5 tips for your LinkedIn profile to get attention from Recruiters

We’re so close to the finish line already! I can’t believe we’re already on the second to the last day of this challenge!

Hope it has been a great ride for you so far :)

Today’s challenge is all about using one of the most effective social media platforms you can use for your job search: LinkedIn.

Why is optimizing such a profile important?

The answer should be obvious - we’re at an age now where almost everything is done online, shopping, booking plane tickets, chatting with friends, even looking for jobs! In fact, 94% of recruiters use LinkedIn to find new talent.

If you don’t have a LinkedIn account it’s time to sign up today. If you have a LinkedIn account but it’s been left in the dust for quite some time and is not updated, it’s time to get working on it.

You want your profile to be updated, professional, polished, and overall perfect. It’ll be highly likely that the people you’ll meet at networking events or job expos will look you up online to do a background check.

If you managed to impress them during the event, you wouldn’t want to put your efforts to waste due to a lackluster LinkedIn profile.

To further get you motivated about starting or improving your LinkedIn profile, here are a few numbers to provide the effectivity of this platform according to Jobvite.

• Over 93% of recruiters are actively using social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit
• 94% of these use LinkedIn to find new talent
• 92% successfully made hires using the platform Numbers don’t lie, so let’s dissect the different parts of your LinkedIn profile recruiters and hiring managers often take into consideration.

#1 Your Profile Picture

Here are a few things that SHOULDN’T be on your profile picture:

• Group shots
• Cropped shots
• Selfies
• Wearing sunglasses
• Looking away from the camera
• Graduation pictures - even if you’re a fresh graduate

Similar to how I said appearances matter when you meet people in person, your appearance on LinkedIn also matters. Your profile picture shouldn’t be anything short of professional, thus you should invest in taking a professionally taken headshot with a light background.

#2 Your Tagline

You only have 120 characters to express you are as a professional in a nutshell - you have to make this concise yet effectively resonate your value proposition.

First, you need to focus your keywords, pick at most 3 since your space is limited. A great way to find out what are the best keywords you can use is to get inspiration from other LinkedIn professionals in the job position or role you’re applying for and basing off their keywords.

Next comes your value proposition which is an advertisement of what you’re trained in and a brief summary of the experience you have.

Here’s an example, if you have a Project Management Certificate, your value proposition could be that you are a ‘Project Management Professional’. An alternative to using an ‘expert’ or ‘professional’ title is to incorporate the results you can create with the expertise you have. My value proposition is that I differentiate people as top talent to get the job they love.

#3 Your Summary

Again making use of your research skills, look up other LinkedIn profiles of professionals in the same role, industry or company you’re targeting. This will give you a lot of insight on how you’re going to write your summary.

The summary, this time, leaves you with 2000 characters, a lot more than your tagline but still a little restricting. You need to make sure every word counts.

The first part of your summary should be about who you are. This should include your mission, what you’re passionate about, what you’re interested in, and words to describe your personality.

ex. I am an Analytical Marketing Professional with a passion for technology. I have experience in B2B & B2C marketing planning, product management, digital marketing, operations, and advertising sales.

Next, you need to add meat into your summary by writing about your background and experience. Start with the number of years of experience you have in your career and follow that with keyword rich statements that describe your experience. Some key points to mention are if you have experience working internationally, cross-functionally, or leading teams.

Lastly, state that you’re looking for new opportunities and you want to be contacted for such. This will grab a recruiter’s attention and will convince them to reach out to you if you write your summary well. Remember to write in your own tone and personality so you stand out, but always remember to keep thing professional.

I recommend writing in first person because it’s more personal, and you come across as trustworthy, confident and authentic.

Here is your action item or rather action items!

1. Research 15 profiles of professionals in your industry or targeted organization by using the LinkedIn advanced search function.
2. Develop a catchy, keyword rich tagline that’s under 120 characters and add at least 50 skills to your ‘skills’ section.
3. Write a brief, 2-3 paragraph summary of your experience and passions.
4. Update your past positions with key achievement and results-oriented information. You don’t have to include your entire resume online but your key accomplishments will help you stand out to recruiters.
5. Get a professional profile picture taken if you don’t have one already.