Using LinkedIn to find a job
Category: Tips and Advice
Publish date: 29/04/2016
LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network, and is a vital
tool in your job search. CTP Employer Relationship Manager, Dr Karen
Arnold, shares her advice for using LinkedIn to secure that
all-important next job.
LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network.
The basic functionality of LinkedIn allows users (workers and employers) to create profiles and "connections" to each other in an online social network which may represent real-world professional relationships. Users can invite anyone (whether a site user or not) to become a connection. When you are job hunting you ensure that your public profiles are reflecting you in the best possible light.
Online CV
How many times have you lost your CV and had to trawl through your email accounts for an old copy? By sticking all your career data on LinkedIn, you and everyone else can see exactly what you have done in your working life by simply clicking on your name. By having it online constantly, it’s obviously easier to update it and it can be done from any computer anywhere in the world. And you can use the handy LinkedIn Resume Builder tool which automagically turns your profile into a CV. It gives you 11 different formats to choose from; very handy indeed.
Job search
LinkedIn gives you a presence in your industry and a visibility to recruiters and HR folks that pull up searches based on key words and location. LinkedIn allows you to be found, as opposed to you searching for a job, a project or the other way around. So whether you are actively looking for a job or passively ‘open for suggestions’ – you can let others do the work for you.
And when you've secured your next role, remember that LinkedIn isn't just designed for job seekers.
In fact, LinkedIn say they want to create a ‘professional identity‘ for their users, meaning your profile will be your online hub. Unless you have a site or blog in your own name, you are most likely to find that your LinkedIn profile is the first search result on Google for your name.
Key tips for raising your profile
1. Put in the Time to Make it Awesome
The more complete your profile, the better the odds that recruiters will find you in the first place. So, completeness is important from that standpoint. It’s also important after a recruiter has found you and decided to click on your profile: He or she wants to know what your skills are, where you’ve worked, and what people think of you. So, don’t get lazy—fill out every single section of your profile. The good news? LinkedIn will actually measure the “completeness” of your profile as you work and offer suggestions on how to make it stronger.
2. Get a Custom URL
It’s much easier to publicise your profile with a customized URL (ideally linkedin.com/yourname), rather than the clunky combination of numbers that LinkedIn automatically assigns when you sign up. How to get one? On the Edit Profile screen, at the bottom of the gray window that shows your basic information, you’ll see a Public Profile URL. Click “Edit” next to the URL, and specify what you’d like your address to be. When you’re finished, click Set Custom URL.
3. Choose a Great Photo
Choose a clear, friendly, and appropriately professional image. Take a look around at what the people in your target company, industry sector, or business level are wearing. A photo can go a long way to convey passion, energy, charisma, empathy, and other soft skills that are hard to write about.
4. Write a Strong Headline
Your headline doesn’t have to be your job title and company—in fact, especially if you’re looking for jobs, it shouldn’t be. Instead, use that space to succinctly showcase your specialty, value proposition, or your “so what?” The more specific you can be about what sets you apart from the competition, the better.
5. Use Your Target Job Descriptions to Your Advantage
Take a look at the job descriptions of the positions you’re after, identify the key words and weave them into your profile. It may be what recruiters are searching for when they’re looking for people like you. Make sure those words and phrases are sprinkled throughout your summary and experience.
6. Don’t Waste the Summary Space
Ideally, your summary should be around 3–5 short paragraphs long, preferably with a bulleted section in the middle. It should walk the reader through your work passions, key skills, unique qualifications, and a list of the various industries you’ve had exposure to over the years.
7. Use Numbers Right Up Front
Much like the rest of your CV, you’ll want to highlight past results in your summary. When possible, include numbers and case studies that prove success. State how credibility such as : ‘I have helped more than 40,000 people—from entry level to management to understand how to effectively to use LinkedIn.’ Never underestimate the power of a few key stats to impress a reader.
8. Be Warm and Welcoming
The summary section is your prime opportunity to showcase the good stuff about you, with your target audience in mind. Give them a little chance to get to know you. So what do you think the first impression is going to be if you craft your summary like some long, pompous speech? Or worse, craft it in the third person? They’re going to think you’re pretentious. And it’s going to be hard for that reviewer to get a feel for your personality and style.
9. Treat Your Profile Like a summary CV
Your CV isn’t just a list of job duties (or, at least, it shouldn’t be)—it’s a place to highlight your best accomplishments. Same goes for your LinkedIn profile: Make sure your experience section is fleshed out with bullet points that describe what you did, how well you did it, and who it impacted.
10. Show Your Achievements
Recruiters spend countless hours scouring LinkedIn in search of the high performers. And when they find them, they contact said high performers. Knowing this, you’ll serve yourself well to market yourself as a high performer in your summary and experience section (think action words, accomplishments, talking about times you’ve been promoted or hand-picked for projects).
11. And Your Work Experiences
You can do the same thing for each of your work experiences. So, use this to your advantage: add any company websites, projects you’ve worked on, articles you’ve drafted, or anything else that can provide a more multimedia look at your work.
12. Add Projects, Volunteer Experiences, or Languages
Do you speak Mandarin? Have a project management certification? Volunteer for a charity at the weekend? Adding these “additional” profile features (listed on the left when you’re editing your profile) is a great way to showcase your unique skills and experiences and stand out from the crowd.
13. Manage Your Endorsements
Endorsements can be a great way to show off your skills—as long as your profile isn’t overloaded with too many to really send the right message. The secret to making them work for you is keeping your skills updated: as you transition between careers, develop new skills, or take on new responsibilities, drop outdated skills from your profile and add the ones you really want to be known for. Now, when connections land on your page, they’ll only see the most relevant skills.
14. Update Your Status regularly
Just like on Facebook, you can update your LinkedIn status as often as you wish. So, do! Update it professionally and strategically (share the article you just wrote, not what you ate for lunch today), ideally once a week. Your entire network will see your updates, both in their news feeds and in the weekly LinkedIn network updates emails they receive.
15. Make Sure People Can Find You
Don’t forget to add your email address (or blog, or Twitter handle, or anywhere else you’d like to be found) to the contact information section of your profile. You’d be surprised how many people leave this off!
Conclusion
LinkedIn will not create your career but it can help to tip the balance. If you are up against one other person with the exact same skill level when going for a job, having 5 recommendations on LinkedIn will certainly be in your favour and could be the deciding factor. Recruiters, headhunters and HR people have long used LinkedIn as a primary resource for finding and looking up people. Line managers are doing the same and so should you.