LinkedIn is fast becoming the main place for jobseekers to hang out, partly because it’s home to a significant number of job adverts, but also because of it’s fantastic networking opportunities.
Therefore, getting your LinkedIn profile set up correctly is crucial to your job search. That’s why we’ve put together a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to LinkedIn to help get you started.
Firstly though, let’s explore WHY you need a complete LinkedIn profile in the first place.
Perhaps you’re thinking “I don’t really do social media so I’ll just set up a profile to apply for jobs but I won’t use it” or maybe you’d rather avoid setting up a profile altogether?
Look, we understand. Social media isn’t for everyone. However, you should really think of LinkedIn as a tool to help you secure your next role, rather than yet another social media platform. It is just as useful to you as job boards and company careers pages.
The bottom line is, do you NEED a LinkedIn profile to secure your next role? Technically, no – but the same could be said for a cover letter, or a tailored CV. Neither of these you NEED but they sure do help – a lot.
Let’s take a look at the main reasons why you should set up and complete your LinkedIn profile today –
- You can actively apply for jobs via LinkedIn – so why not set up a profile, search for jobs and apply? It’s that simple.
- You can learn from LinkedIn – either through LinkedIn Learning, the hub of resources and mini courses or through following thought leaders in your sector who offer tips and advice
- Having a LinkedIn profile instantly connects you to employers. For example, it’s highly likely that the person who’s just received your CV will look you up on LinkedIn. So, by having a completed profile for them to view you can make them feel connected to a real person and therefore more likely to contact you about your application.
- LinkedIn is made for networking, and networking can lead to job opportunities. So, whilst networking in person is more time consuming, and perhaps daunting for some – LinkedIn is the perfect place to grow your professional network!
- LinkedIn is a great place to learn more about the companies you’re applying to. If you’re in a recruitment process why not look up who works at the company, what can this tell you about the team and the business?
- By completing your LinkedIn profile you can achieve “All Star” status – only 51% of LinkedIn users have 100% completed profiles, so by being in this camp you’re sure to stand out.
- The search algorithm seeks and displays results from the most completed profiles at the top of the search. Therefore if you have a 100% completed profile you will appear higher in searches!
The positives of having an up to date, relevant and complete LinkedIn profile are evident. This is the way job searching is going and if you haven’t already, it’s time to join the LinkedIn community…
Click here for our step by step guide to setting up your profile.
