Your LinkedIn profile is a billboard for your career and there are simple mistakes that are preventing many job seekers from getting found by recruiters and hiring managers.
If your job search on LinkedIn isn’t going anywhere because you aren’t hearing back from employers or getting interviews, it could be your LinkedIn profile is to blame. (As well as your resume).
Here are just 5 mistakes that you could be making on your LinkedIn profile that you should review before applying for another position. There are other areas of importance and well, but focusing on these are key to getting found and being considered.
1. Your title at the top of your profile does not represent the current or future job you want.
Include an ideal title for the job you want to be followed by a headline with several keywords/hard skills that support what you bring. Recruiters are tasked to find a candidate with the title and skills they need to fill a position.
Do a search by title and then filter by people and see the types of people using that title – does it align with the position you want?
Second, filter by jobs, are their positions that suit what you are looking for using that title?
2. You don’t have enough skills or the rights skills in your profile.
Remember, most companies use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to sort through all of the LinkedIn profiles and resumes to find qualified candidates. On LinkedIn you can add up to 50 skills which you should be leveraging and updating as necessary to be considered for a role you apply for.
As noted in my post “3 Things Job Seekers Should Do on Their LinkedIn Profile”, I specifically state “you want to be sure you have skills in your title, headline, about section, and in past experiences as well as the skills section itself if you want to be found by recruiters.”
3. You’re not leveraging LinkedIn’s Skills Match
When searching for a job under the LinkedIn jobs tab, I see many of my clients not matching their skills to the skills required /listed in the job description. This section offers you the opportunity to ADD any skills you may have and are required for the position resulting in more of a chance to be considered initially for the job.
4. Your work experience does NOT prove you are a valuable employee
I coach my clients to add 3-4 bullet points that quantify results that happened because of them or that they were part of in previous roles.
If you’re not quantifying your work experience in your profile, you’re going to have a harder time impressing hiring managers. Just saying you are ‘experienced’, ‘hardworking’, a ‘strategic leader’ or an ‘analytical decision maker’ can often be a subjective narrative unless you use those terms in a quantifiable way that shows what happened because of you.
5. You have no recommendations
By having a third party speak about your accomplishments they tend to be taken more seriously than when you subjectively speak about your own skills. By gaining a recommendation from a superior who speaks to your skills, your teamwork and leadership, it becomes more authentic and believable.
I encourage people to always be gaining recommendations while they are employed and not waiting until they’ve been laid off, the chances of getting re-employed typically will be faster because you have developed relationships with your boss, colleagues and other industry professionals that speak to your skills and character and who can also introduce you to new opportunities.
Need more help with your LinkedIn profile and resume?
We will update your LinkedIn profile, fix any mistakes and coach you to focus on what you’ve accomplished and why you are the best candidate.
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