3 tips on how to sharpen your Linkedin profile (and how to mingle with Danes)

I wanted to write this post long time ago, but moving to a new city and a new job took its time too, but here it is.

This post is divided into two parts: First, I'll talk about tips on how to get in contact with Danes and secondly, how to make your Linkedin profile stronger for your job search.

1. How to win over (cake and running fanatic) Danes

Even though Denmark is known for its "trust" society, as an international, you might meet some prejudice. So, I wrote some tips on how to approach Danes when you meet them for the first time, both in online and offline settings.

1. Introduce yourself

Obvious, right? Tell the person, where you are from, what is your background and what are you looking for. List your professional but also personal competencies. Talk about what drives you and what type of person you are.

"I'm a do'er and a team-player" - sounds nice, right? Back it up with experiences and examples.

Here's an example from my life that you might find useful: "I organised many Startup Weekend events and played basketball for 10 years" - BOOM! Credibility - check and check!

I found this post in Facebook. And I have seen many of these. What's wrong with it? Well, it probably won't get you a job. Even, if you're "only" looking for a cleaning job.

It seems these two guys are looking for any kind of job. They're very likely students who need a part-time job in order to get SU.

There are so many candidates to choose from. Remember that. Even for cleaning and/or dishwasher jobs. (Been there, done that - I might elaborate on this in my next post).

2. Talk about your interests and personal life

Just a random "Hi Trine. I'm Ruxandra from Bulgaria and I graduated from Business Economics. I'm looking for a consultant job in Aarhus" with your CV attached is simply not enough.

Have you heard about "gut feeling"? Reading people's CV's and cover letters is a psychology game. Think of it as a story - if it doesn't catch the reader's eye, they'll drop it. If they don't get a good "gut feeling" about it and can't imagine you being part of their team, they'll drop it.

So the more compelling story you can tell about yourself, the more memorable you'll be.

Someone once told me that even though I have a foreign name, it's similar to Danish "Grethe" (a name that was very popular in the older days in Denmark). And the person said that it can be my advantage - people will remember it, because it's written differently.

"Figure out what is your USP and tell your story. Make yourself interesting!"

Lately, there's been lots of fuzz about "There are no rules on how you should use Linkedin".

I agree to this, to some extent. As a jobseeker, I would set some "boundaries" - maybe that's my conservative and suspicious, "seeing red flags first" Estonian gene that comes up.

Below you can find some pointers and they're based on my personal opinion - of course it's completely up to you, do you want to use them or not :)

2. How to sharpen your Linkedin profile

1. Your profile

1. Profile picture

As a jobseeker, it's a good idea to have a professional picture on your profile. It's one of the first thing recruiters notice, when they land on your profile - you either automatically get their attention and create an interest, or don't.

No party and no "me and my kitty" pictures please.

Or "me and my other kitty friend" (even though I'm the biggest cat lover!).

You don't need to be a professional photographer for this. Ask a friend from your old school to take a picture of you. Even an iPhone would have a decent quality and if needed, use your Photoshop skills. Or your friends'.

It doesn't cost a lot, but instantly creates an image of you for a recruiter who lands on your profile! -> "gut feeling"

PS! Use the same image on your CV so the recruiter can remember your face.

PS2! Thank you Asbjørn for a nice photoshoot! Now I also have some amazing professionals photos to use :)

2. Headline

"Looking for a new job" and "Master in communication" can mean anything. Literally anything!

When recruiters search for candidates in Linkedin, they use keywords, so the more specific you are, the better.

For example: "Proactive and experienced marketing specialist looking for a job within Midtjylland in retail" - this indicates your background, the location where you're willing to work and the industry you're interested in.

Please leave out your education title and exam grade - no one cares about it.

What matters is what you CAN DO. There are many people out there with "Master in xx with a final grade 12", but what does that tell a company? Nothing.

Need more?

• Tim Queen wrote a great article about "Linkedin Headline Cheatsheet" - check it out!
• Nanna Knak Søndrup made a great video (in Danish) about how to change your focus from "I need a job" to "What I can do and offer companies".

3. Summary

This is very important. Here you have the chance to present yourself - show who you are and what you can do.

Be memorable by being unique and personable. What do I mean by that?

Write about your achievements, both professional and personal. Business is about people and we're not robots. Don't be afraid to show who you are - emotional, funny, quirky, weird. We're all different - show it!

Write about what you like and what you don't like. What drives you on a daily basis and what drives you completely nuts.

List your competencies in the end of your summary in bullet points - it gives a recruiter a quick overview of who you are and what you can do.

Below you can see one of my examples I used:

My personal competencies:

• Structured and organised team-player and am also comfortable working independently
• Pro-active and I get things done 
• Thrive in an international environment and prefer versatile tasks
• Can handle many tasks at once and deliver quality results on time
• Eager to develop and learn new skills
• Always ready to give a helping hand

My professional competencies:

• Content creation and management of social media channels - measuring the results and optimising them
• Content creation, management and execution for e-mail marketing, newsletter and a blog 
• Website maintenance and optimisation
• Internal and external communication

2. Adding new connections

I always "Add a note" when I add new people to my network, especially if I haven't met them. Why?

First of all, why should someone accept your connection request if they've never met you? Also, if you're writing in English it would be a good idea to create more credibility for yourself and write a bit, who you are and why you'd like that person to be part of your network.

I received numerous connection requests after my previous article (8 tips for internationals in Denmark on how to find a job). Shockingly, there were only a couple of people, who added a note. To me it shows that they invested their time, were interested in me and my feedback to their questions. I appreciate people wanting to add me to their network, but if they can't be bothered to write two lines of who they are, then I'm not interested.

Also, I have accepted people, who have not written a note, and after I have written to them saying "Hello mr. X, thank you for adding me to your network. How can we help each other?" and received no answer. In these cases, I deleted them again. For me, it's about quality over quantity. I would like to know who's in my network and what these people are doing.

What to write? Be specific and talk about that person, not yourself. That's boring and no one wants to hear that.

Everyone likes to hear how you inspire them and how great they are.

3. Number of connections

I once read an article here on Linkedin talking about a "number of connections in Linkedin should be" - "Your age * 10".

I think that a number of connections doesn't mean anything. It's about using and growing your network as you go along. If you think you don't have enough connections, then get social and explore all kinds of different events that are going on all the time.

"Get out there and get connected!"

4. "Let recruiters know you're open to opportunities"

I've come across many people who know that Linkedin can be used for job-searching, but that they're not aware of this page.

On the main page, when you're logged in, click on "Me" (right top corner) -> Account tab -> Settings and privacy. Then click in the middle "Privacy" tab and scroll down to "Job seeking" and turn on the button "Let recruiters know you're open to opportunities". Fill out different criteria about your wishes and again, be as specific as possible.

I hope these pointers will help you during your job search. Remember, it's a process. It can take time and that is completely normal.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in contact! Also, if you have any specific topics or areas which you'd like to read about, please let me know in the comments below.

I wish you all a wonderful 2018! :)

With best wishes,

Greete