Unlocking Career Potential: The Crucial Role that LinkedIn Profiles and Keywords play in Job Search Success.

The Importance of LinkedIn

LinkedIn is one of the best online job search engines, and as a leadership and business coach, I always recommend my clients to have an online LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn is one of the best ways to connect directly with recruiters and headhunters.

If you don’t have a LinkedIn profile and you are looking for a new role as a manager or senior manager, it is a sensible idea to create a profile on LinkedIn as you want to trigger the search term algorithms used by recruiters to find candidates.

Remember that the first few words that you use to describe yourself on LinkedIn are critical, so choose words carefully to describe who you are and what you do.

If you want a human to read your LinkedIn page, you need to ensure that the algorithms which LinkedIn uses will recognize your skill set for the job description on offer and that you eventually make the interview short- list.

The key words that you use in your LinkedIn profile will be recognized and triggered by the search algorithms.

The key words that you use are important

I always suggest to clients during leadership coaching to ensure their LinkedIn profile is up to date and that they have a business appropriate, good clear photo of themselves on their LinkedIn page.

A LinkedIn profile does not need to replicate a CV word- for- word it provides a terrific opportunity to elaborate on achievements, skills and voluntary work and also provides the opportunity for your colleagues to comment on your abilities and strengths, something you do not usually have the opportunity to do on a CV.

When discussing a client’s LinkedIn profile during high level leadership coaching, I suggest that the client has a background banner image which represents who they are in their job function and which represents an occupation, instead of using the generic Linked In greyish banner. For example, you could put your company branding or logo into the banner image if you are a sales’- person, or you could put a photo of the Houses of Parliament or No 10 Downing Street into your banner photo if you are a political lobbyist.

I also suggest to coaching clients that they should use #hashtags to increase their visibility after they’ve posted on LinkedIn in the ‘talks about’ section and that they ensure that the spelling is correct in their Linked In profile.

Hashtags on your LinkedIn posts helps you and your content get discovered and builds connections

It’s important in the ‘About’ section on LinkedIn that when you are describing yourself, you try to articulate ‘what you are’, ‘what you offer’ and ‘what is your value proposition’.

Try to align your skills and experiences to what a potential job seeker audience might be looking for. Remember that it’s all about triggering the job search algorithms, so you need to use keywords which describe your skills and achievements.

Ensure that your skills are up to date with each job role or function in which you have participated and that these skills are still relevant.

LinkedIn allows you to use up to 50 skills, so try to use as many skills as possible, as the search algorithms will pick up on these.

Be cautious when using the hashtag # ‘opentowork’ as this might detract from your job search and make recruiters think that you might be too busy with other interviews to consider a role with them.

LinkedIn stands out as an indispensable tool in the arsenal of job seekers, a sentiment strongly echoed by numerous leadership and business coaches. Its reputation as one of the premier online job search engines is well-founded, making the establishment of a robust LinkedIn profile an essential step for those aspiring to managerial or senior roles. The platform's unique ability to foster direct connections with recruiters and headhunters elevates its significance in the professional world. To those in pursuit of career advancement, LinkedIn is not merely a digital CV but a dynamic gateway to opportunities, affirming its pivotal role in the modern job market. So, if you're eyeing that next career move, don't underestimate the power of LinkedIn in shaping your professional destiny.