8 useful tips to get spotted on LinkedIn

From the pre-interview stage up until choosing between the final two candidates, 94% of recruiters use LinkedIn during their process. So, that’s to say : nearly everybody. If the professional social network is that important for your job search, you should really boost your LikedIn profile. 

Update your professional status

They might only be a few words under your profile pic, but their importance is critical. Based upon these words, recruiters will decide to visit or not your profile. Your “professional status” doesn’t have to match exactly your job title. Rather, it should state what you’re looking for and highlight what makes you stand out. This might be your area of expertise or a specific quality. This is a “quick win” that will put you one step ahead of all the other profiles which have not been updated.

Also, don’t forget to edit your profile’s url as such : linkedin.com/in/firstnamesurname. You’ll have a better ranking in search results.

Choose your profile picture carefully

Before clicking on your profile, recruiters can only see two things: your job title and your profile picture. The latter should do 50% of the work. Don’t underestimate its importance. Just like on your CV, your profile picture needs to be professional: business attire, appropriate smile, a neutral background. Bonus points if its the work of a professional photographer. But do not use a cropped holiday photo, under any circumstances.

If you have a picture of yourself on stage at a professional conference, go for it. It’s an easy way to display your involvement, expertise and areas of interest, all at once.

Perhaps you do have a photo, but are not sure if it is appropriate. If you don’t want to ask your friends what they think of your LinkedIn profile picture, head to PhotoFeeler.. This website displays your photo to its community which is invited to give their opinion on it. You get results based on three criteria: competence, sympathy and influence.

Add a cover photo

Each day, our brain memorizes a lot of information and 90% of it is visual. So, don’t neglect your cover photo. It’s an opportunity to highlight your key skills, or your main area of interest - professional interest, of course. You can also choose to present yourself in a favourable light. Speaking in a professional context, of example. Make the most of it.

Don’t underestimate the importance of key words

To find candidates who meet their requirements, recruiters use LinkedIn’s search engine function. Make sure to include key words, relating to skills or job titles, in the different sections of your profile in order to maximise your visibility. Of course, this is easier said than done… Before adding them to your profile, you need to know which key words are searched for by recruiters. Here are a few techniques :

• Visit profiles belonging to professionals (with 4-5 years of experience) in your field, pay attention to the key words they use – in their headline as well as their summary and skills sections.
• Look for job offers which you are interested in and copy and paste their content into  sites such as Wordle. These allow you to see the words which occur most often, and which you may wish to include.
• LinkedIn regularly publishes the list of the skills which are most commonly searched for by recruiters. If any of these apply to you, put it high up in your list.

Showcase your work

Visual information gets more attention and this rule applies to your whole profile. LinkedIn allows you to upload samples of your work (a hyperlink, image, video or presentation) for each of your experience entries. This adds a tangible dimension to your experiences, and your profile as a whole.

During an interview, it is essential to illustrate what you say and the skills you claim to have using examples from your professional experience. This applies just as much on LinkedIn. Whether a press release, blog article, communication material or a video; as long as it isn’t confidential, it can only help your cause.

Get recommandations

The more you come recommended by your (ex-)colleagues, the higher you will appear in the search engines and the higher your chances of being noticed by recruiters. Attention though, the best recommendations come from your employer, colleagues, or clients. Do not accept recommendations from friends or people you don’t know.

Don’t hesitate to ask your (former) colleagues to add a recommendation on your profile. You can do this directly from the skills section of your LinkedIn profile. To be sure that you are getting recommendations for the skills you deem the most important (and not Word or Excel…), you can even add a short message on the topic.

Make sure your summary is eye-catching and relevant

Many LinkedIn users don’t take the time to write this section. But when looking for a job, it serves a very specific purpose. It welcomes people on your profile by explaining to them why the sector or profession is of interest to you, and what your current goals are. This information fits nowhere else in your profile.

Of course, how original you can be depends on the industry you work in but keep in mind that this summary should be more personal than a traditional cover letter. It’s goal is to highlight your differences from other professionals in your field. Try to be as clear as possible about what motivates you. Be clear about what you are looking for (an internship, a job, or simply networking) and what you want your profile visitors to do, for example, “I am open to any new opportunities. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected].”

Join groups and visit some profiles 

Joining LinkedIn groups matching your profile and following the pages of companies that you are targeting, can be useful in two ways:

• Keeping you up to date regarding what’s new in your field. <don’t hesitate to comment to get yourself noticed.
• Demonstrating to recruiters that you are interested and proactive

More and more, recruiters search for suitable candidates by looking at members of relevant groups in order to spot professionals from a specific sector. You can do the same and visit any profile which seems useful. As you probably know, you receive a notification each time someone checks your profile. This can be the perfect occasion to start a conversation.