How to create a LinkedIn profile for job search

Create a LinkedIn profile for job search that boosts your online brand presence and revs up your job opportunities.

Businesses understand it, and you can see that most brand building is now done online. It stands to reason that individuals begin to build their professional personas online as well.  

According to the 2015 Recruiter Nation Survey, the three main social media platforms which recruiters use for employees are LinkedIn (87%), Facebook (55%), and Twitter (47%).

About 46 million of the employees on LinkedIn are students or recent higher education graduates on the job hunt.

iQ Academy offers a free DO Personal Branding course to all students to help them get to have the edge on their competition in the job market, on maximising on their social media, for professional gains.  If you’re not an iQ Student and would like us to call you back, please complete this form.

If you want to know how to get started creating a LinkedIn profile for job search, then read on.

The Profile

Write your personal profile in the first-person narrative. The goal is to make yourself and your capabilities stand out. Let your professional personality be evident. Give an attractive summary that shows who you and your professional aspirations are. Ask yourself, what is your profile saying to a future employer? Without being inauthentic, consider who you are trying to attract with your profile, and write it in a manner that a recruiter or an employer for that industry would find interesting.

Make sure that you have a good professional photo of yourself. The photo does not have to be stiff. However, it cannot be a  sexy selfie either. Remember, the goal is networking with professionals and potential employers. Check for grammar and spelling errors. It’s the small things that sometimes disqualify us.

Contactability is Key

Make sure that your contact details like your email are correct. Be sure to go back and update your details whenever these change. The point is that a recruiter should be able to reach you.

Come Across as Inspired

LinkedIn will ask what your current employment status is. Instead of writing “unemployed” rather use a phrase that shows that you are able and ready to go. For example, write something like: Supply Chain Management graduate looking for a challenging employment position. 

The Don’ts of LinkedIn

LinkedIn is not like your other personal profile platforms. Keep the main thing the main thing. Don’t post anything that diminishes how you come across professionally.

Get out there and connect.

Go  the 2015 Recruiter Nation Survey https://www.jobvite.com/the-recruiter-nation-survey-2015/