12 Aug Resumes are so 20th Century: Best LinkedIn Profile Tips
The days of the mailed paper resume are long, long gone. But even the emailed variety is dying a slow death. Sure, interested employers still ask for a traditional CV once you are at the interview stage, but finding a job by sending out a cover letter and resume to dozens of companies is pretty old school. 93% of companies now use LinkedIn for recruiting purposes — for not only searching for candidates, but also for publishing opportunities.
In other words, get thee to a computer and polish your profile.
Here are five LinkedIn profile tips that you should use right now:
Have a headline that sings. Eveyone has shorter attention spans in the Information Age, and you need to grab their attention. Fast. No, faster than that. Many people know the scary statistic that a resume gets an average of just six seconds of review before a decision is made.
If you’re looking for a job, offer more than just your current title and organization. Don’t say “Head of Human Resources, Smith & Jones, LLP.”
[bctt tweet=”Offer your value proposition — “Engaged Talent Development Leader in the Legal Industry”. Boom. What you do and where you do it.”]
No stretching. Perhaps the most cardinal tip of all LinkedIn profile tips – no lying. And that means no stretching, fudging, omitting or eluding either. One of the sacrifices of the individual paper resume sent to specific people is that it is now a LOT easier to get caught if an employer fact checks.
Even if you are consistent on all of your own social media about when you graduated from college, you cannot guarantee that everyone else in your class hasn’t mentioned you somewhere. In the Facebook/Instagram/Twitter world, truth is king. At least for these purposes.
Say cheese. Have a solid, professional, recent photo. You don’t have to be in a suit, but avoid t-shirts or tank tops, obviously. People like pictures. They just do. Let them put a face to a name.
It is not so important what the photo looks like exactly – as long as it is clear, appropriate, and you look friendly and approachable. The point is that you really cannot afford to not have a photo.
Do it all. Take the time to fill out all of the profile sections. LinkedIn has a tool that tells you what percent of your information is complete, and it is worth it to invest in writing direct, relevant information in every section.
Also research and use the keywords most associated with the position that you are looking for. If you’re a professional writer, you might also want to say author, blogger, copywriter or other search terms that could be used by companies looking for people like you.
Own your URL. LinkedIn will automatically generate for you a random URL. But one of our LinkedIn profile tips is to take the time to reconfigure your URL to something more personal, preferably www.linkedin.com/in/yourname. Obviously it is a lot easier to remember and if people forget where they saw your profile they can more easily search for it.
Your LinkedIn profile is your calling card.
While resumes still have their place in the world of job seeking, social media has become a dominating tool to connect employers and potential hires. Follow the LinkedIn profile tips above to put your best virtual foot forward. And like a resume, triple check for spelling and grammatical errors, and keep it updated.
After all, the world is watching. Hopefully.
