Don’t Be Ignored – Use These 5 Tips to Attract Recruiters on LinkedIn
You have the experience and skills, your LinkedIn is updated, but you never hear from recruiters. Whether you’re a recent college grad or just looking for a change, the online job hunt can be brutal. So what is it exactly that you’re missing?
Recruiters are regularly inundated with hundreds of applications. That means your LinkedIn needs to truly stand out to grab a recruiter’s attention. In this post, we’ll walk through 5 of our top LinkedIn profile tweaks that will earn you significantly more attention from recruiters.
- Create a Captivating Headline
- Write a Unique Summary
- Showcase Your Work
- Get Active & Stay Active
- Opt in to “Open Candidates”
Create a Captivating Headline
How should you think of your headline on LinkedIn? In short: it’s your 120 character first impression. There are many theories out there regarding what makes a headline stand out but unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all answer.
Instead, what’s important to think about is how can you use those characters to diversify yourself. You want to create a headline that captivates recruiters and entices them to click on your profile without seeming brash.
Your headline does not have to be limited to your job interest; make it memorable and unique. This is your opportunity to break the mold and stand out on LinkedIn, so don’t be afraid to be creative (check out these LinkedIn users who created their own imaginative headlines.)
Keep in mind that it should be professional but let your personality shine through. Keep it concise; 120 characters is not a lot of space to make an impact, so take your time and choose your words wisely.
Write a Unique Summary
When a recruiter lands on your profile, it is in your best interest to keep them engaged. Having a unique summary can do just that. When writing your summary, you need to be authentic. This is the section on your profile where you can and should be 100% yourself.
It is important to set a tone from the get go, explain who you are, and add in some personal touches. Most recruiters are not just looking for hard skills; soft skills matter too. Company culture and employee “fit” has increasingly become as important as the technical skills you can bring to a role.
Showcase Your Work
Writing about yourself isn’t quite enough these days. Recruiters are interested in your work. There’s no better way demonstrate your quality of work and skill. A great way to showcase what you have done is by creating a website or portfolio and share it on your LinkedIn profile.
Be sure to include samples of work you are most proud of and show what skills you hold. Make sure to explain your work as well. What was your thought process? Did you work with a team? What were the results? Make sure not to overload on what you have done though; keep it focused on the field in which you want to work in and make it current.
Get Active, Stay Active
Being an active participant in LinkedIn may not be your cup of tea, but it is now more important than ever. Recruiters are looking for someone who is engaged and interested, and this is the perfect way to show it. Staying active will also naturally boosts your status on the platform if you’re sharing quality content.
What subject you choose to be active in is dependent on the field in which you want to work. You’ll want to post your own material as well as share things from others. From blogs to news articles, and even people’s own comments, there is plenty out there for you to find interest in!
Another great way to get involved is to find hashtags that are trending. Hashtags are making a resurgence on LinkedIn, so get ahead of the curve and be sure to use them when appropriate.
Opt in to “Open Candidates”
LinkedIn’s Open Candidates feature is relatively new and is something you should be using. This feature allows you to notify recruiters that you are looking for new opportunities. A notification is sent privately to recruiters and can be filtered according to companies and roles that interest you.
Turning this feature on is simple: go to your preference tab on the LinkedIn Jobs page and switch sharing to “on”. Once you fill out the forms that follow, you are all set. Something to remember is that this feature only stays on for 180 days; after that period you’ll have to switch it back “on”.
You’ve instantly let recruiters know you’re open. Now it’s time to wait and see what new opportunities come your way!
After making these updates to your LinkedIn account, all you’ll need is a little bit of patience. Finding a job can take time and can be extremely frustrating, but it will happen.
If you find yourself needing some help during the job hunt process, check out our job seekers page. Let us know what we can help you with; it is our goal to help you secure that next job.
