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, headhunters, 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. Searches on those skills by hiring managers 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 show 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 a 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.
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