Melanie Pinola

How do you want the world to see you professionally? What kinds of work do you enjoy doing? Why are you on LinkedIn? Those are the questions you should think about when creating your LinkedIn profile, so it__ aligned with your personal brand. While marketing-speak like 'personal brand' feels fake to many of us, we__e really just talking about setting the right tone for your profile and positioning yourself for the kinds of opportunities you__e interested in.

Your LinkedIn profile must be consistent with how you portray yourself elsewhere. Not only should your official résumé match the experience you list on LinkedIn, but it also should be consistent with Twitter and public Facebook information.

Your LinkedIn profile must include keywords for specific skills that match your desired job.

Your LinkedIn profile should leave no room for doubt about the kind of job you__e looking for and why you__e the best person for that position.

Make sure your LinkedIn profile has a targeted headline. Not only should the headline clearly state your career focus, it__ also the most important place to add a keyword or two, because this influences how you appear in search results

A huge number of jobs that are filled are never advertised to the public, or if they are, they__e filled by people who have a connection to the employer.