Last Updated on March 19, 2025
If you’re seeking a board of directors role, the first thing that will be reviewed is your LinkedIn profile. So you’ll want to tell your best story using all of the tools that LinkedIn offers.
Here are some tips to make your LinkedIn profile shine bright for corporate board roles:
Featured Section
Use this area to highlight 3 special achievements including news articles that prominently feature you. Profile articles are optimal. If your Featured section is currently being used to highlight LinkedIn posts or other less important information, it’s a good idea to change it so it features only pertinent profiles or special achievements. So that key items stand out, keep this section clean.
Professional Headline
This is what people will read first when they look at your profile. You have a 220 character limit with spaces. In my profile, I use a series of words and phrases to describe what I do, plus the vertical bar “|” as a divider to separate each word or phrase. You can also have a statement.
Header Background
Don’t disregard the area behind your headshot. This is prime real estate in which to place your organizational logo or tagline. Alternatively, it can be used to telegraph people about what you do. LinkedIn just introduced a header background carousel, which allows you to add up to 5 images. Canva, the graphic design application, has a number of templates to use, but I recommend that you enlist a graphic designer so it has a high end, customized look. The recommended size for a LinkedIn background banner is 1584 pixels wide by 396 pixels tall, with an aspect ratio of approximately 4:1. This size is optimized for both mobile and desktop devices. Use high-quality images to ensure your banner looks sharp and clear.
LinkedIn Background Suggestions:
- Incorporate minimal text: Keep the text on your banner to a minimum so it doesn’t distract from the image.
- Use the right file format: Use JPEGs for photos and PNG for graphics.
- Save with high quality settings: Use the highest quality settings when saving your image to counteract LinkedIn’s compression.
- Preview on multiple devices: Test your banner on different devices to make sure it looks good across all screens.
- Keep it updated: Regularly update your banner to reflect any changes to your professional status
About Section
This is where you can elaborate on your skills, accomplishments and background – in 2600 characters with spaces. Using four lines in the first sentence is optimal and will grab the most attention. Be sure to include recent career accomplishments and expertise. Importantly, write in the first person and use bullet points to draw attention to key accomplishments. This should include any previous board roles you have held, including nonprofit positions, the monetary value of the business segment/s you’ve managed, as well as depth and breadth of your position and responsibilities.
Honors and Awards
Be sure to keep this section updated with any internal honors as well as industry awards.
Recommendations
Recommendations are important and speak to your reputation and successes; they also help you show up higher in searches. If you have a few that are more than two years old, it’s best to reach out and gather more current ones.
For more tips on how to leverage LinkedIn to attain a corporate board position, read my blog How Your Thought Leadership Will Position You for a Corporate Board Role[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
