3 Things You Can You Do on LinkedIn to Help Land Your Dream Job
Nobody said it would be easy to land your dream job. Think for a minute about how many roles you’ve applied for and not heard back on. Argh. That feeling sucks, but it hasn't doesn't have to be nearly as difficult as you're making it.
Here are 3 things you can do today on LinkedIn to help yourself get closer to a job you’ll love:
Spend an hour giving your LinkedIn profile a mini-makeovert. You probably spend well over an hour aimlessly scrolling social media each day. Why not put an hour into helping move yourself forward? These are the most important things to spend time on with your profile:
Have a great headshot. Be yourself but make it professional.
Insert a background picture behind your headshot. It should represent your professional passion.
Use a strong headline. You are more than just your current job title. Look at my headline as an example.
Write an impactful ‘About’ section. This section should give a strong overview of your expertise and experience (years, industries, functional areas) as well as what you’re looking for.
Leverage keywords. Two options here: a) put a keyword paragraph highlighting your areas of expertise at the end of your ‘About’ section or b) work keywords in throughout your profile.
Once you’ve given your profile some love, use LinkedIn’s search feature to search for recruiter in your industry, functional area, or city. Many recruiters get paid when they place a candidate in a job so putting yourself on their radar could be a great thing for both of you. One of the biggest misconceptions people have about recruiters is that they don’t want to hear from potential candidates - they do!
Use LinkedIn direct messaging to start to building connections within companies that interest you. I always tell people that goal is to get someone on the phone for 5 minutes to ask them a few questions about their role and about the company. As long as you are polite and professional, the worst thing that will happen is you won’t get a reply.
There’s so much more you can do on LinkedIn but I assure you, spending an hour to revamp yoru profile then putting in an hour each week networking on LinkedIn will be a game-changer towards landing your dream job.
Want more advice? Check out my online course, ‘How to Get the Job You Really Want.’ For the next 5 days (through April 6th) I’m giving my readers half-price on the course (now $24.99) using the link above or the coupon code MTHREADER. The course includes 6 hours of on-demand videos (no tests!) covering everything from how to stand out, interviewing, salary negotiation, and more.