Making These Changes Will Keep Your LinkedIn Profile from Being Ignored
Posted July 12th, 2016
As the number of recruiters using LinkedIn profiles to screen candidates increases, ensuring your profile has the proper information presented in an appealing way has become increasingly critical. Just as with resumes, you have a finite amount of time to grab a recruiter’s attention. That means your profile’s summary needs to lay serious groundwork to keep them intrigued.
Don’t Waste Time
How do you go about crafting a summary that will draw recruiters in? Be focused, be concise, and highlight the best of what you have to offer. This is not the time to ramble.
Begin focusing on the processes and products in which you are familiar. This does not require drawn-out explanations. Instead, think in bullet points.
List a few key aspects of your experience in regards to the systems you have used and the products in which you have been involved, and make them stand out. Ideally, these will match up to keywords specific to the industry in which you work, or in which you are aiming to gain employment opportunities.
Contact Information
While many people prefer not to place contact information so boldly, it is important a potential employer can reach you easily. Add an appropriate contact method here so that it is easy to locate. If you have privacy concerns, consider creating a separate email account just for this purpose, or a Google Voice number that you can forward to your phone. No matter how interesting your profile appears to be, a recruiter is only going to spend a certain amount of time figuring out how to contact you. Don’t make this difficult.
Make the Searchable Parameters Work for You
Recruiters will generally focus on certain search parameters when looking for potential candidates. Certain changes can open you up to more opportunities.
Change your zip code if you either live or work in a small city, or are looking for employment within a different metropolitan area. By making your zip code match your ideal location, recruiters searching within it will be able to find your profile.
Keywords Are Important
Your title, or headline, should do more than just list your current job title. Beef it up to include keywords pertaining to your chosen career path. For example, if your job title is “Analyst,” consider expanding that to include references to your experience in the field, any applicable degrees or certification, or any other detail that might help you land the position you want. You have a full 120 characters available, so use them to their fullest.
If you are seeking employment in an industry other than your current one, list your desired industry in your profile. This is about showing up in search results, so put emphasis on where you are going, even if it doesn’t match where you’ve been.
If you are uncertain how to make your profile more appealing, our employment specialist can help get you on the right path. Contact Us Today!
