How to write a LinkedIn profile that people remember by Charli Matthews, trainer and writer at The Writer on 13-Jun-2012

When we were looking for an army of freelancers we turned to LinkedIn. We shuffled through the site hoping some profiles would pop out at us. But few did. I think it’s because a LinkedIn profile is pretty much just a CV online. And for most people a CV means writing formally, writing a lot and being a bit dull.

So, I’m launching a one-woman crusade to liven up LinkedIn. Join me. I’m going to give you four-and-a-half tips to get you going.

1. Make it more than memorable

If you have a good profile, people will remember it. But if you’ve got a great profile, people will talk about it. So ask yourself, does your profile pass the ‘forwardability test’? What little nugget is going to get people sharing it round the office? If there isn’t one, try something else from our list.

2. Prove that you’re as great as you say you are

Telling people, ‘I am a strategically minded individual that works well under pressure’ does not make it so. In fact, it’s sort of the equivalent of announcing to a room of people that you are incredibly intelligent, sexy and funny. Your audience is left thinking ‘I’ll be the judge of that, thank you’.

Back up what you say with facts, anecdotes or just more detail.

3. Find a theme

It could be, ‘If I knew then what I know now’ and you write your whole profile looking back over your career and showing what you’ve learnt along the way.

Or, ‘Things that kept me awake at night’ and you lead with those for each job. It really could be anything.

4. Use the words you’d use in conversation

Think about how you’d describe to your mum what you do or have done. You wouldn’t say your experience includes the ‘implementation of a company-wide initiative to reduce waste’. You’d say ‘I started an initiative to help my company reduce waste’. So write it down. That’ll get you away from the usual ‘dynamic, team player, proven track record’ fluff.

4½. Give your words a boost

Find words that’ll give your writing a kick. For example, instead of ‘Results-orientated professional’, you could say something like ‘I convinced the boss to take a punt on my strategy and it worked’.

And when you give it a go, tell us how you get on at thewriter.com, or just find me on LinkedIn.

If you want more help with what you or your team write, ask about our free workshops. E-mail sarah.raeburn@thewriter.com in London and anya@thewriter.com in New York.

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