It’s no longer enough to look for a job through traditional methods such as submitting an application and resume through job listings. Social media has become essential to the C-level job search. For this reason, LinkedIn profile development should become an integral part of your job search process.
Why Is LinkedIn Important?
There are a number of reasons why you need to focus on writing a stellar LinkedIn profile to help you obtain a C-level position. LinkedIn profile writing services can help you:
- Promise value to a potential employer and advance thought leadership
- Reach recruiters and decision makers
- Advance your job search with LinkedIn’s unique features
- Network with industry leaders who may connect you to your next position
- Prove you are who you claim to be
How to Complete LinkedIn Profile Development
Whether you work with an experienced executive LinkedIn profile writer or you choose to attempt this process on your own, it’s essential to know what aspects of your profile require the most attention to be effective.
- Optimize Your Profile – Make sure your profile reflects every position you are considering. Be sure as much of your profile is complete as possible. A complete profile is more effective.
- Request Recommendations – LinkedIn allows coworkers and former employers to provide recommendations for individuals. While some people automatically provide these when you connect, you may need to ask others.
- Increase Your Network Connections – LinkedIn is designed to make networking online easy. Even before you start searching for a job, you should reach out and connect to other individuals in the industry you are considering. You should also connect with past coworkers, friends, family members and anyone else you know.
- Look for a Job via LinkedIn – LinkedIn Jobs makes it easier to use this social media site to find your next job. This tool will suggest jobs based on your profile. Therefore, you should follow companies and industries you are interested in and research recruiters in your industry.
Engaging in LinkedIn can be a useful tool in helping you find your next C-level position. However, without the proper LinkedIn profile development, you may impede your efforts, rather than help you obtain the right position. If your profile isn’t well-suited for your job search, employing the help of LinkedIn profile writing services will ensure your profile makes a good first impression and helps you land the job of your dreams. LinkedIn is the top social media site for executive-level positions.
If you need the help of an executive LinkedIn profile writer, contact us. We can help you revise or create your profile so it appeals to recruiters and prospective employers.
In a sea of social-networking sites that are primarily useful for, well, socializing, LinkedIn is a breath of fresh air for professionals. When you are active on this social-networking site, you’re not just wasting time creating and reading pointless postings. You’re improving your marketability as a job candidate, making valuable job-seeking connections, and increasing the odds of discovering or getting your next lucrative job.
Your LinkedIn Profile is Like Your Personal Brand
If you are looking for an executive level job, it is imperative that you optimize LinkedIn profile appeal so you will generate more profile views. The more people who view your profile, the higher the odds that the right person will view it. There’s really no point even being on LinkedIn if your profile is incomplete, lacks important keywords and has a paltry network of connections.
Ever Heard of “Social Selling?”
The concept of social selling is relatively new, but it’s important if you’re trying to market yourself. Essentially, social selling involves building up a strong reputation (selling yourself) as an expert in your chosen field by being an active participant in social media (particularly LinkedIn). Every aspect of your LinkedIn profile, including your headline, photo, connections, executive bio and summary, should be crafted with care and to elicit a specific response should a potential employer view it.
How Should You Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile?
Now that you understand the importance of optimizing your LinkedIn profile, you’re probably wondering exactly how to do that. By far the smartest way to go is to partner with a skilled and experienced LinkedIn profile writing service. When you are looking for an executive position, you can’t afford to take risks with something as critical as your LinkedIn profile. Certified resume writers at a LinkedIn profile writing service know how to use keywords effectively, add rich media that will generate attention, strategically organize a skill list to appeal to hiring authorities and more.
It’s always a wise move (and one that will save you time and anxiety) to outsource things not in your wheel house to someone who specializes in them. When your car needs an oil change, you could probably muddle through and do the job yourself. But you likely opt for the smart alternative and take your car to your auto repair shop. The same holds true for writing a resume, cover letter, executive bio and LinkedIn profile. If you have a computer, you could sit down and create these documents yourself. But if you trust a pro to do the job, these important components of your job search will probably be exponentially stronger than what you could create on your own.
Reputation management is like keeping a window clean so it doesn’t hinder the view. I don’t know about you, but the windows at my house don’t get cleaned until I realize they are obstructing my ability to see outside. Ideally, those windows should be kept clean on a schedule so it never gets that bad. Holding off on doing anything about accumulating dirt isn’t really a good idea with windows or with reputation management.
Scheduled Maintenance Keeps Little Issues Small
It’s a good idea to keep an eye on your online reputation by regularly doing some searches on all variations of your name. Remember to log out of any Google accounts so your search results aren’t skewed. Set up alerts for your name so you see when something comes up. You may not be doing anything at all, but a real threat is that a hacker could do some damage before you realize it is happening.
If you are looking at your online persona regularly, you can catch an issue and deal with it before it becomes a big problem.
Proactive Measures Prevent Problems
Ideally, you have two email addresses: One for business and one for personal use.
Social media can make it hard to keep business and personal identities separate, but privacy settings and separate accounts help. The problem is that it is easy to figure out who people are if you have any search skills at all, and employers are very good at researching candidates.
When you are regularly adding positive content to your online presence, there’s a growing momentum of good stuff to find. Reputation management and your career might feel like all you do is wash the windows, but clean windows let people see who you are. The more clearly you are able to show your professional and positive contributions, the better your reputation online.
In short, reputation management is about keeping the view clear so the world can see what you actually have to offer.
Common Job Search Mistakes Anybody Can Make
Job Search
AARP’s website and magazine will often have very good career advice. Kerry Hannon’s slideshow about 8 Common Mistakes Older Job Seekers Make is targeted to the older worker but actually could apply to all of us. Here’s why:
- Mistake: kicking back & taking a break. The problem isn’t in taking a needed vacation, but in failing to maintain an active presence in your field. Try blogging or consulting so when you resume your job search, you have evidence you didn’t stagnate.
- Mistake: using dated email accounts. It’s an excellent idea to have a dedicated professional email account that is your name, your initials & last name, or your name + your expertise. But make sure it’s also a currently respected address. AOL & Yahoo are not going to work like Google or Outlook to enhance professional image right now, but these things change rapidly so pay attention.
- Mistake: low or missing digital presence. Privacy is not the same as invisibility, and most potential employers will look online. Social media and LinkedIn profile development are no longer optional for professionals.
- Mistake: refusing to be flexible about salary requirements. You may be offered a lower wage but can negotiate compensatory perks, for instance. Looking at the bigger salary picture can get you in the door.
- Mistake: overlooking contacts. You never know who you will run into again, who can introduce you to your next boss, or who is going to be helpful. Ideally you are being helpful to the others in your network, too, because it goes both ways and comes around again.
- Mistake: overdoing your resume. If it is bloated with outdated detail, hard to read, and over two pages, you overdid it. Time for a resume update! Do your research and make it concise. They can ask you for more detail in the interview.
- Mistake: ruling out jobs. It may not be a perfect fit, but a job that is mostly a good fit will be perfect with the right attitude.
- Mistake: waiting for the perfect job to open up. Here’s the truth: there is no perfect job. That’s okay, because people aren’t perfect anyway. The same skill set and experience can transfer beautifully into any number of possibilities so be open to them all.
These mistakes are certainly not limited to any age group. If you have been making one, fix it and you could find that next job!
Professional resume and executive resume services have always emphasized the importance of networking for those interested in finding a job or moving ahead in their career plans. This is because the interactions we have with others in our industries creates a background impression that job applications, resumes, and cover letters are viewed against. People see the resume, for instance, and find out more by either asking around or remembering contact.
LinkedIn is an online networking site, the biggest and most influential one we have access to in 2015. Louisa Chan is a marketing expert, and her post on Copyblogger is primarily speaking to content writers. But the 7 Ways to Build Online Authority with LinkedIn that Chan suggests are good suggestions for professionals of any industry who wish to establish authority in their field. Isn’t this what networking and moving ahead as a professional is all about? As others become familiar with our expertise, we have a voice in the field — and the more expertise that is in our voice, the more authority we have.
Seven Ways To Build Authority on LinkedIn
Here is a quick look at these great suggestions:
- complete your profile
- compose content for distribution
- convene in relevant LinkedIn discussion groups
- connect with your peers
- communicate in a personal way
- continue to improve
- commit to your production schedule
All of these are ongoing projects. Even the completion of your profile is never ending, because if you are doing the other things, there will be more to add to your profile. And each time you add to the content you produce, your voice is being heard as an expert in your field.
If nobody knows you are an expert, you are invisible. One of the first things that a potential employer or the HR person deciding on your promotion, will do is see what you have to say about your expertise online. This is essential, whether it is original content (and there should be some original content) or a carefully curated contribution to the discussion along with your commentary.
“While not new, predictive analytics is an important factor in assessing a candidate’s fit and potential. What is new is its accelerating use in corporate America as a means to filter candidates in and out of consideration long before any personal assessment is made.” — Lou Adler
Lou Adler is a regular contributor to LinkedIn and has so much experience and authority in his perspective on the hiring process that it is worth taking the time to understand what he says about the way Big Brother is Now Determining Your Hirability. Today, a person seeking a position is filtered by all that is in their resume, and all that is in their online brand as well. There’s a list of characteristics that fit into a pattern; the pattern of the Achiever.
Here is what the “Achiever Pattern” that many companies look for consists of:
- lower turnover with growing responsibility
- quality of the years of experience rather than number of years
- quickly being assigned (or volunteering) for important projects and/or teams
- demonstrating same patterns of initiative & responsibility in every position
- rehiring and being rehired by past co-workers
- participation in expanding cross-functional teams
Why Are Certain Qualities Desirable?
If you look at the Achiever Pattern’s overall impression, you see someone who is willing and able to work within any setting and maximize the potential. They are good to work with, as evidenced by the fact they hire past co-workers and are hired by people who have worked with them in the past. There’s a pattern there of more than a self-centered trampling on the way to a shinier inflated ego — the achievement they consistently reach is an achievement that is good for everyone.
If you don’t have these qualities, you may be filtered out of the running before you ever get to the interview. It may be a good idea to carefully look at your resume and online presence and see how accurately they are portraying your own achievements. LinkedIn profile development has never been more important than it is today because it reveals a pattern that your next employer uses to predict your hirability.
7 Things To Do To Get Ready For Your Job Search
Job Search
If your goal is to get a new job this year, here are seven things you need to do to prepare yourself for your job search.
1. Update your résumé. While ideally your résumé is customized for a specific job, having an up-to-date résumé targeted for a specific “type” of position is the next best thing. So if you’ve taken on additional responsibilities in your current job, or you’ve changed your job target, or you’ve added new training or educational credentials, now is the time to talk with your résumé writer about updating your résumé. (And if you don’t have a résumé at all, now is definitely the time to put one together! A professional résumé writer can help!)
2. Develop — or update — your LinkedIn profile. A LinkedIn profile doesn’t replace the résumé…it complements it. Someone looking for a candidate with your skills and experience might conduct a search on LinkedIn and find your profile. Or, someone in your network might be interested in recommending you, and forward your LinkedIn profile URL. So make sure you have a LinkedIn profile — and make sure that it’s updated. (Yes, this is something your résumé writer can help you with.)
3. Know what you’re worth: conduct salary research. One of the most often-cited reasons to consider a job search is to increase your salary. But how do you know what you’re worth? There is more salary research data available than ever before. Websites like Glassdoor.com and Salary.com can help you see how your current salary and benefits package stacks up.
4. Build your network. It’s estimated that 70-80% of jobs are found through networking. Networking effectiveness is not just about quality — although that’s important. It’s also about quantity. It’s not just about who you know. It’s about who your contacts know. Many times, it’s the friend-of-a-friend who can help you land your dream job. Grow your network both professionally and personally. You never know who will be the one to introduce you to your next job opportunity.
5. Manage your online reputation. More and more hiring managers are checking you out online before they interview you. What will they find when they type your name into Google? How about if they check out your Twitter profile? Or find you on Facebook? Now is the time to conduct a social media assessment and clean up your online profiles.
6. Define your ideal job. “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.” That line, from Alice in Wonderland, is important to remember in your job search. If you don’t know what your dream job looks like, how will you know how to find it? What job title and responsibilities are you interested in? Do you want to work independently, as part of a team, or both? Do you like short-term projects or long-term projects? Who would you report to? Who would report to you? Answering these questions can help you define your ideal position.
7. Create a target list of companies you’d like to work for. Like your ideal job, you probably have a preference for the type of organization you want as your employer. Things to consider include: company size, industry, culture, location, and structure (public, private, family-owned, franchise, nonprofit, etc.). Once you’ve made your list, look for companies that fit your criteria.
I hope that by now you have a LinkedIn profile because this social media platform is one of the best ways to keep your career viable — if you use it wisely. But once you have completed your profile and started exploring your options, how do you decide what is a good thing to do? And how do you figure out how to do it?
Search Engine Journal has recently given us some good ideas in Kristi Hines’ 10 LinkedIn Tips and Strategies You Need To Know. These are helpful suggestions that may be exactly what you are looking for:
- How to unsubscribe from blog posts — a great help in uncluttering your inbox
- How to quickly change group digest frequency — another de-clutter benefit
- How to see where you rank — it can make a difference
- How to put links on your profile — to your site, your writing, etc.
- How to get LinkedIn Premium features for less — who doesn’t like a bargain?
- How to schedule updates to LinkedIn — and take some of the drudgery out of your life
- How to get LinkedIn testimonials on your website — you do have a website by now, right?
- How to research customers on LinkedIn — or anybody else, like potential employers
- How to target Facebook and Twitter ads to LinkedIn connections — you may not be actually putting out ads, but it is good to know
- How to research competitors on LinkedIn — and see how you stack up
How Is Marketing Like Career Building?
It’s true that Search Engine Journal is not usually a site you’d find career advice on, but the line between marketing and career building is very fuzzy. If you think about it, marketing is just presenting the best of your business to the public in various ways so the people see and respond appropriately. Isn’t career building presenting the best of your skills, knowledge, and experience to get an appropriate response?
In fact, skill marketing is a way to get people thinking about you as a potential asset for new positions. The more you can utilize platforms like LinkedIn to show what you have to offer, the easier it is for people to see what you bring to the table.
