In the past few years LinkedIn has proved to be a lifeline for recruiters and job seekers. It is believed that every second two profiles are created on this social networking site and every user wants to be viewed by potential recruiters. In this hope users try what not to make the most of their profiles and in the process they often end up bungling up. This platform can very well be used to one’s advantage and can provide a significant boost to one’s career, all one needs is a little guidance to optimize results from this social networking site.
As we know, LinkedIn mostly focuses on working professionals and helps them to showcase their skills, expertise, experience and academics qualifications, which can help in roping in the best suited job opportunities. This is one social networking site which has the most promising results, but to reap the benefits you need to make your profile as effective as possible. It is not a myth that recruiters spend long hours scanning and skimming profiles on LinkedIn, this social networking site is frequented by recruiters and is probably the only social networking site which recruiters are allowed to access from their workplace without any hassles. Here is a list of few quick tips which can increase traffic to your LinkedIn profile exponentially and help you in picking the best possible option from the surge of job opportunities.
1.Ensure that Your Profile Is Complete
It is the primary and yet the most important step to direct traffic to your profile. Incomplete profiles never surface and hence are never picked by recruiters. It is very crucial for you to fill in all the necessary details to ensure the completeness of a profile. Sometimes a trivial section like uploading your picture can render your profile incomplete if not filled in. Remember, every section is vital and needs to be filled in, by doing so you will not only improve the appearance of your profile, but also improve the results you expect from it.
2. Use the Headline of Your Profile to Your Advantage
In a typical LinkedIn profile the headline shows up right below your name and briefly focuses on what you are associated with and what you want to associate with. It is advisable to add keywords to your profile headline so that it easily gets picked by the search engine. While adding keywords, remember the idea is to just add keywords and not a prolix speech, strictly maintain brevity in this section. Being greedy may help you get that extra slice of cake but in this section it may prove extremely detrimental for your profile. No recruiter would want to read a long-winded headline, it should only reflect the essence of your professional being.
Another approach that can help you score well with recruiters is to add descriptive key words to highlight your multiple current roles. For e.g. Author: Vogue, CEO@ WritersSay, Specialist in Search, Content marketing and social media.
3. Share Your Relevant Past Experience
LinkedIn provides an excellent platform to exhibit your professional and academic accomplishments. There is also a section which gives you the opportunity to speak about your company and your role in that company, this space can be utilized to focus on how you have grown in an organisation as a professional and at the same time manifests your expertise to the recruiters. This is the space to fill in the details and the intricacies of your job you would like to project. LinkedIn gives you an option of providing the job details of all your past jobs thereby multiplying the chances of exhibiting your professional expertise. Ladle out as much relevant information as you can in this section for the designations have worked in.
4. Never Skip the Summary Section
It may appear to be unreasonable and unnecessary as it only summarizes your entire profile, but this section is way more important that you think it is. Recruiters and viewers seldom spend enough time on your profile to go through the intricate details mentioned in it, most of them skim through the summary section to get a rough idea or a gist of your past professional experience. It is important as just any other section, as it not only projects your past experience but can be used to give out additional relevant information as well. Here you can mention your achievements and your future goals.
In this section you can also include links and direct your viewers to the WebPages you want them to view, they could be created by you or could be reflecting the work you were associated with. You can also use this feature to direct visitors to view the intelligent presentations made by you, a presentation has a more lasting impact than a prolix speech.
5. Get Your Skills Endorsed
The skills you mention on your LinkedIn profile can easily pass for bluff unless you get them endorsed. Getting your skills endorsed increases the credibility of your skills; in turn it increases the credibility of your profile and makes it more believable. People who endorse your skills are ideally people you have worked with or have been associated with and when they endorse your skill their names show up against the skill they endorsed. Usually it takes an endorsement to get endorsed, a give and take relationship that was defined by ancient LinkedIn users. To have others vouch for your skills makes your profile more reliable and recruiters pick such profiles like hotcakes.
6. A Good Recommendation Is a Valuable Testimonial
You can have your connections on LinkedIn write a good recommendation for you, it is another parameter recruiters take into consideration while evaluating your profile. Make sure that your recommendation has what you want to project in your profile. Since it is usually asked for, you can even express what you are looking for in a recommendation to your connections. Putting words in someone else’s mouth here won’t be a bad idea after all. It is only wise for you to have a say in this section because allowing others to speak highly of you on a public platform can be a train wreck if not done in good taste.
7. Join Groups Stay Updated with the Industry that Interests You
Let us face it, digging deep for industry related news can be quite a herculean task at times, mostly we seek one portal where we can get a comprehensive view of what is going on in the industry, that is where these groups come into the picture. Joining local groups can give you an insightful view on the current job paradigms and what might be expected from the market in near future. You can also go global by adding international groups and reap the benefits all along the way.
8. Quality Connections Go a Long Way in Adding a Good Reputation to Your Profile
The purpose of signing up on this social networking site is to increase your professional network and reap the benefits that come along with it so make sure that you add quality connections and do not go on a adding spree. Try to add your co-workers, customers, clients and others you have been professionally associated with. Do not try to link to random profiles, if a significant number of them mark you as spam then LinkedIn may disable your profile. Another advantage of adding quality connections is, it helps to create a good impression on your profile visitor. Yes, few recruiters may judge you from the kind of connections you have and you do not want to leave any stone unturned in making a good impression.
9. Work on Your Profile’s URL
URL address of a profile has multiple functions; it not only gives your profile a personalized touch but also propels your profile to show up in search results. You can very well use this feature to your advantage and optimize the results. Create a link that is SEO friendly and has the prime keyword of your profile, it could be an abbreviated form of your name or a combination of your name with the name of the organisation you are associated with. This is one sure way to put your profile on the map and direct traffic to your page.
10. Add Quality Content
You might want to publish your blog on LinkedIn as Google search engine picks this with utmost ease and optimizes the results you expect from your profile. Publishing relevant links on your profile page can also prove beneficial to you as most visitors will get directed to your website to delve more information about you.
