Tips on how to make an eye catching and discoverable Linkedin profile that highlights your accomplishments, and get noticed by Recruiters for great jobs!
By now, most everyone in a professional setting should be aware of
Linkedin. It’s the most commonly used Social Media/networking platform
for professionals, hands down. 260 million users are logging into
Linkedin each month, and about 80% of Recruiters use the tool to hunt
for candidates to fill their positions.
You need to be on Linkedin.
Even if you do nothing but create a profile and let it sit, you must have a decent profile, or you’re letting yourself down.
If you’re looking for a new job, keep in mind that Hiring Managers and Recruiters will be searching you on Linkedin almost immediately upon reviewing your application. Recruiters & Hiring Teams now use the site heavily as an additional tool in assessing candidates.
And if you aren’t necessarily in the market for a new job, you still want to be discoverable amongst the world’s Head-Hunters & Recruiters. You never know what opportunities are out there that you aren’t even aware of. There may be something great you’re reached out to for – some of the best jobs are found by being “tapped” by a Recruiter or past Manager/colleague.
Here are some tips that will make it easy for
Recruiters to not only find you, but approach you.
Creating Your Profile
Start by creating a (free) account and entering in your basic
information. Don’t be shy. You should think of this as your online resume, and you shouldn’t be afraid to showcase yourself!
Contact Info
You can decide to list your email here or keep it hidden – totally up to you. Showcasing an email will make you more approachable, and easier to contact for opportunities, but this also means you could get a bit of spam and/or advertising/sales ploys. If you leave it hidden, the only way someone can contact you is through an “in-mail” which is free for “1st connections” but costs money through Linked In paid services for any others.
What are Connections?
Think of this like Facebook “friends” – when someone wants to be
included in your “network” on Linkedin, they’ll send you a connection
request, and you have the ability to accept it or deny it. You can also
request others as well. When you’ve accepted a request for a connection
(or someone accepts yours) you are now a “1st degree connection.” This
means you can reach out to them via message at no cost.
2nd level connections are “friends of your friends” or connections that your 1st level connections have. 3rd level connections are people that are connected to your 2nd degree connections. Both 2nd and 3rd level connections will require a paid account to contact, unless you can find their email address. Hence a reason to keep your email on your profile.
However, keep in mind most Recruiters have what is called a
“Recruiter Account” which is an employer paid account through Linkedin
that allows them to message anyone (of any connection degree). So you’re
typically approachable by most Recruiters if you do indeed decide to
leave your email address private.
Headline & Location
These are two critical, yet small pieces of info to ensure you’ve completed on your profile.
Your headline is typically your current title & company, but some
choose to make this something more creative, which is fine too. Think
“experienced sales leader” or “creative art director.” The reason this
is important is that it’s one of the first things a Recruiter sees under
your name when viewing your profile, so ensure yours is clear and
current.
Location is simple – most Recruiters are looking for people for
specific office locations, so make sure you’re clear here too.
Additionally, you won’t show up in geographically filtered searches if
you don’t have this specified on your profile.
Choose a great photo
This is optional, but there is evidence in greater contact rates by Recruiters if you showcase a photo. Remember to keep it professional, and keep kids, pets or other people out of it. Just yourself. A simple passport size photo of your face is perfect! Be a little selective in terms of which one you choose. Keep in mind that photos can go a long way in conveying energy, charisma & charm, which are often times soft skills Recruiters look for initially.
Make sure you write a good summary
This is the free-hand section that shows up under your name, location and headline. Really important for first glance information, and your chance to speak freely about your experience and skill-sets as a whole.
Take the time to write a creative summary of you as a professional. Keep personal information out and stick to a well written snapshot of your background.
Experience
This will be the bulk of your profile. Make sure to include dates that correspond to your CV, and make sure to keep your jobs up to date. Take the time to write out a short summary of each of your roles and include a sentence or two about what the company does, if it is an unknown or smaller brand that people wouldn’t be as familiar with.
It’s important to include summaries for each role so Recruiters have a
better understanding of your specific responsibilities. This is also
your chance to highlight some of your achievements! Include powerful
results oriented statements that will be eye-catching. Try “I reduced
turnover by 35% during my tenure at company X” or “I grew my book of business by 90% in 2018.”
Skills & Endorsements
Make sure to add in some key words around your different skills, as
these will come up in searches Recruiters conduct when looking for
specific backgrounds. There are a ton of
options in terms of what you can include here, so don’t be shy! Add as
many as you like – it will just open you up to more discovery within
Recruiters’ searches.
A good tip here – take a look at the job
descriptions of the positions you’re targeting. Select keywords that are
commonly used, and ensure these (if you have the skills) are sprinkled
throughout your summary and experience.
Media/Content
If you happen to have any content you’ve written (articles,
whitepapers, videos, etc), be sure to share on your profile! Some jobs
have more of an opportunity to showcase this stuff than others
(generally marketing, designers or creative
type of roles), but certainly if you have it, this is a great place to
highlight it. There is also a section in contact info where you can
include a website, blog, portfolio, etc to showcase as well.
Recommendations
Anyone can recommend you on Linkedin, and write essentially a nice reference for you to showcase on your profile. You can review recommendations and also decide which ones to include (or not include) on your profile. You can also ask for recommendations from prior colleagues or managers. This is a great way to include branded references on your profile, and Recruiters do look for them.
Grow your connections
You should aim for at least 50 connections, and 100 is even better. When Recruiters see profiles with few connections, they assume there’s a reason – either you don’t know how to use social media, you don’t have enough experience to have very many connections, or there’s maybe you’re not even a real profile. You should want to grow these connections anyway, as it grows your network, and will maximize your use of Linkedin.
Follow these tips and you’ll be on your way to a great profile on the largest professional social media site in the world!
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