I spend a lot of time praising LinkedIn. I know. I know. It is a wealth of resources and potential when it comes to your job search. Not to mention some of the changes that have the biggest effect take the smallest effort.

Often people say to me, “I just don’t have the time to build out my LinkedIn profile.” While I agree, that signing up, building out and keeping up with career changes can be very time consuming, I also know of a few things you are all avoiding out of pure laziness. Yup, I just called you lazy. Hey, don’t get cranky…if the LinkedIn shoe fits…

Moving on. So what sort of things am I talking about? There are a  number of tweaks you can make to your profile that will show a possible recruiter or future employer that you are diligent, dependable, professional, and so on. Below are just a few of my favorites:

1. Specific URL’s

If your profile shows the image below, I want you to smack yourself in the back of the head:

Instead it should read like this:

 How to do this: Go into your settings and edit the Website Listings section. Change the listings to read—“Other” and then actually put in the words you want it to show. For example if you are linking to your blog, put the name of the blog in there. This gives it a personalized touch, and demonstrates your attention to detail to anyone who is checking out your profile.

2. Status Updates

Yeah I know you are tired of updating a million statuses. I hear you my friend, but unlike Facebook, Myspace, or Twitter you don’t have to update often for this platform to be successful. Instead I suggest you update the status when it’s most necessary.

This is an open place for you to announce “professionally relevant” information. Are you looking for a new job? Did you just speak at a conference? Did you finish a certification or complete an important project? Use this open space to promote your professional accomplishments. Here are some great examples:

 



3. Recommendations

Before you start rolling your eyes, let me plead my case. I know this one may take a few minutes, and perhaps you aren’t quite sure where to start with it, but trust me when I say—recommendations are the key to LinkedIn success.

Not only do they validate your profile in general, but they help your profile “rank” in the eyes of recruiters. When you get recommended your profile is featured in the Home Page feed. Like this:

As you can see, it not only shows your name and that you have been recommended but actually include a recommendation teaser. This is exactly the sort of thing top recruiters are keeping an eye out for. They want to see who is getting the praise and what for.  By taking the few minutes to blast your contact list with a recommendation request, you are assuring yourself face time with hiring managers, HR leads, and recruiters all over the nation.

Okay, so there you go—three ways to update your profile for success in minutes. Literally…minutes. If you are looking for more ways to gain an advantage with LinkedIn be sure to check out our Social Media Success section.

We know your time is precious, but just a few minutes doing the right things can make all the difference. Right now, something as simple as more recommendations than another candidate could be the deciding factor between your next unemployment check or a signing bonus.