740 million professionals!!! That is the number of people around the world today using LinkedIn as a tool to market themselves to potential employers and develop their personal brand. So, you may be thinking, why is this fact important to my career development and finding a job in the future?
Well, according to SHRM, among the organizations that used social networking sites for recruiting, the most utilized social networking website was LinkedIn (95%). In fact, more than 56% of organizations today stated they are currently using social media websites when recruiting for potential jobs because it is:
o Easier to recruit passive candidates (candidates who aren't actively looking for a job)
o Less expensive than other recruiting methods
o Easier to target specific job levels (entry-level, managers, etc.)
o Easier to target specific skills and geographic regions
As a result, to help you develop your personal brand and attract employers using LinkedIn, I have developed some tips based off of my experience in recruiting, where I utilized LinkedIn daily to recruit candidates. Here are seven tips to consider when building and using your profile on LinkedIn:
o Complete the profile 100%: The more robust your profile, the higher up you will be on the Google search rankings, resulting in increased views from recruiters or potential employers. In fact, according to Linkedin, “Users with complete profiles are 40 times more likely to receive opportunities through LinkedIn.”
o Fill out the summary section: By emphasizing your major, graduation date, strengths, skills, and career goal (i.e. write it as if you were getting asked a “Tell me about yourself” question during an interview) you will be able to paint a positive picture in the mind’s of recruiters before he/she even looks at your work experience.
o Update often: By updating your work experience after every job; adding your education and recent awards/accolades, and obtaining at least 2 – 3 recommendations you will be able to gain more views due to enhanced credibility of your profile. In addition, this not only shows recruiters that you are proactive, but I was 85% more likely to send a profile that had at least three "quality" recommendations to recruiters because I knew the candidate was credible.
o Add a Photo: A photo makes it easier for others to find you and will help you develop your personal brand. When I was recruiting candidates, I was 95% more likely to click on a profile that had a professional looking photo compared to profiles that didn’t have pictures at all or had poor quality photos because the profile looked bland or unorganized.
o Utilize the specialties box to input key words: When I recruited candidates for specific positions, nine times out of ten I would search for potential candidates on LinkedIn using “search strings” (i.e. key words). For example, if I was looking for a Software Developer I would type key words such as “C++, PHP, Linux and Java,” which are software used by Computer Engineers. This increases the chances that your profile will be viewed by recruiters because these key words will be highlighted in your profile. As a result, this makes it easier for recruiters to spot your profile that may be a match for a position they are looking to fill.
o Add a headline: This is the first thing that recruiters will see when they are searching for candidates. As a result, it is important to write a headline that will attract their attention. An example of this may be, “Seeking a Full-Time Entry Level Position in Marketing,” “Student at the University of Southern California,” or “Social Media Intern at Google.” In fact, 95% of the time I would click on a profile if it said “Seeking a Full-Time position…” in the headline because I knew the candidate was available for employment.
o Increase your network: There are three main techniques that have helped me increase my network to over 3 million people on Linkedin that I thought I would share with you. First, join groups on Linkedin. By joining a group that has 200,000 members you will have instant access to member profiles and will be allowed to send Linkedin network requests. Second, “search” people you know using the search box and send them a request or use the “People You May Know” feature. Third, become an investigator and look at your friends profile to see what connections you may know on his/her connections list. Remember, it’s all about who you know!!
In conclusion, remember that developing your personal brand will always be a work in progress. However, taking a proactive approach in your career will not only make you stand out among the crowd, but will allow you to attract the best employers in the world!
Comments
Post a Comment