Your LinkedIn profile is often the first impression a recruiter, hiring manager or potential professional connection will have of you. And whether you're actively looking for a new role or simply open to the right opportunity, it pays to make that impression count.
Think of LinkedIn as your professional billboard. It should communicate who you are, what you do, where your experience lies and what makes you worth connecting with.
A well-presented profile can help you become more discoverable to recruiters, communicate your professional experience and open the door to opportunities that might otherwise pass you by.
So, when was the last time you gave yours a proper audit?
Open your LinkedIn profile, set aside some time and work through these eight steps to make sure you're putting your best professional foot forward.
1. Check your industry and location settings
Start with the basics: make sure recruiters can find you.
Your industry and location settings help provide context about your professional background and where you're based.
For example, if you're a finance professional working in Melbourne, your profile should accurately reflect your location and the industry most relevant to your experience.
To update these details, navigate to your LinkedIn profile and select the pencil icon in your introduction section. Review your location and industry settings and make any necessary changes.
This is particularly important if you've recently relocated, changed industries or moved into a different professional specialisation.
2. Make your headline clear and relevant
Your headline is one of the most prominent pieces of information on your profile. It appears directly beneath your name and helps people understand what you do.
There are plenty of opinions about what makes the perfect LinkedIn headline, but our preference is to keep things straightforward.
A simple format is:
Your current role | Your current company
For example: "Head of Finance at ABC Investment Group."
This immediately communicates your position and professional background without requiring someone to search through your work history.
If your official job title doesn't accurately describe your responsibilities, consider adding a little more context to make your expertise clear.
The aim is to make it easy for someone viewing your profile to understand what you do and where you fit professionally.
3. Choose a professional, approachable profile photo
Your profile photo helps put a face to your name and makes your profile feel more personal.
You don't need to invest in professional photography to have a great LinkedIn headshot. A clear, well-lit photograph taken on your phone can work perfectly well.
Find a simple background with good natural lighting, position yourself facing the camera and make sure you're the only person in the image.
Choose a photo where you look approachable and comfortable, with a natural expression that reflects how you would present yourself professionally.
Avoid heavily cropped group photographs, distracting backgrounds or images that are too small or blurry.
Remember, your photo doesn't need to be overly formal. It simply needs to help people recognise you and make a positive first impression.
4. Personalise your banner image
Your banner is the large image that sits behind your profile photo at the top of your LinkedIn page.
It's a valuable opportunity to add some personality and make your profile more visually distinctive.
Some employers provide branded LinkedIn banners for their employees. If yours does, this can be an easy way to create a polished and consistent professional presence.
Otherwise, consider selecting an image that reflects your interests, industry or personal brand.
This might be a photograph of Melbourne's skyline, an architectural image, a landscape or something that relates to your professional interests.
Platforms such as Canva and Unsplash can be useful places to find or create suitable imagery.
Whatever you choose, keep it clean, high quality and consistent with how you want to present yourself professionally.
5. Write an engaging About section
Your About section is one of the most valuable parts of your LinkedIn profile.
It's an opportunity to introduce yourself beyond your job title, communicate your professional strengths and give people a better understanding of your career.
It can also help with discoverability, particularly when you naturally incorporate terms relevant to your skills, experience and industry.
We recommend structuring your About section into four short paragraphs.
Paragraph one: Introduce yourself
Start with who you are, your current position and where you work.
Importantly, explain what you actually do. Job titles can vary considerably between organisations, so don't assume yours tells the full story.
For example, a Finance Business Partner might describe how they work alongside operational leaders to improve financial performance and support commercial decision-making.
Make this opening particularly clear, as it's often the first part of your About section that people see.
Paragraph two: Highlight your expertise
Expand on your current responsibilities, areas of specialisation and the industries you've worked across.
What are your key strengths? What kinds of projects, stakeholders or business challenges do you work with?
You might also include relevant professional development, committee involvement, board positions or additional responsibilities.
Focus on the experience and expertise that best represent where you are in your career today.
Paragraph three: Tell your career story
Provide a short overview of how you've reached your current position.
Consider the roles, organisations and experiences that have contributed most significantly to your professional development.
You don't need to recount every position you've held. Instead, focus on the experience that demonstrates your capabilities and the breadth of your career.
This is particularly valuable if you've worked across different industries, progressed through several finance disciplines or transitioned into leadership.
Paragraph four: Show some personality
Finish with something that gives people a glimpse of who you are outside work.
Perhaps you're involved in a community organisation, coach a local sporting team, enjoy running marathons or volunteer for a cause you're passionate about.
These details can create common ground with new connections and make your profile more memorable.
Keep the tone natural and true to your personality.
6. Update your work experience
Your LinkedIn work experience should provide a clear overview of your professional background, without simply reproducing your entire resume.
Start by reviewing your current and previous positions. Check that your job titles, employers and dates are accurate.
For each role, include a brief description of the organisation where relevant, followed by an overview of your responsibilities and key achievements.
For finance professionals, this might include the size or complexity of the organisations you've supported, the teams you've led, the systems you've implemented or the business improvements you've delivered.
Where possible, provide some context around the impact of your work.
For example, rather than simply stating that you were responsible for financial reporting, you could describe how you improved reporting processes or developed insights that supported better business decisions.
Your experience section should give someone a clear understanding of what you've done, the environments you've worked in and the value you've contributed.
7. Include your education, certifications and courses
Professional qualifications and ongoing development are particularly relevant in the accounting and finance industry.
LinkedIn provides dedicated sections for education, licences and certifications, and courses.
Use the Education section for your formal qualifications, including university degrees and other relevant educational achievements.
Professional certifications and credentials can be included under Licences and Certifications, while additional training and development programs can be added under Courses.
For each qualification, include the education provider, name of the degree or certification and year obtained, where appropriate.
Don't forget to include relevant professional development completed throughout your career, particularly if you've undertaken additional training in leadership, technology, systems or specialist finance areas.
8. Add awards, volunteering and other achievements
Your professional experience extends beyond the positions you've been employed in.
LinkedIn allows you to showcase additional achievements and activities, including awards, mentoring, volunteer experience, board appointments, committee involvement and projects.
These experiences can help demonstrate qualities that aren't always obvious from a job title, such as leadership, initiative, community involvement and a commitment to professional development.
Use the 'Add profile section' feature to explore the available categories and include the activities most relevant to your professional background.
There's no need to include every achievement you've ever had, but don't overlook experiences that add valuable context to your career.
Give your profile a final review
Once you've worked through each section, take a moment to view your profile as someone encountering you for the first time.
Can you quickly identify your current role and areas of expertise? Does your work experience accurately represent your professional background? Are your qualifications and achievements up to date? And perhaps most importantly, does your profile feel like an accurate reflection of you?
You don't need to be actively job hunting to benefit from a strong LinkedIn presence.
Keeping your profile current means that when a recruiter, hiring manager or professional connection comes across your name, they can quickly understand your experience and what you have to offer.
At Atlas Partners, we work with accounting and finance professionals at every stage of their careers, from emerging talent through to senior executives. We know that some of the best career conversations begin well before someone decides to look for a new role.
A thoughtfully maintained LinkedIn profile is a simple way to ensure you're ready when those opportunities arise.
