Social media is becoming ever more of a focus point for businesses, many companies employ digital marketing managers or social media executives to cultivate their online brand.
One that is particularly popular for professionals is LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is specifically geared towards business and employment, allowing users to showcase their professional achievements, provide career updates, and discover new job opportunities. But how important is it to have a profile?
Importance of Having a LinkedIn Profile
In the current market, having an up-to-date LinkedIn can be a huge asset when job hunting. Your profile doesn’t need to be emblazoned with a big ‘#opentowork’ banner if you’re keeping quiet about your search, but putting your key skills and a little about your work may well mean that you get approached by a recruiter rather than having to actively look for a job.
Many headhunters will use LinkedIn as their first point of call when looking for someone that fits a role. It’s more personal than a CV, can give more of an insight into who the person is, and is a more proactive way of searching as it doesn’t require the perfect candidate to find the job advert themselves, and then also enquire about the position.
LinkedIn has built in features allowing recruiters to approach people first, which widens the pool of candidates and improves the chances of finding the perfect person for the job. Having a good profile doesn’t only bolster your professional brand, it allows you to passively search for jobs as hiring managers come to you, removing the need to drag yourself through the often tedious application process.
Social Media Presence and Professional Image
With regard to your social media presence, there are many ways to keep your online image professional. But remember this applies to all socials, especially the public ones.
On more personal sites like Instagram or Facebook, you can be a little more casual, but it’s very easy for prospective employers to find your other profiles! Make sure you’re not risking your professional representation with your less career-focused accounts.
Setting Up
Profile Photo
The first thing anyone will see is your profile photo, so make sure you’re happy with it! You don’t need a professional photographer or to set up a crazy photoshoot.
Depending on what you do, you could get a shot of you showcasing your job or industry for an easy way to stand out. But if in doubt, a safe bet is to dress like you’re going to work, have a neutral background, and smile!
Open to Work Status
Setting yourself as ‘open to work’ can immediately let recruiters know about your job search, and make sure you fill out what you’re looking for! Anyone who is hiring will be able to check straight away if their opportunity is right for you.
If you’re conscious of letting your current workplace know you’re looking to move on, you can keep your status private so only recruiters and hiring managers can see it.
Bio Section
LinkedIn has two bios, a short one at the top of your profile, and a longer one further down. Your short bio doesn’t need to be incredibly detailed, think of it like the tagline of a movie or a book, it’s meant to entice the reader and get them to read the longer synopsis. A snapshot of your skills or qualifications would be great here, or a bit about your role or what you’re looking for. Whatever is most relevant to you and your profile.
The longer bio is where you can really give details. Talk about your industry, what you are interested in, what your specific experiences are. Mention the big achievements you’ve had in your course or job, make people want to reach out to you!
This is your spotlight, so own it! If you reference any qualifications here, make sure you fill out the certifications section further down too.
Skills and Experience
The skills section later on can be a more detailed list than in your bio. Make sure you put more important or unique skills higher, while ‘softer’ skills can go further down the list. If you honed a particular skill with an institution or business, it might be worth putting that on there to give prospective employers more context as to how that skill was used.
The ‘experience’ section is one of the most important parts of your profile as it will give anyone hiring an idea of the kinds of work you’ve done, and what your next steps might be. For each role, put a little information about what it entailed and what you achieved in the position, and make sure your job titles are spelled correctly!
Job titles are one of the most common searches, and you won’t come up if there is a typo! Make sure to put any degrees or higher education courses on here too! There isn’t usually a need to put your GCSEs or A-Levels unless you specifically want to highlight ones relevant to your current career path.
Now that your profile is completed and well written, make sure to check your messages! You might have the pathway to your next big career move waiting in your inbox. Always make sure to liaise professionally, especially with those you don’t know particularly well. And check your spelling!
Active Engagement
LinkedIn is a great tool for networking as well as job searching, so keep your profile active! Make sure you post regularly, and about topics which invite discussion. Post about achievements and milestones, and use post features like celebrating a new position. Don’t be afraid to be personal either! It’s about showcasing your brand, and that includes your non-work time.
Try to balance your posts so you have mostly work-related things on your page with some fun ones mixed in there, and make sure you only post things you would be happy to show your employer.
At the end of the day LinkedIn is a social media site, so make sure you are engaging with content! Interact with other people on their posts and your own. It’s a great way to build a connection, get your own name out there, or find other businesses that might be able to help you.
Engage with content you are interested in too; it lets you keep informed and on top of what’s going on in your industry. Following related articles, blogs, or companies can be a great way to connect with other like-minded professionals with similar interests or sectors.
And once again, always check your spelling! Aside from being a quick way to lower the professionalism of your profile, misspelling key words means that you won’t come up in the right search results so you could be missing out on your next big opportunity!