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HISPANIC NETWORK MAGAZINE www.hnmagazine.com
CAREERS
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eady to land your dream job? Youre in luck because recruiters and employ- ers are looking for candidates in record numbers this year. And one tool theyre using to help them recruit is LinkedIn. Whether you already have a full LinkedIn profile, or you've never set one up, follow these five tips to make your profile shine.
Start with the details
This might seem counter-intuitive, but getting the details down first can help you round out the more general parts of your pro- ile, such as the headline and summary. So dont be afraid to dive right into the Work Experience section. A good format to use for your experience is to start with a one or two sentence summary of each position, followed by bullet points that highlight specifics in terms of accomplish- ments and results. You might use a slightly edited version of your resume for this.
Get the headline right
Lets be honest: your LinkedIn headline does a lot of heavy lifting for you. So its important that it highlight your industry or career as well as your skills and/or what you can offer to an employer. It doesnt need to be cute or attention grabbing. But since its the one piece of your profile that most people actually will read, you do want to make sure it conveys information about you. Put your- self in the mind of a recruiter for your dream job, and make sure your headline has some
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Tips to Create or Improve Your LinkedIn Profile
keywords that will identify you as a good it for that position. For example, if you're looking for a career in something as specific as accounting or database management, you want to make sure thats obvious from your headline. To start brainstorming your headline, go back to your Work Experience information. You should find a story somewhere in your summary statements and your bullet points. Once you land on a headline, you might even want to tweak your Work Experience section to make sure it works well with and flows from your headline.
Make the effort with a headshot
This little image is the most-viewed part of your profile - in fact, recruiters and employ- ers see it before they even click through to look at the rest of your profile. You don't need to hire a professional photographer for your headshot, but if you have access to one, it can make the process easier. If you dont, have someone take a a photo of you in front of a neutral background, and crop it to show just your head and the top of your shoulders. A good rule of thumb for how to dress is to wear what you would wear to your dream job (even though only the top of your shoulders will be visible). You want to look professional and friendly. Employers are looking for some- one who will get along well with colleagues, so smiling or having an approachable look is important.
List all 50 skills
LinkedIn has up to 50 slots for you to list your skills, and they use these skills like key- words to match you to recruiters or employ- ers searches. So, the more skills or keywords you have listed, the more likely youll show up in someones search. Not sure which skills you should list? One place to get ideas is from the LinkedIn profiles of people who have jobs similar to yours, or who work in the same field. CareerOneStops Tools & Technology Finder is also a good place to identify the most common tools or software programs for your specific occupation; if you have experience with the tools or technologies you find listed when you look up your occupation there, you should definitely list them.
Ask for recommendations
This last point can be the hardest one for many people, but having even a couple recom- mendations on your LinkedIn profile can make a difference in whether a recruiter pauses and takes a closer look. Recommendations can be quite short - even two to three sentences - so asking someone to write one for you does not have to be a huge burden to them. In terms of who you should ask, you can really consider almost anyone youve known in a professional setting. That can include people more senior than you, more junior than you, or colleagues at your own level. It can also include current or former colleagues, bosses or employees.
Source: CareerOneStop
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