It is the largest online business network... with 630 million users across 200+ countries (2019), a number no doubt far greater now due to the restrictions of COVID and the need to rely increasingly on technology for the job searching and hiring process. But even before this shift, there was growing evidence that it was becoming critical to a successful jobsearch strategy.
In just the last couple of years, there has been a significant shift in HR and employer screening techniques to include a review of someone's LinkedIn profile before inviting to interview. A survey of employers before 2019 found that 92%+ used LinkedIn for posting jobs, 95%+ used it for candidate searching, and 93%+ for candidate vetting. In addition, 55% of recruiters reconsidered a candidate based on their online profile, and 61% of that reconsideration was negative in nature.
Clearly, LinkedIn has become a lynchpin in the job searching and hiring cycle. And once again, the impact of COVID-19 has to be considered as there is bound to have been a noticeable increase or alteration of activity due to it. However, LinkedIn was already gaining so much traction and factoring into both the way employers select candidates and the way candidates expect to be noticed, that there is no doubt that the pre-COVID numbers show that it was always going to become a dominant force.
So the importance of a good profile and a solid LinkedIn presence (meaning you interact with it outside of when you need a job), is probably well-established and understood by now. What may be less known to the average user is that LinkedIn profiles are critical to the success or failure of LinkedIn Jobs applications. With such a high volume of employers using LI Jobs, this is not something to be shrugged off. While traditional online job boards and direct website applications are still plentiful, over 9/10 employers surveyed will use LinkedIn either as well or instead to advertise. And so this is really critical...
Let's say you're a Marketing Professional, with a couple of years experience, a good degree in the relevant area, and you see a LI Job posting for a position that is absolutely perfect. Not only is it the right level for you to ascend to, but the skills and duties fit everything you have done or know how to do perfectly. You have a great resume, too, perfectly branded with all of the right keywords for your specific industry and role. You can't wait to apply, so you hit that Easy Apply button.... and then crickets.
A few weeks pass, and you've moved on to apply to more and more jobs that you think you are just as good a fit to. You check and recheck your resume, but it's still a perfect match for all of these roles that you are more than capable of. You hear nothing back from anything you've applied to.
Why not? Because of your LinkedIn profile skills - the endorsable skills at the base of your profile. You either 1: Haven't input any/enough or 2: Don't have the right and properly branded keywords needed. You see, LinkedIn has an ATS to sort and filter its candidates, and employers can open up a box and see all of their applicants, as sorted and filtered by the system. But crucially, LinkedIn isn't using the resume but rather the LinkedIn profile first and foremost. The resume still factors in, I'm sure, even if it's only once human eyes are involved, but to get over that initial hurdle to be seen, the profile has to be right.
One way to ensure that you have the right skills on your profile is to audit LI Jobs you like the look of, to scan them for key words or phrases. You can also look at the helpful panel on the right-hand side which often tells you what skills you have that match it or otherwise. Any words and skills that crop up consistently should be added to your profile. There is a limit of 50 skills to add, which always makes this a difficult job. You can't throw everything and every possible variation of skillset in.
Therefore, remember, it's about covering all the bases for your industry.role that you possibly can, and prioritising based on the most important things job descriptions are looking for.
Putting the most into your profile means you ultimately get the most out of LinkedIn both in terms of as a community as well as a job searching tool.
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