The Featured section of your LinkedIn profile is a gift. But so few use it well. Or at all.

My client asked me for some tips to optimize it and make it work best for him. Here are a few ideas that may help you:

  • Add the Featured section to your personal profile if you have not already done so. Here’s how. 
  • Plan how to populate it, bearing in mind that the first 3 panes are immediately visible and the rest after that require a click of an arrow to expose them, one at a time.
  • Are you seeking a job? Pane 1 could be a PDF of your resume and pane 2 an example of your ability to write well (a constant lament of HR staff that writing seems to be a lost art.)
  • Rich graphics or a thumbnail of a video or slide deck will entice the reader to click to learn more.
  • Be sure your copy attached to each pane makes the reader want to click through to open it up as well.
  • Keep rotating the order of your panes so it reflects your current status. To my point, a client who found a job a year ago and is quite satisfied where she is, had that V8 moment when I suggested she stop showing her resume and writing sample behind panes #1 and #2.
  • Keep each pane up to date. For example, my pane #1 has my speaking calendar of upcoming talks and recordings. Today I will update it since the oldest one saying I was recording a course has now been published.

I hope this gives you the incentive to make the Featured section yours. Let the spotlight shine on you in this section that commands a lot of reader attention within seconds of opening your profile.