How to improve your LinkedIn profile

: Thomas Cook: Job search advice

Set Up Your Account ASAP!

• This will obviously only apply to some people, but if you haven't already got a LinkedIn profile, then get one. • They're free (unless you want a Premium account) and easy to set up, so there's no need to put it off any longer. • The sooner you set up an account, the sooner you'll potentially appear on recruiters' radars when they're looking to fill their new jobs. • And, of course, creating a profile immediately gives you a better chance of building up those all-important contacts – do you know someone who knows someone who's looking for someone like you?

Sell Yourself

• Don't hold back in selling yourself – you're searching for a new role through no fault of your own, so update your LinkedIn headline to reflect your current employment status. Something like ‘an experienced Retail Travel Manager currently seeking a new role' is fine – after all, finding a new job is the whole reason you're updating your profile. • Be professional at all times, but also keep it brief and engaging – basically, treat it as a mini CV. • Recruiters are only likely to scan your LinkedIn profile, so give them details of your key experiences and attributes straight away.

Look Smart

• Unlike with your CV, a photo is a necessity on LinkedIn and could make or break your profile, so keep it professional. • There's no reason to put on a suit and iron your shirt, but use a photo that at least makes you look presentable. • A simple photo of you looking relatively smart and smiling should do the trick.

Think About Keywords

• As mentioned above, recruiters will look through many, many candidates and are only likely to skim your profile, so to make it easier on them, try inserting a few keywords that show off your best skills. • Recruiters will often search through the entire database of profiles on LinkedIn by using a location and a relevant keyword or two, so if you've neglected to use a couple of vital words on your personal description, then how do you expect to stand out among the millions of others? • Think about which keywords might be relevant to you and the roles that you are looking for. Think about including a variety of relevant job titles (for instance, if you're a Travel Consultant, then also include ‘Travel Sales Agent' in your profile) and also any key skills that you may have such as a GDS.

Change Your URL

• This is a really easy and potentially very rewarding trick. By changing the URL of your profile from something like www.linkedin.com/pub/tomdavis/60/8c34/768 to www.linkedin.com/pub/tom_davis, you'll make your LinkedIn address look much smarter and also demonstrate that you've shown attention to detail. And employers like that kind of thing. • It's free, easy to do (just click the ‘Me' icon, then ‘View profile' and ‘Edit public profile and URL' and ‘Edit your custom URL') and takes a matter of seconds.

Get Some Recommendations

• Possibly the best way to make yourself stand out from the many other job seekers on LinkedIn is to gain some recommendations. These are simple to get hold of – just ask your former boss or one of your colleagues for a sentence or so, and consider writing one back too if it's appropriate. • It's worth remembering that one or two well-written recommendations from respected people within the travel industry can count for a lot more than a stream of single line reviews from your work mates.

: Thomas Cook: Job search advice