Optimizing Your LinkedIn Profile for Recruiters
Are you confident in your work skills?
Are you interested in being recruited for a better opportunity?
Have you been contacted by a recruiter offering an opportunity that matches your desired job?
Is your LinkedIn profile thorough and engaging?
If you answered “yes, yes, no, no”- then we may have identified the reason you’re not being reached out to, or being reached out to for the wrong type of opportunity.
You’re not fully leveraging the power of LinkedIn or being exposed to the potential opportunities you should be with an incomplete profile. If you’ve never considered it before, think again. In an even more competitive labor market you’ll want to do everything in your power to cultivate a personal brand and stand out from your peers. If you’re interested in joining a company that you’re passionate about and offers the type of work situation, benefits, or growth potential that is important to you, then you need to ensure you’re taking steps to catch the attention of the people involved in the hiring process.
Having a complete, thorough, and sincere LinkedIn profile takes a small amount of effort, but instantly puts you in a category of applicant that is going to be viewed more favorably than someone who is, ostensibly, not concerned with how they’re representing themselves online. We’ve been living in a digital age for some time now, but since the pandemic we’ve seen an even more drastic slide towards a hybrid world where it is more likely than not that your first encounter with someone is occurring online in some capacity.
The good news: LinkedIn makes this easy to do with step-by-step instructions for having a well-rounded profile. I’ll highlight some areas that are worth paying attention to and what details can help you stand out!
SPRUCE UP YOUR PROFILE PICTURE.
First things first- your profile picture. You’re going to want a clear, personable, yet professional looking profile picture. You do NOT necessarily need a professional headshot - when I use “professional” here what I mean is - don’t use a snapchat filter selfie and don’t use a cropped picture of yourself from prom or vacation. Take a few minutes to find a space in your home or office with good lighting and a clean background, dress the way you want to present yourself based on your field/aspirations. It certainly doesn’t need to be a full suit or formal dress if you’re not in a client-facing, highly formal industry. With most people having iPhones or Androids, you can rely on smartphone cameras to get a high quality image of yourself.
MAKE A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION IN YOUR INTRO.
Next is your “Intro” section: name, position, education, current location, contact information. I encourage you to fill out all of these details, with extra attention to location. When recruiters research candidates we use a tool called LinkedIn Recruiter that allows us to do specific searches on a wide variety of criteria to hone in on precisely who our hiring manager is looking for in a given opportunity. Location can be crucially important for roles that require being on-site and we are able to search by a radius of the zip code associated with your profile. While we can not see your specific location, we can see if you’re within 10mi, 25mi, 100mi, etc. of a given location. So if you’re using a fake zip code or location you may not be showing up in search results for the area you prefer. Again it is NOT publicly displayed, but it IS a key factor in being contacted about jobs in the right regional area.
Contact information is up to you. Recruiters who are not shy will gladly call you directly if you list your phone number, so if you don’t want that intrusion into your day and would prefer to receive a message then you could leave that blank.
SHOW OFF YOUR EXPERIENCE.
Now we come to the real meat of your profile - the “Experience” section. Here, be succinct but include some relevant details. Simply having the job title at a particular company could lead to someone passing by your profile or contacting you about a job that is not relevant. Explaining in a few bullet points what you did in each role goes a long way to helping a recruiter understand what you’ve done and what you might be suited for in the future. If your company has a LinkedIn, make sure you are linking to them in the company section so the logo displays and you appear in the company profile in their “People” section.
LEAN ON YOUR REFERENCES AND RELATIONSHIPS.
One area I see as being underused, but adds immeasurable value to your profile, is the recommendation section. Here you can give and receive public endorsements with your connections. If you have a client, former boss, professional colleague, ask them to give you a nice recommendation and give them one back! It speaks volumes if someone else is willing to attach their name to yours and speak about your professional work.
HIGHLIGHT YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
Finally, make sure to link your certificates, degrees, and other accomplishments in the sections provided. The more you can show in a visual, easy to comprehend way about your training, skills, or education helps to demonstrate your desire to always be learning
As always, attention to detail is important. Pay attention to grammar, spelling, and punctuation. We all make mistakes from time to time, but it’s the little things that do happen to be within our control that we should spend time perfecting.
Meet the Author
Jeff Seidl
Talent Consultant, Talent Solutions
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