Ever wonder how Recruiters manage to screen through 2000 applicants on LinkedIn, and what we recruiters look for on a LinkedIn profile?  Recruiters filter people in or out depending on many things. Employers can reduce 2000 applicants to just 50 within a couple of clicks… If your LinkedIn profile is not complete, or information is outdated, then yes, you may miss out.

Here is our short guide on how to improve your profile, become more visible to hiring managers, and hopefully secure a job faster:

• Update every section on LinkedIn – the parts you think may not be that important, are things that recruiters search on… ensure your Qualifications, Licenses and Certifications are detailed in the correct boxes, the Skills section is fully complete (we can search on individual skills such as ‘Excel Models’ or ‘Social Media Marketing’.
• Spelling – make sure it’s perfect! I have seen people working for ‘legistics’ companies as ‘acounants’ – If you are sloppy with your spellings, employers and recruiters may believe this would spill over into the work place. Big mistakes are a big no-no.
• Photo – your profile picture is extremely important and I don’t mean you have to be a model to get past us – Of course everyone comes in different shapes and sizes. However, it is essential that you portray a professional employee. A crisp, clear and recent photo with a smile will get you far. A dark, blurry, grumpy ‘mug shot’ puts recruiters off and you may not get a call.
• Recommendations – asking your colleagues to recommend you is a good way to prove that people enjoy working with you.  Recruiters look for strong team players, and subordinates who were recommended by their bosses – both of which can be evidenced by the presence of LinkedIn Recommendations.
• Update your contact details and make them visible to connections – we may have the perfect job for you, but if your contact details are hidden and the email address is wrong, you may miss out.
• Languages – if you are multi-lingual, please update LinkedIn Languages section. We can search on your level of fluency of a particular language.
• Location –We can filter people out of a search, if our clients will only consider people in a certain country.  If you have recently relocated, ensure your Country has been updated accordingly.
• Key words – Use the ‘About’ section, and the Description area under your jobs to highlight key words. For example, if we are searching for someone in the manufacturing industry, we would search for words such as ‘manufacturing’, ‘factory’ and/or ‘production’.  If those words are missing from your profile, you will not be picked up in the search. 

Follow us on LinkedIn  We hope this information inspires you to find a new job more easily!