How to make your LinkedIn profile more attractive to Recruiters
22nd Apr 2019
Is your LinkedIn profile (or lack-thereof) standing between you and your next role?
Here is our advice for making sure your profile is giving you the best chance of being contacted with relevant career opportunities via LinkedIn.
A few basic points to quickly get out the way:
- Please don't use a Snapchat filter on your profile picture. You'd be surprised how many people do and it looks unprofessional.
- Ensure your information is all accurate.
- Try to avoid leaving gaps in your information so there aren’t years unaccounted for.
So, how do recruiters find you?
When looking for candidates to fill a role, recruiters conduct a Boolean search consisting of a few key words and relevant job titles, as shown in the image below.
So, to make yourself visible to recruiters, make sure your job title makes it clear what sector and position you’re in.
We narrow our search by filtering factors such as location. If you’re keen to relocate, perhaps consider changing your profile location to your desired location if you are able, or make it more general so that it just states United Kingdom.
Add some detail to your experience section
Your profile looks better when it’s clear you’ve spent a bit more time on it. but more than that, it’s good to add some detail about the key responsibilities and objectives in your role so that if we’re looking to fill a position that isn’t exactly what you do, but we can see that you’re position has many of the same core responsibilities, we still notice you as a potential candidate.
For example, the other day we were looking to fill a Sales Account Manager role, but someone within recruitment could also have been a good potential match, as lead development and making outbound calls were key responsibilities for the position. So, a recruiter profile with a description detailing they make outbound calls and develop new leads stood out as a strong potential candidate.
A lot of people use bullets points from their job description or take their company’s ‘about us’ description from their website, so it’s doesn’t have to be time consuming to add some detail below each of you past job titles.
Should you add a profile summary?
It’s not necessary but it might help you stand out. Don’t worry about trying too hard to make it sound original or funny, just add a bit of description about the sectors you’re interested in and perhaps some key roles you’ve had/have. It’s also a good place make a point of any extra qualifications such as CIPD or CIM.