To land the job you want, it helps to know how to stand out on LinkedIn as a job seeker. By showcasing yourself and your skills in your profile, recruiters and hiring authorities are more likely to find you.

The most critical parts of the profile for a job seeker are the headline, the summary, and the work experience section.

 

Stand Out by Creating an Impactful Headline

Your headline, along with your photo and your name, are the first things people see when they find you. Therefore, you want to make an excellent first impression in your headline.

Here are tips I give to job seekers as they create their headline:

  • Tie the key words in your headline to those in the position descriptions for the jobs you want to land
  • Include your strongest skills in your headline
  • Avoid jargon and words that aren’t specific enough
  • Make your headline memorable and distinct

 

 

Stand Out by Crafting a Summary that Showcases You Well

Too often job seekers don’t take full advantage of their summary, which is found in the About section. They enter a few generic statements about themselves instead of customizing their summary.

Here’s some ways to do that customizing:

  • Share examples of how you made a positive impact in the positions you have held.
  • Include a testimonial from a business colleague with specifics about your contributions to a company.
  • Paint a picture of ways in which you will be a valued asset to the company that hires you.

Keep your sentences and paragraphs relatively short. You want to have plenty of white space in your summary. Also, you have up to 2,000 characters for your summary.

Also, be sure to include your email address in your summary. By doing that, you make it easy for people to reach you.

 

 

Stand Out by Elaborating More in the Experience Section

Keep in mind that you have nearly 2,000 characters for every position description. Plus, each position title can be up to 100 characters.

Consider doing the following in your position descriptions:

  • Briefly describe the company (or other entity) for which you worked.
  • Provide an overview of your role, along with a bulleted list of specific responsibilities
  • Include your notable achievements in this role
  • Add a testimonial from someone familiar with your work in that position.

In addition, consider including volunteer leadership roles in the experience section. Doing so benefits the volunteer organization by giving it more visibility. Also, by listing your volunteer contributions in this section, people familiar with your service in this role can recommend you.

 

 

How About You?

What tips do you have for job seekers who want to stand out better on LinkedIn?

 

About Joyce

Joyce Feustel helps people, especially those age 45 and up, to become more effective using social media, especially Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. She works with business owners, nonprofit organizations, job seekers, consultants, and many others. Find her at www.boomerssocialmediatutor.com.