More than 75 percent of professionals first search online for information on a new colleague or a prospective hire, so having an up-to-date and engaging LinkedIn profile has become increasingly important.

LinkedIn Sales Development Manager Hector Preciado shared tips to sharpen your LinkedIn profile and manage your professional brand:

  1. Add a photo. Profiles with photos get 21 times more views, and nine times more connection requests.
  2. In the space under your name, craft an attention-grabbing headline. Use the headline to explain what you do, convey your value proposition, and show your passion and values.
  3. Add your industry. More than 300,000 people search by industry on LinkedIn every week.
  4. Draft a compelling summary. Be concise; keep the summary between 40 to 300 words. Focus on your career accomplishments, aspirations, skills and strengths. You can also add media such as articles, videos, reports and presentations.
  5. Detail your work experience. Whether it’s in paragraphs or bullets, be succinct.
  6. Add skills and earn endorsements from your network. You should add at least five skills, which can be a combination of soft skills and technical skills.