It can be your passport to opportunities not just in lean times but at all times

It’s a familiar and oft-repeated scenario. You’re unhappy in your current job and looking for a change, and that’s when go back to crafting and tweaking your LinkedIn profile which, ironically enough, hasn’t been touched since you were last in this situation! Pretty much sums up the broken, dysfunctional relationship many professionals have with their LinkedIn profiles, doesn’t it? It needn’t be this way though—you can make the world’s largest professional platform work for you, possibly even propel you to new opportunities, even when you’re not actively scouting for a job! Sounds interesting? Well then, read on for tips to keep in mind to fully leverage your LinkedIn presence.

Profile Pictures: Whoever said that a picture was worth a thousand words was spot on, because according to LinkedIn, adding a profile picture makes your profile seven times more likely to be viewed by others. What’s more, a photo allows your profile to stand out in search results and shows recruiters that you’re active and can be contacted on the network easily. But keep in mind; ideally, the image should be a headshot, and you should always choose a photo that is contextually correct for the job or role you’re currently playing (or seeking). If you’re a chef, a picture in the kitchen works, or a ‘through the camera lens’ photo if you’re a photographer, but don’t pick one of yourself from last weekend’s party…unless you’re a party planner!

Media: Why stop at just the profile picture? Your profile doesn't have to be all plain old text and LinkedIn lets you upload a whole host of media–images, videos, presentations, and documents–that not only make your profile more engaging but also show off your work. Just click on the ‘square with a + symbol’ icon when you’re editing your profile to upload a file or a link to the content you want to share.

Keywords: Whether you’re selling products online or your own professional presence, the rule is the same—think in keywords. While filling out the text of your LinkedIn profile, think about the keywords people might enter into a search to find someone like you. So, even if your job title technically is “Member, Technical Staff” but you’re really a “software engineer”, use the latter. If you’re unsure what words to use, go look at the job listings that best describe your current role, and use similar words and language. There are no bonus points for exceptionally fancy words, so keep the language simple and search friendly. Over time, you can test whether you're attracting the right people to your profile simply by checking the “Who’s Viewed Your Profile” statistics for the list of keywords that people used to arrive at your profile. If you don’t like what you see, adjust the way you describe yourself.

Endorsements: The relatively new feature, which can be found under your Skills & Expertise, lets your connections vote for skills and proficiencies you’ve listed within your profile, as well as recommend new ones they think should be included. As popular a feature it is, endorsements can be a double-edged sword, especially if your network has connections that don’t know you very well and have possibly met you just the once or twice at a professional event. Endorsements from such folks can be misleading or downright incorrect and detract from the skills you think should shine on your profile. Consider pruning your endorsement list to feature your strongest, core skills—just edit your profile and you can choose to either remove individual skills or endorsements from select connections, or if don’t find the feature particularly useful, you can remove the endorsement section altogether from your profile.

Groups: Joining professional groups on Hipposaur LinkedIn that relate to your industry is a no-brainer, but what if you would like to know which ones are best suited for you before you join? When you find a group that looks interesting, click the More tab below the group’s name and select Group Statistics, which reveals details about the group’s demographics, such as the seniority of the group members in their organizations/careers, where they are based and what industries they’re from.

Activity Broadcasts: Each time you update your profile, no matter how small the edit, the activity is broadcast to your connections, which may not be ideal if you’re updating your profile to ready yourself for a job change. Fortunately, LinkedIn lets you mute your activity broadcasts—just head to the Privacy & Settings page, and use the “Turn on/off your activity broadcasts” option.

Recommendations: On an ongoing basis, build credibility by asking the connections who you have actively worked with for a recommendation. It may make sense to approach different people and suggest particular skills or experiences which you would like them to highlight, to give recruiters a well-rounded view of your past work. Ask well before you need the recommendation – personal experience tells me people invariably take their time when asked for a recommendation.

Resume Builder: Now that you’ve crafted and tweaked your LinkedIn profile to perfection, why not use it whenever you need an offline copy of your resume, say for an interview? LinkedIn’s Resume Builder, available at resume.linkedinlabs.com lets you generate one quickly based on your profile. Just connect the app to your account, and within moments, it generates a preview of your resume. You can choose from a number of templates and make edits right on the page. From there, you can save or share the resume to your contacts.