Make LinkedIn Work Archives

By William Arruda

It’s a new year, which makes it the perfect time to update your LinkedIn profile and communications strategy to make sure it is current, relevant to your goals, and compelling to the people who are checking you out. The world of work continues to evolve, and your LinkedIn profile and networking strategy must position you for success.

Align Your LinkedIn Strategy With Two Critical Forces

Two important areas to consider while evolving your LinkedIn strategy are humanity and AI. As tech gets integrated into every aspect of business, your humanity is what helps you stand out and build meaningful relationships. That means your profile must show that you are clear, human, generous, empathic, and grounded in real experience, all the things AI and technology are not.

At the same time, you need to showcase your skill and interest in AI. AI will impact virtually every role. Make it clear that you’re using AI thoughtfully and are committed to proactively developing AI skills to remain ahead of the curve. This can show up in how you describe your work, the content you share, and the tools or approaches you reference in your profile.

The goal is not to do more on LinkedIn, but to do the right things well. Follow this these three steps:

1. Update Your LinkedIn Profile

A lot happens in a year, so if you haven’t been updating your profile regularly, it’s time to make it current and compelling.

Your LinkedIn Headshot

Your headshot makes you real in the virtual world. It allows people to connect with you on a human level. It should convey the real you and be at least current enough for someone to be able to find you in a crowded coffee shop. If you changed your headshot recently, you probably won’t need to update it if it meets these criteria.

Your LinkedIn Headline

Your headline’s job is to make you relevant and confirm for viewers that you are the person they are looking for, or a person they should get to know. LinkedIn gives you 220 characters for your Headline. Use as many as needed to captivate viewers and encourage them to read on. Your LinkedIn headline has three important functions:

It makes you relevant. Your current title, role, and company make you relevant.
It helps you get found. Use your headline for search optimization. Include in it all the keywords you want to be associated with, and those people will use to search for you.
It allows you to showcase something interesting about you that makes the viewer want to learn more. Consider including why you do what you do, how you do what you do, or the results you achieve when you do it. You could also share your passion or life purpose.

Your LinkedIn About

Your About allows you to introduce yourself, tell your story, and make a branded first impression. Because of the power of LinkedIn and how search results are presented in Google, it will likely be your first impression. When you’re thoughtful in crafting your About, it helps you:

Differentiate yourself in a crowded marketplace
Attract opportunities that align with your goals
Build trust and real human connection with others

Your About is also a natural place to convey your thoughts about AI and the role it plays in your work.

Your LinkedIn Featured Section

Because many people keep their Featured section blank, it is an opportunity for you to stand out and showcase your passions, purpose, and accomplishments. Your Featured section sits near the top of your profile, between your About and Activity sections. That means more people will see it. This section is designed to showcase multimedia. Include images and video to enhance your story and make your profile richer and more interesting. Consider including:

Your Brand introduction. Create a brief 60-second video, that highlights your interests, accomplishments and fun facts about you.
Your Success Stories. Share one or two pieces of content or stories that highlight your superpowers and differentiators.
Your Intellectual Property. Use it to convey your proprietary process, framework, or system, like your three-step formula for crafting click-worthy headlines for social media posts.

2. Define Your LinkedIn Networking Strategy

In 2026, effective networking is about relevance and relationships, not volume. With over 1.3 billion members, LinkedIn is a powerful place for networking. Your goal, though, is not to connect with all 1.3 billion professionals. It’s to identify your community and be visible to them. As the new year begins:

Get your network up-to-date. Look back through your calendar and emails and send connection requests to the people you have met in the past year.
Decide on your strategy for adding new connections as you meet people. Also, do searches to connect with other like-minded peers so you can build a community for mutual support.
Put plans in place to grow your network. Consider adding your LinkedIn profile to your email signature, and create a slide to include in presentations you deliver to encourage participants to reach out and connect.

3. Commit To A LinkedIn Visibility Plan

Once your profile and network are aligned, visibility is what brings your personal brand to life. Strong brands are visible and available to the people they seek to impact, influence, and impress. The best way to do that is to share value as your primary thought leadership priority. There’s a lot of noise in the world of social media, and LinkedIn is no exception. To stand out, commit to the three Cs of social media communications plans:

Consistent. Strong brands are known for something, not 100 things. Know your topic, message, and POV and stick with it.
Constant. Choose a cadence and commit to it. You may choose to post a couple of times a month, weekly, or even daily. Whatever you choose, treat it as you would any other important item on your to-do list.
Critical. Not critical in the sense of being judgmental. Critical meaning it is not content that is nice to have. It’s meaningful and valuable to your audience and essential for their success.

One way to achieve the three Cs of effective visibility is with a LinkedIn Newsletter. It’s a powerful way to stay engaged with the people who are interested in what you have to say, and the LinkedIn Newsletter platform makes it easy for you to create, share and promote your newsletter to followers and connections. It allows you to build familiarity and trust over time without having to start from scratch each time you post.

Make LinkedIn An Ongoing Habit Instead Of A One-Time Update

Your LinkedIn profile serves many roles in helping you build your personal brand and achieve your career goals. To maximize its impact, commit to keeping your profile up to date and staying engaged with your network. LinkedIn works when you work it, so adopt the habit of interacting on LinkedIn regularly and create more opportunities that are aligned with your goals.

Feature image credit: Getty