On the Job Hunt? These Updates to Your Professional Profile Could Help You Stand Out

Imagine this: you just found a listing for your dream job. It’s so perfect, you can already see yourself in the role.  So you polish your resume, attach a killer cover letter, and send that application on its way.

Forgetting something? We’re talking about your professional profile. If a potential employer read it, would it help you shine?

Lauren Stepanski works in HR at Dell and she’s built a career around helping students and recent grads find jobs. She agreed to share her top advice for creating an amazing professional profile. So read on, then head over to your WayUp profile to make sure it’s as strong as possible.

1. When someone applies for a job or internship at Dell, the first thing that stands out about their professional profile is whether they have a range of diverse experiences.

2. This is because showing you have the interest, passion, and capacity to learn something new can be just as helpful as having past experience in a certain field.

3. The second thing I notice is if they have experience collaborating with others.

4. If you’re just starting out, you can show this by sharing how you fundraised for an organization on campus or how your part-time job at a coffee shop taught you how to work well with a team—even when the line was out the door. These types of jobs teach you so much that you can transfer to a full-time job or internship. 

5. The third thing I notice is whether your personality shines through.

6. This is because I’ve been in jobs where I felt like I needed to act a certain way to fit in. At Dell, we want to hire team members who are comfortable being themselves and can confidently share their ideas.

7. Two things that will make me remember your profile are: volunteer projects and an “about me” section that shares more than your work experience. Are you a marathon runner? Do you write comics in your spare time? I love descriptions that make me stop and think.

8. Three things you should probably leave off of your professional profile are: unprofessional photos (no cropped group shots or selfies), generic buzzwords that don’t speak to your personal brand, and your social media profiles (unless they’re 100 percent clean and professional).

9. One thing you can do in minutes to improve your profile is change the language from third-person to first (“I accomplished” is stronger than “Lauren accomplished”).

Lauren shared one final thing to remember: At the end of the day, your professional profile shouldn’t just help you land any job—it should help you land the right job for you. “When I was younger, I only wanted to work for companies with big names because I was familiar with their products,” she says. “But your perfect company may be one you didn’t think of the first time around. It’s much more important to find that cultural fit. That’s what turns just another job into a career.”

So brush up your professional profile, do your research, and look for companies where you’ll feel right at home.

By the way: If you’re curious about working at Dell, head over to WayUp to learn more about the company.  And keep an eye out for open positions!

Want even more advice for standing out to employers? Check out this video interview with Dell’s Director of Global Employment Brand, Jennifer Newbill: