Is Your LinkedIn Profile Getting Noticed?
I guess the first point to make here is “Have you actually got a LinkedIn profile?”
If you haven’t got a LinkedIn profile, then my advice is to get one and keep it updated.
Why do I need a LinkedIn Profile?
Some facts about LinkedIn that might surprise you:
- LinkedIn has 332 million members.
- There are now 2 new users joining LinkedIn every second.
- LinkedIn now has over 42 million unique mobile visitors per month
It stands to reason then that LinkedIn is a pretty important platform and that you might benefit from using it.
Getting noticed on LinkedIn
If there are that many users on LinkedIn and a huge amount of people using the site for varied reasons, it stands to reason that you need to be able to stand out from the crowd. If you aren’t being found on LinkedIn then the chances are that you are wasting your time.
Why Do You Need To Be Found on LinkedIn?
If you are looking for a new or better job then there is no better platform on earth on which to advertise your skills and availability. LinkedIn is far more than just Facebook for business. It is a serious networking platform which, if used correctly, can lead to many people such as recruiters finding you and contacting you about roles that they are looking to fill.
There is now a way that you can privately signal to recruiters that you are open to new job opportunities. For more details, please go to: https://blog.linkedin.com/2016/10/06/now-you-can-privately-signal-to-recruiters-youre-open-to-new-job
This means that you can let recruiters know that you are open to be approached and your boss or colleagues will never know. This is an incredible tool and should be used if you are looking for something new.
Keyword optimising your LinkedIn profile
When I write a LinkedIn profile for someone, I always make sure that the profile is optimised for the sorts of keywords that recruiters, employers and potential business partners can find. In much the same way that someone with a broken toilet will search Google for an emergency plumber or similar, they wouldn’t want or expect to find search results showing emergency electricians.
Think of LinkedIn as a huge search engine for jobs and you won’t go far wrong. There are plenty of articles and videos available on the net showing you how to keyword optimise your LinkedIn profile so I won’t cover that here; however also please remember that a real person has to be impressed by your profile so don’t resort to spammy tricks.
Being active on LinkedIn
In much the same way as updating website content sends a clear signal to search engines that your website is current and relevant then being active on LinkedIn helps your profile appear higher in the results and searches than people 
who aren’t active. Think about it this way: If you aren’t actively messaging connections, joining groups, meeting with and connecting with new people, updating profiles, etc, then the chances are that you aren’t actively looking for a job.
As LinkedIn derives a high proportion of its revenue through job advertisements, do you think that being active on LinkedIn will help you get found? I don’t personally know the exact algorithm that LinkedIn uses to rank results but it stands to reason that profile activity figures quite highly in there.
The people we work with who use LinkedIn properly tend to be the ones being contacted by recruiters and employers and getting the right type of approaches.
Author: Glenn Hughes
I’m a professional CV writer who also writes website content, LinkedIn profiles, helps people with bespoke job applications and more. I’ve been writing for the internet since 2009 and have many published articles.
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