CAREER CENTER
LinkedIn is one of the most powerful professional networking platforms out there and it’s more relevant now than ever. With over 500 million professional profiles, LinkedIn has an unlimited supply of network connections, job opportunities and resources at your fingertips.
Here are just a few things you can do with a LinkedIn profile:
Search for Jobs:
You can tap into LinkedIn’s robust job board to find open positions in your area and even apply to jobs directly through the platform. You can also set job alerts based on your interests and location and receive email updates to stay in the loop.
Build your Professional Brand:
LinkedIn is an easy way to market yourself and create your own professional brand. Be sure to upload a professional profile photo and be sure to write a strong summary that’s not just a carbon copy of your resume. Think of your LinkedIn summary as a highly condensed version of your resume. Recruiters should be able to gain a strong understanding of your skills and strengths from a quick glance at your LinkedIn profile.
Research:
You can easily conduct research on a company, and even follow them or connect with other inspirational people. Once you’re connected to them, you’ll get news updates sent to your inbox. This increases your opportunities to network.
Get Hired:
Take the time to put together a thoughtful LinkedIn profile. Remember, your primary goal when writing your resume and LinkedIn profile is to connect with the hiring manager or recruiter. It’s important to know when writing your summary, that employers may be using scanning software to filter applications, while LinkedIn uses different algorithms to assess keywords. Those keywords determine your ranking when a recruiter runs a search for candidates on LinkedIn. Be strategic about describing your qualifications and skills to maximize the usefulness of both tools. Recruiters search for candidates via a combination of job titles, skills, and other keywords. Make sure your LinkedIn summary is keyword rich and if you’re having trouble deciding what those keywords are, look at the Qualifications section in various job postings for a specific position.
Here are some helpful links to creating an stellar profile:
Resume & LinkedIn Profile Writing