Your LinkedIn profile is the first thing most people will see when you apply for a job, connect after an event, or submit a proposal. It’s more than just a digital resume – LinkedIn is your professional avatar online, so it’s important that you invest significant time in building out a robust, easy-to-read, and informative profile that conveys everything a prospective hiring manager, business partner, or colleague needs to know about you.

In this guide, we’ll touch on some of the most important things you can and should do to optimize your profile. Whether your profile has been inactive since your first job search out of college or you’re actively trying to rebrand yourself for a new business venture, we’ll look at the key elements that have a direct influence on how you are perceived professionally and set a baseline for developing an All-Star profile.