In the internet era, your LinkedIn profile stands alongside your CV as an invaluable tool in helping recruiters find you as they look to fill vacancies.
LinkedIn is not only updated daily with 1000’s of new job entries, but organizations are often actively scouring through the network to find future potential employees with outstanding profiles. It is because of this that LinkedIn is often the starting point in the modern-day job hunt.
These tips will help you to optimise your profile, appear in searches, stand out to hiring managers and help you land the job of your dreams.
1. Selecting a profile picture
Let’s start at the beginning. As the saying goes, “you only get one chance to make a first impression” and on LinkedIn that first impression is your profile picture. You want to make sure that it’s a good one - but what constitutes ‘good’? First comes image quality. You want a photo that is clear, focused, relatively recent and well lit. Secondly, make sure the image you have chosen is appropriate to the industry you are a part of. Your friends may be impressed by that picture of you on the dance floor but the CEO of the audit firm you’re applying to probably won’t be.
2. Always have a ‘Current Job’ entry
Even if you are currently unemployed. Recruiters use the ‘Current Job’ Field to filter their searches, which means if you leave this section empty, you won’t appear in any searches at all. If you’re a student with no prior experience or currently between jobs, a simple work around would be adding your desired position, followed by ‘in training’ or ‘looking for new opportunities’ in the Company field. This will increase the number of searches you appear in and boost your chances of landing your dream job.
3. Put Keywords in your ‘Skills’ Section
Your ‘skills’ section works hand-in-hand with your ‘Current Job’ title to filter your profile in recruiter searches. Make sure the skills you list are relevant to your industry, in demand, truthful and listed in order of their relevance and importance. Try narrowing it down to a Top 10 list of competencies.
4. Have at Least 50 Connections - But Don’t Add People You Don’t Know
LinkedIn is not a popularity contest, but having a network of around 30 – 60 connections is a great start to show recruiters that you are active in your industry and have begun to forge valuable connections with your peers. Refrain from adding every person you come across however, as too many rejected invitations can lead to your account being disabled by the network.
Bonus Tip – Create a personal URL.
By default, LinkedIn will assign a random set of numbers as your profiles URL. This can be tough to keep track of and unsightly to share on social media networks or your CV. Luckily, you have the option to change this URL to personal one (www.linkedin.com/yournamehere). To do this, access your account and click on ‘Edit Profile’, followed by ‘Public Profile URL’. Click ‘Edit’ then enter your name followed by ‘Confirm Public URL’. This flashy URL will not only help set your profile apart, but also show potential employers that you aren’t afraid of technology.
Job seeking can be an extremely daunting task and is something all of us must go through at least once in our lifetime. When used correctly, tools such as the LinkedIn can help ease the burden and improve your chances of not only finding employment, but landing your dream job.