Step-by Step ~ How to Set Up Your LinkedIn Profile to be found by Recruiters

How to Set Up LinkedIn Profile to be Found by Recruiters

A majority of talent professionals agree that virtual recruiting shall remain the norm after COVID. It is safe to say that LinkedIn will continue to be an important resource for recruiters, even in 2021/2. The statistics agree:

⏩  According to a 2017 study, 122 million users got interview calls on their LinkedIn profiles.

⏩ 35.5 million People reported that they were hired by someone they networked with on LinkedIn.

⏩ 2018’s Jobvite report claimed that 77% of recruiters used LinkedIn.

Hence, a search-engine-friendly profile can guide the right recruiters to you. In fact, you can constantly optimise your profile & online presence to improve rankings in LinkedIn recruiter searches.

The Approach – Improve Keywords to Improve Rankings:

When recruiters search for talent on LinkedIn, they have 20+ easy-to-use smart filters at their disposal. For the LinkedIn Algorithm, these filters are no different from keywords & it yields a ranked report of the most suitable candidates. Your profile is a combination of searchable keywords. If you get them right in the on-screen text, you do not have to worry about the search tab filters or the invisible meta-tags of your profile.

🚸 If you are a Beginner🚸

Check all your online profiles & make sure that your professional presence carries the same name. It is best to use the name on your social proof documents such as CVs, certificates, endorsements, company literature, etc. For example, if your license of practice or SAP certification is in the name of Amanda S Holding, your LinkedIn profile, company website, digital literature & resume name should also read as Amanda S Holding. Your name is the most important part of a (long-tail) keyword search & recruiters, who like your profile, tend to do a name search to evaluate your entire digital footprint.

Next, search for relevant jobs on LinkedIn.

Compile a list of keywords from their descriptions, especially designations, titles, skills, industry standards, specialised tools, location & qualifications. You could further refine this list with the help of the following:

1.      Prompts & resources on the LinkedIn Career Explorer, a free tool that can evaluate your current profile for related job roles. It is a good practice to revisit Career Explorer, whenever you make changes to your profile.

2.      Search Engine Results Page (SERP) rankings of the listed keywords. To do this, conduct a text search on Google, LinkedIn, Bing, etc. & also do a voice search with the personal assistant on your device. This will help you prioritise keywords that can improve your SERP rankings. It is also possible that your keyword of choice isn’t part of the common terminology of the industry & SERPs can help you find the right words.

Now that you have the input keywords ready, optimise your profile by signing in through the browser.

🔹Tap on your Me Icon & go to your profile page & explore the options in Add more sections tab as well as the pencil icon on each section.

🔹Craft a catchy headline with important keywords & complete each section of your profile until your dashboard shows it to be an ⭐All Star Profile i.e. 100% complete.

Advanced Tip: You must also select a professional headshot & banner picture & rename them with a combination of your name & an important keyword such as expertise. A good picture makes you recognisable & impressive while the right name can aid your SERP rankings and also make it easier for a recruiter to find you on an image SERP.

Advanced Tip: Use the tab called “edit public profile & URL” to customise your URL with the same combination of name & keyword (industry or role). Some jobseekers do not wish to use the Open to Work section in their profile, but it is a great place to mention your prospective titles, intended career move & location of preference. It also improves your visibility to recruiters.

🔹Last but not the least; check your visibility & account preferences in the settings section under your Me Icon. Follow the prompts in each sub-section of visibility to make yourself visible to profile visitors as well as other members of the network, including those visited by you. Moreover, if you are a regular Twitter user, you can integrate it with your LinkedIn Profile from the sub-section of Account preferences. 

All this will increase views of your profile & thereby, improve your SERP rankings.

👴👵 How to Rank Better than Beginners:

Different recruiters have different search preferences & automated tools. A single profile may not attract a majority of them. Hence, it helps to utilise the Resume Builder for multiple resumes. To do this:

1.      Click on the More tab & select the option “Build a Resume” from the drop-down.

2.      Upload as many as 4 different resumes, tailor-made for different types of recruiters.

3.      Make sure that there is a minimum overlap of keywords between your resumes & each resume carries a hyperlink to your LinkedIn profile.

4.      Akin to your profile, name your Resume & its photo with a combination of your name & keyword that can attract the target audience for that resume.

5.      If it is possible, include prospective titles & locations in your career objective.

Next, get your social proof in order. Go to your profile page and review your Skills & Endorsements section. Re-arrange them to highlight your top 3 skills & check if you can earn a Skill Badge by qualifying a skill quiz. Try to showcase the same skills in rich media attachments of the work experience & qualification sections as well as the Media in your Featured section. The right skills are critical to your SERP rankings.

Thereafter, scroll down to the recommendations & use the “ask for recommendations” tab to seek testimonials from clients & colleagues who also use LinkedIn. This would require a careful selection of users who would be willing to incorporate at least one of your top skills or expertise in their recommendation. In some cases, you could also send them a readymade draft that they can submit to your profile. A good recommendation can authenticate your profile, endorsements & achievements.

 🔝 How to Become a Top Ranker:

This needs effort, beyond your profile page. Herein, your primary objective is to improve your Social Selling Index (SSI) & increase the inbound traffic to your profile. LinkedIn’s focus is on content-driven “social selling”. Hence, you should:

1.      Comment, like & share content that makes you visible on the LinkedIn feed of peers, industry experts, relevant influencers & recruiters. The inclusion of relevant hashtags can widen your audience.

2.      Tag people in your network to content that may be useful to them & also induce them to tag you.

3.      Create content that is not available outside LinkedIn i.e. LinkedIn stories & native videos.

4.      Create articles & posts that attract traffic from other search engines to LinkedIn via organic searches & backlinks.

SSI has four elements of success, but you start with finding the right people & engaging with insights. This is because the other 2 elements, of establishing a professional brand & building relationships, may require expertise, time & a sound digital marketing strategy.

If you would like a showstopping search engine optimised LinkedIn profile created for you, please book a Profile Optimisation directly here

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------LinkedIn Training:

To learn more about using this platform more proficiently to increase your visibility and generate new business, join the next LinkedIn Accelerator small group training, starting September 20th, 2021

To join my CPD accredited training course to feel confident about developing a personal or commercial LinkedIn presence that delivers results in a timely and effective way, follow this link: https://www.trevisansocial.com/linkedinmastery-2021/

To book 1-2-1 LinkedIn training, click here

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