Many months ago, Why Your LinkedIn Profile is More Compelling Than Your Resume, became published in The Huffington Post, and word traveled fast. In fact, 300+ shares and over 20,000 views occurred.

On a daily basis, we speak with multiple job candidates who are seeking both an overhaul to their resume and a full makeover (or first-time creation) of their LinkedIn profile. With over 380 million users on LinkedIn, your profile becomes forever etched in social media. In stark contrast, your resume only becomes visible to those hand-selected few. The ability for self-plagiarism is constantly on the rise and widespread panic can erupt should an industry professional “copy” your prolific summary into his/her resume summary. Imagine the fury of applying to the same job only to realize that your creativity has now become someone else’s masterpiece. We can’t trademark our LinkedIn profiles, but we can take measurable precautions as follows:

1. Do ensure that your job dates match and your actual jobs match between your resume and LinkedIn. Mix up the details within the jobs. On LinkedIn, focus on shorter descriptions that are keyword-based. Don’t provide all of your accomplishments – save some for the resume. Avoid listing sales numbers, financial numbers, and other potentially proprietary information on your LinkedIn profile.

2. Craft a first-person summary if possible on your LinkedIn profile, but most definitely leave out the pronouns in your resume. Add articles (a, an, the, etc.)  in your LinkedIn profile, but minimize them in your resume.

3. Add flair to your LinkedIn profile with a background photo that encompasses your personality.

4. Add bullet points to your LinkedIn profile to jazz it up and break up the monotony of shorter-than-long paragraphs: ♦ ►◘ ✔ ✰ ✉ ☎

Here are some top tips to get you started on thinking differently about your LinkedIn profile.

Curious about what else your LinkedIn profile can do for you? Contact us for more information on how we can make your LinkedIn profile sell your value to millions of viewers and users.