I can’t help but sing the praises of LinkedIn because, as a recruiter, I frequently turn to LinkedIn to find the best and brightest candidates.

Since its launch in 2003, it has become the world’s largest professional networking platform, with over one billion members and counting.

Here’s more proof: More than 65 million people in more than 200 countries are looking for jobs on LinkedIn every week; 176 million of these are in the United States.

For these reasons, I firmly believe that everyone who is on the job market, currently working or not, should have positive visibility on LinkedIn.

The best part about having a LinkedIn profile is that while you put your “resume” out there for all to see, you don’t make it obvious to your current employer that you’re interested in doing other work.

This is especially true because your boss and probably all levels of management have their own LinkedIn profiles, too.

What’s more, it’s definitely the go-to site for checking out potential hires, making it the first stop for 97% recruiters and HR staffing professionals like me who are trying to fill a specific role.

The reason for this is twofold simple: We view LinkedIn as our primary tool for finding candidates, and anything that puts you in our sights works to your advantage.

When you’re competing against a lot of candidates, that green ““Open to Work” banner, “Hey, I’m ready for something new – now!” It serves as a not-so-subtle flag that says:

Let’s go through a list of important things to consider when designing your LinkedIn page, starting from the very beginning.

Your passport photo

It’s true that most recruiters can easily discern your gender, age, race, and anything else about you from your photo. It’s part of the process, so accept it.

From where? Because as recruiters, we’re very suspicious of a prospect who doesn’t post photos, or worse, chooses to post a photo of his cat, dog, or big fish he caught.

What are you hiding?

These days, it’s easy to take a professional-looking selfie or have a friend take your picture. No wedding photos, wild party photos or inappropriate attire. Look like a professional or look for a job elsewhere.

Title

Hit recruiters with action words like “switch agent” and “super connector” or “trusted troubleshooter.” Avoid “hard worker” and “rock star.” Don’t be shy unless you’re embarrassed.

feature section

This is where you showcase who you are and what you bring to the table. Focus on your skills and achievements. Include the awards you have won, the successful presentations you have made and the news in the media. Shame.

about you

This is where you sell yourself with your expertise and personality. Like any great writer, make the first few sentences clear and polished, then go from there.

Consider your LinkedIn profile as important as your resume, if not more so. Show the same thought and care by using correct grammar and correct spelling. There are no exceptions.

Don’t forget to share any awards, presentations you’ve made, or podcasts you’ve hosted.

Show off your sense of humor by posting a photo of yourself selling lemonade as an 8-year-old budding entrepreneur.

What others say about you

This is a great place to let others brag about you by getting compliments from previous employers, co-workers, and professors. Ask them to write a few accurate and persuasive sentences.

Contact information

Make it as easy as possible for people to connect with you. I recommend always including your personal, non-commercial email address and mobile phone number. Depending on urgency, some recruiters may want to call or text you right away.

Personally, I often use LinkedIn to research potential clients I will soon meet or have heard of and hope to meet.

If their pages appear unprofessional or sloppy, I will immediately decline the invitation. But if I’m impressed, I’ll go out of my way to meet them.

Who knows? This could be you.

Blair is the co-founder of Manpower Staffing and can be reached at [email protected].