Job Seeker’s Checklist

Your LinkedIn profile can be a thing of beauty, heralding your unparalleled skills and achievements. Or it can make you look like you don’t really care. If you’re going to bother having a LinkedIn account, use it to your advantage. A few tips for making LinkedIn work for you…

Why it matters: Most recruiters use LinkedIn for finding talent. It’s a target-rich environment where we can see a snapshot of your experience without officially requesting your resume. Even when you’re not looking, recruiters are looking for you.

What’s your name? A professional social networking site is not really the place for privacy. Replacing your last name with an initial or using your middle name when you really go by your first name looks like you’re hiding something. LinkedIn is a place where you do business. So, use your full, real name.

Does your profile match your resume? Every day, we see LinkedIn profiles with titles, dates, and even companies that don’t align with what candidates have indicated on their resumes. This asks more questions than it answers, so make sure you’re consistent.

Say cheese. Make sure to include a headshot on your profile. People want to put a name with a face. You don’t need to pay a professional photographer; cell phone cameras work just fine. But make sure you’re professionally dressed, the background is free of distractions, and the image is clear, showing off your beautiful face.

A headline says a thousand words. Pro tip: if you don’t proactively choose your LinkedIn profile headline (the words directly under your name), LinkedIn will populate that section with your most recent job title. This is your space to summarize who you are in just a handful of words. Axe the cutesy inspirational quotes. Be careful about calling yourself a “guru”, “warrior”, or “evangelist” without backing those labels up with specific examples in your profile descriptions. You can be clever, but back it up.

Be open to new opportunities. No, seriously…click that little “open to opportunities” box on your LinkedIn settings if you’re actively or even passively looking for a job. If your profile doesn’t show that you’re open to hearing more, recruiters won’t contact you. It’s that simple. P.S.: only recruiters with LinkedIn Recruiter accounts will be able to see that you’re looking for a job.

Check your privacy settings. Pro tip #2: be aware that whenever you check out someone on LinkedIn, they can see that you viewed their profile. If you want to go stealth, adjust your profile viewing options to “private” and you can conduct your research without looking too desperate.

Connections: to share or not to share? The best way to expand your network is to meet your friends’ friends. The only way to do that is to make your connections viewable. It’s one click that could lead you to your next great job.

For a few more tips, check out our blog post on why LinkedIn matters.

Google yourself. Search for “all results” and do a separate search for “images”. What pops up? If you wouldn’t want your future boss (or your grandma) to see it, take it down. Immediately.

When in doubt, delete. The best policy is to assume that the person interested in hiring you will see all your social media profiles and posts. Pictures of the dinner you cooked last night won’t cost you that interview. But if you think there’s any chance the reviewer might raise an eyebrow over your posts or photos, take them down.

LinkedIn is a hub, and the easiest way to start.

Don’t be shy about connecting with all of your former colleagues and even some personal friends who might align with you professionally. And don’t assume people know you’re on the job hunt. Someone in your network may know of a great job, but if they don’t know you’re looking, they won’t think to share it with you. You’d be surprised at how willing people are to help.

Make it a habit to connect with people right after you meet them. And make sure to take the time to add a personal note to your connect request (which you can only do on your laptop, not on your phone, so wait until you’re back at your desk).

If at first it feels awkward, do it anyway. It gets easier.

Get out your calendar and find time to connect.

Schedule coffee, lunch, or dinner with colleagues and friends, just to check in.

Join a special interest group. It’s easy to find a practice area group (like Marketing Ops or Talent Acquisition) or even a user group for a technology you use. You’ll meet like-minded individuals with whom you can trade war stories and potential connections.

Register for in-person industry events and training. And yes, stay for the networking hour. Free snacks, name tags, and a little bit of bravery are all you need to strike up a conversation with someone.

Ask colleagues for referrals to networking groups. Find out which groups they value – even in online content groups, you can get to know people who post regularly and learn something while you’re at it.

Ask for introductions. When you have a specific need or question, ask your connections to make an introduction to someone who can help. People usually like to help, so ask.

Always respond (almost).

You apply for a job, the recruiter emails you with qualifying questions. Write back.

The recruiter sends you a LinkedIn InMail asking about a position for which you did not apply. You’re not interested. Ignore it? You could. Or you could take 15 seconds to say “thanks, but no thanks”. You never know when you’ll be looking again and might want to connect with that same person to find your next job. Responsiveness is valued by all recruiters, and you’ll be remembered for taking the time to reply.

Exceptions: repetitive, spammy messages from recruiters making outlandish salary promises or badgering you for business development inquiries. Ignore those.

Be honest.

Be candid about your skills, weaknesses, and answer all of the recruiter’s questions honestly, including salary history. Inflating or fudging any of these things can come back to bite you.

Let your recruiter know if you’ve already applied for the job directly through the company’s website or job board. Once you’re in the company’s applicant tracking system, the recruiter can’t present you to the client (or represent you in any negotiations, either).

Stay in touch.

Recruiters meet new people every day. Landrum Talent Solutions is no different. Where we are different is that we want to hear from you. When you change jobs, or find yourself looking to make a change, reach out. You’ll make yourself ‘top of mind’ and will be among the first people we call when the right opportunity pops up.

We’ve found our success by focusing on building relationships with candidates. As a result, we make great matches between happy employees and happy employers. This leads to repeat business with our clients and great placements for our candidates.