Maintaining a LinkedIn profile is a key element to starting a successful career. LinkedIn profiles are a useful tool that hiring managers and recruiters use to reach out about job opportunities. By optimizing your LinkedIn profile, you can increase your chances of being discovered by recruiters through enhancing your privacy, professionalism, and engagement techniques.
Privacy
Privacy is necessary on all social media profiles, and the same goes for LinkedIn. Since there is no private account feature, you must be conscious that all the information that you put out there can be seen by anyone searching your profile. A few ways to stay safe online are to be selective about who you connect with, and only accept requests from people that you know. This will help keep your data safe and ensure you are building purposeful connections.
Remember to also keep an eye on profile views. They are a wonderful way to judge how your content is doing and to learn about who is viewing your profile. Remember, there is no need to connect with everyone who views your profile, so choose connections that are going to better your professional standing!
Professionalism
Maintaining a professional profile is the number one way to entice recruiters. Ensure that you are using a professional headshot or formal photograph for your profile picture. Three tips on taking a good headshot are to ensure that you are in appropriate attire, that the picture is from the shoulders up, and that it is just you that is present in the picture.
Some other tips are to use your real name instead of any nicknames in your profile username. This will ensure that recruiters can look you up based on the resume that you give them. Make sure to keep the language in all your posts professional, too! This is a professional platform, so slang terms and incomplete sentences are not the image you want to be presenting to potential employers.
Lastly, ensure that you are optimizing your headline. By putting in your current job title or academic position in the first seventy characters, employers will be able to get a gauge of who you are and what you are interested in.
Engagement
The more time and effort you put into your LinkedIn profile, the more you will be rewarded. By commenting and staying active by posting, your account will continue to circulate amongst recruiters. Some ways to enhance your visibility are using hashtags at the end of your post. This ensures your post will show up when these terms are searched, it is recommended to use between 3-5 hashtags on each post. Remember, less is always more.
Another way to increase engagement levels is to use keywords. Incorporating these keywords and phrases into your headline opens avenues for employers and recruiters to reach out to you. Make sure that these phrases are true and relevant to your professional abilities and aspirations.
Finally, add comments of value to other’s posts. This will keep your account engagement levels high, even if you are not actively posting. It is always vital to remember that these comments are visible to everyone, including their connections and followers, so keep these professional and well-meaning.
LinkedIn is a relevant and growing platform, especially as the search for careers expands in the digital realm. For more information on how to create or enhance your profile, check out the Center for Career Development’s resources!
Sources:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/8-reasons-why-you-need-linkedin-profile-lauren/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/linkedin-dos-donts-21-tips-success-samantha-dawkins/
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