Glow up your LinkedIn profile for a dazzling first impression (8 Tips)
Make a glowing impression on LinkedIn. Visually and verbally, create a glowing personal brand for your next employer, employee, industry contact or client.
With over 1 billion users, LinkedIn is the world’s biggest professional platform. Twenty years in the making, its influence is only growing.
Nearly 50 million users leverage LinkedIn weekly to search for jobs. By now, most savvy recruiters, potential employers and employees and prospective customers are also checking your LinkedIn profile as a non-negotiable part of their vetting processes.
Your LinkedIn profile should not be an afterthought. It’s the cornerstone of your online professional brand. If you’re looking to land your next job or expand your network, make sure your LinkedIn profile is giving others a glowing first impression of your personal brand.
Don’t think of your LinkedIn profile as that necessary thing you need to do when you want to start connecting using the platform. See it as the shop front window for your personal brand - showcasing why anyone would want to connect with you too.
In my earlier blogs, I’ve shared more about how to build your personal brand on LinkedIn and how to search engine optimise (SEO) your LinkedIn profile. But now, it’s time to get granular on how to glow up your LinkedIn profile.
Here are my top tips to give your LinkedIn profile a magnetic makeover:
1. Stand out in style for your LinkedIn profile headshot
We’re often told, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” It’s a nice idea - in theory. In 2006, Princeton Psychologists, Janine Willis and Alexander Todorov, published compelling conclusions about the speed at which first impressions are formed - an alarming tenth of a second.
Research participants were shown photographs of strangers’ faces. Longer exposure to the photographs only increased their confidence in their initial judgements. Trustworthiness showed the highest correlation. It suggested an accelerated ability to judge trustworthiness has been evolutionarily hardwired into humans. It forms a crucial component of our natural survival mechanism.
So, what if your LinkedIn profile headshot is what is sealing the fate of your next job opportunity or client? Tiny hacks can help:
Hair
A neat hairstyle for all should go without saying too much more. But, if you have more hair to work with consider, is your hair straight, curly or wavy? Super straight says sleek. A wave is more relaxed. Curls can come across as expressive.
Wardrobe
Dress for the job you want. What colour are you wearing? Colours have connotations. Colours communicate for you. Even a glimpse of your outfit speaks volumes for your LinkedIn profile and personal brand.
Make-up
A bit of make-up can help you look digital stage-ready and less washed out. It can be a subtle form of self-expression. Depending on your ideal roles, industry or clients, it can also be excessive. Apply make-up by being intentional about your LinkedIn profile goals.
Now, you’re lights, camera, action, ready. Don’t worry, just your phone, a neutral background and the help of a friend or family member are all you need to take your LinkedIn profile photo.
2. Instantly elevate your LinkedIn profile photo in post-production
In visual design, contrast is key. It makes the most important parts pop in a space - for your LinkedIn profile, that’s you!
Canva makes creating contrast like a professional embarrassingly easy:
Create a free Canva account (if you don’t already have one)
Create a new design using the profile image you’ve uploaded
Click Edit image
Click fx effects in the left-hand menu and select Auto Focus
…And, voila! In seconds, you have subtle depth-of-field for your LinkedIn profile picture. To feel extra elevated, apply a tasteful filter and go from dull to dazzling.
3. Be a headline act on LinkedIn
Your LinkedIn profile headline is the hook for your personal brand. It can blend into the background, while your potential next employer or customer finds a more exciting option. Or, it can project main character energy.
While I love a creative headline, for me clarity trumps clever. So, first, decide on what keywords you want to target. Then, build your headline from there. As succinctly as possible, communicate:
Your value
Who you can help
How you help them
4. Do a visual edit of your LinkedIn profile
Nobody wants to climb over a wall of words to understand your value. Your LinkedIn profile should be read, not deciphered. With your target SEO words in mind, create your LinkedIn profile’s About Me. I shared the specifics of storytelling for your About Me bios in my earlier blog - use it to help plan this section of your LinkedIn profile.
To glow up your LinkedIn profile, edit it from a visual point of view:
Break up large paragraphs of text into bite-size gems
Add headlines to communicate key ideas
Add emojis to highlight key points
Use dot points (also valuable to other areas of your profile)
5. Draw people in through your shop front window
Don’t use the default LinkedIn banner on your profile. Your LinkedIn banner is prime real estate - it’s the window display of your personal brand.
Update your LinkedIn banner to:
Tell a transformation story about your industry value
Show credibility (speaking engagement photos, books or awards)
Have a clear call to action for connecting with you directly or on other platforms
6. Remerchandise your value proposition on LinkedIn
Use the small, yet powerful features on your LinkedIn profile to elevate your visitors’ user experience. If they were a customer shopping your personal brand, how is your value being clearly presented?
For example, using the Featured section allows you to highlight what you most want your audience to see upfront.
The Activity section defaults to your latest posts, but it can be updated to feature your comments, articles, images, videos, newsletter or events instead. Depending on your activity in any of these areas, this is one of my favourite ways to glow up your LinkedIn profile in a matter of seconds.
7. Add your personal brand to your LinkedIn profile URL
Customise your LinkedIn URL. Ditch the default string of numbers and switch to something sleek—if available, this is ideally your name. This not only looks professional, but also makes it super simple to include on business cards, email signatures, and resumes. Plus, there is nothing like consistency in creating a stand-out personal brand.
8. Request reccomendations
Humans are social beings. We love social proof. We want others to confirm we’re making the right decision. As discussed, judging trust is a pivotal part of our survival instinct.
Recommendations are like covering your now glowing LinkedIn profile with magic sparkle dust. Just like the unicorn your next employer, industry contact or customer has been looking for.
Remember, your LinkedIn profile is a powerful tool for personal branding that can open doors to new opportunities, connections, and growth. So, is it time to glow up your LinkedIn profile?
