LinkedIn is the world’s largest online professional networking and job board. The platform boasts around 800 million members. With advanced search features and a sophisticated newsfeed, LinkedIn is an all-around great tool if you’re searching for a job or if you’re an employer trying to find good help. This blog will focus on how you, as a job candidate, can reach those employers.
Tips for Maximizing Your LinkedIn Profile
If you want our best tip for maximizing your LinkedIn profile, it’s to update it and hit the slider that says you are “open to work.” There are currently about 11 million (this is a literal number) open jobs. If you are in a high-demand field, like hospitality, you should be able to go “open to work” and wait for the recruiters to call you.
But to get there, the first step is to optimize your LinkedIn baseline profile. Consider it like an online resume or even a portfolio of your good work. Here is a step-by-step guide to making it work for you:
- Edit your profile to match your resume. The more detailed your profile, the better you’ll look to potential employers. Just like you would on a resume, carefully list your job experiences chronologically. Use common keywords associated with the types of jobs you’ve had and the career path you’re seeking. Keywords are simply the words and phrases that pop up repeatedly in job requirements. Employers take those words and search on LinkedIn to find you.
- Include a professional headshot. While we don’t suggest this on a resume, this is a job board that allows and welcomes it. However, the profile picture you use should not be the same one you use on a personal social media site. Keep in mind this is a highly professional forum where you’re representing your work persona, not the one you probably put on Facebook.
- Offer a professional summary. You can highlight your skills and goals in this section. The profile allows you to select an industry—and you should because employers will search within this category. Also, select a tagline or headline. This headline can be humorous as long as it is professional. Remember, though, that employers search for keywords, so try to incorporate a few into your headline.
- Adjust your contact settings. This is very important if you are “open to work.” There is a drop-down box that lets you select whether you want just recruiters or also people in your network to see you’re looking. If you’re searching on the QT for a job and don’t want your employer to know, you should select the option that allows just recruiters to see it.
Did we mention that LinkedIn is free? It costs you nothing to set up this placeholder for employers to find you. The ROI for this service, if you are job-hunting, is unparalleled. That is unless you work with a recruiter at Gecko Hospitality. We place our candidates in the right, new jobs that further their careers. We can help you, too. Talk with our team today and get back to work.
