We often hear how important it is to network and connect when it comes to landing a job or advancing in your career. During these challenging times, recruiters are changing their hiring process to better adapt to the current situation. Professional social networking platforms such as LinkedIn are becoming more popular than ever for recruiters to seek out top talents. On the 11th of September, Roy Suwanto, executive recruitment consultant from Monroe Indonesia, gave a zoom presentation on how job seekers can attract potential recruiters on LinkedIn.
The zoom event was hosted by Wall Street English – one of the largest providers of English language education services. This monthly event invites professionals from different industries to share their insights on topics ranging from careers to education.
Roy’s presentation touched on three main points; The benefits of using LinkedIn as a job seeker, how to optimize your LinkedIn profile to attract recruiters and how to network and connect on LinkedIn.
Why is it important to have a LinkedIn Profile? Roy mentioned that recruiters are now using LinkedIn as a part of their search to find the best talent, so it’s important for professionals to have a LinkedIn profile in order to be found and advance their career. In addition, having a LinkedIn profile allows you to have an online personal brand which makes you visible to key decision makers and recruiters. This means when your name is put into a search engine, such as google, you are appearing in search results. Therefore, it’s important to make sure you treat your LinkedIn profile in a similar way to your CV. Keep your LinkedIn profile up to date and highlight your achievement and skills to present yourself in the best way possible.
How do you optimize your LinkedIn Profile? Roy points out a couple of tips that you can do to make your LinkedIn profile stand out. One of the most basic pieces of advice is to make sure that your profile includes: An updated profile photo (make sure it looks presentable), a compelling Job headline, an elevator pitch in the summary field, your complete work experience(s), recommendations from colleagues, having your status set to actively looking (if you are looking for a job) and lastly by following your target companies.
A common mistake that most people make is that they don't include their list of job duties, responsibilities, and accomplishments. This is important as it can demonstrate to recruiters that you have the knowledge, credibility and expertise for your desired role.
Roy mentioned that another great way to highlight your experience is to include a list of skills you want others to endorse and recommend. When others recommend or endorse you, anyone who views your profile can see it, which shows that you have other experts backing up your skills. The endorsements and testimonials build your credibility as well as connections.
Why is building a professional network and connecting with people important on LinkedIn? Roy summarised that our LinkedIn profile is like a product in the online marketplace. You can imagine how many LinkedIn profiles that recruiters look through each day, therefore it is important to elevate your profile to make it stand out amongst the crowd. One of the ways to make your profile stand out is to proactively use LinkedIn, ensuring that you are sourcing opportunities effectively. This could be following targeted companies that you are interested in joining, making connections with decision makers or recruiters or publishing long-form content to use as a way of starting conversations. The more you share and comment on content, the more you establish your expertise and thought-leadership credentials, which is a great way to grow and build your network. The more connections that you make, the higher chance there is to build a meaningful relationship that can help jump start your career.
Overall, Roy said that the Zoom event was a hit and the audience was very enthusiastic during the Q and A session. Many of them connected with him on LinkedIn after the event.
At Monroe Consulting Group our award-winning recruitment services are tailored to the specific requirements of our client companies, with employers being able to select either a database search or an executive search (headhunting) recruitment service, both of which are offered on a success-based or retained fee structure. Contact us to learn more about our services