How to help recruiters find you on LinkedIn

The common complaint from job seekers: “Why don’t recruiters find me?”

I read a LinkedIn post written by a mom showing a photo of her graduate daughter, saying that the mom got requests from recruiters all the time and couldn’t figure why her daughter didn’t get any attention.

She linked to her daughter’s profile and so I followed the link. There was nothing differentiating the daughter from any other graduate. Her LinkedIn summary was missing so I couldn’t really tell what her career goals were for the future.

I don’t remember the daughter’s headline so if it was there, it didn’t jump out at me.

Recruiters work for companies to help them find the hard to find to fill roles within the company. Your LinkedIn profile must tell them that you are the right candidate for the job they have open.

We could discuss why all hiring isn’t done by recruiters, but that is a discussion for a different day.

7 Ways to help Recruiters find you on LinkedIn

1. Complete the summary with robust storytelling the reader what your value is for the target.
2. Make sure your LinkedIn profile tells your story. If your LinkedIn is a plain vanilla profile with name, rank, and serial number there is no reason for anyone to look at it further.
3. Each job you held should help explain your future value to employers.  Are you a rare target with specialized skills? Show that on LinkedIn.
4. Recruiters search for skills, what skills did you list in the Skills area? Are they targeted to your goals?
5. Is your contact information visible? If you are in a serious job search, once recruiters find you, they need to be able to call you.
6. Did you use projects to show earlier contributions? LinkedIn allows links to videos, documents, websites, and more.
7. What content are you sharing? Does it align with your career goals? Showing yourself as a subject expert will draw in the right readers.
8. Are you demonstrating your value by writing articles on LinkedIn that showcase your area of expertise? Learn the right way to write attention-getting articles and practice.

Take it the next step

While being found is great, finding people to help you in your job search is even better. Mom, in my illustration, was making a plea for help for her daughter but the plea wasn’t demonstrating the daughter’s value.

Perhaps Mom had already reached out to her network but better would be to help the daughter do the reaching. If you are waiting for someone else to introduce you to the perfect job, you could be waiting for a long time.

Be proactive

Make sure your outside appearance (LinkedIn and other web presence) is targeted to the right goals, then reach out to people in the industries with needs for your skills.

When I work with job seekers who become my clients, I prepare them with value-driven resumes, LinkedIn profiles, and other career marketing tools while arming them with the advice and coaching that helps them find their next role.

Land your dream job! Design Resumes helps job seekers via interactive and personalized strategic coaching sessions to land their ideal job and achieve career happiness. Find out how to create your resume writing and job search solution here!