LinkedIn Like a Pro: Expert Advice from Recruiters
Career Advice ...
Update 28/11/2024
Ever seen ‘See how you compare to 100 applicants’ and felt immediately discouraged?
LinkedIn sometimes feels like a crowded marketplace where everyone is vying for attention. With an increased ease of access to job postings and the surge in remote work opportunities, the volume of applicants flooding LinkedIn vacancies has reached unprecedented levels.
As a job seeker, inundation poses a significant challenge. It has become increasingly difficult to capture the attention of recruiters and hiring managers, and you may feel like your LinkedIn profile is just one among countless others on their feed.
We’re here to help you fix that and turn your dream role into a reality.
In pursuit of your dream role, your LinkedIn profile serves as more than just an online resume; it's your digital first impression, your personal brand ambassador, and your gateway to professional opportunities. Each Yolk recruiter is a specialist in one of our eight markets. They don’t dabble. They don’t blag. They do what they do, brilliantly. They comb through countless profiles every day and, consequently, possess invaluable insight into what truly captures their attention on the platform. Drawing upon this expertise, we’ve compiled exclusive insights and advice that will optimise your profile and ensure you stand out from the crowd.
Why Optimising Your LinkedIn Profile is Essential
In today’s competitive job market, your LinkedIn profile is much more than a digital CV - it’s your personal brand and a gateway to countless professional opportunities. With recruiters spending just a few seconds scanning profiles, ensuring yours stands out is crucial. A well-optimised profile increases your visibility, improves your chances of appearing in recruiter searches, and demonstrates your commitment to professional growth. Think of it as your first handshake with potential employers—polished, confident, and memorable. Whether you’re actively job hunting or simply keeping your options open, optimising your LinkedIn profile positions you as a credible, sought-after candidate.
Top Features of a Standout LinkedIn Profile
Creating a standout LinkedIn profile involves more than just filling in the blanks. Start with a strong, keyword-rich headline that clearly communicates your role and career aspirations. Follow this with a compelling summary in your ‘About’ section, where you can showcase your skills, achievements, and goals in a way that resonates with potential employers. Use a professional profile photo to make a great first impression and regularly update your experience and skills to reflect your growth. Don’t forget to leverage features like recommendations, endorsements, and featured posts to add credibility and depth to your profile. By focusing on these elements, you can transform your profile into a powerful tool that attracts recruiters and opens doors to new opportunities.
Chloe Thomas, Senior Consultant for Office Support & HR Recruitment
Chloe emphasises the role that LinkedIn’s Open to Work feature plays when sourcing candidates for a position in HR & Office Support.
“When you enable the Open to Work feature, a green #OpenToWork frame is added to your profile picture, making it more visible to recruiters. When I use LinkedIn’s recruiting tools, I can filter search results to specifically target users who have this feature enabled. Your chances of being seen by a recruiter are increased, and you can customise your job preferences (availability, locations, remote/hybrid etc.).”
Kim Partridge, Division Head for Marketing & Creative Recruitment
Kim outlines the importance of properly demonstrating your value to a recruiter.
“Showcase your achievements and quantify those results where possible. If you create visual content, don’t be afraid to share examples here and there, or attach links to recent projects! You never know who might be looking. You should have a compelling summary that highlights your unique skills, experience, and career goals. Don’t forget to include keywords relevant to your industry to improve searchability!”
Nicole Smith, Senior Consultant for Legal Recruitment
Nicole notes the importance of active engagement within the industry.
“Share articles, case studies and legal updates—showcase your expertise and establish yourself as a thought leader. Engaging with industry-specific content and people will expand your network within your practice area and highlight a genuine and authentic passion for law, as well as commitment to your career.
You can also build credibility by demonstrating your successes, awards, and recognitions on your profile. Share those testimonials and endorsements from clients and colleagues!”
Jake Appleton, Division Head for Technology & Digital Recruitment
Jakeadvises that your profile should be aligned with the SEO keywords of the job vacancy that you would like to be considered for.
“LinkedIn profiles in 2024 are like any other social media page: built to capture engagement, influence, and cultivate an audience.
It's hence incredibly important to apply digital marketing principles to really make your page stand out to recruiters. If you're a systems engineer, that means filling your profile with skills that you know prospective employers are putting forward as buzz phrases: DOORS, Functional/Non-Functional, Requirements Capture, etc. If you've held those accountabilities, your previous employment history should be full of detail on what that looked like.
Steadily, your ranking will improve as recruiters will spend more time on your profile, click through more of your job history, and expand wider on what you've been working on.”
Andy Jones, manager for Maintenance Engineering Recruitment
Andy provides insight specifically for Armed Forces leavers.
“Always put your leave date in your banner. We often come across these profiles, get in contact and their leave date turns out to be two years away. To avoid this becoming an issue on both sides, I would advise putting this information up when you are 2-3 months out from your leave date.”
Luke Cox, Senior Consultant for DDaT in Public Sector & Not-for-Profit Recruitment
Luke maintains that clarity is essential when selecting candidates for his vacancies.
“Your profile’s headline should clearly state your current role or the position you are aspiring to in the public sector. Use keywords relevant to your desired position and list vital skills: policy analysis, government relations, project management etc. And if you’re able to, take it a step further. Seek endorsements from colleagues and supervisors to validate these skills—ultimately, these are people who can really speak to your suitability for the roles I’m hiring for.”
Jessica Harmer, Division Head for Finance & Accounting Recruitment
Lastly, Jessica iterates that keeping your LinkedIn profile up-to-date significantly increases your visibility on the platform.
“The most important thing is ensuring your profile is kept up to date, with a professional display photo. Recruiters, including myself, search via a Talent pool and the information we can find is only as good as your profile reads. Ensure you have a summary profile in your ‘About’ section, that all dates are correct and that you are clearly Open to Work. We get notified if we’ve previously saved you in project or reached out to you when this is enabled.”
In a nutshell, every click, keyword and interaction matters on LinkedIn. Our overarching piece of advice is that optimising your profile isn’t just a recommendation—it's a necessity if you’re looking to land that dream role.
With insights straight from our team of expert recruiters, you’re ready to apply that competitive edge. Wherever you are in your career, we’ll help you make the right move. We’ve got stacks of tips to share about how to land that perfect job, and a lot of support to offer along the way.
And to top it off, we’ve got great connections with some of the best and most exciting employers around. You could be just what they’re after.