The one question most job seekers can’t figure out is: “How do I attract recruiters on LinkedIn?”
LinkedIn is a beast, and if you’re able to tap this vast platform to bag your dream job, there’s nothing like it. But it’s not as easy as it sounds.
We have compiled some actionable pointers which you can use right away based on our experience of writing over 1,000 optimised LinkedIn profiles to date.
Without further ado, let’s dive in:
The cover picture
It is the most underutilized space that most job seekers are unable to capitalize. It is the first thing that the recruiters will see once they open your profile, and in 9/10 cases, it’d mostly be blank.
You can explore several free design tools like Canva for making LinkedIn banners that will instantly bolster the impact of your profile. Don’t go over-the-top with the design/text combination and try to keep your target profile in mind while you’re customizing the cover picture.
Headline and profile title
Your headline and profile title is your virtual identities on LinkedIn. Don’t be boring by merely writing your present designation in the headline. Write the broad-level functions you specialize in. Doing that will instantly tell the recruiter whether you can deliver any value to them.
Your profile headline on LinkedIn is a professional statement that you make to communicate what exactly is it that you’re looking for, and how you can benefit the recruiter.
A recruiter is more likely to shortlist those candidates whose job titles meet the specific requirements they are looking for.
Use targeted keywords
The principles defining results on search engines are the same when it comes to job search on LinkedIn.
Recruiters will rely on keywords for screening and shortlisting candidates. It’s your job to find out what those keywords are and to ensure that they are present in your profile.
The most obvious way is to scan the job listing/description and organically incorporate the keywords. For instance, if you are a content writer on LinkedIn, incorporating keywords like ‘SEO’, ‘copywriting’, ‘content writing’, etc., will drive search results in your favour.
Only do it if it’s legitimate and can be backed by your resume and reference checks. Include relevant keywords in the cover picture, headline, summary, professional experience, and the skills section in the end.
Professional Experience
When you add your company details in this section, ensure that the company logo is visible. Make sure that you are framing crisp one-liner points showcasing the quantifiable impact you delivered as part of your profile.
Skills & Endorsements
Further elaborating on the Skills section mentioned above, LinkedIn places a limit of 50 skills which you can add there. If you add just a couple of skills, LinkedIn will recommend similar skills based on your profile and the skills you originally added. Go ahead and include those skills in your profile if you can substantiate them in your resume and interviews.
Endorsements are also a great way to enhance the impact of your profile – only if they are legitimate. Don’t settle for a quid pro quo wherein you’re exchanging endorsements with the people in your network. We recommend not writing the endorsement for someone for at least 3 months in case they’ve written one for you.
Update your Location
Every component of your LinkedIn profile matters. This rule applies to your location as well.
So, here’s a piece of valuable advice:
Update your location right now.
This will encourage recruiters from the same city to get in touch with you regarding a prospective job in your profile that you may be interested in.
Quite frankly, a recruiter will never bother to contact you if you do not live in the city where the office is located. Moreover, likely, you won’t entertain jobs that are not in the same city of your residence either (unless you are willing to relocate, in which you can specify the same in your profile)
Customize your profile URL
Your profile URL can advance your job application on LinkedIn. If you customize your profile URL, you can also complement your job profile on LinkedIn and appear more professional than an average LinkedIn user.
By default, LinkedIn will assign a string of alphanumeric characters in the URL after your name. See whether or not your name is available as a URL if you remove that string of characters. In case it’s not, you can customize it in different ways to ensure that your profile remains unique and can be easily found in search results.
Additional Sections
LinkedIn offers a plethora of additional sections like Projects, Accomplishments, Publications, Awards, etc. Update these sections accordingly to ensure that your profile can showcase all your achievements effectively.
Conclusion
The gold lies in the small details. The points that we have mentioned above may not guarantee success but will most definitely optimize your LinkedIn profile and increase your profile visibility on LinkedIn, thus maximizing your chances of attracting the recruiter’s attention.
Here’s to bagging that dream job through LinkedIn!
About the Author – Aditya Sharma
On a quest to help professionals across the world land their dream jobs, Aditya lives and breathes Hiration — a platform to help job-seekers find their way in the treacherous job market — where he’s a Co-Founder and the unofficial CPO (Chief Problem-solving Officer). He likes to code away his days and nights when he’s not busy disrupting the career space.
