Job searching involves heavy hours and hard work with occasional little to no return. Many people spend hours tailoring a resume and cover letter to a position for which they may never receive an interview. The job hunting process can be discouraging and brutal at times. Who’s been there? We probably all have.
One tool and professional networking site that seeks to make this process easier is LinkedIn. LinkedIn has various features including a job postings page and a messaging center to connect with industry professionals. In general, LinkedIn is an excellent way to market yourself to recruiters.
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Why is Boosting Your LinkedIn Profile Necessary?
The majority of recruiters and HR departments routinely use LinkedIn to identify and research candidates. This shows that a LinkedIn profile is likely to influence a hiring decision a recruiter makes. Creating an intentional LinkedIn profile can benefit just about anyone—from high school graduates to senior management. Furthermore, building a profile is an ongoing process. Whenever you change jobs, participate in a volunteer opportunity, or read an article related to your profession’s industry, you should update your LinkedIn profile. The following three tips can help you build a compelling LinkedIn profile that catches recruiters’ attention.
Write a Summary
New LinkedIn adopters can often overlook the summary section. The summary asks users to write in detail about who they are. Although LinkedIn generates a summary based on your previous experiences, it can be more impactful to humanize this section. This can show recruiters that you’re more than just a job title.
Since the summary is the number one section recruiters look when dissecting profiles, a thoughtfully-crafted summary can make the most impact.
Add Media to Experiences
If there any digital documents that highlight a skill or task you were responsible for in a job, upload it to your experiences section. This allows recruiters to get a better idea of what you can bring to the table.
Whether it’s photography, videos, or presentations there are no limits to value-adding media content. Include what will differentiate you from other candidates. If you don’t have digital content, consider scanning physical projects or taking a photo with your phone. Then, upload as a .pdf or .jpeg.
Ask for Skill Endorsements on Your LinkedIn Profile
In the skills section, your connections can endorse you for any skills you include. Having endorsements can increase your credibility and tells recruiters that your network confirms you possess the listed skill. If you need help thinking of skills, ask people who are close to you. This can reveal a skill set you didn’t realize you had. In addition, endorsing your network’s skills can increase the number of endorsements on your profile. Some people are more willing to endorse others who endorse them.
Spending time on these three tips can help boost your LinkedIn profile and allow you to become more appealing to recruiters. Many recruiters use LinkedIn to learn more about you than what’s included on your resume. It doesn’t hurt to maintain a LinkedIn profile.
Remember that leveraging your LinkedIn profile goes beyond setting up an account in one day. Checking LinkedIn weekly or even daily can help you stay updated on industry information and informed on what jobs are posted. For more tips to make your LinkedIn profile shine, no matter at what stage your career is, check out the infographic from Fundera below:
