Stop waiting for the perfect job to come to you. Get ahead of your competition with these 8 smart techniques to start being visible to recruiters on LinkedIn now.
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Did you know that someone gets recruited every 10 seconds through LinkedIn?
If you find this fact confusing or irritating, it’s probably because you created a LinkedIn profile, added your work history, and patiently waited for job opportunities to come flooding in, only to hear nothing.
So why do some people have all the ‘luck’?
The answer lies in being able to think like a recruiter.
To help you with this, I am going to show you how recruiters use LinkedIn to find candidates for their jobs, and then explain how to use the following 8 techniques to improve your chance of being found and contacted by recruiters.
Creating a searchable profile
Letting recruiters know you are looking
Searching and reaching out to specific recruiters
Using the key words that recruiters are looking for
Joining groups
Being open to invites
Staying active
Monitoring your 'searchability'
Ready to start being seen?
Then let’s get started…
How recruiters use LinkedIn to find candidates
To put this simply, if you get this, and implement the following strategies, you will get noticed.
In other words, if you understand the processes on their side, you can understand how to be found on the candidate side.
Take a look at this quick video from the LinkedIn Help centre explaining how to use Recruiter, an expensive tool used by recruitment and HR professionals to find top talent.
There is one keyword to remember here – filters.
Everything is searchable and that means you need to provide enough information to become visible in their search results.
Now you know how recruiters are using LinkedIn, here are 8 easy techniques you can implement now to start being seen.
The 8 smart ways to get noticed by LinkedIn recruiters
Create a searchable profile
So what makes some profiles way more popular than others? This comes down to what the LinkedIn algorithm is looking for.
Sounds complicated but it isn't if you know the rules.
The LinkedIn search algorithm seeks and displays results in this order:
1 – Profile Completeness – (100% only)
2 – Connections in common – (shared)
3 – Connections by Degree – (1st, 2nd, 3rd)
4 – Groups in Common – (shared)
Here is your huge opportunity
Users with complete profiles are 40 times more likely to receive job opportunities than those without.
And because only 51% of LinkedIn users actually have a ‘complete’ profile, this is the reason you should work on yours now.
How to create a 'complete profile' on LinkedIn
To become an ‘All Star’ member with a 100% profile you simply need to add:
Your industry & location
Your current position with a description
Minimum of two past positions
Your education
Your skills – minimum of 3
A profile photo
50+ connections
Let recruiters know you are looking
Now you are searchable, you want to make sure that when recruiters find you, they will know you are interested in being approached.
This is as simple as a flick of a switch in your account settings.
Here is a quick video to walk you through it.
Search for specific recruiters
Reverse engineer the candidate search process by using LinkedIn’s search functions to find the best recruiters.
Start by typing the word “recruiter” in the search box, and then enter a location in the “Location” box.
You can also try searching for an employers name and connection level (1st, 2nd, or 3rd degree).
If you go to “All Filters” on the right side of the “People filters” bar you can see all of your search options.
Just like recruiters can search for individual candidates, you can do the same if you hear of a great recruiter you would like to connect with.
Just type the name in the search bar and LinkedIn will show you the person’s Profile link.
You don’t need to be connected to see their LinkedIn Profile.
For a more general approach, the People You May Know tool in the “My Network” section is so helpful because it will show you 2nd-degree connections that you already know and suggest others that are new.
Use the keywords that recruiters will be searching for
You already have a complete profile by now, but you also need to make sure that it is optimised for the specific jobs you want to apply for.
Just like when you target your resume for the positions you are applying for you will get better results, the same is true with your LinkedIn profile.
Take some time to study a few job descriptions of positions you are targeting and highlight the essential and desired skills mentioned.
Once you have a list, go to your LinkedIn profile to ensure that they are included.
Never add skills you don’t actually have but repeat the keywords of the ones you do.
However, if you are looking for a promotion, you can add these words into your About section even if you don’t yet have them to show that you are keen and aspiring to progress into these areas.
This has the benefit of adding these words but also being clear about the direction you want to take with your next opportunity.
Join Groups
There has been a bit of a shakeup (July 2019) with LinkedIn Groups that now makes it easier to join those that interest you.
Membership of Standard Groups, basically any that are publicly listed, used to be controlled by their owners and managers.
But this has changed and now any member connected with a new member will be able to approve their request to join.
This means that now is a great time to reach out to your connections and search for Groups connected to your industry or companies you would like to work for.
Leveraging the power of Groups will not only help with those keywords recruiters on LinkedIn may be searching for, but will also help you expand your network and discover industry-specific news and job opportunities.
Always be open to invites
If a recruiter sends you an open invitation or an InMail, always accept it.
Even if you feel that their background or experience may be of little use to you, you simply can’t tell this for sure.
And when you secure a new position, don’t make the mistake of refusing invites from consultants.
The days of a ‘job for life’ are over and you never know when you may be looking again.
Stay active
There are many ways to be active on LinkedIn including sharing useful articles, positively engaging in debates, publishing posts, and reaching out to other people in your network who occupy similar positions to yourself or roles that you are looking to progress into.
Active members of LinkedIn who regularly share updates and news are far more likely to get noticed by recruiters and HR professionals looking to expand their network.
Make sure you are noticed for the right reasons though.
Always remember to think before you post because recruiters are not just looking for skills but attitudes too.
Monitor your 'searchability'
If you have completed all the previous steps, all you need to do now is keep track of how you are appearing in search results.
This is a lot easier than you might think.
Navigate to your profile page and scroll down to the Your Dashboard section.
This is private to you and shows you how many views there have been of your profile and posts plus how many times you have appeared in searches.
Here is a view of mine so you can see what I am talking about.
If you click on the number of search appearances you will get a breakdown of where your searchers work, what your searchers do, and the keywords your searchers used to find you.
This will give you a perfect snapshot of whether or not recruiters are noticing you, and what they are noticing you for.
If you are not happy with what you find, go back and tweak your profile with those keywords from the job descriptions and then check again in a week’s time to see if there is a change.
A final word of caution...
All these will boost your search results but as the saying goes, “be careful what you wish for.” Being found is just one side of the equation to actually being contacted by recruiters on LinkedIn.
Always be mindful of what you post and comments you make because recruiters will be assessing your social resume on LinkedIn and any other platforms you are active on.
If they don’t like what they find, the very visibility you have worked so hard to achieve could actually end up working against you.
Got a question? Leave me a comment in the box below