LinkedIn: “Women don’t promote themselves as well as men.” Let’s Change that.

In a rare feat, the discussion surrounding workplace gender in-equality has extended to professional networking platforms.  According to LinkedIn Research, women tend to downplay their skills and achievements as compared to men.

In fact, US women on average include 11% less skills than men on their LinkedIn profile,even at level occupations and experience.  This is pretty surprising considering that US Women contribute to $7.6 Trillion of the nation’s GDP.

Here are two of the key observations from the research:

1. Women tend to have shorter profile summaries
2. Women list down lesser skills as compared to men

Considering that profiles with 5+ skills receive up to 17 times more traction others, this is a huge red flag.

The contribution of women in academics and boardrooms is paramount, and it is time that their LinkedIn Profile reflects the same.

This article highlights women professionals can effectively project their linkedIn profiles, access their desired jobs and get in touch with the right networks for their professional growth.

Check out these amazing tips to help your LinkedIn profile stand out.

1. How To Craft An Eye-Catching Headline

One of the first viewed parts of your LinkedIn profile, the headline is the first 4 to 5 lines which appear right below your name in LinkedIn.

The headline should be short, definitive and most importantly project a clear picture of your professional acumen.

Example: “Digital Strategist with a proven track record of increasing digital outreach by 30%-40%”

2.How To Write An Impressive Summary

Your profile summary is your chance to create a good first impression, hence it must be splendid.

Here are a few pointers to create a splendid first impression:

• The first sentence must accentuate who you are and what skills you possess that will help you add value to others.
• Your summary must first contain the kind of work that you been involved with, projects that you have taken up and/or your professional achievements.
• Add transferable and soft skills like problem solving, team management, etc.
• Include appropriate words so that people in your domain can relate to you.

3. Use Boolean Search Method

Presently,the advanced search option is reserved only for recruiters.
Without it, finding your desired results from more than 500 million profiles can get very tedious.

However, Boolean Search is the perfect substitute for advanced search and can help you in considerably narrowing down your search results.

While handling searches, the overall order to precedence of the Boolean Operators are:

• Quotes [“”]
• Parentheses [()]
• NOT
• AND
• OR

So frame your search keywords accordingly to get the desired results.

4. Use Appropriate LinkedIn Language

• Almost every LinkedIn Profile has buzzwords like “Responsible”, “Creative”, “ Analytical” and so on.
• They do not add any definitive value to your profile, so avoid them at all costs.
• Instead, mention quantifiable achievements to showcase your profile in the best light.
• Example: Increased annual productivity by 43%, Reduced attrition rate by 2X

5.How to present your Endorsements

Your profile page displays the 12 most recent endorsements on the top.

Since your skills are ranked on the basis of your endorsements, reorder the first 12 endorsements on the basis of the what value the add to your profile.

Generally, endorsements belonging to your boss or colleagues should ran at the top.

6. How To Connect With The Right Networks

 Networking with your industry is extremely important to stay updated and connect with the right people.

LinkedIn understands this and hence it has designed ‘LinkedIn Groups’ to help you stay connected with your network.

Here is how you can search for relevant groups on LinkedIn:

-Key in the relevant keywords or the group name directly in the search box.

-Click the “Groups” tab on the search page.

7.Use LinkedIn Features Find Your Ideal Job

 Looking for a new job? Check out these amazing features that will help you in your job search:

1. Open Candidates. If you have a job but are looking for a switch, this is a feature tailored for you.With Open Candidates, you can privately signal recruiters that you are open to new opportunities.
2. Open Profile. LinkedIn allows you to connect with either your first degree connections or your group members. An Open profile is a premium LinkedIn feature that allows you to message any member on that platform , even if you are not connected by mutual interests.
3. Mentor Match. This is the latest feature on the block, currently in the beta testing phase. LinkedIn has curated a hand-picked list of potential mentors, who will be given options about their preferred mentees,in their first/second degree connections or from their alumni network. Over the time, the option to mentor will be available to everyone.

8.Call To Action

Never make the mistake of not having  your contact details on your profile.

Have a creative and simple CTA like “I’m always up for a challenge. So, if you have one, contact me at example@gmail.com”

LinkedIn has more than 10 million active jobs and is home to more than 500 million profiles.

By not promoting yourself effectively, you are missing out on opportunities to land your ideal job.

The above tips are tried and tested by several professionals, and we hope that they will go a long way in helping you grow professionally.

This guest post was authored by Abhyank Srinet