Something like 80% of recruiters use LinkedIn to find new candidates. If you’re an employee, be it CEO, VP, Marketing Manager or Administrative Assistant and you don’t have a completed LinkedIn profile, you’re missing out on some great opportunities. By complete, I don’t only mean what LinkedIn considers complete. I also mean optimized so that people can find you.
Maybe you’re not looking for a new job; that doesn’t really matter. Knowing about new opportunities in your industry enables you to see where the market is at, it allows you to better understand your value and it allows you to refer friends and acquaintances who are looking for jobs. A personal LinkedIn profile is the building block of a great LinkedIn presence so ask yourself: what does your profile look like? If you were looking for new talent, would you be interested in yourself?
Remember, a good profile is one that sells you…
Content
Make sure your profile has some great content. For some reason selling yourself to others often seems harder than it should be — I’m the first one to admit that. The result is often anemic profiles. If you’re profile’s Summary says something like “Creates and develops web strategy for large clients”, it really doesn’t tell me anything. Make sure you have content that really explains what you do and who you are so that as a stranger I know who you are.
Structure
The problem with more content is that it often becomes unreadable or at the very least, uninviting to read. A fifteen paragraph Summary really doesn’t make me want to read it. Try breaking it down into bullet points or action items. The aim isn’t tell the reader everything about you; the aim is to sell you and, online anyway, bullet points are easy to read and increase the chance that recruiters will do so.
Don’t say what you are, say what you can do for me
Recruiters and even potential clients look for one thing: Someone that will fill their needs. Don’t tell me what you are — a Product Manager or a Senior Sales Rep at company ABC. Use your Summary to tell me what you can do for me. “I can help you increase sales by:” or “I can help you get international recognition by:”
Use the same approach for your individual job descriptions. Tell the reader who the company is and what it does; tell me what you do there. If possible tell me what results you’ve achieved.
SEO
Optimize your profile to be found. The thing about the previous point is that you’re putting yourself in the shoes of a potential recruiter. What is she going to be looking for?
The last element of a great profile is the use of keywords that people will use to search. If you have logistics experience make sure to use that keyword and any related keywords. Your profile insights or analytics will tell you which keywords people have used to find your profile. Are people finding you for unrelated keywords? Remove them and use new ones. Are people finding you with good keywords? Try and see if you can add more (make sure your content stays readable though, don’t just cram keywords in).
Keep in mind that LinkedIn profile are indexable on Google so the keywords you use could potentially make you more findable on search engines as well.
Evidently results will vary. I’m assuming that if you’re a nuclear physicist, offers won’t be pouring in. It’ll also depend on what your objectives are — maybe you’re an entrepreneur and don’t want headhunters contacting you. But as mentioned before, even if you’re not actively searching, I would recommend updating your profile. Why? Because you should be ready before you need it…be there before the sale.
What does your LinkedIn profile say about you? Any more tips to add?
(Photo credit: dan taylor)
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