I recently worked with a job seeker; let’s call her Connie. She had a job that she hated and wanted out but didn’t want everyone at work to find out she was looking. She also didn’t have a ton of time to apply for jobs. So she came to me for help starting a secret job search. But her LinkedIn was a HOT MESS! And I get it, no one really likes LinkedIn, but it’s where most recruiters and hiring managers go to find people for their roles.
We focused on getting her LinkedIn profile to show up at the top of recruiter searches. I’m a data and facts type of coach, so we started by using Jobscan’s LinkedIn Optimizer to scan Connie’s LI profile and determine how searchable it was.
I showed Connie how to create a free account and run up to 5 searches for free. Here are the steps we followed:
Connie’s initial score was 50%, and to be at the top of Recruiter searches, you want your score to be above 80%. So we made the edits Jobscan suggested and updated Connie’s profile.
The main areas we focused on were the headline, summary, and experience.
The headline is the first thing people see. It’s prime real estate that you shouldn’t waste with just your current job title and company name. You own that real estate, so use it wisely. Let people know what you can do. Connie has all of the skills and experience to back up being a senior full-stack engineer, and although that’s not her official job title yet, that’s what we chose to use as her headline. Along with the main technologies she works with. (Remember, keywords!) So this is a natural way to include them.
Next, we worked on her About Section; some people call this the Summary Section. Honestly, we could have written a lot more. However, Connie wanted to keep it short and to the point. So we focused on highlighting the measurable accomplishments she’s the proudest of, and of course, we included a list of the technologies she knows and is interested in working with.
When it comes to the Experience section, this is where you can really showcase your accomplishments. This is the Section that recruiters and hiring managers will spend the most time looking at once they’re interested in learning more about you. In this section, you should focus on MEASURABLE accomplishments. Don’t just list out duties from a job description. Let people know what you accomplished, and quantify these accomplishments. But don’t forget to use relevant keywords.
If you want people to get to your profile, you have to show up in searches, and to do this; you have to use the keywords recruiters are using when they are searching. Jobscan does an excellent job at pulling out the keywords from the job ads you uploaded and listing them out for you to know what keywords to include.
After our edits, we brought Connie’s score to 82%! Connie started getting recruiters in her DMs within HOURS. Same person, same experience, we didn’t fabricate anything; we simply followed Jobscan’s suggestions and ended up with an optimized profile that showed up in recruiter searches.
Jobscan’s LI Optimizer is my go-to for quick, easy, and effective LinkedIn Optimizing tips. Use this link to run your own scan: https://bit.ly/jobscanLI.
I get a small fee when you sign up for a FREE account, but I wouldn’t recommend anything I haven’t used myself.
In 2019, I used Jobscan to scan my LinkedIn profile, and the suggested edits helped me land a really cool freelance gig. So go ahead, sign up for Jobscan and optimize your profile so that recruiters and hiring managers can easily find you.
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I teach overlooked professionals how to capture the attention of employers & secure interviews with ease by finding their voice & establishing an undeniable personal brand.
Job Search Tips to go from Overlooked to Noticed & Paid
