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Every 7 seconds, somebody is hired on LinkedIn. Do you want it to be you?
24 de February de 2020
How do you build a successful profile on LinkedIn?
The executives Joan Sánchez and Dalia Mercado give their advice in the online event “LinkedIn by LinkedIn: Rock your profile!”
As few people are unaware, without a doubt, LinkedIn is one of the most productive and useful platforms in the world of social media. At 17 years old, this digital community has managed to become the most important professional network on the Internet and one of the leading employability and job search portal of recent times. With more than 675 million users all over the world and over 20 million jobs on offer, LinkedIn has established its status as the ideal meeting point for companies, entrepreneurs, students and professionals.
“Every 7 seconds, somebody is hired on LinkedIn”
So, how can we build a profile that stands out in such an extensive community? Joan Sánchez and Dalia Mercado, two executives at the social network, shared their insight on 17th February in a presentation streamed live entitled “LinkedIn by LinkedIn: Rock your profile!”. What were their recommendations? Let’s find out!
Before focusing on the steps for building a successful profile, the recruitment expert Dalia Mercado explained that LinkedIn’s objective is and has always been to create a business community that connects professionals and, most importantly, helps them to generate economic opportunities.
“30% log on to LinkedIn to find a job. The other 70% log on to make connections and keep informed”
Build a top profile!
After the introduction, the speakers moved on to the topic at hand and gave a step-by-step overview of the points that they consider most important when building a full, effective, attractive profile for companies that meets all the requirements to ensure that it is easy to find for both the algorithms and the recruiters.
Add your photo: The photo is crucial. Many people fail to show the due care or interest in this respect, believing that it does not really matter but, during the talk, the experts explained that adding a photo increases their chances of finding a job by 60%. The photo must be taken against a neutral background of the person on their own, preferably wearing clothes suitable for their career and profession.
Add your qualifications: Education was the second point covered in the talk, when the experts emphasized the importance of including not only the main qualifications and certificates, but also those that help to define you as a person, such as courses and programs.
“The profile must be constantly updated. Every change and every detail counts”
Add volunteering experience: Volunteering is another important segment, as it helps people define what they are like. It is advisable to include experiences that give an insight into your personality and differential values.
“Maybe you volunteered to look after dogs and the recruiter who sees your profile is a dog-lover. That’s an opportunity”
Add your skills: We must not forget our skills either. We should include all the soft skills and hard skills that we possess. Moreover, it is always a good idea to do examinations that accredit these skills. We must also remember to use keywords that make it easy for algorithms to make connections.
Add an abstract: Last but not least, both Joan and Dalia agreed that it is important to include an abstract on your profile to give a comprehensive and precise description of the person, their interests and motivations. This will be the first contact between the person and the company so its significance should not be underestimated.
“It is a good idea to ask lecturers to give you public recommendations”
Launch your career: network and community
After finishing the tips for building a top profile, the LinkedIn executives focused on a series of optimal recommendations for expanding your network and strengthening your community on the platform. Let’s find out more.
Follow companies: Following companies that you are interested in helps to keep informed about employment opportunities, news and the latest developments. Therefore, it is important to follow not only businesses and companies that you are interested in, but also other firms related to your profile and professional field.
Create job alerts: Unless you activate the job alert, it is almost impossible to find a position that matches your needs and goals. They recommended personalizing the alert depending on the sector of the profile, as well as by city and timetable, among other factors.
“One statistic suggests that, if you apply within the first 3 hours of an opportunity being posted, you multiply your chances”
Follow influencers and opinion leaders: Just as we should follow companies, we also have to follow influencers and opinion leaders because, as well as enabling us to connect with the sector, they often give a unique and usually helpful insight on trends within the industry.
Join groups and build your network: It is also advisable to join groups and different communities that you share tastes, interests or hobbies with. This will help your network of contacts to grow and enhance the visibility of your profile.
Find your dream job
Lastly, once you have completed all the steps to build a top profile and followed all the recommendations to boost your networking, it is time to find a job. How do we go about it? The experts emphasized the following points:
Activate your job search: As mentioned earlier, it is essential not only to have your search activated, but also to personalize it, specifying different variables, such as the position you are looking for, the sector, the companies and city. The more specific your employment search filters are set, the faster and easier you will get results.
“Recruiters search using filters, so it is a good idea to personalize your job search”
In addition, they recommended allowing recruiters to start conversations with you directly on the platform. This will facilitate and streamline the process a great deal.
What about you? Is your LinkedIn profile up-to-date? What are you waiting for?