Although the traditional CV is far from dead, many employers are still clamouring to see a fresh approach to job hunting. As a contractor, the online space is ideal for picking up new work, so it’s important to present yourself properly. With this in mind, we’ve collected some advice to help you make the most out of your LinkedIn profile – you never know who’s going to see it!
Make Your Summary Engaging
Your personal summary is the first thing that people will see on your profile after your headline – it has to pack a real punch and show off your personal and professional qualities in a short space of time. Although we don’t recommend making it sound too silly or casual, injecting some of your personality is an excellent way to stand out from every other contractor and freelancer. Also, bear in mind that since LinkedIn introduced the ‘read more’ tab on summaries, fewer people read the whole thing – you have to either keep it short or make it too irresistible to not carry on reading.
Tag Your Past Experiences
When you add a company onto your profile, you have the chance to select said company from a drop down list (as long as they have a company page) – doing this will display the company’s logo in your experiences section, drawing they eye to each entry and demonstrating that you’re proud of your past experience.
Keep it All Relevant
If you’re aiming to service a specific sector or if your particular brand of contracting is specifically niche, try to keep your work experiences relevant (get rid of the two months you spent working behind a bar, for example), but always keep all of your skills on the profile – they’ll show you’re flexible and willing to learn more.
Plenty of Skills
Don’t just keep your old skills on your profile – add more! Think of everything you’ve ever done and include each one to show off your range. Following that, ask some friends and past clients to endorse you – or go and endorse some of your 1st connections and you’ll quickly find they often return the favour.
Show Off Past Achievements
Have you written an eBook? Have you got a qualification in a different field? Include all of it. LinkedIn gives you the option of including photos, videos and documents on your profile now, so take advantage of those features by including a selection of your previous work. After all, this is your interactive CV and it’s here for you to show off!
Proofread Everything
Finally, for your own sake: make sure everything is clear and all spellings are correct – such things are likely to stop employers from reading any more of your profile mid-sentence. Use Word to check a spelling, but don’t trust LinkedIn on browsers such as Chrome – unless specified otherwise on the settings, it will show you American spellings.
Looking for a contractor accountant that understands your financial needs? Get in touch with Gorilla Accounting – contractor specialists – to find out how we can help!
