You may be in the career stage where you are looking for a job or you want to attract new candidates for the vacancies in the company where you work. And you would like to create a positive image of yourself through a LinkedIn profile.
LinkedIn is the professional platform that gives you visibility, but also the opportunity to keep up with everything that is new in your field. And its development over the last year is worth considering.
In 2020, the number of LinkedIn users increased by 13% and in 2021 this trend is maintained.
In Romania, at the beginning of 2021, there were over 3 million active accounts on LinkedIn, which means that approximately 15.6% of the country’s population is present on this platform.
More than 90% of recruiters in Romania use LinkedIn to find relevant candidates, therefore the chances of finding a new job or recruiting are very high.
The figures are worthy of consideration, show the importance that this professional platform has in our activity, and are a motivation to be present here. But not anyway, but through a personalized account.
Cristina Scărlătescu, BIA HR Recruitment Manager, tells you what are benefits that LinkedIn offers you in your professional life and how to customize your profile to increase your chances of getting hired or recruited more easily.
THE BENEFITS OF A LINKEDIN PROFILE FOR YOU, AS A PROFESSIONAL
- It helps you find a job, being the place where you meet recruiters looking for relevant candidates, as well as those candidates interested in a career change. You can identify career opportunities, jobs.
- From Settings, you can choose to receive certain job notifications that are of interest to you: from a specific field, industry, jobs from a specific company.
- You can receive recommendations from the people you have worked with. These recommendations weigh heavily when the LinkedIn profile is viewed, but also when you view the LinkedIn profile of candidates.
- You have access to different professional groups, where you can read articles, trends in your field of activity, news about the companies where you would like to work. You will find ideas that can inspire you and that you can put into practice.
- You connect with professionals you have collaborated with, communicated via e-mail, or met at events.
“Pay attention to the people to whom you send invitations, as well as those you accept in your connection list. They should be relevant, but also interested in the information you share on LinkedIn and even be able to offer you support when, for example, you have difficulty finding a suitable candidate. Well-chosen people can inspire you, they can give you ideas “, says Cristina Scărlătescu, BIA HR Recruitment Manager.
LinkedIn gives you visibility in the professional environment, but it also helps to create a positive image of you. You can distribute articles in your field of activity, which you know are of interest to your connections or you can participate in discussions, where you feel you have the necessary expertise. Keep in mind that once you get involved in discussions, your LinkedIn profile will be much more visualized, and in order to create a positive image of yourself, I recommend that you edit your professional information, paying attention to every detail.
10 IDEAS TO CUSTOMIZE YOUR LINKEDIN PROFILE
1. Edit the URL of your profile, accessing, from the right, the option: Edit public profile & URL. You will be redirected to the page where you can edit the URL. It will look much more professional if you choose your name and not numbers or characters: Ex: www.linkedin.com/in/popescuanastasia. Insert this link in the CV to increase your chances of getting the job you want.
2. The profile picture should be identity card type, but it matters a lot to smile in it and be taken in a professional way. Avoid pictures in which you are with family or friends.
LinkedIn profiles that have photos can receive up to 21 times more profile views than those without profile photos, according to LinkedIn data.
4. Mention the position and the company in the title. If you want to highlight that you are actively looking for a job or hire, LinkedIn offers you the opportunity to mention, through a banner attached to your photo, Looking for a new opportunity or Hiring.
5. Choose your LinkedIn profile to be public because it makes it much easier to be found by professionals.
6. Create a summary of your career in which you mention your professional goal. Point out your most relevant achievements in your career and what you can do for the new employer. Mention professional experience, with the main responsibilities of each job (without giving Copy Paste from the job description). Add the achievements or contributions you have had to various projects.
7. Avoid using the third person in expression. It is much more appropriate to use the first person, so you show authenticity.
8. Add a link to your blog only if it is relevant to the career you have or want.
9. Personalize the messages when you send a request to connect to a person – they will be appreciated. It also increases your chances that the invitation will be accepted and, depending on what you write, it may be the beginning of a discussion.
10. Pay attention to every aspect of your LinkedIn profile. Once you have done it, read it carefully to correct any mistakes and to see if there are any aspects that need to be improved aesthetically.
How do you plan to customize a LinkedIn profile to be more visible to employers or candidates? Write to us at recrutare@bia.ro and we will present your ideas on the LinkedIn BIA HR page.
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