How to Optimize Your LinkedIn So Recruiters Find You

If you’re looking for a job or will be soon, your LinkedIn profile needs to be stellar because it’s often the first thing recruiters see about you. Most LinkedIn profiles could be significantly improved with just a few minutes of work. My recent blog post 5 Things You Must Do Online offered advice on how to maximize your LinkedIn profile. If you haven’t read it and done those things yet, they are no-brainers and will significantly impact how you’re coming across online. Taking that blog post a step further, today, I’ll share how you can use keywords in your LinkedIn profile to get noticed by recruiters and ultimately get what you want quicker.                                                                                              

Here are 5 things that’ll take you less than 10 minutes to do to your LinkedIn profile that could drastically effect how you’re showing up in recruiter search results.

1.    Figure out the keywords that matter. Use a sample job description that fits what you’re looking for to get inspiration for the type of words and skills recruiters will be looking for. You’ll want to work these into your profile to ensure you come up in search results.

2.    Craft a strong headline. It appears below your name in your profile. What you write there greatly affects how you show up in search results. Instead of saying, for example, ‘Marketing Coordinator,’ you could say, ‘Marketing Coordinator. Consumer-Focused, Brand-Builder, Digital Marketing Expert.’ You have 120 spaces for your headline so use them to your advantage.

3.    Make sure you actually write a summary statement. This is the first section below your name/position and many people neglect to write anything there. That’s a big missed opportunity to tell your story and plug in keywords. The summary statement should give a strong overview of your expertise and experience (years, industries, functional areas) as well as what you’re looking for. Here are a few examples:

For a college student:

Bilingual, Chinese-American pre-med student. 3-years part-time experience in community health clinics responsible for physician support, administration, and inventory management. Committed to community impact through volunteerism in developing countries. Seeking a summer internship in a remote, Mandarin-speaking community health clinic or hospital.

For a 20-something working professional:

Former Division 1 collegiate athlete with 4 years of experience in basketball marketing and ticket sales. Expertise in project management, marketing planning, and social media buying in the sports and entertainment industries. Seeking a challenging marketing position in a major league headquarters location or team office.

4.    Consider adding keywords to your job titles. For example, ‘Sales Manager,’ could become, ‘Sales Manager – Pharmaceuticals, Respiratory Health,’ which will be much more effective at landing you in recruiters’ targeted search results. 

5.    Actually describe your past positions. Too often I only see the job title, company, and years worked on people’s profiles. Take the time to describe your responsibilities. Where possible, be sure to emphasize results and double check for ways you can incorporate keywords that matter.

And if you want more tips on how to up your game and land your dream job faster, check out my online course and follow me on Twitter at @MadeToHire, Instagram, and on Facebook.