LinkedIn profiles can be your foot in the door. Find out two ways you can automatically upgrade the quality of your profile and get a job suited to your skills. Our skilled team of recruiters from across the globe have answered your questions to common recruitment problems in our series: Ask Our Recruiters.
When it comes to designing your LinkedIn profile, it truly is a matter of making a good impression in just seconds. Here is some advice on how to catch the attention of recruiters more quickly in the following two ways.
Have a professional photo
Having a professional photo is a must. Many recruiters count this as an important part of their initial judgement of a LinkedIn profile. It is the first thing people look at, after all.
Not having a photo at all is an immediate worry, according to Jon McCahon, an Account Manager in Perth. It undermines the legitimacy of your profile if the recruiter can’t put a face to the candidate. Make sure that the photo clearly shows your face.
Furthermore, be attentive to the surroundings in your photo. Greg Scharf, an Account Manager in Brisbane, says that he prefers a corporate environment. Sharyn Saxby, an Account Manager in Sydney says that selfies should be ruled out. This means you should get someone else to take a photo of you at work if possible.
Include relevant and concise information
Recruiters are busy people and are looking to get the information they need to judge your profile as quickly as possible. You want to make it as easy for them as possible.
Steve Jobson, a Senior Account Manager in Canberra says that this is why he finds summaries on LinkedIn profiles handy. This summary should highlight what the candidate has been doing, what they would like to do and also if they are actively looking for jobs.
A succinct summary like this will get you the most mileage out of the tiny amount of time that a recruiter spends on your profile. In fact, a recent study by the mobile career networking company The Ladders used eye-tracking technology to find that the average amount of time a recruiter spends looking at a resume before deciding if they want to read the rest of it is a mere six seconds. These findings indicate that candidates should write informative summaries but in the fewest number of words possible.
Make sure the information is relevant, too. Include your skill set and the kinds of technologies you use, states Georgia Hynes, a Senior Recruitment Consultant in Wellington. Your experience should also only be related to your career goals. Leave out your life history and previous roles that won’t help you get the job, advises Chris Huggett, a Principal Consultant in Sydney.
To get in contact with any of the recruiters mentioned, click on their names to be linked to their LinkedIn profiles. Alternatively, get in contact with your local branch here.