By Joshua Waldman
If you’re looking for a job, and
you are reasonably smart, there are recruiters out there who would benefit from
talking to you. The problem is, they simply can’t find you. Or if they do find
you, something about your LinkedIn profile turns them away. In either case, you
have more control over this situation than you think. Getting found by
recruiters doesn’t have to be a passive strategy.
Here is a three part active strategy
for getting found.
First, Get on Search
Results
The first step to getting found by
recruiters is to simply show up. Like me, recruiters are using keywords to
search LinkedIn profiles. Results will show up based on degree of separation
and presence of the search term.
Tip 1: become 1st
degree connected to as many recruiters as possible. They are the ones
making the most searches. Having recruiters in your network increases your
chances of popping up based on your degree of separation.
Tip 2: describe
yourself as specifically and as accurately as possible. The well known social
media strategist Christopher Penn uses his own profile as a great example of
this:
My job is simple: get qualified
leads in the door using Inbound Marketing methods such as social media, search,
and email.
Not terrible, but it doesn’t show
results. Here’s an improved version:
My job is simple: get qualified
leads in the door using Inbound Marketing methods such as social media, search,
and email. In the first 8 months, I’ve helped to create a 10x increase in the
number of inbound leads through organic SEO, social media marketing, email
marketing, and other marketing methods.
Tip 3: Adjust your
profile for an upward trend in search appearances. Most LinkedIn users have
access to a graph called “Appearances in Search.” You can find it by going to
your Home page and clicking on “Who’s Viewed Your Profile.” This is an area on
the right side of that page.
On this page you’ll find the
“Trends” box with a graph in it. Click on “Appearances in Search.” By filling
out your profile with specific and accurate information about yourself, you
should start to see an upward trend in this graph. The better you write about
yourself, the more this graph will grow. If you're struggling with writing
about yourself, there are plenty of LinkedIn profile writing services.
Make Them Click
Think of your profile not as an
advertisement rather than an online resume. Once you start to show up on search
results pages for recruiters, your next job is to get them to click on your
profile.
Just like with other paid ads
online, just showing up on the page isn’t enough. The ad headline and
description text needs to compel you to click.
On LinkedIn your photo, headline
and recommendations have the greatest impact on click rates (from my own
experience).
By making small changes to these
three elements, you will begin to see increases in the number of times your
profile was actually viewed. This is the graph called “Views” from the page we
just visited.
If you're not seeing an upward
trend, the fix your photo, headline or try to get more recommendations.
Be an Internet Marketer
Simply by shifting your perception
of LinkedIn from an online resume to an online advertising platform, you can
approach your career opportunities from a quantifiable perspective. First you
have to show up on search results for the right people, then you have to compel
them to click. Using LinkedIn’s two graphs, “Appearances in Search” and “Views”
allows you to make measurable improvements and increase your chances of getting
recruited to that dream position.
Joshua Waldman, author of Job Searching
with Social Media For Dummies, is recognized as one of the nation’s top
authorities in Social Media Job Search Advice. To learn Joshua’s secret strategies
for shortening the job search and getting the right job right away, watch his
exclusive video training: Using
Social Media to Find a Job.
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