We spoke with a job seeker recently who hadn’t updated her LinkedIn profile in over 5 years. In a perfect world, we would all be using LinkedIn and it would be an up-to-date record of our career history. But that’s not always the case. If you are actively looking for work, there’s a high chance that Recruiters will view your profile on LinkedIn – data indicates that 95% of Recruiters utilise LinkedIn actively to seek out candidates.

So what does this mean for job seekers?

LinkedIn has over 1 billion members worldwide and should be one of the first places to start when it comes to getting prepared for your job search. Here are some recommendations on how best to use the platform for your job search:

1. Understand How Recruiters Use LinkedIn

Recruiters typically start searching for candidates by using keywords associated with the position they aim to fill. These keywords might include job titles, competencies, industry terms, and geographic location. LinkedIn’s search algorithm compiles a list of profiles that align with the search parameters, with the closest matches at the top.

To streamline this process, Recruiters can employ filters like years of experience, degrees and qualifications, and company names. These filters support Recruiters in refining their process to find the best matched candidates for the role.

2. Optimise Your LinkedIn Profile

There are a number of ways to optimise how you show up professionally over LinkedIn. Here are some quick wins, recommended by James Hu, writing for Jobscan:

• Use A Professional Photo

This sounds simple enough, but many people get it wrong. Investing in a professional photographer may pay off.

• Use Your Headline

There are different ways of doing this – some people use one line description: Helping technology companies reduce their overhead costs. Another option is to include lots of keywords that describe different aspects of your role: Sales Leader | Business Strategist | Avid Reader

• Include A Professional Summary

A candidate’s professional headline and summary offers Recruiters a brief glimpse into their proficiency and career objectives. Recruiters value succinct and engaging headlines that summarise a candidate’s professional essence and unique value proposition. The summary segment should provide a brief account of your background, competencies, and aspirations.

• Recommendations And Endorsements

LinkedIn enables users to request recommendations from colleagues, clients, and supervisors, providing ‘social proof’ of their skills and accomplishments. This proves as useful evidence of a candidate’s credibility and professional relationships. Similarly, endorsements from connections can reinforce a candidate’s expertise in specific areas.

• Engaging With The Platform

LinkedIn is a great platform to share content, articles, newsletters and content that demonstrates your thought leadership on certain topics. A great way to start is by commenting on connections and industry posts and joining relevant industry groups.

Remember to be authentic when you are interacting on LinkedIn and to focus on consistency – whether that is regularly sharing content or comment on the posts of connections.  Following this process, LinkedIn can be a great way to supercharge your job search