What is LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is truly a hidden gem within social networking. It is one of the most popular online platforms for job seekers, businesses, professionals, and recruiters. Think of it as an interactive, online resume where you can share your work experience, skills, education, and more with potential employers, fellow professionals, prospective clients, and more.
Recruiters and hiring managers search LinkedIn for new candidates every day, so writing a profile is imperative to your success. Now, let’s get to it!
Optimizing Your LinkedIn Profile for Job Searches
Optimizing your profile with strategic keywords and skills makes your profile easy to find and review, which can improve your chances of securing job interviews and offers.
There are a few key sections that you can focus on optimizing to maximize your success, including the headline, about, professional experience, education, and skills. Of these sections, it is important to note that the most impactful places to include and highlight your top skills and keywords are the headline, about, and professional experience. We will discuss each section specifically in future blogs, but for now, let’s briefly touch on the most essential three.
Headline
The headline is one of the first portions a potential employer will see. Use that to your advantage! LinkedIn’s default headline is your current job title and company, such as: “Operations Manager at XYZ Company.”
To further improve the headline and increase your profile views, you can tweak it to include more skills and keywords. Example: “Operations Manager at XYZ Company | Strategic Planning | Team Building | Continuous Improvement | Business Development.”
About
The next step is to write the about section for your profile. This is your introduction, where you can expand on hard and soft skills, experience, background, aspirations, and more. Let people who visit your profile know why they should want to connect with you by communicating why you’re passionate about your field, your career ambitions, and how you have helped and improved other organizations.
Experience
Now, the experience section. When updating your work experience, add complete job titles, company names, and employment dates with descriptions that highlight your responsibilities and achievements for each. As you develop content to convey your responsibilities fully, focus on including relevant keywords and measurable results. These keywords and results are what catch the attention of employers.
If you have any questions or need help, don’t hesitate to reach out! I’m happy to answer any questions you may have or even review your profile to offer feedback for FREE!
Haley Stock, CPRW, CVCS
Founder, ProTouch Careers