By Noelle Capobianco
Today, linked in is one of the most important sources to find a job or an internship as well as networking with other members in your chosen industry.
As a resume is a marketing strategy to deliver your own brand, LinkedIn allows you to deliver your marketing message efficiently on a virtual platform. LinkedIn is one of the most powerful and largest active professional network available, with more than 225 million members.
Recruiters, entrepreneurs and companies now look through multiple of LinkedIn profiles based on a one-word keyword search. Approximately 93% of recruiters are using social media like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to drive their employment brand and 94% used LinkedIn for recruitment purposes. This keyword search relates to the skills, knowledge and interests they are looking for to find the right person to fit the job.
You want to make sure that you can control your online presence when a recruiter or potential employee searches your name. This allows you to take control of your personal and professional image and will hopefully come up in the first three searches. It allows you to showcase your attributes, accomplishments, value and competitive edge to land that job as 92% of people have been hired through LinkedIn.
Here are the most important reasons why you want to be linked in to LinkedIn and using it as a tool to job search.
The Profile
As LinkedIn is a social network the power of the profile to be captivating and engaging is a necessity. The LinkedIn profile allows you to control the power and presence you have online to communicate proactively to other members of the industry. The profile is the element that allows you to network with others within your industry and to obtain recommendations. Therefore, it is important that the LinkedIn profile is up to date and showcases your attribute to develop your own brand. The profile is basically your online resume. It showcases all your knowledge, skills, employment, education, experience and recommendations so you want to get the profile right so you have greater power on LinkedIn. You want your profile to be details and thorough. You want to include all information relating to your knowledge, skills, employment, education, experience and industry. If you are currently unemployed you can list your current position to, “open to opportunities”.
The Professional Summary
The professional summary within the LinkedIn profile allows you to increase your market your brand online. The professional summary is one of the main things that recruiters look at when viewing your LinkedIn profile. The tagline is what the recruiter will see first to gage interest within your profile so it needs to be captivated for the recruiter to read on and find out more. The professional summary should include your mission for what you want to achieve or your ambition. It should also include attributes to describe your character and your value to a company. Within the professional summary your back round experience should be clear, distinct and to the point. Highlight your accomplishments and attributes to market you to make yourself attractive and appealing to a potential employee. Also include what you’re looking for. Whether you’re looking for employment, work experience or any opportunities in the industry. State what you want and what you want to get out of it so recruiters can match you to a position. Include all your keywords and skills form your resume so you are on the recruiter’s radar. Therefore it is vital that you get the profile spot on.
Networking
LinkedIn is so important to manage your personal network. LinkedIn allows you to connect with other members of the industry as well as prospective employees and recruiters. LinkedIn is your contact database. It has the ability to divide groups into employers, alumni, clients and colleagues to manage your contacts through tags. Contact settings through LinkedIn allow potential employees to know what you’re exactly looking for. Whether it is employment, work experience, job opportunities, job enquiries, recommendations and consulting offers. By expanding your network by connecting with other members of your industry, the more opportunities you will be ale to attain. Networking through LinkedIn will allow you to recommend and make recommendations; Recommendations carry a lot of weight within the LinkedIn world as it is basically as disguised reference in advance to a recruiter or company. Networking with other members of the industry will enable you to stay on top of industry trends that will communicate to the recruiter that you are proactive increasing you desire. By networking, it increases your association with companies, people within the industry and draws the recruiter closer to finding you. Through association with specific members within the industry, members within that industry will be viewing your profile and may make recommendations.
LinkedIn is one of the most powerful and important tools within job searching. As 77% of job posts are through LinkedIn you want to make sure that you are utilizing LinkedIn to its full advantage.
Get linked in with LinkedIn and start branding yourself and network today.
