Are you taking full advantage of every resource while you search for your next position? Make sure your LinkedIn profile is complete, and use the site to stay in contact with your professional network.
Even if you don’t live your life online and you’re not interested in telling the world what you ate for lunch, social media is a part of our world now, and it’s here to stay. If you’re neglecting sites like LinkedIn, you might be missing out on valuable job search and career-building opportunities.
Professional growth doesn’t usually happen without risk, and it doesn’t usually happen without a little bit of extra effort and personal extension on your part. So if you’re looking for work and you don’t have a LinkedIn profile, now might be a good time to create one. If you have a profile but you never really completed it and you don’t check it very often, take a few minutes to finish the task. Keep these considerations in mind.
Your profile is working hard, even when you’re doing other things.
Recruiters and hiring managers often turn to the site to conduct targeted keyword searches when collecting a pool of candidates. Most often, these searches include three key phrases: The job title, the geographic area in which it’s being offered, and the name of the broader industry (for example, “manufacturing” or “education”.) To help these recruiters find you, make sure you include all three of these phrases in your profile. (For example: Northeastern PA, Associate Sales Manager, and Medical Supply Sales.)
Complete your profile.
You don’t have to offer fine grain detail, and if you don’t enjoy the thought of strangers perusing your vital stats, that’s okay. Instead of your address, just share your city. Instead of a detailed resume, share a curated list of former employers. Stick with the basics, but fill in the blanks. The more you share, the more likely you are to be found by the right employers.
Grow your network.
After you fill in your information, start working on your list of connections. Extend invitations to friends and colleagues. Offer testimonials and recommendations for others, and they will likely respond by doing the same for you. Don’t be shy; most people enjoy being approached by a friend, an old classmate, or a coworker over social media, and a little generosity goes a long way.
Join industry groups.
LinkedIn provides access to groups, similar to Facebook, and if you see a group you’d like to join, doing so can widen the reach of your profile. It can also make it easier for recruiters and hiring managers in that industry to find you. Adding these groups to your profile can also position you as a seasoned thought leader.
Post now and then.
Posting on social media relentlessly every few minutes will not make you look like an industry pro. You’ll just look like someone who spends too much time on LinkedIn. But a few insightful posts a week that contribute to ongoing discussions in your field can boost your reputation. Just chime in now and then with professional opinions, reposts, and comments on the posts shared by others in your network.
Share your job status.
If you’re looking for work, say so. Before you do this, turn off the “Update my Network” feature. That way you’ll stay in control of who can see your status and the site won’t share every detail of your job search with you current employers.
Take full advantage of every item in your job search toolkit, including your LinkedIn profile, and you’ll find a faster path toward your goals. For more tips and support, rely on the resources at LiveCareer.
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