LinkedIn Key Word Optimization – Part 1

If you could have a recruiter working for you 24/7 with a little effort on your part and find the job you’ve been wanting, would you say YES? Well, I’ve got great news for you. That 24/7 recruiter is your LinkedIn profile and in this two part blog series, I’m going to tell you the best strategies to use on your profile so real recruiters and hiring managers can find you!

 

Currently there are 575 million users of which 122 million have interviewed for potential jobs and 35.5 million say they have been hired. But what makes LinkedIn so important? Studies show that over 90% of recruiters use LinkedIn as part of their process to find potential employees. And 40% say they probably won’t interview you if they can’t find you on LinkedIn. When searching for qualified matches to job opportunities, hiring individuals typically search for key words within Job titles, Skills and Industries to begin. Many sections on LinkedIn are valuable and should be completed including photos and recommendations as examples. For this blog however, we are going to focus on the sections within your profile that utilize key word optimization and help with attracting attention to your profile.

 

The first section you should focus on is the Headline. With 120 characters available, don’t waste your characters on text indicating you are a Guru or Queen. This isn’t going to get you found. Rather, indicate the job title you are qualified for or that you are seeking. Your profile should be about where you are headed and not where you are now or have been. This also means you should skip saying you are an “Accountant at Acme Products.” This is identifying your company and not you.  Instead, tell the reader what you do and your experience or skills. Here’s an example:

 

“Accountant: Saving companies time and money using automated expense reports, budgeting tools and forecasting.” In this example, you describe for the recruiter your job title, what challenge you can help solve and a few keys words that are important for your industry that may be in their search filter such as experience with budgeting, expense reports or forecasting. Which profile headline do you think tells the reader why they should reach out? The Guru of all things or the profile that lists specific skills?

 

The second section to give a lot of thought to is the About section, formally call the Summary. This section has space for up to 2000 characters and I suggest that you use as much of this space as possible. Your goal here is to set yourself a part from your competition. Let the reader get a glimpse of who you are both personally and professionally. Share not only your skills and abilities but also a bit about your “why.” For example, consider starting your profile off with a quote, story or mantra that tells the reader why you do what you do or an accomplishment that shows your expertise. Add a couple of paragraphs highlighting your strengths. Then include a bulleted list of key words those in your industry would want to see you have and that you excel in. Finally wrap up this section with a personal statement, perhaps a bit about who you are and what you like to do when you are not working.

 

In our next post we will share how to complete the Skills & Endorsements section and how to use content creation to attract recruiters.