10 best LinkedIn practices for job seekers

As an applicant being easily found in LinkedIn can sometimes be daunting because of thousands of competitors. As a job seeker you want to be as presentable online as in a real job interview and market yourself in a way that you’re not over selling.

LinkedIn is now the preferred job hunting social platform both for applicants and recruiters alike.

It is said that Linkedin is now the “ speed dating” for professionals. Your end goal is to show your digital audience in LinkedIn that you are both credible and experienced in your job role – and spark interest from prospective employers.

Let’s look at the 10 best LinkedIn practices to help you land the dream job you’ve always wanted.

1. Stand out with a professional looking profile picture

   First impressions are everything and to ace that on LinkedIn the first thing you need to have is a professional looking profile picture. A well lit headshot in your own business attire fits perfectly as your LinkedIn profile picture.

   Also, please keep in mind that some industries will be having different expectations on how your profile picture will look. For example, recruiters from a creative agency will be expecting a less formal picture than from a law firm.

2. Make your headline count!

   Your headline is one of the first things that recruiters will see – so make it count. Make sure that when making your headline for your LinkedIn profile you must not only put your job title but what you can actually do for a business.

   For example:

   Gary Culverhouse – National Sales Manager @ Beepo. Helping businesses grow in Financial Services, Real Estate, and Tech.

3. An eye-catching “about” section is the way to go

   This is your chance to shine as a professional. Avoid writing in a standard chronological way. Instead, add some emotions into your writing. Make your profile visitors see that you’re passionate and committed at your job or profession. This is your chance to convey and connect with professionals through your writing.

   A bonus tip is to place your name and email at the top of your about section.This way, in case you come up as a 3rd degree masked connection on someone else’s search, they will know who you are and how to reach you.

4. Complete your work experience and education background

   Be sure when writing your employment history make sure it is in a chronological order. Many recruiters prefer to see not only your job title, the company you worked for, and how many years. But also include your daily task and/or responsibilities. For your educational background be sure to place the school, the year you attended, and what you studied in the university.

5. Include samples of your work to build credibility

   LinkedIn allows you to upload files to your work experience section in your account. You may upload many different file types including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, video, and pictures. Take into mind that this is your time to shine by showing off your accomplishments and/or portfolios.

6. Make use of the “Open candidates”

   Rebecca Vertucci who is also a Senior Customer Success Manager at LinkedIn highly encourages job seekers to use the ‘open candidates’ LinkedIn feature as it is made just for them.

   The open candidate feature was rolled out in 2016 and it makes every recruiter and/or hiring manager’s life easier like yours. To learn more about this feature you can check it out here “Open Candidates”

7. Use your skills and endorsements for target matching

   Remember that most of the options used and suggested in the skills and endorsement section are all keywords that recruiters or hiring managers use to find candidates. To make you more “visible” on LinkedIn use those suggested keywords for your skills.

   Endorsements are another great thing to strengthen your credibility in your field. This will also help you to widen your professional community in LinkedIn.

   Take in mind that more skills and endorsements the merrier. It will give you a higher chance of being “findable” on LinkedIn.

8. Join groups

   Other than being a great source for showing your profile to recruiters, LinkedIn is also mainly used as a networking tool for professionals. What better way to market yourself and connect with other professionals in the industry than by joining various groups? This way you are not only widening your network but also increasing the chance to more job opportunities

9. Be actively engaging

   Joining groups is the first step to widening your network and possibly opening more chances of job opportunities. But what’s really important is you engage with the members of the group and also answer and ask questions to get the ball rolling. Make sure you observe how others engage with a group before jumping in – you don’t want to get it wrong!

10. Authenticity is best

    There is a lot of competition out there when it comes to job opportunities. Most especially on a professional platform like LinkedIn. All the more the reason you have to be authentic.

    In creating all of this for your LinkedIn account, try to ask yourself “ what sets me apart from the crowd? “.

    LinkedIn is a place where professionals can be found not just in a certain area but around the world. Being visible on LinkedIn will take a lot of effort and time but in the end it will be all worth it!