Having trouble choosing the perfect professional photo? Not sure how to build up your network? LinkedIn is a powerful social networking tool for professionals, but it pays to make sure you're using it effectively. 

Fill out your profile

Take the time to complete your profile and fill out every section, the more employers know about you the better. It’s also useful to personalise your profile and show who you are as a person, share your passions and values.

Get a customer URL

A customer URL makes your profile much easier to find and share. To do so just go to the Edit Profile screen and click on "Your Public Profile URL". Click “Edit” next to the URL, and choose what you’d like your address to be and when you’re finished, hit "Set Custom URL".

Choose a great photo

A good profile picture goes a long way and should be clear, professional and friendly. If you’re not sure what type of photo to pick, look at the profiles of other people in your chosen industry.

Show off your achievements

Don’t be afraid to use numbers to reflect your results in previous roles and when writing your summary and experiences, use keywords from the job descriptions of companies you’re looking at.

Request a recommendation

When someone tells you how well you did on a project, don’t be afraid to ask for a recommendation and be selective about what qualities you want to highlight e.g. are you organised?

Build your network but be selective 

Branch out and try and have at least 50 connections on LinkedIn but also don’t add people you don’t know because if too many people reject your request, LinkedIn can shut down your profile.