LinkedIn is a social network with about 550 million users worldwide. Alongside the option to run sponsored ads for products or various companies, it is also an excellent platform for job searching since it is defined as a professional platform. As a result, many recruiters work with it – posting company jobs, actively reaching out to users who meet their requirements, and more. Therefore, personal branding on LinkedIn is especially important for job seekers as well as for people who want to network and build professional connections that will help them down the road.
Looking for a job? Trying to understand how to do it with LinkedIn? Want to work on personal branding? We are here to explain everything.
Personal Branding - What for?
Think about Apple. What are the first traits that come to mind? You probably think of an expensive product that conveys elegance and prestige. In short, this is personal branding: your way of presenting a specific image of yourself and making the world think of you in a certain way. LinkedIn gives you a great opportunity to create personal branding that will give you many advantages over others. Creating your personal LinkedIn profile is a great way to present yourself to potential recruiters and business partners in the path you wish to follow in the future.
The Advantages of LinkedIn for Personal Branding
The social network LinkedIn has more than a billion members worldwide. Over 1.3 million Israelis are active daily.
The majority of LinkedIn users are tech-savvy users who fall under the business and private sectors
In light of the previous point, LinkedIn allows you to reach senior decision-makers
All placement agencies as well as recruitment coordinators at various companies in the market post jobs on LinkedIn and search for candidates through it
Your personal profile influences the willingness to hire you – it serves as a resume
Personal Profile on LinkedIn - Why is it so important for personal branding?
The purpose of a personal LinkedIn profile is to present all information about you in a clear and easy-to-read manner, to brand yourself, stand out among other candidates, and help you find a job. Think of your personal LinkedIn profile as a business card.
So how do you do it right? Here are a few tips:
Adding a Profile Picture and Cover Photo
- Profile picture – Unlike other social networks, the main photo on LinkedIn should be high-quality and professional, with a neutral background, preferably with a smile. Don’t forget that a first impression determines a lot of your future path, and in your case – this is the first time the potential recruiter will see you.
- Cover photo – Choose a photo that characterizes you (area of interest). Make sure the picture is not too loud and colorful so that it doesn’t distract from the important details.
Tag Yourself as "Open to work"
One of LinkedIn’s features allows you to mark your profile as “Open to work”. Once you activate this feature, recruiters understand that you are looking for a job and may reach out to you. Beyond that, LinkedIn allows you to block recruiters from your current company in order to avoid awkward situations. In addition, LinkedIn gives you the option to add this phrase to your profile picture to make yourself stand out.
Editing Contact Details
Link to your personal profile – It is recommended to create a custom shortened link to the profile so that it looks “cleaner”.
Adding a phone number / address / email can help potential recruiters reach out to you in the future.
Editing Personal Details
Headline – Write a sentence that characterizes you professionally. Avoid writing headlines that are unclear or unrelated to your professional aspect. It is important to choose keywords that characterize your field of work and have a high search volume. This is a great way for you to appear in recruiters’ search results. Struggling to find a headline that reflects your passion for the profession as well as your skills? You can take inspiration from Hubspot, which provides several interesting examples.
Current workplace – Add your current workplace and the time period you have been working there.
- Academic institution – Add your place of study. Although experience often trumps a specific academic institution, it is still a certain advantage in the job market at certain companies.
Editing the "About" Section
This section is meant for one purpose: your story. Write who you are, what you specialize in, what your professional passion is, and where you work. You are welcome to add hobbies, important projects you took part in, and generally anything intriguing and unusual that can help you stand out from others.
Please note, LinkedIn dedicates 2,000 characters to this section; use them wisely and remember that they are part of the first impression you are going to make on a potential recruiter or new business partner. Don’t write something too long – 2-3 paragraphs are enough
Work Experience - Show employers what value you bring with you
Detailing your work experience is important for several reasons:
- You show potential recruiters what you have been doing in recent years and what skills you demonstrate.
- Credibility – Employers want to choose candidates with a continuous employment history.
- If you worked during your degree years, this is a major advantage. It shows seriousness, the ability to multitask, and indicates that you are hungry to learn.
Within each job, you can elaborate on exactly what you did, what your responsibilities were, etc.
Professional Certifications
If you have received certifications or credentials in the field you worked in, it is appropriate and important to mention them:
What are your Skills?
It is recommended to add as many skills as possible, and ask people to endorse these skills – this will help employers find you!
Recommendations
Ask for recommendations from different people: colleagues, employees, and managers (including former ones). This gives the potential recruiter another perspective on you.
Languages and Projects
Knowing multiple languages is definitely an advantage in the job market. Therefore, list the languages you speak and emphasize them.
In addition, if you worked on a specific project during your degree, participated in a competition and won – that’s important! Talk about them.
Interests
The interests you can add to your profile are very important. This is a great way for recruiters to search for candidates across the platform and find them based on the interests required for the role. For example, if you are a Tel Aviv University graduate and interested in marketing, enter the relevant interests.
Adding a Featured Section
In this category, you should add articles you wrote, websites you built, relevant images, and more.
Adding Connections on LinkedIn
Make sure to add at least 500 connections (above 500 connections, LinkedIn does not show the exact number of your connections). This is very important for networking, and job offers often come from unexpected places. A very convenient way to do this is to sync your phone contacts so that LinkedIn can find matching people on the network. This way, you can quickly find people you hadn’t thought of.
Joining Groups
Search for groups in areas that interest you and join them. In addition, add relevant connections from the industry. This will help recruiters find you
Example of a good-looking LinkedIn profile:
Here is an example from Liron Avraham of Outbrain, who in my opinion built an impressive LinkedIn profile:
Dashboard - How to see who viewed your profile?
Go to your dashboard, where you can see who has viewed your profile in the last 90 days and how many searches you appeared in.
Please note: For LinkedIn users without a Premium account, it is not possible to see everyone who viewed your profile.
You can send connection requests to those who viewed your profile, and even reach out to them with a message; this way you will expand your network and be able to develop conversations with key people in the field
Summary
As we presented, LinkedIn is one of the best channels to search for a job and do so in an organized and correct way. The way you present yourself on LinkedIn can lead you to your dream role, if you just put in the effort and create an undeniable personal brand for yourself. The way to do it is simple: all you have to do is follow the steps that LinkedIn lays out for you and fill in your strengths in the most detailed manner, so that recruiters and business partners can get a broad and accurate picture of you, and this way you will also be able to advertise on LinkedIn more conveniently.
To watch the lecture on Personal Branding, Networking, and Job Searching via LinkedIn that I gave at Tel Aviv University:
About the Author
Or Fialkov is the CEO and owner of Fialkov Digital, a digital marketing and advertising agency. He runs paid campaigns on Google, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and TikTok, and builds websites and landing pages. He also implements AI in businesses, including AI agents, agentic marketing automation, AI reporting systems, GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), and AI video for campaigns.
