Take advantage of LinkedIn’s newest feature to sell yourself as a job candidate

Posted February 7, 2014

LinkedIn has recently gotten much more dynamic. Most people think of LinkedIn as a place for a plain, print-heavy profile, with maybe a professional headshot to dress it up a little. But with LinkedIn’s 2013 introduction of its “Professional Portfolio” feature, you have a chance to make your profile really come to life and sell you as a candidate.

Having a Professional Portfolio isn’t only for artists or architects. No matter what you do, it lets you showcase your professional achievements by sharing the following visual content on your LinkedIn profile:

• photos
• links with images
• images
• infographics
• screenshots
• slideshare presentations
• ebooks
• blog posts
• portfolios
• videos

So if you can show your accomplishments, results, or samples of your work visually rather than saying it with text, then do so.

Here are a few ideas to consider:

1) Presentations

Did you know that LinkedIn Acquired Slideshare in 2012? If you have any presentations already uploaded to Slideshare, you can now include them in your profile.  Just go to “More” in the top-navigation of the page, select “Get More Applications,” then click “SlideShare Presentations” from the list of applications.

2) Highlight Your Social Media

Do you regularly engage in intelligent, professionally relevant discussions on Twitter? You can screenshot your best Tweets and include them here.

3) Display Your Visuals

Obviously, if you have any design work, photographs or other imagery that shows your best work, here is a great place to showcase it. Don’t forget infographics—they’re hugely popular everywhere in the digital world.

4) Make Your Writing Stand Out

Are you more about words than pictures? Then make a blog post or article or any other written materials more visible and visual. Again, take screenshots of your work and include a link to the article in the description. Think of the images as adding visual proof about what you are saying in your LinkedIn profile.

5) Include Video

Add a video resume or simply share an interesting video on your LinkedIn profile to give it some personality and attract attention from hiring managers. All you need is a YouTube account. You can add video to your profile within the summary or experience section. Just click the add icon and upload a file or add a link to your YouTube video.

Are you looking for more ways to stand out to employers? Why not give Team Ambassador a call? We’re always looking for more great candidates to introduce to our great client companies. If you are looking for local jobs, contact our team today.