LinkedIn Quick Tip: How to Reorder Your Profile Sections

What It Is:

Last week, LinkedIn announced a new feature intended to give you more control over how you present your profile. The ability to reorder the sections in your profile, says Aaron Bronzan, associate product manager at LinkedIn, was one of the most highly requested profile features. Now, instead of adhering to LinkedIn’s templated format, you can arrange the pieces of your profile (such as your summary, experience and recommendations) however you see fit.

Why It’s Important:

Arranging the sections in your profile gives you the freedom to highlight the skills, experience and expertise that sets you apart from others. For example, if you lack recommendations from your peers, you may choose to move that part of your profile to the bottom. Or, if your varied work experience is what sets you apart from others, you may choose to move your experience section to the top, making it more prominent and visible to those who visit your profile.

How To Do It:

Log in to your account and under “Profile” choose “Edit Profile.” To the left of each section head you’ll see an arrow icon. To arrange the sections, click the arrow icon and drag and drop the section to the appropriate area in your profile. One Warning:

Make sure that the order in which you arrange the sections of your profile is logical and done purposefully. “Most users like that the profile starts with a summary and ends with contact information,” says Eve Mayer Orsburn, CEO of Social Media Delivered, a social media consultancy. “When users explore a profile, they come to expect that things should be in certain places,” she says, so be wary of how heavily you reorder the sections.

Staff Writer Kristin Burnham covers consumer Web and social technologies for CIO.com. She writes frequently on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google. You can follow her on Twitter: @kmburnham.