If you want a New Job then your Linked In profile can be a huge asset. Done right, it can bring your CV to life, showcase your qualifications, and increase your credibility. Do it badly and it could hinder your chances, so make sure you take the time to get it right.
Firstly make sure you have a nice picture on your profile, a head shot where you’re smiling at the camera and looking professional. It doesn’t need to be a professional photo but a nice warm smile goes a long way.
Secondly, make sure you put your key information on Linked In. It very helpfully asks you questions to build your profile, so make sure you answer the questions. I think the best rating you can get is All Star so that’s what you’re aiming for. You don’t need to replicate your CV but you do need to make sure your profile is aligned with it. You need your current and previous roles, education, qualifications.
If you’ve followed my CV improvement process then you should have a summary and some key highlights and achievements. I suggest you also include these in your profile as they’ll likely strengthen it by providing additional information and examples of your successes. There’s an About section on your profile where you can add extra information about yourself so this would be a good spot for it.
The best thing about Linked In though is that you can request Recommendations from people you’ve worked with, and post these on your profile. This is such amazing social proof, other colleagues singing your praises at the outset, it really helps to influence an employer, particularly if the recommendations are strong and you have a range of them. The good thing about recommendations is that you can choose NOT to add them to your profile. So if you get one that’s not as good as you’d like, you can ignore it.
Recommendations from multiple colleagues, those you’ve worked with, and for, and those who have worked for you, can paint an excellent picture of your experience and how you’re thought of, which is why this can give you such an advantage over others that don’t have references. Most roles only seek them at the end of the process to confirm what the potential employer has already decided. By having some on your profile you get to influence the potential employer from the outset, before they’ve even met you. That’s invaluable. Don’t forget that we make judgements quickly and change our minds slowly....which is why this is so effective.
Linked In is also a great tool for doing some research on a company you want to work for. The best way to do this is to connect with people that work at that company and look at their profiles and recent activity. You can use the search function to search for people who work at a particular company and then search by second connections to see if you have any mutual connections. If you send a request to connect then it’s more likely to be accepted if you have someone in common. Once connected you can then look at their profile and find out more.
Just a quick note on sending connection requests. There are two schools of thought. One is that you should always include a message introducing yourself. Another is that it’s not necessary and can put people off. I suggest you make a judgement call, or try both. Personally, I don’t send a message but I do make sure I connect with people with mutual friends and my view is that someone in common would persuade me to connect.
There’s a lot more that you can do with Linked In, including searching for jobs, but if you do all of these things you’ll make a good start.
Finally, there’s an option to show recruiters you’re open to opportunities. If you click on the jobs tab and then onto career interests, you can update your profile to show what you’re interested in. I’m not 100% sure that this is foolproof in terms of who it’s shown to (as in not your employer!) so I suggest you think carefully before you do this. If it doesn’t matter who knows you’re looking then you might as well update it.