3 imperatives to harness the power of LinkedIn

Over the years, the way that individuals search for jobs has drastically evolved. Today, utilizing LinkedIn is an important part of every job search, however, navigating the platform is no easy feat. It can be hard to attract the desired activity from recruiters, headhunters or hiring managers on LinkedIn, so here are some ways you can exploit some of the platform features to your fullest advantage.

Create an all-star profile

Do not settle for anything less than having an all-star level profile. As a starting point, job seekers who are serious about being discovered by recruiters and hiring managers who use LinkedIn to source candidates need a comprehensive and search engine optimized (SEO) profile. Check the profile strength indicator on your profile dashboard to see your own score, and if it is not an all-star, revisit these seven required elements to determine what might be missing.

• Industry and location,
• Current position,
• At least two past positions,
• Education,
• Three skills – more is best to show your breadth and depth,
• 50 connections, and
• Profile picture – shown to increase profile views.

Utilize SEO friendly content

A SEO-enhanced profile significantly improves your opportunity to be found by hiring managers and recruiters. Beyond being an all-star, embed your summary and experience sections with a variety of keywords that optimally mix industry terms, abbreviations and plain English terms.

Plus, identify and post a complete array of skills that represent your areas of competency and expertise that are also augmented by corresponding endorsements. Actively focus on expanding your network to grow to 500+ connections to increase your rankings in the searches and equally important, use commonly known job titles so that you closely align with the terminology a recruiter may use when seeking a profile like yours.

But, do not stop here. If your goal is to pull in more recruiters to look at your profile, then develop a unique headline using all 120 characters allowed, create a customized URL and add a professional-looking headshot. Media files provide an informative snapshot of you and your work and make a difference when you want to stand out above the competition to ensure your profile rises to the top of searches.

Invoke the Open Candidates option

Last and certainly not least is one of LinkedIn’s gems, Open Candidates – a discrete feature where candidates can signal to recruiters that they are open to contacts.  This notification (when enabled from settings and privacy within the Job Seeking Preferences section) is only visible to recruiters that subscribe to the premium services and who are not associated with your current employer.

Without a doubt, there are numerous other tools available to professionals wanting to extend their reach via LinkedIn. The features addressed here serve as a strong foundation and are valuable elements to any job search strategy.