Get started on LinkedIn
Photo by Vlada Karpovich from Pexels
If you’re just starting out in the creative industries, your social media profiles may well be your only professional presence on the internet. Especially if the thought of setting up a website is a headache you’d rather delay. So whether you’re pitching for freelance work, applying for jobs or just trying to grow your network, your LinkedIn profile is a landing page for all kinds of opportunities.
01: Profile photo
Your profile photo is quite possibly one of the most important elements to your LinkedIn page. This is the first impression potential connections will make of you and it can be fatal if you’re not representing yourself in the best way possible. Below are a few key tips to choosing the right image:
Make sure it’s as up to date as possible, and ideally a headshot, on a clean background
For a more eye-catching headshot, why not go for a bold, block coloured background
Filters - don’t overdo it, but a tasteful black and white shot can be effective
Dress appropriately! Your headshot should feature you and how you want to come across to your audience. Take Goldie Chan as a badass example! Or Dom, going for the smart/casual cheeky smile.
02: Headline
A short, snappy summary of what you do. And by short, we mean really short (ideally less than six words). Keep this simple and relevant, selling yourself in as few words as possible. If you want to keep it simple, your job title and current place of work will do fine. Your headline, name and photo will be the only information fellow users see, unless they click on your profile to see more, so make sure that out of context it’s also effective.
03: About
Now here is really where you sell yourself. Tell us your story and give your future connections an insight into what makes you great at what you do. Mention your strengths, your background and passions. We’d definitely recommend you create a few drafts and share them around for feedback. Why not join The Arena Facebook group, our community are always happy to lend you their eyes and ears!
04: Education & experience
It’s important to remember that quite often visitors to your profile may not spend more than a minute scanning through, so focus on conveying your key takeaways, as succinctly as possible.
Include your education at the highest level (nobody needs to know which primary school you went to)
Include as much relevant experience as possible. The more wealth of knowledge future connections can see you have the better
Focus on quality over quantity. If you’ve got a huge range of experience and previous job roles, perhaps just feature the three most-respected or relevant to the career moves you want to make
05: Skills
Select a few key skills that are within your field of expertise to substantiate your description and give potential connections a snapshot of your creative abilities. There’s no need to go overboard though. In our opinion it’s always better to be excellent at three things than just ‘OK’ at ten.
06: Connect, connect, connect!
Now your profile is freshened up, it’s time to make some connections. Friends, family, it doesn’t matter, everyone starts somewhere. You could connect with your university tutors, any freelance clients you’ve worked for in the past and then follow any figures in your creative space you look up to!
And that’s really all there is to it! When in doubt, less is more and as always, you can reach out to The Arena community if you want a sounding board for your bio or some honest feedback on your profile.
