In the old days of recruitment I was taught to use the A.I.D.A. principle to write little tiny job adverts that we published in the Wednesday and Saturday jobs section of The Age newspaper.  Thinking about it now, they were a precursor to digital mediums and tweets, that had to hook you in a few centimetres of text.  The columns would have been about 2.5 cm wide, and the font was, I think 7 point and because you paid by the column centimetre you had to think on your feet and be creative, it was expensive.

My point is that the A.I.D.A. principle was how we caught peoples attention with just a few lines, which encouraged them to apply.  So what does it have to do with creating a compelling LinkedIn profile and what does A.I.D.A. mean?

ATTENTION

This is where you catch peoples eye, the thing that speaks to the audience.   On your LinkedIn profile you should have a recent photo of yourself, looking professional.   Avoid using a selfie that you’d share on instagram or facebook where possible.

Next create a headline that stands out.  

“Creative Designer | UX Ninja | Digital Passion | Available”

Notice these are descriptive words about who this profile belongs to in just a few words.  Try not to be too pedestrian or super clever with your headline.  Multi-Skilled Professional OR Jack of All Trades doesn’t tell the reader anything much about you or what your looking for.

What you need to remember is that when the reader is searching through long lists of potential candidates on LinkedIn, they only see your preview with your photo and headline.  These need to jump out to grab the readers attention.

Next add a background or cover photo, which could represent the work you do.  As a designer, perhaps a taste of your design talents.

INTEREST

Once you’ve caught their attention, you need to keep it.  The next area of attention should be your summary which is visible as your “About” on your LinkedIn profile.  Don’t go overboard with every little thing about yourself, remember this is a potential employer.  This is where we create a second round of A.I.D.A nested inside. I’ve used short facts to help the reader

Attention: Creative designer, currently available for freelance and full time opportunities.

Interest: Based in Prahran, with 10 years of industry experience as a Graphic & UX Designer, I work across print and digital to build best client outcomes.  I am an experienced team player, mentor and have managed small teams in the past.  I have worked on clients such as FMCG and retail, various Victorian Government departments, real estate and new construction development projects.  

Desire: I am looking for a full time gig as a Senior UX Designer, but I am also set up remotely to service any freelance gigs you might have.  My preference is working as part of a creative team in studio, or in-house with corporate or government business. 

Action: I’m AVAILABLE you can contact me via  in-mail or bob@bobsdesign.com.au.  All other contact details are listed in my profile contact info.

DESIRE

At this point we create DESIRE with your Experience and Skills & Endorsements.  So experience is really cut and paste from your resume, you will have perfected you resume by this time to make sure it is BOT & AI friendly. See articles "Bots are your friends" and "Is your resume robot ready?". I would recommend you create an Experience entry for you as a freelancer, I know it sounds obvious, but there are a number of things you can add to the entry which will also help a reader.  You can expand on your specialities and skill sets.  Give the reader an idea of how you work and the process the freelance client would undergo AND you can add documents, photos, websites links, videos and presentations.

Nothing sells design better than great visual.

This little trick I picked up from the internet….

Stalk people who have the job you're looking to get into next.  Read their profiles, find some take aways you feel could enhance your profile, taking special note of the skills they have listed.  As this is aspirational, your next role, make sure you associate yourself with the key skills that relate directly to your next role.  This will up your searchabilty for the reader, so that you will come up in searches.

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