Linkedin: Improving your profile for job searching

Editor's Notes

1. Make yourself easy to find – searchable Before you start, list some key words relevant to the job area you’re interested in. What key words are recruiters and employers likely to be looking for? But avoid BUZZWORDS like: Motivated, Creative, Enthusiastic, Track record, Passionate, Successful, Driven, Leadership, Strategic and Extensive experience You could look at websites in the job sector, careers pages, or some typical job descriptions…. Decide which words you need to get in to your profile – in your: headline Summary Recommendations skills and endorsements ACTIVITY: can you think of 6 key words for a job area that you are interested in? If you’re not sure of a job area, just choose one you know a bit about and concentrate on that one or ask and we’ll suggest one. 5 minutes – then feedback – write some key words on flip chart.
2. Potential employers and recruiters want to know as quickly as possible: who you are, what you offer, how you would fit in to their organisation, how they can contact you. The most important bits are those that people will see first: Photo: keep it professional, recent/updated, smile (to look friendly) Change your URL to your name; if that’s already taken use your name and job area.
3. Essential to work on the headline and summary are these are the areas employers will look at first and you can use your key words…. Headline: include some of your key words –don’t leave it as a job title, keep to about 10 words (120 characters max) Summary: 2,000 characters. Space to: expand upon your broader experience, success stories, and professional goals and objectives integrate keywords ACTIVITY: Here’s a student CV – we’ve created a couple of headlines. Which do you think work best? Why?
4. LinkedIn gives higher prominence to completed profiles. Complete: Education, skills, volunteer associations, work history, etc. Include all the interesting stuff that doesn’t fit on your CV, but paints you as a well-rounded individual. If your volunteer experience directly pertains to your job search, put it in as work history, so it’s up in the relevant section, not down at the bottom. Keep your work history relevant - You don’t need to list every single job you ever had - only list the jobs that are relevant to your current career goals. As your skills and endorsements list grows, filter it to include those most relevant to the work that you do or the jobs you are looking for. Ask contacts for endorsements – Uni tutors, work managers, work team members, volunteer managers etc etc Add images or documents to your experience to create a visual portfolio along with your standard CV information. You can upload your dissertation, presentations, BUT where they are relevant to the jobs you are looking for. Add links to relevant sites; if you have a work-related blog or online portfolio, make use of the three URLs you are allowed - use discretion though. So you’ve got a LinkedIn profile….. NOW WHAT?????
5. But remember… Not all job sectors are well represented on LinkedIn, eg. health care
6. There is an etiquette to networking on Linkedin – think carefully about how you interact with people. You can network in many different ways: Connect with: Sussex University alumni Work team members (this includes volunteering) Follow companies you want to work for and sign up for alerts about their recruitment campaigns. Join GROUPS - think about the groups that you follow: Join 2 or 3 that you think you could participate in Join groups relevant to your industry and where you want to live Contribute to the groups where you can – you can ask questions to find out how people got in to their careers, ask them about any ideas you have etc. Delete those that prove not to be useful If you want to connect with someone you have NO connection with, you could join a group that they follow and connect with them that way. Follow the right people, not just the famous ones. Who are the leaders and influencers in your career interest area? Who inspires you? Invite people to contact you – but get your profile sorted first!
7. You may have this sorted or you might feel a feel a bit lost and unsure of where to start…… ACTIVITY: Who could you connect with? Can you come up with 5 possible connections you could make?
8. Easy for recruiters to find you – use key words important in that job area, personal URL, focused headline and a key worded summary Highlight key skills – what are the employers looking for? Include links to any online work or related activities you can, or links to employers you’ve worked for.
9. BE PROACTIVE – the more activity you are engaged in online, the easier it is for recruiters to find you.
10. To summarise……
11. Security settings: You can opt for a 2-step verification process Make your password at least 15 characters long including numbers, lower case and upper case – a hacker can work out a 10 character password in 1 week, 15 characs would take 150 million years! You can choose who sees you looking at their profiles etc.