5 tips to optimize LinkedIn

Optimize LinkedIn?

The word optimize is often used by people who write LinkedIn profiles professionally but many job seekers don’t know what it means.

If your profile is fully optimized, you will be found when employers, recruiters, or hiring managers search for keywords. When you use Google to search for anything, the top results are sites optimized for the keywords you seek.

Today job seekers turn to LinkedIn as a way to be found while many employers are using LinkedIn to source candidates.

What does this mean? Do you just type in your name, rank, and serial number? No! As a job seeker, putting up a mediocre or so-so LinkedIn profile is no different from using a mediocre or so-so resume to sell your value.

Today’s job search is all about marketing

You might think that all you need to do is apply online and throw up your name on LinkedIn but it doesn’t work that way. If anything, job seekers need to be more sophisticated than ever before in history. A LinkedIn profile is a definite asset but only if you understand how to make it work for you.

#1 – Your LinkedIn Headline or Branding Statement

You have 120 characters to write something. Don’t waste it by letting LinkedIn pick up your last job title and put it in your headline. Branding statements should give the reader an idea of your value while also being optimized for the keywords that fit your career goals.

#2 – LinkedIn Summary

This 2000 character area in LinkedIn is the perfect opportunity to showcase accomplishments and optimize LinkedIn with keyword-rich phrases resonating with your value. You should write your summary in the first person “I” voice and not I-implied resume-speak or the very stiff third person. You inject your passion and personality to become the person someone wants to hire.

 #3 – Each of your LinkedIn Jobs

Don’t miss the boat by just putting in the company name and your title. Take time to detail what you did and what value you brought to the position.

• What costs did you cut?
• How much revenue did you bring in?
• What process improvements did you make?

#4 – Education and Training

Take the opportunity to add value by including critical training and education in your LinkedIn profile.

#5 – Use LinkedIn Skills and Expertise section

Whether you see the endorsement section as true endorsements or just a Facebook “like” feature, it adds value to your LinkedIn profile. If you carefully add keywords for your field, it will bring to the attention of hiring managers. Where do you find these keyword ideas? Read the job descriptions you are applying for carefully and select the words that fit your career best.

When you optimize LinkedIn, you need to make sure you can prove any keywords you use. Verifying resume or LinkedIn content is easier than ever before. It is often done automatically as part of the initial screening process. Trying to trick your way through by keyword stuffing won’t work. Savvy hiring managers see right through that if their Applicant Tracking System hasn’t already eliminated you.

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