I have spent some time this week helping new business owners start to fill out their LinkedIn profile and everyone of them asked me:
What’s the LinkedIn profile strength status after All-Star?
What do I have to do to get it?
How do I attain the next one?
How do I fill in that small white piece to finish off the pie?
On the right hand side of your LinkedIn profile is LinkedIn’s Profile Strength meter. This is LinkedIn’s way of showing you how “robust” your profile is. The more content you add, the more the strength of your profile will increase.
LinkedIn have always encouraged its users to complete as many sections of the LinkedIn Profile as possible. “Users with complete Profiles are 40 times more likely to receive opportunities through LinkedIn” so they say.
There are 5 levels to your profile strength:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
- Expert
- All-Star
All-Star is the highest level yet everyone thinks there is another, higher level. The reason is the graphic LinkedIn uses:
It looks like there is still room for improvement! There is not!
Maybe LinkedIn is subtly suggesting that members profiles may be nearly complete but there’s always room for a little improvement!
How to Obtain an All-Star LinkedIn Profile
What does it take to achieve a perfect LinkedIn profile that ranks All-Star profile strength?
- Your industry and location
- An up-to-date current position (with a description)
- Two past positions
- Your education
- Your skills (minimum of 3)
- A profile photo
- At least 50 connections
Here comes the buts…
Yeah, yeah… I’ve heard it all! Excuses are like butts, everyone has one and they all stink! Here are rebuttals to all the excuses you can muster.
But I don’t have a current position! What do I do?
You can do 1 of 2 things:
- Go with the flow. Recognize that until you are employed again, your profile will not have a profile strength of All-Star.
- Add a current position that states you are looking for your next job opportunity:
Company Name: Seeking New Opportunity
Title: Financial Analyst ► Forecasting ♦ Auditing ♦ Analysis
Time Period: August 2012 – current
Description: I am currently looking for my next opportunity to affect positive change within an organization that values a strong entrepreneurial spirit, creative problem solving, and a desire to succeed.
The only issue with adding a current position is that it somewhat cloaks that you are not currently employed. Recruiters are divided on this issue. Some like it, others find it devious. Ultimately, there is
no right or wrong; you must decide what makes the most sense for you.
But I’ve only worked at 1 company my whole life! How can I list 2 past positions?
Divide and conquer I say! Look at the different positions you held at this one company and divide them out as separate experiences. By separating it out, you can spotlight your promotions.
But I didn’t go to school! How can I list Education without a college degree?
My recommendation is to scroll through the School Name drop list and choose Other. Enter your high school information or whatever was the last bit of education you sampled. Heck, if you must, you can always enter: The Esteemed School of Hard Knocks. Leave the degree field empty, it’s okay… it’s not a required field.
But I’m really old, I can’t add my profile picture without risking age discrimination!
Age discrimination is an ugly thing but you are risking a lot more by not adding a profile picture. People do not take LinkedIn profiles seriously when the profile picture is missing. It’s assumed you either have something to hide OR you are a spammer bot. Think of it this way… would you purchase a product online if there was no picture? Of course not! Same goes for LinkedIn.
Go to a professional photographer and get an awesome headshot and upload it proudly. People will eventually find out your age… it’s best for you to take control and present it as a strength rather than hide it like a weakness.
But I only know and trust 35 people in the entire world? How can I get to 50 connections?
The area that causes the most difficulty in getting to a 100% complete profile is connecting with 50 people.
Here are some ideas of people you can invite to connect on LinkedIn®:
- Friends
- Family
- Current Colleagues
- Past Colleagues
- Current Employer
- Past Employers
- Alumni
Once you identify the right people, it’s time to ask them to connect.
Is all this work worth it?
YES! Users with complete profiles are 40 times more likely to receive opportunities through LinkedIn than someone with an incomplete profile. This means you will connect with more people and truly experience the benefits of LinkedIn.
Plus, I have found that complete profiles rank higher in LinkedIn’s search results. LinkedIn wants to ensure their search results are accurate and so it makes sense that they promote profiles that are completely filled out ahead of profiles that are incomplete.
Think of it this way, why would LinkedIn promote profiles to the top of search results that are half-
filled out? LinkedIn isn’t that much different from Google. The power is in the search results. If the results are worthless, people will go elsewhere. Show LinkedIn that your profile deserves to rank well by taking the time to complete your profile.
So what do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section… just scroll down!