7 Key LinkedIn Profile Tips For Your Career Search

 You know the old adage, "You need to know where you are going in order to get there?" The same rings true with your LinkedIn strategy when you are looking for a new job.

What if your LinkedIn profile is leading you to a job that you don't want with your career search?

The number one mistake I see when I am working with clients who either A) have a job but are looking for a new one or B) are actively seeking a job and who are unemployed, are whether or not their profiles reflect that desired end result.

What audience is that profile attracting?

If so, is this the one that you want?

For instance, I met with a client a few weeks ago, (I will call her Mary) who was looking for a job in the human resources arena and could not understand why she she wasn't getting recruited or even gaining momentum with potential employers when they viewed her profile.

So, I did what I always do and asked them to assess their own profile to figure out the mystery. We hooked up my Mac to a big screen and we gave her profile a quick once over.

Ironically, her LinkedIn summary was highlighting as well as remained very specific with information as her role as a manager in the financial industry with describing her mastery of techie skills that only those in the financial arena would understand.

So, I asked her, "If you were hiring a human resources director, for example, would you think this was a good profile to consider?"

Mary replied, "Uh, I don' t think so."

My reply, "Who do you think you would attract to your profile (aka target audience)?"

Her reply, "People in the financial industry."

EXACTLY!

When it comes to your LinkedIn profile, or as I call it, the professional story you tell your online public, make sure you keep the audience (recruiters, potential employers as well as connectors) in mind when you are writing the content.

Here are some tips on how to get your profile noticed when you are looking to explore avenues in a new career:

1. Use LinkedIn Advanced Search and Research

Here comes the analogy I used prior - have an end result in mind.

"If you don't know where you are going, how will you know when you get there?"

If you want to work as a director of human resources, then study the skill set needed to find that job. Explore via LinkedIn Advanced Search and type in specifically "human resources director" and see what those profiles look like on LinkedIn as well as jobs available in that arena. Use the "Job Search" tool to explore those opportunities. Study how those profiles are set up and the content they use in those summaries.

2. Identify Your Audience and Speak the Language
Now you have identified select words/adjectives that are relative to the role of human resources professional - now try to match those qualifications to your professional strengths, if applicable.

Did you incorporate any of this skills in your prior job? If so, bullet item those traits in your summary to attract attention to your profile. By using their language, will help you to be found by those recruiters.

3. Know Your Strengths
If you do not know what you do well, I doubt no one else will, either.

This is where confidence is key when it comes to writing your online PR platform - LinkedIn profile. Figure out what you do/did well in your current or previous positions and use those key phrases/words as a focal point. Also, make sure those strengths match up to characteristics you enjoy performing and utilizing in your desired job. If you write "detail-oriented" but are sick to death of editing, you may want to find some new adjectives to describe what you do well.

Make sure you want more of the same when it comes to work characteristics and responsibilities for your new career.

4. Be Generic If You Are Switching Industries
If you are were in a completely different industry (see above) but would like to explore working in a new one, be generic with speaking about your background in your professional summary.

You can be more specific with your work experience, which is below your summary.

What overall professional qualifications did you use, for example, as a manager at a financial firm, could you apply to working in your desired (new) career? Think about this as finding a common denominator between the two worlds.

5. Lose the Sales Pitch
As a LinkedIn profile consultant, there is no bigger turn-off than a sales-y pitch as to "why are you perfect for the job." If you are creative and confident enough with your summary, the potential employer and recruiter will figure that out for themselves - you don't need to tell them.

6. Your Header - Make it a Good One

Under your name on your LinkedIn profile is your "header." In my opinion, I don't get very excited to see one that says "actively seeking a job," etc.

Make sure your header is relative to the profession that you are currently working in and/or the job that your currently seeking. It is important to be accurate and not misrepresent yourself.

7. The Importance of Contact Information
I cannot stress this one enough. Make sure you have your contact information correct and available under the "contact information" tab. Also, please make sure that you are using an email address that is easily accessible. It may be a good idea not to use your work address as your primary address if you plan to switch careers in the near future.

I can't tell you how many times I hear about someone who leaves a job and they have their LinkedIn set up with that address and have no access to their emails that may be linked to their LinkedIn account. You may want to set up a gmail account if you do not have one.

One Last Thought
Having a LinkedIn profile set up with content to attract the right audience is key - especially when you are actively seeking a job. Make sure, though, that if you are still currently employed and want to be networking on the sly, you may want to put off changing your profile too much as to you may attract attention from the wrong audience to your profile (people within your existing workplace).

Simply use your profile (as is, listing details about what you do at the moment - even if you want to leave one day) to build a referral network so you can privately reach out and network to those connections.

LinkedIn is an amazing tool to build a foundation for your job search. Just make sure you are speaking (and attracting) the right people to that profile.

Patricia Phelan Clapp is a social media consultant and corporate trainer who helps business creatively market their brand online while continually focusing on overall business goals and target audience. Her passion is to combine her experience teaching as an adjunct college professor, writer, entrepreneur and coach with her love of online media. She helps her clients to tell their story with a unique strategy to build an online referral network in a unique and creative manner to find new business.

(photo credit www.morguefile.com via bmcmath)