What are LinkedIn strategies and why are they important for your job search?
LinkedIn is a professional business network consisting of both job seekers and businesses that currently has over 722 million members. According to LinkedIn, there are more than 100 million job openings every month, with 35 million of them being filled by applicants through LinkedIn. Without a doubt, this professional social media platform is one of the best ways to find a job.
Today I’ll show you how to use LinkedIn strategies to find a job. These strategies have helped my clients improve their LinkedIn profiles and have raised their visibility to recruiters and hiring managers. But first, let’s see why LinkedIn is an excellent place to find a job.
Is LinkedIn a Good Place to Find a Job?
In this digital age, LinkedIn is the social media platform most companies use to search for candidates and recruit them to fill their hiring needs. One reason is the ease of accessibility, as it allows recruiters and hiring managers to search through hundreds of potential candidates with the click of a button. That means someone who has a strong, optimized LinkedIn profile is far more likely to be seen than someone who does not. For companies focused on LinkedIn, you are not even in the running if you don’t have a profile.
I recall the days job seekers would go from business to business, leaving their resume. Today, with the current world situation, most, if not all, companies on LinkedIn have transitioned their entire recruitment process online (advertisements, interviews, screening). This is another reason why LinkedIn is the best place to find a job and move your career forward.
Now, how do you use LinkedIn to find a job in 2021?
1. Profile Photo
Back in the day, I would dress up and make sure I looked my best when leaving my resume or going to an interview. Which made sense since I wanted to give my best first impression. In the age of social networking, the first impression a hiring manager gets is of your profile photo.
So, if you want to stand out, in a good way, and make a positive impression, you need to have a professional photo. This doesn’t mean you need to find the best photographer in town and pay a huge sum of money for a package, I actually had a local photographer take mine in a 15-minute session that was very cost-effective! How should the picture look?
- 400×400 pixels (To meet LinkedIn’s picture guidelines)
- High quality and High resolution
- Friendly smile
Having a professional photo will leave recruiters and hiring managers with a positive first impression of you as they search for candidates on LinkedIn.
2. Write an Intro (LinkedIn Headline)
Have you ever practiced your opening lines before meeting a potential employer? On LinkedIn, your headline is your “pitch.” Your headline is a short introduction to who you are and what you do. Don’t rely on the default description, that only blends you into the crowd. Stand out by communicating your uniqueness (skills, talents, strengths).
For example, instead of Training Professiona, at Company XYZl
Add some context that describes your expertise, like:
Training & Development | IT Software Trainer & Technical Writer | Organizational Development | | Project Management | ATD Certified | Technology Guru
The added details provide a much more effective picture of who you are and what you have to offer.
3. About Section Update
The About section is the next key area a hiring manager or recruiter will look at when reviewing your LinkedIn profile. Being found on LinkedIn is all about keywords and optimizing your profile for strength. The About section is one of the most heavily mined sections for keywords. If you leave the section blank, you essentially are invisible to recruiters and hiring managers.
Your About section should highlight who you are as a person, your values, your passions, and your career story. Create the content in short snippets not long blocks of text. Weave keywords relevant to your target throughout. Writing a LinkedIn profile is similar to writing a resume but not the same.
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4. Custom LinkedIn Profile URL
LinkedIn has a handy feature that allows you to personalize your LinkedIn profile URL. What do I mean? When you create a LinkedIn profile, you are assigned a URL (web address) with a bunch of random numbers and letters.
You can edit the URL to just your name, making it look much more professional. If you have a common name you may need to work on it a bit. Personalizing your URL will make it easier for recruiters and hiring managers to remember where to find you. Plus, it will fit and look much better on your resume, cover letter, business cards, etc.
To do this, follow these steps. Go to your profile, Edit public profile & URL and Edit your custom URL. Don’t forget to save.
5. Expand Your Network
Because LinkedIn is a social media platform for businesses and job seekers, having a large number of network connections increases your visibility.
Begin by connecting with former and current colleagues. You can also connect with people in your career area or industry. Engage in conversations and interact with posts that interest you.
I also suggest that you follow businesses that you are interested in joining in the future. Engage and interact with the companies posts as well. The LinkedIn algorithms will pick up on the activity and raise your mutual visibility. This will be a good thing to have happen when the company posts job openings.
6. Ask Past Employers for Endorsements
Another strategy that is helpful is to connect with people you have worked for previously. They can endorse you by leaving short feedback about your previous work. LinkedIn users with positive endorsements have more chances of landing a job than those with none.
7. Be Active in the Online Community
II don’t post as often or engage on social media as much as many of my colleagues, but if you want to be noticed by recruiters or hiring managers, you need to be active. Being active involves liking posts, sharing information, or posting on topics where you get to showcase your expertise.
Always aim for original content when posting. You wouldn’t want someone to call you out for using their content!
8. Be Easy to Find
I find using SEO tactics also aids in being found. Research the top keywords for your industry and use them in your posts. Keywords can be topics of interest that are relevant and popular in discussion forums. Remember, LinkedIn is powered by keywords and the algorithms. If you are unsure what to use, try reviewing the topics and discussions that your peers are having. More serious content writers online even employ the services and tools offered by companies specializing in SEO marketing.
9. Show Your Work Experience
Work experience is appropriate for both your resume and LinkedIn profile. However, neither of these are historical documentation tools. Therefore, only illustrate work experience that supports your job or career target. You can take a broad-brush approach on LinkedIn versus a very tailored approach with your resume. But you don’t need to go back to the beginning of time. If it’s not relevant, you don’t need to include it.
10. Optimize the Strength Meter
Your aim is to get to All-Star Status, as this status is the minimum level you need to increase your visibility to recruiters and hiring managers. It’s not difficult to achieve so the sooner you get started, the better. Here are some of the requirements:
- Add a LinkedIn profile picture
- Add three positions to your Work Experience
- Be Active
- Connect with 50 people
If you follow the previous steps, you will achieve it in no time.
Now You Know How to Use LinkedIn Strategies to Find a Job
I can confidently say that by following these 10 LinkedIn strategies, you will increase your visibility to recruiters and hiring managers searching for candidates to fill their openings. Keep these tips close, so you always know how to use LinkedIn strategies to find a job. Now it’s up to you to get your dream job!
If you need help with your resume, cover letter, or LinkedIn profile, contact me today! As I have first-hand experience helping clients find jobs on LinkedIn, I know everything hiring managers are looking for in candidates. Get the extra push your LinkedIn profile needs by using EZ Resume Services.