If you are someone who is searching for a job and are confused about how you ought to go about job hunting, then one of the first things which you need to do is create a good LinkedIn profile for yourself as LinkedIn is a very popular social media service which is entirely business oriented.
Ever since it was launched in the year 2003, people across the globe have been dependent on LinkedIn for their networking purposes. To help you in your job search here are some things which you can do on your profile, so that you will be able to grab a lot of eyeballs and attract recruiters to your profile.
How to Attract Recruiters on LinkedIn:
The following mentioned are few LinkedIn tips on how to use LinkedIn to get yourself noticed by professional recruiters.
1. First think about what kind of job you are looking for:
Prior to you actually going about attracting recruiters it is important that you are sure about the which kind of job you are looking for. If you are confused and not sure about what it is that you want, then things are certainly going to be complicated for you.
So make it a point to spend some time alone in quiet contemplation with yourself so that you are sure about the kind of role you would like to play in a company and the job which you can see yourself doing for the rest of your life. Taking career related decisions are certainly not easy so ensure that you take your time.
2. Think of what you would like your personal tagline to be:
A very important thing to note when you are on LinkedIn is that wherever you appear you will be appearing along with your headline or your personal tag, so ensure that your personal tag and headline is in keeping with the job which you would like to get.
Even if the job which you are presently doing is not in keeping with your personal tag it is alright, it is always better to be known for the job you want rather than the job you have. It is according to the way in which you sell yourself that recruiters will either be attracted to your profile or not, so ensure that you do not make any foolish mistakes.
3. Ensure that you fill in your LinkedIn summary box in a proper manner:
There are many people who might tell you that recruiters are busy people who do not have the time to go through a profile summary, yet this is something which is completely false as a profile summary for LinkedIn is one of the most important things on your LinkedIn profile.
It is through this summary in LinkedIn that the recruiter will be able to gauge how well you are able to express yourself and whether or not you have good communication skills. You need to remember that poor grammar and other errors are going to reflect very poorly on you. In addition to this you must ensure that you do not make use of any short forms in your summary.
4. Ensure that you have a LinkedIn picture as well:
If you wish to attract recruiters to your profile, having a profile picture is mandatory; it need not be something grand or ostentatious, even a simple headshot is more than enough as a profile picture.
Though it might not strike you as something which is important yet it is these very small things that matter a great deal in the long run and recruiters tend to simply skim over those profiles without a profile picture, without even paying much attention to it.
When your profile has a nice picture to go along with it then it is natural that you will be leaving a more lasting impression in the mind of the recruiter.
5. Include links to any other profiles or social media sites you are active on:
Almost 75% of the people who make use of the internet is active on some form of social media or the other, whether it is Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. LinkedIn allows you to include links to any other social media sites which you are active on, doing this will show that you are someone who has a powerful online networking presence as in this day and age someone who has no social media presence is considered backward and powerless. So you should try your best to ensure that you post quality status updates on your other profiles so that recruiters are not put off by what they see.
6. Use the facility on LinkedIn which allows you to connect with other social networks online:
LinkedIn gives its users the freedom to connect your profile with your other social network accounts so that you can post things with ease and can update a number of your profiles simultaneously.This will silently communicate to the recruiters that you are someone who is extremely tech savvy.
Companies want to hire those individuals who are active on social media sites. It is vital to ensure that on none of your accounts do you post any material which is racist, sexist or even anti national as you will certainly not be considered for a job by that recruiter again.
7. It is important that all your social media sites are without glaring inconsistencies:
If your LinkedIn profile tagline shows that you are a fashion designer then it is of paramount importance that you ensure that your Facebook says the same thing. If the recruiter finds that on your Facebook profile it says that you are a Freelance Writer, then naturally he or she is going to think that you are one of the many frauds online or that you are not sure about what you want in life.
Having multiple hobbies and interest is a good things but it is important for you to know which one of your many interests will be your career and which of your interests will continue to remain as hobbies. Glaring inconsistencies is bound to make recruiters write you off.
8. Ask your colleagues or employers to write LinkedIn testimonials for you:
One of the many great things about LinkedIn is that it allows you to have testimonials written for yourself by people who have worked with you in the past. Having testimonials written by people who are successful in your line could really make recruiters sit up and take note of your ability.
Think of it this way, that the rest of your profile is nothing but you mentioning and enlisting your own abilities as well as skills, but this is one place where a recruiter can see if everything which you have written about yourself holds true or not. So ensure that you have a few testimonials on your profile.
9. Think of your profile as an online resume:
LinkedIn is available in 24 languages and is made use of by people across the globe, so you as an individual cannot even gauge who might be viewing your profile at a given time. Just to be on the safe side, it is better to think of your LinkedIn profile as an online resume of sorts.
It is based on this virtual resume that recruiters are going to decide whether they would like to meet you in person or not. Ensure that you take a good amount of time carefully writing your profile if you really wish to grab the attention of recruiters.
10. Do not shy away from mentioning your career goals:
Continuously updating your status on LinkedIn will show the recruiters that you are someone who is active on social media and that you do not shy away from sharing your views thoughts as well as ideas. You should remember that posting status updates on random things are not going to make recruiters get attracted to your profile; rather you should try your best to only post things which are related to your career, like your career goals or any breakthrough which you have made in your line. It is these things which make a huge difference and really help in attracting influential people like recruiters.
11. Do not leave your profile incomplete at any cost:
Simply filling in your profile summary on LinkedIn and profile picture is most certainly not good enough if you really wish to draw the attention of recruiters to your profile. The more effort you take, the better it will be for you in the long run.
When you have decided to make a LinkedIn profile it is important that you take the time out to complete all the sections of your profile at one sitting so that if a recruiter happens to skim through your profile he or she doesn’t think that you are someone who leaves a task midway. You should take note of the fact that the only thing worse than not having a LinkedIn profile, is having an incomplete one.
12. Be sure to mention in entirety your employment history:
There are many people who think that it is not vital to mention your employment history on LinkedIn, but this is something that is completely false. If you show that you are someone who has worked in many companies then it naturally points to the fact that you are someone with a lot of experience and contacts.
Yet at the same time you must ensure that you have voluntarily left these companies for a better employment opportunity and you haven’t been fired from these companies for an error committed. This is certainly a section of your profile which recruiters will take a keen interest in.
13. Including samples of your work will be really effective to attract recruiters:
Rather than you going on monotonously about how capable you are as a worker, you can also display samples of your work on your profile as this is something which LinkedIn allows you to do.
So whether your work is in a Microsoft Word, Excel or PDF format you can easy upload it online and start making use of your LinkedIn profile as a portfolio to showcase your work.
14. Be sure to join as many groups as you can:
No matter what line you are in, you can rest assured that there will be a number of groups which you can be a part of on LinkedIn. Joining groups will surely help you broaden your network by meeting new individuals. These groups comprises of recruiters who will be looking for best employees for their company.
15. Participate actively in group discussions:
Simply being a part of these groups is most certainly not good enough. You have to ensure that you are participating actively in the group discussions so that recruiters know that you are someone who is opinionated and analytical. The more you participate the more viewership you will receive.
16. Keep updating your information regularly:
Lastly, having a profile isn’t merely enough, you must make it a point to update your profile information regularly if recruiters see that the profile is hardly made use of then they will think that it is a dormant or abandoned profile.
Finally :
So these are some of the ways in which you can better your profile so that you are able to attract all the right kind of attention to your profile. It is very important that you make the maximum use of this platform which has the ability to really take your career to the next level. If you are someone who sits back and takes things easy then you will never be able to move ahead in life, rather you will always be fixated at the same place. You must constantly strive to improve yourself and work on your abilities so that you will be an asset to any company which you are selected to be a part of.
