Beyond a digital resume, your LinkedIn profile reflects your priorities, connections, values and unique professional brand, writes Donal Whelan

In recent years, LinkedIn has become a vital career-enhancing tool for all career professionals looking to network and seek out new opportunities.

According to LinkedIn, over 75 percent of people who have changed jobs have used the platform to inform their career decision. Furthermore, social professional networks are the number one source for quality hires.

Given these statistics, treating LinkedIn as another social media platform is insufficient when managing your career.

Here are four things your LinkedIn profile says about you and how you can leverage each of these elements to improve your career presence.

1. Establishes your priorities

How you present yourself in your LinkedIn headline and summary, and the way in which you list your current and previous experience gives employers valuable clues on your priorities.

The way you highlight your professional duties and accomplishments offers recruiters the opportunity to estimate how you would set priorities in a new position.

Every decision you make and every sentence you write should be made with this consideration in mind.

Highlight the aspects you would like to pursue further, and employers will notice.

2.  Highlights proof of performance

LinkedIn goes beyond static resumes, which is the social aspect of the platform. Your past co-workers and supervisors can leave recommendations on each of your prior work experiences or endorse your individual professional skills.

Recruiters will look for this type of information when assessing if you’re right for a role.

We are psychologically inclined to believe social proof, treating it as independent, third-party confirmation of potentially biased claims. A statement of success in your current position is significantly more valuable if your current supervisor confirms your accomplishments in a single sentence or two.

3. Spotlights your values

Influencers you have decided to follow and past posts you have written on LinkedIn are all ways of expressing your personality, perspective, and values. These elements of your profile inform other users of what you care about and can shape the personality you want to portray to a potential employer.

It’s essential to demonstrate professionalism to ensure your profile expresses interest in the career you wish to pursue.

4. Showcases your professional brand

It goes without saying that your profile is your professional brand and you are attempting to give the best impression of yourself.

But your profile also shows how much you allow your current role to influence your brand.

For instance, some users create their profile solely around their current job, while others make their profiles all about their career path.

Every branding decision is a choice, and you get to choose which works best for your career journey.

More than a CV

Your LinkedIn profile is much more than just a digitised version of your resume or CV. It is an opportunity to present yourself to employers in the best light possible.

Recruiters are always on the lookout for talent, so it is important you continue to update your profile to optimise your chances of advancing in your career and making new professional connections.

Donal Whelan is Managing Director of Lincoln Recruitment Specialists