Remember that your LinkedIn profile is information about you – not about your current employer. So strengthen your profile, making every section from your headline to the summary to your skills section heavy with content that demonstrates your abilities to meet employers’ needs.
According to Jobvite’s Recruiter Nation 2015 survey, 87% of recruiters use LinkedIn to identify talent in our increasingly competitive job market. Use these suggestions to ensure that your LinkedIn account will tell your story and get noticed by recruiters and hiring managers.
First, use key words.
It is not enough to upload your brilliantly written resume to your LinkedIn account. The beauty of LinkedIn is that you have space to tell the stories of your achievements. Resumes are written in specific language and formats stipulated by busy hiring managers.
With LinkedIn you have the option of writing paragraphs and telling stories, explaining your accomplishments in detail. Load your stories with the key words of the industry or field. Do your homework, read dozens of job descriptions to identify company needs and key words and then start exploring company websites.
Read the company history, the mission statement, and press releases. The tone of these documents will provide you with an overview of the company culture and you can identify additional key words that are important in the industry.
Second, create a headline with a benefit statement.
By default the headline in LinkedIn is your most recent job title. If you are seeking exactly the same types of opportunities, then you can leave your headline at that.
But most of us are using LinkedIn to get our information in front of hiring managers and decision makers, so we want to provide a little more information in that 120-character headline. We want to provide a benefit that clearly states what we can bring to the next opportunity.
For example, your job title is Assistant Vice President of Acquisitions and Mergers. That may say everything you need to say. If it doesn’t say what you want prospective employers to know, then create a customized headline.
— Excellent manager overseeing seamless transitions for mergers and acquisitions, including costs, timelines, and talent.
OR
— Mergers and acquisitions professional helping companies identify best, most profitable options in the technology field.