Where do 575+ million professionals live? LinkedIn. Never before in the history of work has networking and career development been so accessible. First of all, if you are not on LinkedIn you are doing yourself a disservice. If you are looking for career advancement, LinkedIn needs to be first on your list. However, just because you are on LinkedIn, it doesn’t mean that companies are going to be lining up at your door with opportunities. LinkedIn will give you all the tools, but you need to be active in making your profile visible and attractive. This is what you can do to be found:

To be found on LinkedIn, you need to build up your network. LinkedIn searches are limited to the searcher’s first, second, and third level connections. If you aren’t connected to the searcher on one of those levels, you won’t appear in the search. The more connections you make, the more likely you are to be found by hiring managers and recruiters alike. Be open to new connections even if you don’t know them personally because you never know what door will be opened because of that connection.

Fill your profile with keywords for the industry you are in. Your profile will not be found without the right keywords. Your headline is key to ranking in search results. Use the right keyword in your headline with your job title and craft one that will resonate with those that you want to impress. Look at job descriptions of the “Jobs” section of LinkedIn and see what keywords the companies use and add them to your profile. This will tell you what hiring managers and recruiters are looking for. Businesses don’t look for “Marketing Professional”, they look for specific job titles such as “Digital Marketing Manager”. On top of that, add keyword-rich functional descriptions. For example, you could put “Digital Marketing Manager- Paid Search, Marketo, Google Ads”. Put specific skills and qualifications on your headline and impress the recruiters.

You have 50 slots for skills on LinkedIn. You should use them ALL. Add every skill you possess related to the industry you are in because that will impress a potential recruiter and show you are qualified for the position. LinkedIn will use those skills and make your profile more searchable and put you in front of the right people.

This might seem obvious, but you should put your contact information on your profile. Now, you obviously don’t need to put your address and other information that is too personal. Put your personal email and phone number so that someone can contact you easily because you don’t exclusively live on LinkedIn.

Why do you need to include your photo? Recruiters go through hundreds of profiles a month, they often will not remember your name but they WILL remember your photo. Give them a face to go with the job skills and position you hold. Including a photo of yourself makes you a real person.

Contact us to see if we have any job opportunities for you!