Did you know that recruiters and HR professionals use LinkedIn to source potential candidates for their jobs? Well, it's time to stop using LinkedIn like your Facebook and start using it as a platform to market yourself and your skills to generate job opportunities and leads.
Let's start with a quick insight into LinkedIn's relevance within Australia. As of October 2022, 12.7 million Aussies have a LinkedIn account, which is around 45% of Australia's population. And that the average Aussie user spends approximately 11 minutes daily on the platform. So, what does that mean for you? Ultimately, LinkedIn is an incredibly powerful tool for discovering and making industry connections with recruiters and hiring managers, enabling you to broaden your career horizon.
Get your Profile up to Scratch
Let's get your profile up to scratch, so it exudes professionalism and gets you noticed above all the other profiles!
Profile and Cover Photo
LinkedIn accounts with a profile picture get 21 times more views than those without a picture. So that's why having an up-to-date and professional headshot as your profile picture is vital. But what photo should you choose? Below are our tips for choosing a great profile picture:
Use a high-resolution photo
Be the only person in the photo
Your friends are great people, and your dog is super cute, but post those photos as your profile on Facebook or Instagram and leave a clear and professional picture for your LinkedIn.
Your photo should be a headshot with your face taking up around 60% of the frame; long-distance shots don't stand out.
Use a photo that looks like you – this may be super obvious but choose an image that gives them a clear idea of what you look like if they met you in person
In the photo, wear what you would wear to work – this could be different depending on the work culture and industry you work in, but it gives an idea of the look and level of professionalism you would bring if you worked for their company
Don't forget to smile – smiling in your profile photo smiling can help put viewers at ease and make you look more approachable to contact regarding job opportunities
With your profile picture all set up, it's time to add the second visual element to your account; your cover photo. The cover photo is the long horizontal image that sits behind your profile picture and should be an image the size of 1128 (w) x 191 (h) pixels. The right background photo assists your page in standing out, engaging attention, and staying memorable. For free and editable LinkedIn covers photos, head to Canva.
Add your experiences & skills, enabling you to be searchable with keywords
Think of LinkedIn as an online accessible, editable version of your resume. Even if you're not actively looking for a new job, your profile should always be up to date. To ensure your profile can be easily found, ensure your introduction, experience, about, education and skills sections are completed. Other things you can include on your profile are certifications, courses, awards, languages, projects, publications and any charity or volunteering work.
With all your professional information added, you need to ensure keywords are throughout your profile, so you can easily be searched and found on the platform. But what are keywords, where should you add them, and what ones should you use?
Keywords assist the algorithm by bumping your name up when users are searching; therefore, placing them generously on your profile will significantly increase your chances of appearing organically in search results, thus creating more meaningful connections. Keywords should demonstrate who you are, your industry, and your interests. Keywords can be placed into your professional headline, job title, about section or summary, projects and endorsements.
If you're unsure what keywords you should be adding, here's a simple exercise:
Determine the keywords you want to be found for in the searching mechanism, e.g., Marketing Manager, People Change Specialist or Undergraduate Accountant. Now see how often those keywords can be found on your LinkedIn profile by searching for them in your browser. If you do not currently have keywords on your LinkedIn page, take a moment to fix them.
Build your Network
Networking is an incredibly powerful tool to obtain job opportunities, as research suggests that up to 70% of the jobs people get are through referrals, networking, or cold calling. So, it's time to grow your reach and network with meaningful and like-minded individuals.
This is where you search and connect with people and influences from your industry, profession, recruiters and HR professionals who might be able to assist with advice or opportunities. A good idea is to connect and follow company pages that interest you, providing you with information on day-to-day operations and available employment opportunities.
Open to Work
If you're actively looking for a job, LinkedIn's 'Open to Work' feature can assist in advising recruiters and your network that you're open to new job opportunities. You can even specify the types of job opportunities you're interested in and your preferred location, allowing your profile to appear in search results when recruiters look for suitable job candidates.
"Open to Work" can be seen publicly with the #opentowork frame around your profile picture, so everyone can see you're looking for work opportunities, or privately where people who are members of LinkedIn Recruiter only can see; this method is to protect your privacy, minimising the chances of your current workplace knowing you're looking for other organisations and positions. To find out how to activate the 'Open to Work' feature, click here.
Applying for Jobs on LinkedIn
Although being approached for new opportunities can be a thrilling way to get a job, nothing beats the old-fashioned way of applying for positions that interest you. Currently, there are over 15 million open jobs with 40 million weekly job seekers on LinkedIn's platform worldwide, and it is estimated that three people get hired through LinkedIn every minute. The trick here is to be prepared when you apply for a job through LinkedIn, as the hiring professional will almost certainly view your profile, so ensure you've done all the previous steps to make your LinkedIn comprehensive and professional. It's estimated that a Job Seeker with a complete LinkedIn profile has a 71% higher chance of obtaining a job interview.
The key takeaway is that LinkedIn is a personal marketing tool for your career, even if you are not actively searching for a job right immediately; by optimising, updating and turning on features like 'Open to Work' on your LinkedIn profile, exciting opportunities knock on your door, opening your career to exceptional prospects.
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