To all the individuals negatively impacted by the recent wave of company layoffs, I can’t promise I can help you all personally, but if there is anything I can do to raise awareness about your situation or make any introductions into my network, please do reach out on LinkedIn. I will certainly help where I can.
In the meantime, here are some immediate quick steps to stand out on LinkedIn and ensure you’re visible to as many hiring companies as possible. Some are pretty basic, but not everyone spends as much time on this platform as I do, so it might at least help a few people.
1. Make sure you have “Open to Work” activated and visible on your LinkedIn profile:
– Click the ‘Me’ icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
– Select ‘View profile.’
– Click the ‘Edit’ icon from the ‘Open to Work’ box (at the top of your profile).
– Follow the prompts to edit the information you previously provided, and make sure this is relevant and easy for people to understand and follow.
– Click ‘Save.’
2. Sounds obvious, but make sure your contact details are up to date.
If your LinkedIn account was previously linked to your corporate email address, get this changed ASAP. You’d be surprised at the number of profiles I see where LinkedIn accounts are still tied to old company email addresses and telephone numbers.
3. Change your job title to fit industry standards that best reflect what you do.
Mirror your job title to the types of roles you are looking for. Many companies use weird and wonderful internal job titles that aren’t necessarily adopted by the wider industry. This will make it easier for hiring companies and recruiters to identify you. Therefore, time to bin the Recruitment Ninjas, Client Happiness Managers, Brand Warriors, Marketing Rockstars, Directors of Bean Counting, Chief Fun Officers, etc. If all the jobs you’re suitable for are called Customer Success Manager, Account Executive, Talent Acquisition Manager, or Sales Engineer… make sure yours fits.
4. Dust off your CV/resume, upload it to LinkedIn and update your LinkedIn profile.
While many companies have moved away from traditional CVs, many prefer more traditional methods and processes. Use LinkedIn as a shop window to promote yourself; ensure you’ve filled in as many forms and fields as possible. Most non-recruiters will never see the LinkedIn Recruiter Pro back. Still, it allows recruiters to filter profiles across a whole range of categories, from graduation year to company size, groups you’ve joined, how long you’ve worked in your current role, and what languages you speak. The more detail and information you include in your profile, the more searchable you become and the easier you are to find.
5. Your CV/resume is not a job description/job specification.
When you update your CV/resume, avoid recreating one. While highlighting ‘what you do’ is important, it’s more important to highlight ‘what you have achieved’ and ‘what value’ you contributed to the business. Going into 2023, productivity-per-head will be more critical than ever. Companies with tight budgets and rising costs will seek individuals who provide evidence of personal contributions and added value. Therefore, you must demonstrate and highlight your previous successes, achievements, major wins, and personal contributions.
6. Utilise your existing network.
If you identify a job opportunity, check if you have friends or ex-colleagues who already work at that company before applying through an automated LinkedIn or ATS system. This is super easy. Just search on LinkedIn’s company page, and it will automatically highlight “X person and XX other connections work here.” Internal employee referrals or applications received with a character reference will generally have a better chance of being shortlisted.
7. Expand your network.
LinkedIn will generally allow you to connect to up to 100 new connections per week, so don’t be afraid of making unsolicited personalised approaches to target companies and contacts. Maximise your exposure and footprint in each company by connecting with multiple stakeholders. Don’t just connect to one person, as hiring decisions and interview processes differ in each company.
8. Be proactive.
To use the analogy of house hunting, often, the best properties don’t come onto the market before they’re snapped up. The same logic applies to jobs. Sometimes companies might not advertise jobs online, so being proactive might give you a head start. Also, companies might only ever post their jobs on their own career website, so just because a job board, LinkedIn, Glassdoor, or Indeed doesn’t have any vacancies listed, it doesn’t necessarily mean the company isn’t recruiting.
9. Get active on social media.
Follow, like, comment, share, and repost. If you identify a dream role or company, follow the company, and make yourself visible to your target audience and stakeholders. If you see a potential hiring manager publishing content, commenting on this will raise your profile. Also, create and post content that you think might be relevant to your target employers. Link the content you’ve created back to those individuals.
10. Find niche recruiters in your industry or area of specialism and stick close to them.
While being proactive yourself is super important, leveraging their knowledge and wider network will be invaluable. Ask them for their input and suggestions. Most recruiters will provide free advice and make recommendations to help you maximise your job search, so don’t be afraid to ask.
Searching for a job is arduous, but you can make your systems, technology, and network work for you.
Good luck!
Iain
Written by Iain Flinn
Helping business leaders in the enterprise software, Cloud/SaaS/PaaS and emerging technology sectors to identify talent and build high performing teams across EMEA.
LinkedIn
