While my colleagues can help master your CV offline, I'm here to help master your online profile. Just like updating your CV, remember your LinkedIn page needs some love too.
The Benefits of LinkedIn
Networking and Social Media have now become the most popular and effective ways to develop your personal brand, find clients, sell services and not only fill a vacancy but also find one.
91% of recruiters use LinkedIn to find suitable candidates. Not only that, but they also use it to vet candidates before considering them for a position or, in our case, put them forward to a law firm.
As a result, this means how your LinkedIn looks could have a direct effect on increasing (or decreasing) your chances of successfully getting a job or being headhunted for a new opportunity in your specialist area.
How to Get Noticed on LinkedIn
Many people tend to create a LinkedIn profile and think, job done! But, unfortunately, just like most things in life, you need to put in the work to reap the rewards.
If you don't set time aside to work on your profile and content, you won't be searchable/appealing to potential clients and other industry professionals, or if you're looking for a new role – recruiters!
Here are some quick tips to perfect your profile
1. Set a good headshot and banner
No filters, please, (or photos from 10 years ago!). You can even ditch the stiff corporate headshot if you want. Showcase your natural smile, and give users a glimpse of your personality. This will go a long way.
Don't leave your banner blank. Ask the marketing team at your firm to provide one, or set one yourself. Unsplash is a great platform that provides free images. Presentation is key. You wouldn't turn up to an interview without your suit.
2. Nail your headline
A keyword-dense headline will help people to find you. State your title and give insight into your specialism and how you add value to clients. People should have a pretty good understating of who you are and what you do after reading this.
3. Spend time on your summary
A properly written summary showcases you are a confident legal professional and improves your searchability. Since you're creating a high-level round-up of yourself as a lawyer, consider highlighting your achievements, values, passions, goals and what sets you apart.
4. Outline your experience and academic achievements, but keep it precise
My colleague, Tito, wrote a great blog on CV tips. In this, she emphasises the importance of making the information easy to digest - the same applies to your LinkedIn profile.
When writing your experience section, keep these things in mind:
- Avoid large paragraphs—keep descriptions concise and easy to read. Consider using bullet points where appropriate.
- Summarise your positions by outlining responsibilities, how you added value and quantifying results from your time in each position. You are far better off providing examples of your work than simply giving a job description.
- Include links to law firm pages, especially for your current firm. Also, make it easy for people to contact you for service inquiries.
5. Stay relevant
When was the last time you updated your LinkedIn profile? Thats maybe why your reading this right?!
Remember to review your profile every three months or when something significant happens to ensure it's relevant to your network and recruiters. If you've changed practice focus or worked in a different space before you focused on law, curate your profile to only list experiences relevant to your current practice.
- Choose career highlights that lead to your current practice or passion for legal technology.
- Ensure everything that appears in your professional history reflects your specialist area, values and goals.
I hope this helps! Stay tuned for more advice on enhancing your personal brand and expanding your LinkedIn network. My email is also open to lawyers at any stage in their careers who want some advice with regards to personal branding: rebecca.adlington@sonderconsultants.com
