Ever wonder how people put stars, bullet points, and other symbols in their LinkedIn profiles? Here are two techniques for adding a little bling to your profile.
The following was sent to me by Alex Fogel, and is reprinted here with his permission.
How to insert symbols into your LinkedIn or Facebook profile
Option #1: Copy and paste the symbol from someone else's profile.
The following was sent to me by Alex Fogel, and is reprinted here with his permission.
How to insert symbols into your LinkedIn or Facebook profile
Option #1: Copy and paste the symbol from someone else's profile.
- Find someone’s profile that has the character you want to include in your own.
- Drag your mouse over the character and press CTRL + C to copy it.
- Open your profile and select the “Edit my Profile” tab.
- Paste the selected character where you want it to be inserted by pressing CTRL + V.
- Save the changes to your profile and view the results.
Option #2: Copy and paste from the Character Map.
- Click on Start + Programs + Accessories + System Tools + Character Map.
- Select a full character set font, such as “Arial.”
- Scroll through the characters until you find the desired symbol.
- Double-click on the character or click once on “Select.”
- Copy the character by pressing CTRL + C or click once on “Copy.”
- Open your profile and select the “Edit my Profile” tab.
- Paste the selected character where you want it to be inserted by pressing CTRL + V.
- Save the changes to your profile and view the results.
Thank you, Alex, for sharing these instructions with The Job Lounge! Now we can add stars, smiley faces, and all sorts of bling to our profiles.
Seriously, I recommend a conservative approach to using symbols. As on a resume, symbols such as bullet points, arrows, and dashes are great for breaking up chunks of text, and visually telling the reader "this is quick and easy to read." But going over board with stars and flashy symbols may not have a positive effect.
If you want bullet points (which I think is the most tasteful symbol), feel free to copy one from the Experience section of my LinkedIn profile. By the way, the bullet points in the Current, Past, Education, and Websites sections are created automatically by LinkedIn and can't be copied.
Job Loungers, what symbols you like to see in online profiles?
Want more advice for your LinkedIn profile? Here you go...
LinkedIn Profile Help from a Social Media Expert
You-Know-Who on LinkedIn
Your LinkedIn Profile *STATUS BAR* – Tips for Job Seekers
11 comments:
For me, less is usually more. I agree that, as with a resume, a tasteful and sparing use of symbols might indeed help highlight some key points in your profiles. Just important to keep in mind that real live potential employers and/or networking contacts are reading these. Even seemingly harmless things like smiley faces can drive some people hog wild insane - so I second your advice to keep the bling to a sweet minimum.
Thanks, Ronnie Ann. Here's a way to judge whether your bling is over the top: Click the link to download your LinkedIn profile as a PDF. (That's what recruiters and employers are likely to do if they're interested in your qualifications.) When you look at the PDF, ask yourself, "Do the symbols look appropriate for the type of work I'm going for? Do they help the reader scan my information quickly, or do they distract?"
I like using bullet points to make the PDF version look as much like a resume as possible, i.e., quick to scan. That's where the bling comes in... making the text easy to read. If the symbols you chose for your profile make your PDF look cheesy, better use a different symbol or not use so many.
Adding anything to your resume other than bullet points or perhaps a creative header (dependent upon your industry) is a really good way to never hear from the company.
Your resume (and LinkedIn profile)are PROFESSIONAL DOCUMENTS and should be treated as such!
Make yourself stand out by highlighting the VALUE you bring to the company, and the accomplishments you have achieved in previous positions.
Save the bling for your personal pages (that are not search-able by employers), and not professional correspondence.
I tried this on my facebook account and it says that it has been rejected!! This doesn't work.
Kristen,
I just copied and pasted a bullet point successfully from the Character Map to my Facebook profile. It worked for me.
How do you post a bullet point?
Kristen, Here's the easiest way. Go to my LinkedIn profile (http://linkedin.com/in/susanireland), scroll down to my experience section, and copy one of the bullet points I used to start my statements. Then paste the bullet point into your profile where ever you want one.
I cant go to ur linked in because I dont have a llinked in account.
Kirsten,
If you want to email me (joblounge@aol.com) I'll help you figure this out.
Hi, thanks for this
However I am hoping someone can help me, I have added bullet lists but need to add a sub list (ie pressing tab on word would give me a bullet list under my main bullet list)
Linkedin wont allow the use of 'tab' in its text boxes, so how on earth do i do this? if i press space Linkedin will edit them out and align everything.
Why does it do this, I would have thought Linkedin would promote such abilities...and how do I get around this?
Any ideas?
You could use a different character for your sub-bullet points. For example, use a dash. Even if it's not indented, it will appear as a subset of the bullet point.
It's not polished, but it would work.
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