Founder @ Data Analytics Accelerator - I help people land their first data job (even with no prior experience)
After reviewing 300+ aspiring data analysts LinkedIn profiles, I feel I should share some advice for those looking to land a job. I hope this helps someone. 1. You need bullets in your experience section. It's not just enough to say your title and company name and the dates. You need to actually explain what you did in that role. And try your best to relate it to data analytics when you can. These can be the same bullets in your resume, but they don't have to be. These bullets shouldn't only just be what you did, but what impact that had on your organization. This is often most easily done by try to quantify your results with some sort of number. Think in terms of dollars saved, hours saved, lives saved, people improved, etc. The experience section is the most important in the LinkedIn job seeker algorithm--don't ignore it. 2. Your headline matters more than you realize. Your headline is what shows up at the top of your profile, but also when you do other things like apply for jobs or comment on posts. After your name and your profile picture, this is the next most vital thing. Plus, it actually tells a lot more than just a name or image. This is your chance to showcase what you are able to do and your capabilities. Maybe even more importantly, this part gets mined by LinkedIn for job matching algorithms so the more keywords you put in here, the better. You cannot just say, "Aspiring Data Analyst" and leave it at that. You're cutting yourself short and hurting your odds of landing a data job. 3. Add a cover photo, and utilize that real estate to your advantage. I'd say about 2/3's of folks don't use this section at all, and the other 1/3 waste the space with some image of a city or some generic "tech" background. Just use Canva and create a banner that highlights your profile. Maybe it includes an image of yourself, maybe it tells viewers what to do, or maybe it just summarizes who you are. Just do something. This is the first thing people see when open up your profile. This is the first impression. If you leave it blank, what are you saying? If you just have it be some weirdly cropped stock image, what are you saying? It takes just a few minutes to do this, but that effort will multiply over time. Data jobs have never been more competitive and you owe it to yourself to make it as easy as you possibly can for yourself. Your LinkedIn profile can be a superpower in your job search, if used correctly. Take 15 minutes today and make all three of these changes if you need to. Your future self will thank you later when landing interviews and jobs offers. You got this, and good luck! Sincerely, Your Data Coach, Avery