Today's netizens are a peculiar mix, playing various roles on social media and mastering the traffic code.
Whether it's the new breed of decadent poets, who can easily garner millions of likes just by hitting the enter key, calling themselves "literary masters of the free school."
Or the wealthy second-generation socialites who excel at taking photos and creating content, either driving Mercedes or BMWs, or enjoying Bulgari afternoon tea once a week, all enviable.
On LinkedIn, everyone instantly transforms into an involution elite!
Everyone a High-GPA Scholar
Open a resume and it's all near-perfect GPAs. When did the school get so many top students?
GPA 4.0 everywhere, double majors everywhere, minors everywhere, university-level scholarships everywhere...
One can't help but wonder if the underachievers don't need to send out resumes at all.
Branded by Top Companies + Spokesperson
Experience in leading companies across industries is already the baseline. Whether domestic or international, as long as the name is recognizable, it's all over their profiles!
Being an intern at a top company is nothing special; now it's advanced to being a spokesperson for major international organizations...
Free Time Is All for Research
Those friends you see traveling the world on their Moments transform when they get to LinkedIn.
Participating in research projects at prestigious universities, leading teams to achieve research results, presenting perfectly as the lead speaker—showcasing a wave of leadership and proving they are masters of time management.
All Are the Next Internet Influencers
Lying in bed scrolling through phones tirelessly, the true FOMO tribe, visible on every platform, with more accounts followed than followers.
But on LinkedIn, they are familiar with the style and operating mechanisms of each platform, especially with a keen sensitivity to trending online topics, as if already the next poised and confident big influencer.
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Truly, LinkedIn is getting harder and harder to understand...
How Wild Can LinkedIn Profiles Get
If you can't out-involution others with your education and experience, there's a group of jokers on LinkedIn using seemingly comedic bits to strike back at the rampant elite jargon, fighting for attention.
Graduated from USC, but on their LinkedIn profile, under job title, they highlight their role as a kitchen helper at the Krusty Krab in SpongeBob.
Seems dreams are more important than reality...
As a CEO, working hard to build a business honed various skills. But due to identity restrictions, while able to legally register a company, unable to work for the one they registered, so in the end, no business was actually handled.
So all they really practiced was the skill of registering a company, right...
Comparing hard skills is meaningless; these standout talents are more fitting for LinkedIn: extra-long lunch breaks, napping, jargon-spouting, farting in the elevator, making small talk...
Whether it's real or fake involution elites, or absurd parody, how to highlight one's strengths and present oneself just right is a major challenge we all face.
Financial Times columnist Rhymer Rigby believes that most content on LinkedIn lacks personality, just a few words pulled from a pile of management jargon and then pieced back together. Everyone claims to be conscientious, have a positive work attitude, and rich relevant experience—resulting in saying nothing at all.
So, how do you craft a LinkedIn profile to give yourself an edge in job hunting or networking?
The Right Way to Use Your LinkedIn Profile
Basic Info
Profile Photo: Be sure to use a real/professional/clear headshot. Do not use selfies/travel photos/cartoon animal avatars.
Background image is often overlooked, but a relevant and good-looking background is equally important.
Name: For North America job searching, the following format is recommended:
Chinese Pinyin First Name + (English Name) + Chinese Pinyin Last Name
Example: San (Tom) Zhang
(You can use the app to record the pronunciation of your name to avoid awkwardness during networking.)
Headline: This is your tag/the identity you most want to showcase, e.g., Software Engineer @ Google, NYU Alumni 2021
Location: Write the location/postal code where you want to work, to make it easier for recruiters to find you.
Industry: Write your current industry or the one you want to enter.
URL: Change your LinkedIn URL to your name instead of a string of random characters; this can be edited in your profile settings.
Personal Summary
This is the most important part of your LinkedIn profile. It's a summary about yourself, telling others your career objective. Use a few concise sentences or bullet points to introduce yourself, somewhat like a personal pitch.
Suggested content: introduction, experience summary, academic/career highlights, personal strengths, career goals.
Personal summary examples:
Education/Work/Volunteer Experience
In this section, list your personal history, focusing on 1-2 highlight experiences. Bullet points should not exceed five. Pay attention to presenting your work achievements and quantifiable, results-oriented outcomes from internships.
Formula:
Verb (past tense) + what you did + how you did it (by, through) / purpose (in order to) + result
Example (work/internship experience):
Analyzed historical sales in the New York area by using SQL script and machine learning algorithm in order to generate a pricing strategy; made recommendations on the most profitable pricing strategy to marketing VP.
When describing work experience on LinkedIn, do not copy and paste from your resume. LinkedIn doesn't need as much detail; just capture the highest achievement from that role.
Resume example:
Director of Sales, Southwest Region-Chase Los Angeles, CA
Led a team of two account executives. Together we managed a portfolio of 50+ clients and agencies. Our client base consisted of Fortune 500 companies from a wide range of industries including Entertainment, Auto, Technology, Fashion, Technology, and Travel.
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Launched the company’s first app download campaign with a re-targeting strategy resulting in a two-day $500K package.
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Managed risk by partnering with clients and other stakeholders for a seamless campaign launch.
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Achieved sales pacing of 70% for the year a 150% year-over-year increase in annual revenue to $7.5M.
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Built relationships to foster better communication between the sales and operations teams, including weekly calls to collaborate on campaigns that resulted in a 33% increase in performance.
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Streamlined client communication to be more responsive and timeline management that increased staff productivity.
If written for LinkedIn, it should be rewritten as:
Led a team that managed a 50+ client portfolio, launching the firm’s first app download campaign while partnering with stakeholders to minimize risk and streamline client communication. Increased annual revenue by 150%, and team performance by 33%.
Volunteer experiences (such as teaching, community activities, club activities) are often overlooked but are an important part of polishing your LinkedIn profile. So if you have volunteer experience, remember to include it!
Skills and Endorsements
There is no limit to the number of skills you can list—the more the merrier!
Keywords will be analyzed by algorithms and pushed to relevant recruiters. This step is especially important on LinkedIn because many headhunters filter candidates based on skill keywords.
You can also mutually endorse friends—reciprocity quickly increases endorsements.
Here are the most important workplace skills this year according to global L&D experts:
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Resilience and adaptability
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Technical skills and digital fluency
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Remote communication skills
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Emotional intelligence
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Cross-functional collaboration
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Leadership in change
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Ability to cope with change
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Stress tolerance
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Time management
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Creativity
Here is a reference list of specific skills:
1. Business:
Business development
Business intelligence (BI)
Economics
Business analysis
Administration
Business management
2. Information Technology (IT):
Cloud computing
Data presentation
Content management
Tech support
UI/UX
Software engineering
Mobile development
Middleware and integration software
Blockchain
Scientific computing
3. Management:
Project management
Strategic planning
Delegating tasks
Coaching
Negotiation
Relationship management
4. Marketing:
SEO/SEM
Content marketing
Online marketing
Market research
Social media
Media planning
Channel marketing
Affiliate marketing
5. Analytical:
Data analysis
Critical thinking
Problem-solving
Research
Consulting
6. Communication:
Active listening
Writing
Nonverbal communication
Presentation
Newsletters
Editing
7. Other:
Creativity
People management
Time management
Persuasion
Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
Translation
Video production
Corporate communications
Industrial design
Collaboration
Adaptability
Analytical reasoning
Sales leadership
Journalism
Competitive strategies
Finally, here's a LinkedIn cheat sheet for your reference!
Perhaps the beginning of young people realizing the harshness of society is when "HR professionals spend an average of only 8.8 seconds screening a resume," while they themselves have revised theirs back and forth more than eight times.
An eye-catching LinkedIn profile could be the first step to career success. Opportunities always favor the prepared, and details determine success or failure.
For students looking to boost their career development through LinkedIn, make good use of your free time to plan early, supplement, and adjust your LinkedIn profile content, so you can get a head start in spring recruitment!
