Sales Recruitment Insight: Is Your LinkedIn Profile Helping?

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Is your LinkedIn profile helping you with your job search?

LinkedIn was started back in 2002, since then it has amassed 467 million users and is growing at a rate of 2 new members every second. It is the power house of networking, and is now, more and more, the go to place for finding a new job.

With employers and recruiters looking to LinkedIn for talent, it’s crucial that your LinkedIn profile shines, and is a help, not a hindrance

Here are some things to consider to make sure that your LinkedIn profile is helping as much as it can in your job search

Getting the basics right

Firstly- remember what LinkedIn is: a professional networking site.  Treating it like Facebook will definitely do more harm than good. You should always keep this in mind, from choosing your profile picture to your comments, remember this is about you as a professional.

Your profile picture

If you’ve used the photo for a dating site or Facebook, it’s probably not going to be the best for LinkedIn. A simple headshot is ideal. Avoid group photos, photos with a beer in hand or with sunglasses on.  

  • LinkedIn profiles with professional head-shots get 14 times more profile views.
  • LinkedIn profiles with photos get 21 times more profile views
  • LinkedIn profiles with photos get 36 times more messages.

Source -https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/linkedin-numbers-2017-statistics-meenakshi-chaudhary

Mark yourself as open to new opportunities

LinkedIn enables you to indicate if you’re open to new opportunities. This basically flags to recruiter or head-hunters that you’re open to chatting about new roles.

Having a complete profile

Make sure your profile is complete, with a great summary. It’s a great idea to make sure you include more detail with your job history than just company and title. Often a recruiter is looking at your LinkedIn profile, like it’s your CV, so make sure to include the detail! Also, make sure you include your relevant skills. This will increase your chances of your profile featuring in a recruiters search.

Give and get endorsements and recommendations

Endorsements are when people in your network endorse you for a particular skill that you’ve said you have. Recommendations are from people in your network who leave a recommendation about you on your profile. The best way to get endorsements and recommendations is to give them.  For a recruiter to look at your profile and see recommendations from former manager or colleagues, really helps validate you as a strong candidate.

Network

Often it’s not what you know but who, so make the most of who you know and getting networking!

Avoid negativity

Remember, LinkedIn is not Facebook. If you’ve got nothing positive or helpful to comment, then don’t.  

Show what interests you or what  you care about

Passionate about your industry? Then like and share the relevant content about it on LinkedIn. Join groups about the things that matter to you. This is a simple way to help build a picture of who you are.

Follow the right people

LinkedIn is predominantly about networking with people you know or have worked with. But it’s also a great idea to follow companies that you’re interested in. Another good idea is if you’re in sales, for example, find a great sales recruitment agency to follow. This way you’re kept up to date on relevant industry news, and the recent roles they’re recruiting for. Most recruitment companies will post content that can be of great help for job searchers, be it articles on writing great sales CVs or interview tips.

Think like a recruiter or employer

Think about the things a recruiter or an employer are going to be looking for. You’re in SaaS sales, but don’t mention the keyword SaaS anywhere? Well, you won’t come up in the recruiter’s search!

Bonus tips from Saleslogic recruiter Dan:

 

  • For each job role in employment history, have a brief description of the company and a brief description of what your role entailed.
  • Not essential, but if you have decent numbers why not flaunt it and stick a couple in after the role description.
  • Make sure your profile is up to date. It’s a pain for a recruiter if you left the role 6 months ago and there has been no profile activity since then.
  • If you are open to opportunities on LinkedIn, put a little bit of info about what you’re looking for. Again bit of a pain if I ring someone and they are looking for roles in a new country etc

Having a great LinkedIn page is another way of standing out of the crowd.  It makes it easier for recruiters and head hunters to find you. It keeps you up to date with industry news and connects you with a great and powerful network. Think of it as having an extra bow in your quiver- you never know when it will be helpful.

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Saleslogic is a leading sales recruitment agency in London. We specialise in digital sales jobsSaaS sales jobssoftware sales jobs and more. Click here to view sales jobs we are currently recruiting for