LinkedIn Power In Your Job Search

You set up your LinkedIn—great! Now you are not-so-patiently waiting for someone to contact you, tell you how wonderful they think you are, and that you’re perfect for a job lead they have! Yeah right. If only it were that simple. LinkedIn is one of many social networking tools to help you network online, thus creating more opportunities. There is much more to successfully gaining a job lead online than just “setting up tent.” But before you can virtually mingle with others, you must be positive you have created a powerful LinkedIn profile. Let’s explore how you can improve your profile today!

Include Keywords In The Profile

In order to improve the chances of someone in your target industry to locate you, incorporate keywords such as industry relevant nouns/noun phrases and the target job title into the Professional Headline. By incorporating keywords, when someone conducts an internal LinkedIn search, preferably your profile will result within the first three pages (with your nice mug welcoming them to your LinkedIn profile).

Customize Your Website Links

Instead of using the default categories/titles for links, create a customized link by choosing “other” and title it with the use of keywords. You should select keywords based on your target job title. For Example: Commodity Manager Website or Commodity Management Resume.

Make Your Resume Available For Download

You can either host your PDF/MS Word resume outside of LinkedIn and then link to it or you can use the box.net feature in LinkedIn. Yes, your LinkedIn profile can be printed as a PDF straight from the LinkedIn interface; however, you should never just repurpose your resume on LinkedIn because you want to create a reason for a step further so they contact you for the entire resume. If you decide to make your resume available for download, I recommend you upload a PDF and protect it.

Integrate Your Tweets Into Your LinkedIn Profile

Join your Twitter and LinkedIn account through an application provided on LinkedIn. But, beware, stay on topic, professional, and employer conscious when tweeting. If you find this will be a bit difficult, you can set the Twitter application to only display tweets with the #in hash tag. This will prevent your "off-topic" tweets from appearing on your LinkedIn profile. Note: LinkedIn has great SEO power and usually results on the first page of Google.

Add A Picture Or A Personal Logo

Don’t leave that area blank. If you don’t have a professional head shot, get one! If you are camera shy, get over it or invest in a personal branding logo—but project professionalism visually—you must! Here are a few more pointers to take your LinkedIn from ho-hum to FANTASTIC:

• Your summary should begin with skills and competencies offered. Author it in a conversational tone, friendlier, and more personal than standard biographies.
• Notify your network that you are STILL job searching by updating your status on a weekly basis: e.g., “Offering expertise in 3d modeling in the Orlando area.”
• Make sure there are no spelling errors: If you must create your content outside of LinkedIn and then copy and paste, do so. It is worth the added security of a good spell checker.
• Write compelling content: Just because LinkedIn looks good doesn’t mean you don’t have to place any effort in the copy (marketing).

Remember all the tools and strategies you implement are a part of a bigger whole in your job search arsenal. Leverage all your tools and ensure you are projecting consistency and employer focus throughout all your marketing collaterals (resume, online profiles, etc.). Photo Credit: Shutterstock