LinkedIn Guidance for Applicants

If you are applying to Ravenscroft & Schmierer, you may have noticed that having a complete LinkedIn profile is one way to strengthen your candidacy, and a requirement once and if your application proceeds to a certain stage. Please also refer to our FAQs and watch this video on our recruitment procedure. But don’t worry: you can then self-assess and improve your profile already using the checklist below.

Author: Kristina Akova, 2025 Gap Year Intern

For examples of the elements described below, please also review the profiles of our current Campus Ambassadors. You do not need LinkedIn Premium to implement them.

1. Profile Picture

A good profile picture looks professional, and there are some cheap studios in Hong Kong, but even your smart phone is good enough. As suggested by Chris Tang, one of the leading legal recruiters in Hong Kong: "Use portrait mode (get out onto the street to take a photo) to blur the background and keep the focus on you. Or use an AI tool to help you create a dazzling corporate portrait. Stop using your graduation photo. Please. I urge you. Even if you just graduated. Banish these from social media. Forever."

We also prefer photos which zoom into your face, rather than showing most of your upper body, because LinkedIn mostly displays your picture in very small, such as when you like or comment on a post. And at that size, your face becomes almost unrecognisable, unless you zoom in a lot. Should you join us, then for the duration of your time with us we ask that you change the background colour of your profile picture to the Ravenscroft & Schmierer blue.

2. Custom URL

Have you noticed that there are a series of random letters and numbers at the end of your LinkedIn profile? Please remove them by following these instructions. Should you choose to paste the link to your profile on your CV, it will look cleaner too.

3. Language Settings

Some profiles are both in English and another language, often Chinese, which makes it difficult for those who only read one of the languages to get a full understanding of your profile. If you are unsure if your profile displays both languages simultaneously, you can ask a friend to view your profile from their account. Changing your language settings so your profile comes up in the viewer’s target language can be found here.

4. Connections and Network

Generally, the more connections and active followers you have before applying the better, though this depends on how long you have had a LinkedIn account for. We typically suggests aiming for a minimum of 300 connections, if not 500.

Again, we concur with Chris Tang's advice: "Follow firms, recruiters, and industry leaders. Engage with their content meaningfully. And speak to them offline regularly, give them a nudge or a wink from time to time to show you're alive!"

5. About Section

Write or add to your About section. Students often list their academic passions, extracurricular interests, and careers and industries they hope to pursue. Chris says: "Tell your story. What’s your niche? What value do you bring? No one hires a mystery candidate. Keep it snappy."

We agree and want to add; write it in the first person. Instead of "Kristina is ...", write "I am ... ". It used to be fashiobale to write in the third person on LinkedIn. However, this is not your Wikipedia page.

6. Experience and Education

The most common mistake for the Education section is to omit your secondary school. List your secondary school. List extracurricual activities, awards, student societies you've been a part of, scholarhsips (if any) etc.

If you have any photos, articles, videos, or samples of work you made during experiences listed in your Education and Experience sections, please add them to the relevant section on your profile.

7. 'Featured'

It is an absolute must to have a Featured section on your profile, and the magic number is three. Don't put one or two or four items there. Put three. You can put the links to some of your posts, or socials of your student societies. Or, if you are mentioned in a presentation, article, or poster, you can feature it there. If you have a Featured section with three items, excellent - you may move on to point 8. If you don't have a Featured section yet, or not exactly three items there, why not go to your profile and change it now.

8. Endorsements and Recommendations

You can ask past supervisors, professors, teachers and peers who worked or studied with you to endorse your ability in the skills you have selected. You can also ask them to write you a short recommendation or, vice versa, write them a recommendation.

9. Verified

This will show a grey badge with a tick next to your name, so users know you are a real person. Here are instructions on how to do so.

10. Headline

Don’t just state your university and degree - you will look like the 100 other students in your programme - say what else you do! Example: "CUHK Year 2 LLB Student | Negotiation Society Treasurer | Volunteer at Hong Kong Red Cross"

11. Be Active

Comment on industry news and other posts, share your perspective and join discussions. Don't be silent. You will miss many opportunities.

12. Post Often

Post frequently. Ideally, at least every few weeks. Never written a post before? Why not start now? If you are unsure about what to post, feel free to ask any us of us for advice.

13. Your Name

Last but not least: your name. As James already wrote, we often see candidates who have a slightly different name on their CV and their LinkedIn profiles. That's not ideal, as it can be confusing. Make sure that they are exactly the same.

A common misconception is that the name on your CV must match your ID. This is not the case, but the name on your CV must match the name of your LinkedIn profile. If the name on your ID is "WONG, Yan Yi", but you go by the name Angel Wong, then put "Angel Wong" on your CV and LinkedIn, and nothing else.

Please keep in mind that these are just some basics. If you want to really stand out on LinkedIn, it takes a bit more, and it's hard to do that from one day to the next, but you can do a lot with consistency over a few weeks and months.

Further advice can be found here and here (the former is more geared towards students) and feel free to connect with our Campus Ambassadors on LinkedIn once you have read this article, and ask them for feedback on any changes you have made.

They are listed in the People section of our LinkedIn page.

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During a gap year between secondary school and university, Kristina Akova spent four months interning at Ravenscroft & Schmierer with the Operations team.

Kristina Akova

2025 Gap Year Intern

www.linkedin.com/in/kristinaakova