# Building a LinkedIn
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This guide replicates professional advice shared by [Linkedin experts](https://www.linkedinguys.com/) in 2022.
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## Checklist
* Do you have the perfect **profile photo** (headshot, smiling, correct attire)?
* Does your **headline** match your desired job title?
* Does your **summary** include both keywords + accomplishments?
* Does your work **experience** include your resume bullets?
* Does your **education** include your accomplishments outside of class?
* Do your skills match the desired **skills** on your dream job description?
* Do you have at least one **recommendation**?
## Profile Photo
Finding a stellar image for your Linkedin profile is critical, because recruiters and colleagues will see your contact data in a small format, so that image itself may be the only legible part of your profile in some instances!
* People love faces, so crop yours around your head & shoulders. Face forward with no one else in the frame.
* People love smiles - so make sure you have a genuine one.
* People love people like themselves - so match your desired industry’s dress code (e.g., casual for tech, formal for finance).
## Headline
Recruiters search LinkedIn by position titles (for example: “Supply Chain Director,” “Product Marketing Manager,” “Translator”). So make sure that your headline reflects what you want them to discover you for:
* If you have experience with the job you want, feel free to use the actual job title.
* If you don’t have experience, you can add a modifier like “Aspiring Product Marketing Manager.”
## Summary
Your summary can do double duty for you. Linkedin employees advise that the usage of specific keywords makes it 40x more likely to be contacted about opportunities.
* Having the right keywords from your desired job description (e.g. SEO, PR, NLP) can get you discovered by recruiters.
* Listening significant and concrete accomplishments can make it easy for recruiters to pick you.
## Experience
Most people assume they shouldn’t put their resume bullets online. This is a huge mistake for a few reasons. (And the only exception would be work performed under non-disclosure.)
* It means you can’t be found for all t he great keywords in the “Description” part of your profile (e.g. “positioning”).
* It also means that you can’t show off all the great, specific work that you’ve done.
## Education
Don’t assume employers only care about your degree. Savvy LinkedIn users know that what they did in school is just as important & says a lot about who they are. Include:
* Any jobs you held while enrolled.
* Extracurricular leadership.
* Volunteer duties (40% of employers say these are equal to paid work).
* Relevant courses, projects & publications (especially for new grads).
## Skills
Most people just go with whatever random skills their friends have recommended for them. This can be optimized.
* Choose your own skills! Don’t waste a good opportunity to display the skills from your dream job description.
* Just don’t worry about endorsements - recruiters don’t care about them because they can be gamed.
## Recommendations
Unlike endorsements, recommendations do matter. Without them, recruiters have to take your word. It’s validation.
* Even one recommendation says “OK, this is someone you can trust.”
* Try to get at least one recommendation for each job you list (even if from a peer).
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