How to Create a LinkedIn Account Step by Step

Creating your LinkedIn account is the first step toward building a powerful professional network and personal brand online. It's your digital resume, your networking event, and your industry conference all rolled into one. This guide will walk you through setting up everything step by step, from the initial signup to crafting a profile that opens doors and gets you noticed by the right people.

Why a Strong LinkedIn Profile Matters

Before we get into the nuts and bolts, let's quickly cover why this is so important. A well-crafted LinkedIn profile does more than just list your job history. It's a strategic tool for career growth. Recruiters use it daily to find candidates, potential clients use it to vet professionals, and industry peers use it to connect with experts. A complete and active profile makes you discoverable and credible. It's your chance to control your professional narrative, showcase your expertise, and build meaningful connections that can lead to your next job, client, or collaboration.

How to Create a LinkedIn Account: The Initial Setup

Let's start from the very beginning. This part is quick, taking just a few minutes to get your account live.

Step 1: Signing Up

First, head over to the LinkedIn homepage at linkedin.com. On the main page, you'll see a form or a button that says "Join now." Click it.

• Enter your first and last name. Be sure to use your real, professional name.
• Provide an email address you check regularly. Using a personal email address (like Gmail) is generally better than a work email, as you'll maintain access to the account even if you change jobs.
• Create a secure password of at least six characters.

Click "Agree & Join," and you're officially on your way.

Step 2: Basic Security and Location Information

LinkedIn will guide you through a few quick steps to secure your account and start personalizing your experience.

• Security check: You might see a quick puzzle (a captcha) to prove you're not a robot.
• Location: Next, you'll be asked to add your country and ZIP code. This helps LinkedIn provide relevant job postings and network suggestions.
• Most recent job: Add your most recent job title and the company you work for. If you’re a student, you can indicate that here as well. This information begins building the foundation of your professional profile.

Step 3: Email Verification

LinkedIn will send a verification code to the email address you used to sign up. Check your inbox, find the email from LinkedIn, and copy the code into the verification box on the LinkedIn site. This confirms you own the email address and finishes the basic signup process. With that done, your account is officially created. Now, it's time to turn that skeleton account into a winning professional profile.

Building Your Profile Foundation: The Essentials

An empty profile doesn't do you any good. These next steps are about filling in the key sections that create your first impression. Let's make it a great one.

1. Add a Professional Profile Picture

Your profile picture is the face of your personal brand. Profiles with a photo get up to 21 times more views than those without one. Choose a high-resolution, recent photo where you look professional, approachable, and recognizable.

Tips for a great profile picture:

• It's a headshot: Your face should take up about 60% of the frame. This isn't the place for a photo of you skiing from a distance.
• Simple background: Avoid distracting backgrounds. A solid-colored wall or a lightly blurred outdoor setting works best.
• Dress professionally: Wear something you'd feel comfortable wearing to a client meeting or an interview in your industry.
• Smile! A warm, genuine smile makes you look more approachable and confident. You want people to feel comfortable connecting with you.

To upload your photo, click the camera icon on the placeholder profile image, and upload your picture. LinkedIn will give you tools to position and filter it, but simple is usually best.

2. Write a Compelling Headline

By default, your headline is just your job title and company. That's a missed opportunity. Your headline is one of the most visible parts of your profile - it appears under your name everywhere on LinkedIn. A strong headline tells people who you are and what value you offer.

Instead of just "Marketing Manager at ABC Company," try a formula that showcases your expertise:

[Your Job Title] | [Your Specialty or Area of Expertise] | [The Value You Provide]

Here are a few examples:

• Before: Software Engineer
  After: Senior Software Engineer | Expert in Python & Cloud Architecture | Building Scalable Solutions for FinTech Startups
• Before: Freelance Writer
  After: Freelance B2B SaaS Writer | Turning Complex Tech Topics into Engaging Blog Content That Drives Leads

To edit your headline, go to your profile page and click the pencil icon next to your name and photo.

3. Tell Your Professional Story in the "About" Section

The "About" section (formerly the summary) is your personal elevator pitch. This is where you can go beyond job titles and bullet points to tell a story about your career, your passions, and what drives you. A great "About" section connects with the reader on a human level.

A simple structure for your "About" section:

• The Hook (1-2 sentences): Start with a strong statement about who you are and what you do. What problem do you solve for people?
• The Body (2-3 paragraphs): Detail your experience, your core competencies, and a key achievement or two. This is a great place to weave in keywords relevant to your industry and skills. Use bullet points or short paragraphs to make it easy to scan.
• The CTA (Call to Action): End by telling people what you want them to do next. Do you want them to connect with you? Visit your portfolio? Send you an email? Make it clear.

4. Upload a Custom Banner Image

The empty blue-and-gray banner behind your profile picture is another piece of valuable real estate. Customizing it instantly makes your profile look more polished and professional. Your banner image should reflect your brand or industry.

Ideas for your banner image:

• A photo of you speaking at an event or working with your team.
• An abstract background image that uses your brand's colors.
• A picture of your workspace or a tool of your trade.
• A simple graphic with your website URL, company logo, or contact information.

The ideal LinkedIn banner size is 1584 x 396 pixels. You can create a simple one for free using tools like Canva. Just click the pencil icon in the top right corner of your profile to add or change it.

Adding Depth: Experience, Skills & Education

With the core elements in place, it's time to add the details that provide proof of your skills and accomplishments.

Fleshing Out Your Work Experience

Don't just list your past jobs. For each role, add descriptions that highlight your responsibilities and, more importantly, your accomplishments. Focus on results.

• Use 2-4 bullet points for each position.
• Start each bullet point with a strong action verb (e.g., Managed, Created, Implemented, Increased, Launched).
• Quantify your achievements whenever possible. Numbers make your accomplishments tangible and impressive. For example, instead of "Managed social media accounts," try "Grew organic social media following by 45% in one year across three platforms by implementing a new content strategy."

Think of this section as a mini case study for each role you've held.

Adding Skills & Getting Endorsements

The Skills section helps you get discovered through keywords and validates your expertise. LinkedIn allows you to add up to 50 skills, but focus on the ones most relevant to your career goals.

Think about both hard skills (like SEO, Python, Project Management) and soft skills (like Communication, Leadership, Teamwork). Once you've added some skills, your network can endorse you for them, providing social proof of your abilities. You can also pin your top three most important skills to the top of the list so they are immediately visible to profile visitors.

Showcasing Your Education & Certifications

Add the institutions where you've studied, including degrees you've earned and the years you attended. But don't stop there. This is also the perfect place for any professional certifications, licenses, or significant online courses you've completed. This shows a commitment to continuous learning and professional development, which is always attractive to employers and clients.

Finalizing Your Profile and Growing Your Network

You're almost done. These last two steps will make your profile easy to share and get the ball rolling on building your network.

Customize Your Public Profile URL

When you first create your account, LinkedIn assigns you a clunky URL with a string of random numbers. You can - and should - create a custom one. A clean URL looks more professional on your resume, email signature, and business cards.

To do this:

1. Go to your profile page.
2. Click on "Edit public profile &, URL" in the top right corner.
3. Under "Edit your custom URL," click the pencil icon.
4. Change the end of the URL to something clean, like /yourfirstname-yourlastname. Click save.

Start Building Your Connections

Finally, it's time to start building your connections. A network is useless if it's empty. LinkedIn will prompt you to sync your email contacts, which is a great way to find people you already know. Start by connecting with:

• Current and former colleagues
• Clients and business partners
• Classmates from your university
• People you know from professional associations or events

When you send a connection request, always add a personal note. A simple, "Hi [Name], we worked together at [Company]. I'd love to connect and stay in touch!" is far more effective than the generic, default request.

Final Thoughts

Creating a LinkedIn account is a straightforward process, but transforming it into a powerful career-building tool requires a thoughtful approach. By following these steps, you've not only made an account but have started building a strong foundation for your professional brand online.

Once your profile is up and running, staying active is the key to building momentum. Posting content consistently is a powerful way to demonstrate your expertise and stay top-of-mind with your network. We built Postbase to make that part easier. Our platform lets you schedule your LinkedIn content alongside posts for all your other social networks in one clean, visual calendar, so you can build your personal brand without having to manually post every single day.