Summary:Here are 3 tips for job hunters – change your professional headline, answer questions, and put the words "seeking" and "looking" in your profile.
"I hope it's gonna make you notice, someone like me" – Kings Of Leon
Details:If you are looking for a job, these tips should help, and you probably haven't seen them before:
1) Put the words "seeking" and "looking" in your Professional Headline Smart and savvy HR people, hiring managers, and recruiters are starting to look for these keywords in LinkedIn profiles, since it allows them to whittle down a list of potential employees. If someone in Human Resources is looking for a Sales Professional within 50 miles of Boston, there are over 13,700 matches. If you do the same search and include the word "seeking", there are 572 matches.
Therefore, instead of "Sales Professional", consider "Sales Professional seeking Software Sales position in Boston"
2) Make your Professional Headline a marketing phraseMost people think this should be your current or previous title, like "Accounting Professional", but it can be so much more. Use it as a marketing slogan that makes you intriguing to hiring companies and also indicates your employment situation. Better options might be
- Accountant (formerly at Yahoo) looking for employment nationally
- Accounting Professional seeking opportunity at software startup
- Accounting Professional who loves expense reports, seeking job in Boston
- Former Accounting Consultant to Bernie Madoff seeking position in Alcatraz
Ok, maybe not the last one.
However, make your Professional Headline sexier, attention-grabbing, and clearer, and you're more likely to get your message out to someone who needs you. You have to determine what suits your personality, but some people would put words and phrases like "Passionate", "Creative", or even "Rock Star" and "Ninja" in their headlines. These probably aren't good for Accounting Professionals, but for other positions, a creative or unique phrase may set you apart.
Look through your LinkedIn connections and get some ideas.
3) Answer questions in the Q & A sectionPeople ask questions in LinkedIn because they need problems solved. If you are a Graphic Designer, and you give great answers to questions in the Marketing section of LinkedIn's Q & A, you are more likely to get attention when those readers need to hire someone. The questions and answers are public and searchable, so others may see your answers and may consider you an expert for hire.
Also, the person who asks the question can also vote your answer as a "Good answer" or the "Best answer". Each time you answer a question, your number of "Best answers" is shown, so people can see that you are a proven expert. LinkedIn's Q&A is a great way to publically showcase your knowledge, creativity, and expertise.
Note that your Professional Headline shows up on the left hand side of your answer, right below your name. If your headline "seeking employment", as discussed in #2 above, anyone who reads and likes your answer also knows that you are looking for work. If they have a need, you are more likely to get contacted. At the very least, they may send you a LinkedIn connection request just to help keep you in mind.
I have gotten multiple contracts as a result of answers that I have given in the Q & A section about LinkedIn, Social Media, and Google SEO and PPC.
I'll do more tips in an upcoming blog post. Follow me on Twitter at
http://twitter.com/617patrickHope this helps.
"You know that I could use somebody, someone like you" – Kings Of Leon
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