Very recently, while writing a resume and cover letter for a client, I was asked, “Do I really need a LinkedIn profile?” The answer is YES. Do not stop. Do not pass “Go.” Do not collect $200.  Get your LinkedIn profile up and running today.

Here are some facts and statistics about LinkedIn:

• Total number of LinkedIn users: 500+ million
• Total number of LinkedIn business pages:  3 million
• 88 of Fortune 100 companies use LinkedIn’s software to search for job candidates
• 97.3% of staffing professionals overall used LinkedIn as a recruiting tool
• LinkedIn is known as the world’s largest professional social network
• LinkedIn is most often a “first port of call” for employers in their search for new employees

How big is LinkedIn today? Brenda Bernstein, author of How to Write a Killer LinkedIn Profile writes, “In 2011, 73% of all hires sourced from social media were sourced from LinkedIn as opposed to 20% from Facebook and 7% from Twitter.”  Today, that number has reached over 90%.

This begs the question, how do you make yourself more attractive on LinkedIn for potential employers?

Here are some tips to get you started:

List only relevant, professional work experience

If you were a waitress in college, but you are a marketing professional now, leave off the restaurant experience. Focus on listing the professional experience that best connects to your current and future career trajectory.

Have a professional picture

You know the rules. When you are job searching, the first thing employers do is Google your name and look to see what social media networks you are on. Do not have a photo taken at a bar, do not have a drink in your hand (unless it’s a bottle of water), and do not have a photo that you wouldn’t want an employer to have access to. Employers do judge a book by its cover.

Endorsements and recommendations are golden

Pick endorsements that you believe employers are looking for or ones your colleagues and peers know you excel in.  Have your network endorse those skills. Why? Employers are always searching through LinkedIn profiles for those key skills. When it comes to having  recommendations published on your LinkedIn profile, they allow potential employers to have insight into how you are viewed and valued. Focus on getting a mixture of recommendations so that you can be viewed from a wide-angle lens the same way an employer will be viewing you.

Increase your network

Make sure you have people in your industry as connections. You never know what that connection could lead to, or where the connection can take you. Join LinkedIn groups in your industry. Don’t be shy to join LinkedIn groups that are endorsed or followed by your prospective employer.

Why have a professional write your LinkedIn profile?  The answer is simple: a professional will know what to input into your LinkedIn profile and how to enable it to reel in the job interviews as well as build that personal brand.

Read: How to Leverage LinkedIn’s New Algorithm and Power Your Job Search

Have additional questions? Book a consultation with Wendi Weiner, The Writing Guru.