Steps to Get Found on LinkedIn Recruiter was originally published on Ivy Exec.
We already know that a robust profile on LinkedIn betters your chances of landing your dream job. The site helps you network, make connections in your field, and research hiring managers, all helping you improve the success of your applications.
However, there’s another component LinkedIn can help you with: getting recruited.
According to Jobscan, 94 percent of recruiters use the professional social network to vet candidates at some stage of the hiring process. Specifically, if recruiters are seeking candidates for a role, they can use filters and search terms to cast a wide net on the platform to find potentially-suitable candidates.
So, if you want to get recruited on LinkedIn, your profile needs to rank highly in these searches.
“Ranking highly in a LinkedIn search requires optimizing for both LinkedIn’s tech and the human tendencies of recruiters. LinkedIn’s search algorithms consider a variety of profile sections and user activity to rank their results, while recruiters have their own preferences and tricks to compile lists of top candidates,” explains James Hu of Jobscan.
What, then, are the most important profile tweaks you can make to get found on LinkedIn Recruiter?
Turn on the “Open to New Opportunities” notification on your profile.
When you’re looking for a new role, you want to let recruiters know you’re open to possibilities. That means turning on the “Open to New Opportunities” notification on your profile. If you don’t switch on this option, then recruiters may not know you’re looking for alternative offers, making them less likely to connect with you.
What’s more, LinkedIn promises that recruiters at your current company won’t see that you’re seeking a career change.
Add personal branding and keywords to your headline.
If you’re only going to change one element of your profile, make sure it is your headline, the most searched part of the LinkedIn platform. Modifying your profile should revolve around adding relevant keywords describing who you are (personal branding) with relevant keywords from your field. These words and phrases are what will help recruiters find you.
Some LinkedIn users don’t even realize they can change their 120-character headlines, which default to your current job title and company if you don’t change them.
Writing for Forbes, career coach Robin Ryan shares this successful example of what a headline could look like:
Emily Sargento
2021 Communication Graduate from University of Texas | Communication Coordinator | Marketing Coordinator | Public Relations Coordinator | Marketing Specialist
The vertical line symbol in this profile tells the search engine to keep all the words together. So, when you’re talking about your career titles and expertise, make sure to add in those vertical lines, not commas, periods, or slashes.
Choose industry-appropriate job titles, not necessarily the title your company gave you.
Another important element on your profile should be your job title. Many LinkedIn users simply write down the job titles previous and current companies gave them in the past. But often, organizations have internal job titles that don’t match industry jargon.
So, if you use language to describe your previous roles that recruiters don’t know, they won’t find you. Instead, search through common job titles in your field and find the ones that match the positions you’ve held before.
Focus on your accomplishments when describing your past roles, not your responsibilities.
After you write your job titles, you want to describe the positions and what they entail. But you don’t simply want to say what you did in the past. Rather, you want to focus on the most significant achievements you had in each role.
Experts recommend adding two to four of your major accomplishments to each job you’ve held. As a rule of thumb, you want to write more detailed descriptions for your more recent roles and less verbose ones the further you move back in time.
Use the CAR – Challenge, Action, Result – formula to list your achievements and note your “wins” as specifically – and measurably – as possible.
“Highlight the results that will be important so a recruiter or hiring manager will take notice. Did you save time or money? Maybe you made the company money. Did you make a change that saved time and made a process more effective? Perhaps you created something new to mention. These are the impressive facts that employers want to know,” said Robin.
Add skills to be discovered by recruiters’ search parameters.
Another important section to consider when you want to get found on LinkedIn Recruiter is the “skills” section of your profile. Here, you want to add keywords that are commonly used in your industry and demonstrate your expertise.
“Recruiters often include one or more skills in their search parameters to find ideal candidates. Take time to explore the list in the Skills section of your LinkedIn Profile, and include as many skills as you can that capture your capabilities and experiences,” said senior recruiter Joyce Lewis.
How to Get Found on LinkedIn Recruiter
Getting found on LinkedIn Recruiter involves letting other users know you’re open to opportunities, adding keywords to your profile, and revising your job history to focus on your successes. Keeping your profile up to date is also extremely important.
While these can be somewhat time-consuming tweaks, updating your LinkedIn profile not only makes you more appealing to recruiters. It also helps you use the social platform for other types of job search tasks, like networking, searching for relevant opportunities, and exploring developments in your field.
