What professional profiles need to have

Professional profiles that showcase a solid personal brand must have the following:

• Clarity and consistency. All your work experience across your CV, portfolio and online profiles must show the same dates and tasks. (We go into this in our section below on “Keep consistent across your professional profiles”).  
• A personal profile that showcases your unique skills and attributes. What makes you ‘you’? Tell recruiters something that will stick in their mind and set you apart. (We go into this in our section below on “How to write a personal profile”).
• Demonstrable achievements and expertise. This might be in the form of a portfolio or endorsements. Prepare a snapshot of the projects that would impress someone in the role you want, and keep it updated.

If you are also creating or updating your profile on LinkedIn, you should include in this list:

• A professional headshot. Ensure you are clearly visible, preferably smiling, and in a professional capacity. If you are unsure about a photo, ask yourself: Would I be doing this in person, in front of my boss? If the answer is ‘no’, keep looking!
• A succinct headline. Lots of people have advice about how to write a LinkedIn headline that will please the algorithm, but as recruiters we want to see candidates who are clear about the role they have or want to have. Save the task list for the work experience sections, and give us a clear role that will help us understand where you fit.

Keep consistent across your professional profiles

One of the biggest reasons candidates can prevent themselves from getting an interview is because of inconsistencies in their profiles. Clear and consistent messaging establishes your credibility and trustworthiness, which are vital to the world of work.

Keep a master file of the information you send to a potential employer, and where they might find you. This list might include:

• Your CV
• Your cover letter
• Any headed paper you use with your contact information
• Your portfolio of work
• Your personal website
• Your LinkedIn profile
• Other social media profiles like X and Instagram

Keep your digital presence up-to-date

Whatever we think of LinkedIn becoming more of a social platform than it once was, your professional profile matters online as much as it does in person. You may not need to write status updates every day if at all, but you should update your professional profile whenever you take on a new position, complete a project, publish a piece of work, or win an award.

We recommend including in your calendar a quarterly review of your online profiles, to ensure that they accurately showcase your skills and achievements accurately. Doing so not only keeps the profile current but also signals to recruiters that you are serious and proactive about your career’s future.

How to write a professional profile

No matter how impressive, a long list of achievements with no breathing space can make even the best-meaning recruiter want to skim. Use storytelling techniques to outline your accomplishments.

If you’re not an eager wordsmith, apply the structure of the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result to your work, which in this broader context means:

• Situation: Highlight your role
• Task: Explain what your strengths and expertise are in
• Action: Tell us what these strengths help you to do
• Result: Give us clear results that showcase how you have helped and continue to help

Here is an example of this method to write a professional profile in practice:

“I am a digital communications expert who specialises in finance and banking. As an avid social media user, I always have my finger on the pulse of the latest online trends and a broad knowledge of digital tools to create appealing, readable content. Most recently, my eye-catching campaigns led me to increase engagement by 200%, boosting sales and raising awareness of the brand.”

You can write your bio in the third person if you wish. We just feel that a first-person bio is more personal and friendly.

Gather endorsements and testimonials to build your credibility

Social proof is increasingly important to the world of work. To gather testimonials, we recommend candidates grow their endorsements section on LinkedIn.

Ask your former supervisors, colleagues, and clients who you feel are suitable gauges of your skills and achievements. If you know them well enough, encourage them to name specific examples of projects relevant to your career aims. Doing so will help your testimonials have the impact you need to get ahead and remember to link to or screenshot them for your CV or portfolio.

*

These tips should give you to strategies to build and maintain a compelling personal brand that attracts a recruiter’s attention.

Feel like you’re not getting where you should be in your job hunt? Get in touch with your CV and details. At Aldrich & Co, we get to know our candidates’ needs and work hard to ensure they find a role that suits them. We will be glad to offer tips on how to polish your profile for career success.