LinkedIn can be one of the most powerful social media platforms for opening the door to your next finance or accounting job. But you could be sabotaging your chances of getting noticed without even realizing it. To properly leverage the power of LinkedIn, avoid committing the following 5 blunders.
Ignoring that LinkedIn is a Search Engine
LinkedIn functions like a search engine. To ignore this fact means that you miss opportunities to include critical keywords in your profile that employers and recruiters are using to search for their next candidate. Take a look at a number of job postings for your role. What common skills and industry experience are they looking for? Include those skills in your profile.
Pro Tip: Use Wordle to find out which words are appearing most frequently in job postings. The tool will create a word cloud out of the most commonly used phrases in whatever text you input.
You’re Not Reaching Out to People in Groups
Let’s say you’ve joined 3 groups. Now is not the time to be passive. Groups are a great place to build your network. Participate in group discussions to develop a presence and credibility. Reach out to individual group members to really enhance your network. Remember, however, that you only have 15 free one-to-one messages per month and that this limit is set for all the groups you belong to and not for each group individually. Always personalize messages based on the individual’s profile or a group discussion they participated in.
Pro Tip: Join groups that finance and accounting recruiters are a member of. When a recruiter does a search, your name will rank more highly then someone who is not in the same group as the recruiter (assuming a keyword match based on the recruiter’s search)
Read: For tips on how to get the most out of LinkedIn groups read “Tips from Toronto Recruiters: LinkedIn Groups.”
You Haven’t Spent Time on Your Summary
Your summary is the most important white space on your entire profile, so don’t miss a valuable opportunity to promote yourself. Keep it succinct (less than 250 words is best). Write a great title and include a call to action at the end of the summary that invites readers to connect with you. Make sure to include keywords that reflect your job title.
Read: “Tips from Toronto Recruiters: How to Write a LinkedIn Summary” to learn how to write a LinkedIn summary that gets noticed.
You Haven’t Maximized your Profile
It’s not just about your summary and work experience. Recruiters and potential employers are also interested in what else you’ve done.
- If you’re active in your community, make sure to fill in your volunteer experience.
- If you’re an avid triathlete, tennis player, rock climber, etc., join organizations that reflect your passion and list them on LinkedIn.
- Make sure that each role you’ve held includes one recommendation.
- LinkedIn allows you to rearrange some sections to make your profile easier to scan.
- For example, let’s say you’ve completed some projects that are sure to catch the eye of a recruiter or prospective employer, you can drag the Projects section and put it above the Experience section.
- Get your vanity URL
Read this step-by-step guide to getting a personalized LinkedIn URL.
You Haven’t Quantified Your Accomplishments
Quantify your accomplishments under each of the roles you’ve held. While past duties will help an employer match your skills to their job posting, it’s your specific accomplishments that will speak the loudest.
Key Takeaways
Make the most of LinkedIn and its treasure trove of opportunities. Be an active participant, setting aside at least 1 hour per week to actively engage with other users. Build your network and join groups. Make sure that any contact request you send out is personalized. Maximize your profile by including relevant organizations, volunteer experience or even languages. Quantify your accomplishments with some specific numbers. Most importantly, make sure that you include keyword terms that are most likely to be searched by recruiters and prospective employers interested in hiring someone with your job title. With the possibilities that LinkedIn offers, it would be a shame not to use it properly to get you to your next finance or accounting job.
Your Next Step
No one should walk the job search or hiring road alone. At Clarity Recruitment we help others realize their success through a process that marries proprietary technology with unwavering commitment. Contact us today to take control of your career, or to partner with us to hire well.
Clarity Recruitment, connecting exceptional people with remarkable companies.
