Are you stuck in a dead-end job? Not making the money you deserve? Just need a change? But afraid your boss will find out if you start looking for a new job? LinkedIn to the rescue!
Obviously, you don’t want to use words like seeking, pursuing, or looking in your LinkedIn profile—that’s the quickest way to the unemployment line. But sprucing up your profile, joining the right groups, and “following” companies you’d like to work for are a few of the easy steps you can take when looking for a new job “under the radar.”
Spruce Up Your Profile
If you have used your LinkedIn account sparingly and all of a sudden there’s a flurry of activity, this might be a red flag to your boss. Therefore, if you plan to make major edits to your profile, go to Settings and turn off your activity broadcasts until you have completed your updates. Then turn them back on. To be on the safe side, you may want to make changes over a period of time rather than all at once.
Keywords. Use plenty of the keywords hiring managers and recruiters might use to find people with your specialties and skills (e.g., job duties, titles, industry certifications, software expertise, etc).
Summary. This is tricky. You need to look like a happy employee while at the same time touting your expertise and accomplishments. Keywords are definitely important. For example, “Johnson Company always puts the customer first, and my attention to detail and ability to provide excellent customer service make me a good fit at Johnson.”
Experience. Include a detailed description of your accomplishments for every job entry you include in this section. You’re trying to differentiate yourself from other job applicants, so don’t skimp here.
Headline. You only get one shot at a first impression. Make it a good one. It’s short—only 28 characters—so you’ll need to be creative. And be sure to include your best keywords.
Skills. LinkedIn members will give you Endorsements for your skills, and you’ll want to focus on including the skills you hope to use in your new job.
Education. In addition to your general educational background, include any specialized courses you’ve completed. Describe them in detail and use lots of keywords.
Projects. Use this section to highlight specific job-related projects. You can link to a web page where the project is displayed. Seeing is believing!
Special Profile Sections. Options include Languages, Test Scores, Publications, Courses, and Patents. These are a terrific way to impress readers of your profile and differentiate yourself from other candidates.
Honors & Awards. If you’ve got them, flaunt them.
Recommendations. Outside corroboration of the information on your profile is extremely important. Try to get at least two or three recommendations for each job and educational entry. You probably don’t want to ask your boss for a recommendation, but customers, vendors, and college professors (for recent grads) are great options.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.