If you were to take a wild guess as to how many people are using LinkedIn, how many would you say? Ten million? Twenty million? Truth be told, there are now in excess of 120 million people using the service with exponential numbers joining on a weekly basis. According to experts at Jobvite, at least 87% of companies are now recruiting through LinkedIn. That being said, if you even remotely suspect that you will be looking for a new job any time in the future, then dress up your profile to make it really stand out.
The best way to do this is to start at the top and work your way down. As such, let’s talk about your headline. If you have already created your headline, then you know this is the line of text located just below your name. It also shows up in searches. Never resort to clichéd phrases or terms! This can’t be emphasized enough. Rather, make sure to mention what you bring to the table in way of qualities and talents. Just be sure that you don’t overstate your qualifications!
This brings us to the next major portion – the summary and your experience. In this area it is important to remember that your summary will most likely be scanned rather than being read fully through. As such, you should keep your most pertinent facts as close to the beginning as possible. Also remember that you should answer the big question – who, what, when, where, why, and how. When it comes to listing specialties however make sure that you keep it concise. Keywords are great, but too many can get you in knocked from a potentially great position.
When listing your previous companies, make sure that they are recognizable brands. If they aren’t you should add a short description so that recruiters will know the companies’ focus. Also, if your previous company has been bought out make sure to use the name of the company that bought it instead. Information to include in the section should be the things that made that company stand out. What prestigious awards did it win or what important trade certifications did it hold?
Your recommendations should be carefully considered next. Remember that less can be more in this department. Select the ones that offer the most impact or that are the most current. If you are still new to your profession it can be helpful to include a couple recommendations from your professors or even classmates. Simply make sure that they know to comment on traits such as your dedication and drive if asked by a recruiter.
Here is one huge tip that can help immensely, if you are sent a connection request on LinkedIn, accept it. Why? It’s simple. Search results for LinkedIn are sorted by connections – closest to furthest. This means that those connected to you will see you much higher in the results than if you weren’t connected to them. Join groups that hold a degree of interest professionally and share important news. Many recruiters will go through these connections and seek individuals who are ready to prove their industry knowledge and experience.
Are you worried about what your boss might think if word gets out that you have updated your profile? This is an easy fix. You can set your activity broadcasts setting so that current contacts don’t see the changes in your feed.
At the end of the day it is important to remember that even though you may be really happy with your current company there is no guarantee that this will continue. Keeping your profile up to date and optimized will help in the event that you want to remain highly visible to potential employers!