Getting noticed by recruiters on LinkedIn is a lot like marketing a fancy product.
Imagine you are a shiny, one-of-a-kind item, but no one knows about you…yet. Your goal is to be discovered by someone that will find you useful and take care of you, but how do you do that?
You look around and notice some products send “junk mail” to the local neighborhoods, hoping that they will be picked out of a stack of other competing advertisements. Some products sit on a shelf at the back of the group, waiting for their turn to come. Lastly, some products go door to door, hoping someone won’t be bothered to ignore their passion to be purchased.
Are we not all our own brands? Yet, I’ve noticed we often market ourselves in a similar manner, like a cheap, disposable, trinket.
For instance, how many times have you read a job search article where they talk about Joe Smith sending out 100 resumes and still not getting the job. Are resumes alone, not much different than junk mail to some hiring managers?
Even when our resumes do go out, how often do they sit in a pile of similar resumes, while you rely on someone to pick yours out? Or have you ever driven around the neighborhood like a high school teenager, looking for “Now Hiring” signs.
These are all frustrating and time consuming methods, that have a high likelihood of leaving you unfulfilled even if you do land the job. What if people came to you with great fitting job opportunities? That’s what LinkedIn can offer…if you do it right.
How LinkedIn Will Make Your Job Search 10 Times Easier
LinkedIn is the place where more recruiters are finding qualified job candidates. Two years ago 67% of recruiters used LinkedIn, now it’s up to 95%. Today 69 of the Fortune 100 companies have a page on LinkedIn.
Learning the skills to market your LinkedIn profile can pull great opportunities in your direction. In the past week, I’ve been approached by two headhunters for great paying positions (see below). If a recent college grad like myself can have these opportunities coming in a recession, you can do the same.
Step 1. Make Your Profile Keyword Rich
The first step to getting noticed by headhunters is to make your profile keyword rich.Unlike Google, LinkedIn’s search is almost completely driven by keyword density. You can test this by searching for “social media”. Look at the first person that comes up and note how many times they use “social media” in their profile.
So what keywords should I use? Recruiters usually search for two things; titles/skills and location. You can find the skills to use as keywords by reviewing job descriptions for the next position you seek.
Once you have the keywords you want to show up for, start using them in the following sections of your LinkedIn profile; Summary, Specialties, and Experience.
Keep it looking natural and meaningful where you use those words. Some people go overboard such as this guym. He may get noticed, but what hiring manager would be impressed by someone who spams their profile full of keywords meaninglessly?
A must read article.
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