Having a professional, well-curated LinkedIn profile is essential for both real estate professionals and job seekers today. However, many candidates don’t realize that what they are including in their profile may be making it harder to get hired. Below are a few tips to make the most of your LinkedIn profile.

Professional Profile Picture

Profile pictures are one of the first things that recruiters and hiring managers see when they visit your LinkedIn profile. Your picture should show you by yourself in professional clothing. It should not be a group photo where you have cropped others out, no matter how good you look. It should also be a crisp, high resolution photo taken by someone else. A blurry selfie doesn’t show your potential employer your best side. However, this does not mean you need a professional photographer to take a headshot for you. Simply ask one of your friends to help you stage a photo shoot with your cell phone cameras. As long as you are in indirect light, you should be able to find several good ones.

Don’t Use Clichés

Are you a team player? A people person? A results-driven professional? Can you imagine anyone saying “no” to any of these phases?

It is essential that your LinkedIn profile reflect your experience. But by resorting to cliched phrases, you are not showing potential employers much about either your previous job experience or who you really are. Your resume and LinkedIn should work together to market you to potential employers. Use the active voice as much as possible in your descriptions. Put yourself in the position of a recruiter and ask, would I want to learn more about this job seeker? Remember, if it is not a phrase you would use on your resume, it should not be in your LinkedIn profile.

Stay Focused on Business

Remember, LinkedIn is above all a business networking tool. LinkedIn is all about connecting with other professionals who may own, operate or invest in commercial real estate. Think of LinkedIn as a way to give your 30 second elevator pitch to people about yourself and your accomplishments. Employers and recruiters will look at your profile to see if you are a good fit for their business. Professionals will look at your profile to see if you are a good potential business partner. If you are sharing a professional accomplishment for you or your team, that’s great! However, you should save personal information and political views to be shared on other social media platforms.

Contact our recruiters to learn more about your profile and land your next job.