Optimizing LinkedIn for Your Job Search
Spanning 200 countries and territories worldwide with 930 million members and 58 million registered companies, LinkedIn continues to be one of the most valuable resources for job seekers. Furthermore, 40% of users access it regularly, and it has an impressive 1 billion interactions per month.
Regardless of its usefulness and potential to job seekers, many fail to prioritize it or use it correctly during the job search process, when it could be doing amazing recruitment work for you 24/7. Personally, I believe the failed use of LinkedIn often roots back to misunderstanding its purpose.
LinkedIn isn’t Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok. You won’t (or at least likely won’t) be sharing your cat pictures or favorite memes anytime soon, as it’s not the place for casual social entertainment. LinkedIn is an employment and business focused social media platform where you can manage your professional identity and grow your professional network.
It’s an incredibly powerful tool, and by following these tips, you’ll be well on your way to using LinkedIn like a pro!
Freshen up your profile.
If your LinkedIn profile is out of date or missing entire sections, it might be useless. Per LinkedIn, profiles with pictures draw 14 times more views. Additionally, without appropriate keywords, skills or information about your recent work history, recruiters may not be able to find you. Even worse, they may find your out of date LinkedIn profile, and assume you’re no longer open to opportunities.
And recruiters use LinkedIn, with 72% reporting it’s their most frequently used social media tool for recruitment purposes.
LinkedIn is less stringent compared to typical application materials like resumes or cover letters, allowing you the creative freedom to express who you are as a professional and what you can bring to an employer. Ask yourself what you want recruiters to know about you. Does your LinkedIn profile convey what makes you unique?
Building an effective profile that not only tells your story as a professional, but also appeals to recruiters can be challenging. The Wilbanks Consulting Group can simplify this by assessing your profile for essential changes, provide feedback, and construct customized language based on your unique story.
Optimize your skillset on your profile.
LinkedIn analyzed 4,000 job seekers who viewed a position on LinkedIn, and then within 3 months acquired said position. Over 91% had five or more skills listed. Furthermore, members with five or more skills are sent messages 33 times more than others without skills listed on LinkedIn, and receive up to 17 times more profile views.
Skills are often keywords recruiters and hiring managers use to identify candidates, and should be listed in the “About Me” section as well as LinkedIn’s designated skill section. If you aren’t sure what skills to list, consider reviewing your current job description, previous ones, and identified job postings. Try to stay away from generic skills that hold little value like passionate, motivated, and driven. Instead try to focus more on unique skills, as it helps set you apart from other candidates!
Lastly, be sure to remove any skills that aren’t currently applicable to your job search, and keep it up to date as you add to your experience.
Grow your LinkedIn network.
As previously stated, LinkedIn is all about networking. With 930+ billion users, there are a ton of people you can connect with. Consider connecting with current colleagues, previous ones, professors, professionals you’ve met at conferences, and anyone else of professional value. LinkedIn also makes it easy to import contacts from a variety of sources including Gmail. These individuals not only expand your network, but can also be resources to tap into for recommendations.
Increase your LinkedIn activity!
It’s not enough to simply have a well constructed LinkedIn profile; you’ll also need to engage with others on the site. More than 80% of job seekers who engaged with LinkedIn content within the most recent 3 months obtained a job using LinkedIn. With that in mind, consider the following ways to increase your activity:
Follow companies of interest, commenting, and liking on posts as appropriate.
Join LinkedIn groups relevant to your job search, target industries, and areas of interest.
Post a picture from a conference you recently attended or served as a presenter.
When seeing others landing new positions or making movement in their goals, leave supportive comments on their posts.
There are numerous ways to engage in the LinkedIn community, increasing the chances a recruiter could spot you, and demonstrating your commitment to the job search.
Learn LinkedIn’s job search tools.
LinkedIn also has a few job search specific tools that you can easily utilize:
Job Alerts. One of the best time management tools I discovered while using LinkedIn during the application process was the alert tool. LinkedIn lets you set up job alerts based on previous job searches, preferences, and even specific companies. This allows you to spend less time browsing jobs, and getting an alert increases your chances of being one of the first applicants.
Advanced Search. This allows you to conduct a search on certain companies, identifying who already exists in your contact list that you could connect with based on their connection with the company. They might be able to clue you into company culture, open positions, or if nothing else, be a great contact to add to your network!
Jobs Tool. This is essentially LinkedIn’s job search service. You can input preferences like geography, remote opportunities, or salary requirements and get a list of available positions. LinkedIn will also recommend certain opportunities based on your work experiences.
Open to Work. If you’re able to openly display your job search process, LinkedIn also has an Open to Work feature that is just one more way to let recruiters know you’re ready. It places a prominent graphic over your profile picture and allows you to show up with priority in recruiter searches.
When in doubt, trust The Wilbanks Consulting Group!
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
LinkedIn is a powerful resource for job seekers, connecting billions of professionals around the world. Before job searching and putting yourself out there, I recommend making sure your LinkedIn presence and skills are ready, and The Wilbanks Consulting Group can help.
One of our career consultants can meet with you to learn about who you are and how we can help your specific situation. We’ll review your LinkedIn profile, make in-depth recommendations for changes, and construct language that optimizes your job search. Contact us today for a free 30-minute consultation!