LinkedIn Profile Audit

The 45-minute self-audit walkthrough

Seven steps, each time-boxed. If a step is already green in your report, take the minutes as profit and move on.

Step 1: Baseline and triage (5 min)

Score the untouched profile. Copy the report. Note your tier, your two weakest dimensions and the three quick wins. Decide now what "done today" means: usually the quick wins plus one deep section, not everything.

Step 2: The identity strip (5 min)

Name field carries only your name. Location set to where you want to be found. Custom URL claimed (two minutes, permanent gain). Photo and banner exist; if the checklist made you answer "no" on either, put a 15-minute banner task on your calendar rather than stalling the audit.

Step 3: The headline (10 min)

Rebuild it as role, audience, proof: who you are professionally, who gets value from you, one number that survives skepticism. Use at least 60 of the 220 characters. If your report flagged the "Title at Company" pattern, the suggested rewrite already contains your raw material.

Step 4: The About section (10 min)

Move your single strongest fact into the first line, before the fold. Below it: what you do, proof in numbers, how you work, and a closing ask. Two or more paragraph breaks so it scans. Aim inside the 800 to 2,000 character band; the counter in the widget shows where you stand.

Step 5: Experience framing (8 min)

Take the duty lines your report quoted and flip each one: verb first, outcome attached, number if you have one, bracketed placeholder if you need to look it up. Two rewritten lines per recent role beats ten untouched ones.

Step 6: Skills and keywords (4 min)

Confirm your three to five target terms exist in the headline and in skills, verbatim. Add missing target terms as skills; prune obvious filler if you are over fifty. This step is mechanical and pays immediately in the keywords and searchability dimensions.

Step 7: Rescore and file the receipt (3 min)

Paste the edited profile, score, copy the after-report. Diff against the baseline: tier moved, dimensions lifted, remaining list known. Whatever stayed red is next quarter's audit, already scoped.

The maintenance loop after the audit

Profiles decay by staleness, not sabotage. A quarterly 10-minute check catches most of it: refresh one number, one line, one skill. Do the full 45-minute audit when seasons change, new role, new offer, new audience, or twice a year on a calendar reminder. Keep each after-report; a year of them is a quiet record of your professional story sharpening, with no dashboard account required.