hotel restaurant, but you want to move into the reservations side of the hospitality business.
Here’s a possible headline:
Assistant Manager, Hospitality Industry | Providing exceptional customer service in the fast-paced hotel business
Notice that you didn’t mention the restaurant, because that’s not what you want to do moving forward.

What if you want to move up within your current career field? Don’t just tell them your job title, tell the reader how you add value:
Human Resources Coordinator | Experience with recruiting, hiring, onboarding, payroll, benefits, and training
Here’s another option:
Human Resources Coordinator | Generalist background | Strong leadership qualities | Certified Trainer
 
4. Your Summary.
You have approximately 1,980 characters for your summary, and most of you are using only a fraction of that, if any at all.
This is your chance to tell your story, and it SHOULD NOT BE