LinkedIn Profile Optimization Guide

1. Photo and headline

• Use a recent head-and-shoulders photo with a plain background and even light.
• Write a headline that names the work you do and who it helps. Example: “Bookkeeper for small service businesses.”
• Skip slogans that do not say what you actually do.

2. About section

1. First two lines: the role you want and the people you help.
2. Next: three skills or tools you use, with a short example of each.
3. Close with the kind of role, client, or project you want next.

Write in the first person. Use short sentences. Put the most important work in the first paragraph, because LinkedIn shortens the rest.

3. Experience

• List roles in date order, including freelance and volunteer work that matches the career you want.
• Start each bullet with a verb and a result: what you did, for whom, and what changed.
• Name the tools you used, such as QuickBooks, Excel, Canva, or a project tracker.
• Remove duties that do not support the headline.

4. Skills, featured work, and contact

• Pin the skills that match the roles you want. Remove skills you cannot demonstrate.
• Feature one sample, certificate, or short post that proves the headline.
• Turn on a way for people to contact you, and say what messages you welcome.
• Use the same name and photo you use on your resume and portfolio.

Checklist before you publish

• A stranger can tell what you do in under ten seconds.
• The headline, About section, and latest role all describe the same kind of work.
• Every bullet has a task and an outcome, not only a job title.
• Custom profile URL, location, and industry are filled in.
• You proofread names, dates, and tool spellings.