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LinkedIn is one of the best platforms for creating a profile to seek a new job. By updating your experiences and accomplishments on your LinkedIn profile, you are likely to open a door to job opportunities for yourself. These jobs will be aligned directly with your career path and background, saving you a great deal of time and effort. We have compiled a comprehensive guide for job seekers to get tips to optimize their LinkedIn profiles in a way to attract potential recruitment managers and job offers.
1.
Use a professional yet friendly profile display
Statistically speaking, members with a profile photo are 21 times more likely to receive views and 9 times more likely to receive a connection request. Your photo should be a close-up of your face, and not a full-length picture, hence, why we call it a headshot. Since your face will take up almost the entire frame, your attire should not be a problem in most cases.
However, it is imperative to not wear a worn-out tee or your favorite football jersey, either. The headshot should be a little more casual than that of your passport, but not too casual as the one on your Facebook. Your profile photo needs to have a decent, well-lit background, where you look neat and professional, but not too stern.
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2.
Add in a compelling profile headline
Your LinkedIn profile will include a headline that will appear at the top of your profile next to your name. Your headline should be catchy and easily comprehensible to anyone reading it.
Try putting in phrases like “currently seeking new opportunities”, “available for employment”, etc. to make it known that you are actively hunting jobs. Pair it with a description of the type of job that you are seeking, to attract the right kind of job opportunities for yourself.
A few examples of your headline could be:
- Language tutor with 6+ years of experience currently seeking employment
- Experienced software engineer actively seeking new opportunities
- Graphic designing student available for work
3.
Use the profile summary section sensibly
It is essential to construct a professionally engaging summary to communicate your brand and why someone should consider you. After a catchy headline, your summary should be the next thing to encourage the reader to continue reading through your profile.
A summary that stands out should, and usually, includes:
- Your current job title
- Around 3 to 4 sentences about your top skills, experience(s), and relevant accomplishments
- One or two lines about what you are most passionate about and what kind of a position you may be interested in if you were to be open to any job opportunity.
Make your summary around 3 to 5 paragraphs long and describe yourself using short comprehensive sentences. If, in any case, you require precise information for your skills or passions, you may use bullet points to separate the information.
4.
Promote your expertise in the features section
Beneath the “Summary” or “About” section, LinkedIn offers you a chance to show off your work experiences. This section highlights whether you qualify for the job or not. Below are a few tips that will make your work experience stand out.
- Quantify your experience in numerical terms, such as “7 years of experience as a Chief Accountant at a leading Audit Firm”
- If you are seeking a new job, look at the job description and adjust your experiences accordingly. Add only what is most relevant to the job so you may appear fit for that position.
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5.
Show your skills off
Similar to the “About” section, the “Skills and Endorsements” section is an important part of being noticed by your recruiter. With LinkedIn giving you a limit of 50 skills, you can add in everything that you consider yourself good at.
Start with the ones most relevant to your line of work and then add the extra skills you possess along the way. Do not feel bad about not being able to fill in all 50 spots that are there. Having a few spots empty does not make you unworthy of the position you are applying for.
Additionally, get your former colleagues and coworkers to endorse your work ethic and other skills on LinkedIn. Endorsements for a certain set of skills are social proof that you are worthy of the position and make the profile more valid and presentable.
6.
Attach relevant certificates and academic records
Aside from relevant skills, let them know of any courses you have taken for a second or third language or any articles or research papers that were published in the related field. Maybe you have multiple licenses for different states, a double master’s degree, or you have previously won an award or an honorary mention? Add these certificates along with some keywords to your profile and make it more presentable.
7.
Let it be known that you are open to recruitment
The #OpenForWork feature is a great way to let recruiters on LinkedIn know that you are currently seeking a job. The #OpenForWork feature can be enabled by just clicking on your profile picture and then selecting the “Looking for a New Job” option.
You can further optimize this feature by selecting either the “Share with all LinkedIn members” or the “Share with recruiters only” option, depending on your job status. These LinkedIn members will make you more visible to hiring managers looking to fill vacant positions.
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8.
Request for recommendations
The last, but equally important step, is to get more recommendations when updating your LinkedIn profile. You may give recommendations to an old colleague who, in turn, would be motivated to give one back to you. Ask your former boss or anyone who had been senior to you to come up with a few lines for your LinkedIn recommendation. This will not just make your profile more valid, but also show the recruiter(s) that you may, indeed, be the ideal employee.
Furthermore, connecting with contributors and high-profile managers of the industry of your interest on LinkedIn would also prove to be favorable. Those who have more connections are more likely to be seen on the recruiters’ newsfeeds and hence, more likely to be considered for recruitment opportunities after they get a good look at your headline, summary, and skills section. While getting recommendations is rewarding, it is essential to not spam your connecting network.
9.
Write in First Person
You may think that this is obvious and that every LinkedIn profile you come across has been from a first-person perspective. However, oftentimes, we see people being carried away (especially in the summary section) and they may write something that sounds like: “Alex is an acclaimed professor with 20 years of teaching experience under his belt.”
It is important to not write any statements about yourself in the third person. There is no rule, but potential recruiters tend to value your first-person phrases while dismissing those in third person as seemingly fake and pretentious.
10.
Be more active on LinkedIn
Being more active increases your chances of gaining more connections, and hence, a greater possibility of your profile is visible to any recruiters out there. Being active on this platform is very much similar to being active on any other social media platform. It may include:
- Interacting with your connections: react and comment on their posts
- Sharing posts relevant to your industry or company of interest
- Joining appropriate groups and gaining insights from those more experienced than you
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Conclusion
Now that you know all the right ways to optimize your LinkedIn profile, follow these tips to make it more visible to potential recruiters. You may check out our article on the 10 Best Kills To Include On Your Resume to secure your spot on the interview list for the company of your interest!
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