LinkedIn Key Word Optimization – Part 2

In our last post we talked about the importance of having a LinkedIn profile and customizing your Headline and About sections. In this post, we will focus on what you should do to attract attention via your Skills and Endorsements section and with creating content.

 

With up to 50 specific skills available to list, the Skills and Endorsements is one of the biggest key word rich areas on your profile you can use to attract hiring managers to your profile. The top two things you need to do in this section is list common descriptive words that your industry and job title utilize. For example, if you choose the word “leadership” you may also choose to use additional titles related to that same word such as “strategic leadership,” “team leadership,” and “organizational leadership.” Once you have added up to 50 descriptive words, it is vital that you rank each word in order of importance. When you edit this section to begin the ranking process, you will notice that LinkedIn has created a “Top Skills” section followed by several sub categories with headings such as “Tools and Technologies” or “Interpersonal Skills.” Using a button that looks like 4 lines on the right side, click and drag each individual word to place it in order from most important to least important. In addition, you will be asked to select three top skills. These should be the top 3 you wish to be found for by hiring managers and recruiters.

 

Once you have customized your Headline, About and Skills and Endorsement sections, you should begin posting to your page. This is called content creation. On your newsfeed, towards the top of the page is a box to post a comment. This is your area to give the world an insight to your knowledge and skills. Post thoughts on your industry, achievements, trends and more. Using supporting photos will help draw attention as well. Should you need a bit of assistance; you can choose to share other content from business pages, journals, websites or video pages. If you do this, be sure to make a personal comment regarding what you share to let the reader see your insight as well.

 

LinkedIn offers many tools to help you in your career search. These highlights are just a few of the important parts of LinkedIn you should embrace. If you want to power your career search with an effective profile and learn how to find opportunities and engage hiring managers, contact us today for your complimentary initial consultation to learn how we can help you.