Many people resist doing much with LinkedIn because it seems like such a boring platform. They think of it merely as a place to post their resume and a tool to use when looking for work.

However, LinkedIn is actually a very powerful platform with a wide range of features that can help advance the career of practically any professional.

Here are some tips for standing out on LinkedIn.

Five Tips for Making Your LinkedIn Profile Shine

• Make your Summary section stand out by including links to websites, videos, and anything else with a URL that can help people get to know you better. (You can also add some of these links to the relevant positions in your Experience section.) Carefully craft the language of your summary so it indicates clearly where you are heading and how you and your work are serving the world. Be visionary and avoid just rehashing your resume. Here is a link to a video that I have in my summary: https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=5566300&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile

• Start blogging on LinkedIn using their long form post option. To do this, go to the status update box on your home page and click on the pencil icon. Add a photo that relates to the topic you want to discuss, create a title for the post, and then write the body of the post. It’s helpful to create the post in a Word document, put in all the formatting, and paste that into the template. Here is one of my recent LinkedIn blog posts: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20141007142131-5566300-consuming-social-media-knowing-when-you-are-full?trk=mp-reader-card

• By using the little up and down arrow that you see to the top right of each profile section while you are in Edit Profile mode, you can move the sections of your profile around within the profile. For example, if you have a position as a project manager, and you want to draw attention to your projects, move that section up in your profile so it is visible right after the Experience section.

• Speaking of projects, take full advantage of the Projects section of LinkedIn – there is space for as many projects as you want to include. Type in the name of the project, add the names of others involved in the project if you are connected with them on LinkedIn, and then write an interesting description of the project and your role in it. If the project has a URL associated with it, (which could be a link to a page on your company website), be sure to add it in the Project URL field.

• Have you been published? Whether you have written a book, a chapter in a book, and/or an article in a print or online publication, include each as a separate listing in the Publications section. As in the Projects section, you can list any LinkedIn connections who contributed to the work. If the publication has a URL associated with it, be sure to add it in the Publication URL field.

How About You?

What have you done to make your LinkedIn profile stand out? Which LinkedIn profiles jump out to you and why?

About Joyce

Joyce Feustel helps people, especially those age 50 and up, to become more effective using social media, especially Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Twitter. She works with business owners, nonprofit organizations, retired people, consultants, and many others. Find her at www.boomerssocialmediatutor.com.