by You can’t believe how easy it is to get a job if you follow the right steps using LinkedIn. Every time I got a job offer through LinkedIn, I wished I could transfer it to you but it is not always possible.
In the Part 1 of this series, I discussed the first step and that is: Build Your Connections. If you have not read it, please do read it before you continue with this part. You can find Part 1 on this link: How to get a Job Through LinkedIn – Part 1
Improve Your Profile Strength
In this part, we would, we would examine how to improve your profile strength, specifically, how to give a rich summary of yourself. LinkedIn actually assigns values to each users profile bases on the amount of information updated. Take note that the profile strength does not solely depend on your expertise, but on how much update you make to your profile. This means that you don’t need to have all there certifications and degrees before your profile strength can increase. You simply need to add almost everything, all information available to you that you can remember.
So how can you improve your profile strength?
Give a Brief but Rich Summary
This the first thing employers reach immediatly they visit your profile. If this is not rich enough, the employer would simply skip to another LinkedIn user and you don’t want this to happen.
So at the outset of your summary, immediately start talking about your skills and qualification, that is things that make you employable. Those are the things employers want to see.
What to Avoid!!!
Avoid using stereotypes expression like: “A very energetic person….”, Is there anyone that would describe himself as a very sluggish person? Expression like this might sound the employer off since he has always seen them. Similar expression to avoid is “Very vibrant…” and so on. The employer already knows. So that is not the main point.
Avoid the First Person Pronoun: This means that you don’t have to say: “I am very…” or I have worked for…” The focus should be on what you can do, not on you as a person. Besides, the employer is considering your profile with reference to his own organization and how you can fit it. So make him think of how you can help him achieve his objectives without undue attention to yourself.
Avoid giving the impression that you are unemployed: If you are currently unemployed, don’t make it obvious at this time.
What to Include
In your brief summary, include the following:
Your job Title: This needs to be part of the first sentence in the summary. The reason is because, the each employer is looking for particular job roles. Make it easy for him by placing it in the beginning, so you can save him the stress of looking too far to understand you. So begin your summary with something like: “An accountant with….”
Your Years of Experience: This should be the next point on the summary. This follows because this makes the employer either place you as an entry-level, intermediate or professional. You also would make his work very much easier. So you will have something like: “An accountant with 8 years working experience in …”
Your Job Role/Position etc: This is very important because it tell the employer what you are doing now. So you can say something like: ” An accountant with 5 year working experience in both core and retail banking…”
Then Your Qualification: Note that you are providing a condensed resume in this summary so you need to mention your qualification, the one you consider the best. This would begin with: “Holds a masters degree in….”.
Mention Your Professional Qualification: Use expression like: “A Project Management Professional(PMP)…” or For accountant, you could include the word chattered at the outset.
Cap it up: Conclude the summary by letting the employer know that though you are currently employed, you are looking for more challenging opportunities. So use something like..”Reading to take up new…”
I think I would stop here to allow you go back to review you summary. We would continue in Part 3. If you find this informative, you can leave a comment below.
