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The Art of Finding Work

TITLE: Turbocharge Your LinkedIn Profile to Generate Job Opportunities

“The power of visibility can never be underestimated.” – Margaret Cho (American comedian)

Welcome to 2023! I hope this is the year you find an employer where you feel accepted and at home.

A job seeker’s best compass is to prioritize finding where they belong. Think: “I’m not looking for a job; I’m looking for my tribe!”

Imagine how much more efficient (NOTE: I didn’t say “easier”) your job search would be if employers were contacting you about their open positions—asking if you’d like to join their tribe. (Throughout the hiring process, you can determine whether you’ll fit in well with the employer and feel welcomed.)  

Your LinkedIn profile plays a crucial role in achieving this aforementioned efficiency. It’s common knowledge that a well-thought-out, complete LinkedIn profile attracts attention. 

Truism: Visibility is essential to success.

Ask yourself: “Am I missing out on opportunities because I’m not visible enough?”

Odds are the answer is “Yes.”

Here’s how to turbocharge your LinkedIn profile to generate job leads.

  1. Upgrade your profile picture.

Fair or unfair, your profile picture forms the first impressions of you. Hence, make it a good one!

Not having a LinkedIn profile photo is “damaging” and will likely prolong your job search and hinder your employment prospects. 

Lack of a LinkedIn profile photo can result in the following adverse effects:

  1. Take advantage of keywords.

Recruiters and employers use keywords to find candidates. By using the right keywords, you’ll appear in more searches.

You can find keywords that’ll help you appear in searches by following these steps:

  1. Create a compelling headline.

Your LinkedIn headline is a public one-sentence resume that tells the viewer who you are, what you do, and what you bring to the table.

Using the following formula, you can write a compelling headline:

[Keywords] | [Skills] | [Results-Focused Value Proposition]

For example, a medical device salesperson’s LinkedIn headline might look like this:

Medical Device Salesperson | B2B, Cold Calling, Capital Equipment | I cultivate high-value prospective clients, thus having increased my territory’s sales by 28%

  1. Write an ‘About’ section that makes the reader say, “I must meet this person!”

A great ‘About’ section has three parts:

  1. A short paragraph that speaks to your job, years of experience, and value proposition. (Include your keywords!)
  1. Five bullets that showcase specific (READ: qualified, measurable) achievements.
  1. Your email address so the reader can contact you.
  1. Leverage your ‘Featured’ section.

It’s hard to convey your value on a resume or LinkedIn profile, thus why LinkedIn provides a ‘Featured’ section where you can upload your work and demonstrate your expertise.

Showing your work to employers is the best way to convey your worth. Hence in your ‘Featured’ section, share examples of your work, upload certificates, awards, links to your content etc. 

Speaking of content, create it!

Content (e.g., articles, eBooks, videos, polls, charts and infographics, memes, podcasts) is networking en masse. It’s possible to reach more people through one post than through your entire network of connections.

Posting content, instead of simply uploading it to your ‘Featured’ section, illustrates what you can offer employers and your communication style and personality. Yes, it’s uncomfortable and frightening to put yourself out there, which is why only 2 to 5% of people do it. However, when done strategically, the return on creating and posting is substantial.

  1. Skills have an impact.

LinkedIn uses a profile’s ‘Skills’ section to rank profiles.

Boost your ranking by:

  1. Support and engage.

The more comments you leave, the more views you get!

Try this:

If you need an additional reason why you should give your LinkedIn profile lots of love, besides turbocharging it to attract job opportunities, keep in mind that employers will review your LinkedIn profile to determine whether you’re interview-worthy.

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Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers “unsweetened” job search advice. You can send Nick your questions to artoffindingwork@gmail.com.

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