Could the 4 secrets in this blog post be the difference-maker in landing that job you've been searching for?
We all know what it’s like to be on the job hunt. Most individuals start by posting a resume on job boards such as Zip Recruiter, Indeed, or Career Builder. You may go onto LinkedIn and page through the “Jobs For You” tabs, trying to apply for as many as possible. You can certainly gain attention and land a job through the methods mentioned above, but did you know that optimizing your LinkedIn can be one of the greatest ways to increase your visibility and curb appeal to recruiters and those doing targeted searches?
LinkedIn is a massive cluster of online interactions. 40 Million people use LinkedIn to search for jobs every week, and 3 people are hired through LinkedIn every minute! These statistics alone highlight the importance of having a LinkedIn profile that has been optimized. Read on for the best ways to Optimize LinkedIn.
So, how can you be spotted? Here are a few of the secrets:
- Clean up your job title(s) and make sure they are consistent with the work/responsibilities you have had in each role. You should also add no more than 3 bullet points for each position that highlights the work you were doing.
- If you are okay with your current company knowing you are looking for a new role, include something in your headline such as “actively seeking a Finance Manager position with a cool and dynamic team”. These titles should be catchy and display information about your ideal next role.
- Make sure you have a brief “About Me” section. Include a few personal highlights about you and an accomplishment or two you are proud of. Make sure your accomplishments are quantifiable and honest!
- Make sure your job history and education are fully populated with no gaps and make sure your employment dates are accurate. In other words, everything on your LinkedIn should match your resume. The last thing you want to have is a hiring manager or TA person dinging you for missing information when they try and match up your resume to your LinkedIn profile. Trust me, this happens! This also puts more info about you onto the platform that can pull you into specific searches or categories.
- Add a profile and wallpaper photo and make sure they are professional. On the profile photo, do not use photos with family members or friends. We all love family photos, but this is LinkedIn, not Facebook. For your wallpaper background choose something that displays a little bit more about you. For example, I love hiking and mountains so I included a photo I took in Zion National Park. With a little playing around in Canva (which is a great free resource!) I added a clear one-liner of text that speaks to what I do in my role, “matching people to opportunities”.
Travis' LinkedIn header, mentioned above.
These are just a few of the ways that you can self-assess and start the journey of Optimizing LinkedIn. Stay tuned for next month’s Part 2 of this blog post on how to continue to optimize your profile and land that job you have been wanting to get!
