The Trick to Getting More People to Look at Your LinkedIn Profile Is Almost Too Easy

people spend less than one minute looking at your resume.

Well, attention spans don't magically increase for LinkedIn. According to Ciara Lakhani, People and Culture Head for Compass, most recruiters will only spend about 10 seconds on each profile. Other viewers may spend just a bit longer.

So how do you make your LinkedIn more “sticky?” In other words, how do you turn those 10 seconds into 120?

Simple. Add media.

The Why

Approximately 90% of what we process is visual—and we process visual info 60,000 times more quickly than text. Plus, the majority of people are “visual learners,” which means the best way to grab 'em is by the eyeballs.

Catherine Fisher, LinkedIn's career expert, told me, “the more visually appealing a profile is, the better.”

The What

At last count, I've published over 1,000 articles for various places around the web—which means it's pretty darn easy for me to find media samples of my work.

But you definitely don't have to be in a creative field to visually showcase your accomplishments. I guarantee that no matter what career or industry you're in, there's a media option for you.

Drawing a blank? Open up your resume and go through your bullet points. Each one represents an accomplishment or responsibility, right? You just need to pick out one (to start) that can be represented visually. (And yes, you're going to have to be a little creative here.)

For example, maybe you were part of a successful product launch team. If so, add the press release, blog post, or ad announcing the project completion to your profile.

Or maybe you work in HR. Find a PowerPoint you used in a training seminar, or the link to a new office engagement program you started, or a page from the employee manual you helped write.

Have you ever given a speech or talk? Use the event video, or if there isn't one, the publicity materials. Have you ever made a presentation? Upload the slides. Have you ever written a company blog post? Share the link. Did your company get positive press? That's fair game, too.

I think you see where I'm going here: Anything (professional) goes. All you're trying to do is catch someone's eye.

(Oh, just make sure that nothing you post is confidential or against company policy to share.)

The How

Once you've figured out what you'll add, it's time to actually do it. Adding media to your LinkedIn is super easy. When you're in editing mode on LinkedIn, you'll see an “Add Media” option underneath each position.