When you are job hunting, everyone acknowledges they need a great resume. Yet most people don’t realize that your LinkedIn Profile needs to be an excellent advertisement for you. Both go hand-in-hand to market yourself effectively to recruiters and hiring managers. Ignoring LinkedIn is a big mistake so many job hunters make.
In my career counseling practice, I hear so many job hunters call and want a new LinkedIn Profile only because someone else said they needed it. That someone is often a friend or in HR, has a lot of hiring experience, and even a recruiter. The job hunter is usually surprised to learn that it matters as much as it does.
Think of your LinkedIn profile as your online business card. Just like you wouldn’t log into a virtual networking event without your camera on, you shouldn’t job hunt without a strong LinkedIn profile. It’s as crucial as your resume because recruiters and employers often check both before deciding who to hire.
Put on recruiter glasses and take a hard look at your profile page. Would you be impressed? Does it clearly and quickly outline your skills, accomplishments, and relevant experience? Is it apparent early in the profile the job title you have and seek? These are all essential to get attention.
Reasons your profile won’t get noticed
Key sections must be complete and updated to enable you to be found in an employer search. If not, you certainly won’t impress them if they check you out. Mistakes to avoid:
- Incomplete full profile.
- Lacks detailed work experience
- Doesn’t emphasize accomplishments
- Ineffective headline
- Poorly written or outdated About section
- No top skills noted
- Terrible photo
Guidelines to follow
LinkedIn is a great confidence builder when it’s complete and written correctly. Follow these guidelines to ensure your profile represents you as an impressive job candidate an employer would want to hire.
Complete your profile.
Create a complete, detailed profile, filling out all the required sections.
Include responsibilities and results.
A job title doesn’t mean much if you don’t add the major job responsibilities, and the accomplishments you made performing that job. When completing the work experience section, emphasize the last 5-7 years of experience, as this is most in line with where you want to go with your next position. Stating the most relevant contributions is critical, so stress the results you’ve achieved. Don’t just list a job description since it will weaken the profile’s effectiveness.
Ready to up your LinkedIn game?
Customize your headline.
The headline is the most searched section on LinkedIn’s platform. Most people do not understand how the site works and the importance of keywords in their headline. If you look under your name, LinkedIn, by default, lists your current job title and company, which is your headline. Instead of your job title, customize that headline. Use keywords or phrases that emphasize the jobs you target, industries, or unique credentials. Break apart the titles, specialties, or taglines using a vertical line symbol to keep those words together. This is important to make a search more effective in finding you.
Be personable and authentic.
The About section is where people make a lot of mistakes. Don’t write about your company or just paste a list of core competencies. Use the first line to concisely summarize your experience. Then it’s time to get personal. Tell your story and share a little to reflect your personality. Unlike other sections, this is all written in first person. Discuss why you like your job and what’s important to you about the work you do. If you are a manager, describe your style managing a team. Keep the content about who you are and write it in a friendly tone.
Add your top skills.
LinkedIn has a new feature that points out your top skills. Take advantage of it. As you open the box for the About section, just under it, you can highlight your most important skills or knowledge area.
Use a professional photo.
Some people should be embarrassed by the picture they put up on LinkedIn as a professional representation of themselves. Eliminate sexy photographs and ones cropped from a party, wedding, family function, or casual event. Use a current, professional-looking, business-casual headshot. Have a plain background, good light covering your face, and look engaging and friendly with a big smile. A cell phone works well to take this picture.
This article was originally published in Forbes.
