What Constitutes an “All Star” LinkedIn Profile?
Fun Fact: LinkedIn users with complete (aka, “All Star”) profiles are 40 times more likely to receive opportunities through LinkedIn. This is partly because complete profiles are ranked higher when someone does a search.
Whether you’re a W-2 employee, a 1099 contractor, solo entrepreneur, small business owner, corporate executive or job seeker, you need to confirm that your profile is 100{60023c7b1960a5fb9dae172379ca3153ba00fa4679a2b03978f428523be766b5} complete or at “All Star” status. (Oh, and ignore that tiny bit of white space at the top of the all star circle — it’s just there to torture some of us you-know-what types because it will never be filled!)
According to LinkedIn, a complete profile includes:
- Your industry and location
- An up-to-date current position (with a brief description of at least 200 characters – many people miss this)
- Two past positions
- Your education (include your high school, or coursework, if you’re a “some college,” like me)
- Your skills (minimum of 3)
- A profile photo (see below)
- At least 50 connections
A Note on Profile Photos
Everybody should have a profile photo on LinkedIn by now, and ideally that photo does not include a dog or a cat in it, or something that isn’t necessarily perceived as professional. Perhaps if you’re a pet groomer or veterinarian you might be able to get away with that, but, really, the photo is there not as a dating service type of photo (no full body shots). The photo is there so that people can recognize you and put a face to a name.
Let’s say you decided to meet someone for coffee after you connected on LinkedIn. Well, you want to be able to recognize each other at the Starbucks or the conference you’re both attending, don’t you? That’s what a profile photo is for! It’s not to show flair, where you’ve traveled or a hobby, it’s so people can recognize you should they need to meet you in person or get on a video conference call with you. And yes, a nice smile is best in the photo you choose.
Yet another reason to include and share a profile photo is to develop trust. There are still loads of fake profiles out there and most of them have a goose egg for a profile photo, so don’t get your legitimate presence on LinkedIn be confused with a fake one.
I’m still surprised by how many photos I see where there’s this very stern looking face glowering at me. Even if you’re a litigator, I don’t think that that’s the right sort of image to project — most of us still need to be perceived as approachable, especially online.
LinkedIn finally produced a very helpful video on getting the best profile photo whether you’re doing it yourself or with a pro. Check it out below:
This post is an excerpt from my new ebook on Amazon titled, “LinkedIn Savvy for Small Business: How to Get More Leads, Buzz and Connections on LinkedIn.”
You can get my FREE LinkedIn Profile Makeover tool just by registering for my Making Connections Matter monthly newsletter full of networking and LinkedIn tips, tricks, special offers and more registering for my Making Connections Matter monthly newsletter full of networking and LinkedIn tips, tricks, special offers and more here!
