You know what you want. You have a great resume and you're all set to job hunt. Right? Wrong! You need to update your LinkedIn Profile. Search firms, head hunters, and hiring managers are all searching on LinkedIn for their next hire.
Here are five ways to make the most of your LinkedIn profile.
1) 140 characters at the top of your profile. Don't waste this space with one simple job title. If you are looking for more than one job title, put in two or three. Add your top three to four skills. Hiring managers searching on those skills will lead them straight to your profile.
2) Summary- Unlike a resume, the summary can be personal and passionate. Be expansive. Show passion and enthusiasm for your field of endeavor. Include several key accomplishments to illustrate you actually have done what you say you can do.
3) Research companies to find out who works there. Then you can write directly to those people asking for meeting.
4) Research individuals before your interview. Find out all you can about the person(s) who will interview you. Where did they go to school? Where have they worked? What are their certifications? You may find something that you have in common.
5) Get recommendations. Two or three strong recommendations from former supervisors or colleagues are worth more than 20 endorsements for your skills.
Remember to write your summary offline before you post it to your LinkedIn Profile. That gives you time to think about it, edit it, polish it. Make sure to set your account privacy settings so that no one is notified when you make changes to your profile.
Copyright 2018 Amy Geffen All rights reserved.
[This article first appeared as 5 Ways to Use LinkedIn for your Job Search and is used on this Blog posting, courtesy of the author.]
Amy Geffen, PhD is a GetFive certified coach with over 30 years of experience in management, finance, and non-profits. She works with job seekers at all stages of their careers, from recent college grads to mid-career and late careerists in non-profit, academe, finance, publishing, fashion, and those returning to the workplace. She has a Master's degree from Harvard University and a PhD from New York University.