How to Setup Your Linked-In Profile to Attract Tech Recruiters

The state of job search today is very different than it was even 10 years ago. It used to be that an employee would work for 1 company their entire life. However, in today’s work culture more than 40% will be freelancers and independent contractors.

More than 40% of today's technology workforce
will be freelancers and independent contractors

So instead of working FOR your employer you will really work WITH your employer. You will be offering the services you are skilled at to a company for a period of time. So as a job seeker you really have to know how to market yourself in today’s job market.

You will want to make sure you get noticed by recruiters and are even sought out by recruiters. However, it’s helpful to know how recruiters work and what their typical day looks like.

1. A recruiter will on average get about 200 job applications for 1 job position. So they will usually need to skim over resumes (that’s really important to know). They usually only spend an average of 6 seconds per resume.
   
   
2. The recruiter’s job is to make sure they provide candidates that meet the qualifications of the job. So usually out of that 200 applications, only 50% will meet the requirements. Now we’re down to 100.
   
   
3. Next the recruiter will use keyword searching to filter it down even more. At this step usually 80% of applications are removed. This brings the number of applications down to 20.
   
   
4. Out of 20 remaining applicants, the recruiter will go through them to make sure that from the resume the candidate has the right personality, aptitude and experience required for this job. This will end up with about 4-6 candidates for the job.

Recruiters will also employ proactive strategies to find the right candidates. Most of these happen on Linked-In. This is why it’s very important for you to optimize your Linked-In profile with the right keywords so that when a recruiter is looking for candidates for a job you are interested in, they find you every time.

Your Linked-In profile is the most important tool you can use to get found by a recruiter. The top fold (the very top of your profile before having to scroll down to look for more) is the most important part of your profile. This is the place that recruiters will skim and the place you can make sure to hook them to seek more info about you.

There are 3 things in the top fold of your Linked-In Profile that you will want to optimize:

1. Your Photo: It doesn’t have to be professionally done. You just want it to have good lighting, a neutral backdrop and most importantly you want your photo to be approachable. You want to show yourself as someone that a recruiter will want to reach out to and work with. Have a smile on your face and be approachable.
2. Your Headline: This is extremely important. When recruiters are searching for you, this is where the keywords for the job you are looking for will come up. This is where you want to do your research and find out the keywords that match with the job you are wanting. These keywords should be in demand skills that provide a lot of value and you want to put those in your headline. It could say something like “Salesforce Developer | Specialist in Apex Coding” or “Salesforce Developer / Admin”.
3. Your Summary: This should be short and to the point, about 3 sentences. This should explain who you are, what skills you have and why you would be the right person for your next job. You will want to make it engaging and entice the reader to keep scrolling and reading more about you.

Additional Items:

Work History: You want to make sure your work history and your resume are completely the same. Recruiters and businesses will look at both your work history on Linked-In and your resume and if there are any discrepencies they could get confused. 

Make sure to make use of the additional sections on Linked-In for Certifications, Skills, Volunteering. You don’t have to go crazy here, but definitely make use of these sections.

Above all, continue to tie YOUR VALUE, the area of specialty that you have to offer to each of the segments you fill out.

Endorsements:

When the Linked-In keyword search is being used, you want to have 10 major keywords / skills that you have as endorsements. The more endorsements you have the higher up on the keyword search you will be to potential recruiters, employers, etc. This also validates the credibility that you have the skills you say you have because you are getting 3rd party endorsements. So put the most important skillsets you have at the top of the list.

Don’t forget your Resume:

You want to make sure your resume matches your Linked-In profile. This is because even if the recruiter has found you from your Linked-In profile, they will still need to see your resume and pass it along to the potential employer. Showcase your skills closer to the top in 2 columns.

Your work history should absolutely mimic your Linked-In profile work history.

Resume Tips:

• Use .8 in. Margins or more (use white space to draw the reader’s eye)
• Use an 11 pt font (or larger)
• Don’t feel like you have to put everything in the resume. Stick to the facts. Remember less is more when it comes to your resume.

Reaching Out To a Recruiter

• Follow the company on Linked-In
• Strategically find about 5 people who are currently working for the company and connect with them on Linked-In. If a recruiter sees that you are following the company and you are connected to several people in the company, that will increase your chances of that recruiter reaching out to you.
• Customize your connection request with that recruiter. Make sure you mention something you’ve learned in the research that impresses you about that company.

Let me know if this helps you in any way. Are there other things that you do that I may have missed?