Photo Credit: Mashable & EyeTrackShop, Inc.
The results of the LinkedIn profile analysis are interesting, but not at all surprising. The study found that people’s eyes were drawn primarily to the headline of the profile. The headline, by default, is TITLE at COMPANY NAME.
The prominence of this field shows why it is so important that you update it to better reflect your professional experience. It isn’t sufficient for the headline to be Implementation Manager at AT&T (one of my former titles). I know what that title means, but do you? Probably not.
What would be a better profile headline? Implementation Manager | Unix Server Support | AIX | Websphere | Sun Solaris I know that is a bunch of technical mumbo jumbo, but those are terms and phrases that a recruiter would know and would help her understand what jobs would best fit me.
The eye tracking study showed that after the headline, people looked at the profile owner’s name and their picture next. This is why it is so important to have a photo. And it can’t be just any photo. It needs to be a high-quality, professional headshot.
The photo and headline is what is going to make the reader want to continue reading down the page. If you don’t make a good first impression (just like you would in-person), the reader is moving on and you won’t get a second look.
Do you think your profile is making a good first impression?
