Candidate Career Lab Video Series – Linked In Profile

LinkedIn – How important is it? And how you can build and maximise your profile to help you stand out?

A LinkedIn profile is super important, so much so that in the future it’s possible that it may even replace the CV. Linked In is now the go to place for recruiters and hiring managers when they are seeking the ideal candidate to fit their business.  As a jobseeker it’s the best way for you to be found for that dream job!

How to build your profile

Where should you start? Ensure you have enough detail and the right detail – you need to sell your experience and stand out to the reader.

• Summary – this field is your chance to tell your own story – so don’t just use it to list your skills or the job titles you’ve had. Try to bring to life why those skills matter – and the difference they can make to the people you work with. Don’t be afraid to invest some time, try a few drafts, and run your summary past people you know. This is your most personal piece of content marketing – and it’s worth the effort
• Title – make sure this is a relevant title to your actual job. And Keep it simple. However There’s no rule that says the description at the top of your profile page has to be just a job title. Use the headline field to say a bit more about how you see your role, why you do what you do, and what makes you tick.
• Career – your core job responsibilities Ensure you have some bullet points, not too many, but do highlight your main achievements in each role, Quantify where possible. This will make your profile more memorable if a recruiter or hiring manager is scrolling through a list! Have the relevant key words throughout your Profile, so that when anyone be it a recruiter or hiring manager is doing their search, you will appear based on their requirements for the role.
• Certifications – if you have them and they are relevant, put them in.
• Skills – It’s one of the quickest wins on LinkedIn – scroll through the list of skills and identify those that are relevant to you. Doing so helps to substantiate the description in your Headline and Summary, and provides a platform for others to endorse you. It also serves as a way for recruiters to find you when running searches. However, the key here is staying relevant.
• Recommendations – Ask for endorsements/recommendations from colleagues, managers and clients that you have worked with throughout your career, particularly those who you went above and beyond with. Make sure you are also endorsing others in return!

How do you maximise and enhance your profile?

Be present on LinkedIn. Engage with interesting posts and articles, Even better, contribute your own content by writing articles. This will make your profile appear more frequently for others to see.

These are the core areas you can focus on that shouldn’t take you too long but should yield good results. We will cover how to use Linked In for virtual networking in next week’s Candidate Career Lab post.