I’ve had a LinkedIn profile for years. Yet in all that time, I haven’t learned what it is used for, the kind of content I can contribute to it, I haven’t “networked” with anyone in my “industry,” and I certainly haven’t successfully job-hunted there. (Note the quotation marks, an indication that I honestly don’t know if I’m using those words correctly in this context).
And if you’re in the same boat, this blog post may interest you.
It’s now been 18 months since I finished my master’s degree in Sociology, but I’m no closer to a sociology-related job than I was when I heard my name read and walked across the stage in a pair of athletic sandals at graduation on a May afternoon.
But my son is now 3 months old, and thus, the job hunt begins in earnest.
Though I had had my profile for more than five years, it was in desperate need of an overhaul. And I did my best to revise and update every section of the profile, from the profile pic, to the education and experience, to the skills. I browsed very helpful written articles, YouTube videos and asked close friends for some advice.
I must admit, I’ve always struggled to familiarize myself with new social media sites. I held on to my MySpace for years, refusing to jump on that new-fangled Facebook.com. A similar story played out when I refused to get off Instagram for TikTok.
Up until this week, I had only been active enough on LinkedIn to make my profile. Even that was pushing me outside of my comfort zone.
I was under the impression that LinkedIn was the sole place I was going to land my next job. The stakes felt high! I was on the brink of starting to look for these “big boy” jobs, and I knew that potential employers were about to be checking to see what my LinkedIn profile looked like. Even after hours of trying to figure this out on my own with some half-assed internet research, I still had questions and anxieties.
So I reached out to my Instagram network on my personal account. To my surprise and delight, lots of people reached out to me to answer specific questions I had posed online, along with a bunch of other helpful LinkedIn tips and tricks. I’ve decided to share them with anyone who is interested in reading this write-up.
Take none of the below answers as gospel, however. I’d like to first point out that, as of posting, I have neither implemented these advices, nor (obviously) have I reaped the benefits of them. Time will tell if the homies got it right.
Further, you don’t know who gave me this advice! I can tell you, broadly, their qualifications. Recruiters for tech companies, friends who got their offers through LinkedIn, and people who have been networking on the site for years reached out. Most of them seemed to know what they were talking about. But seriously, keep looking around the internet, and you’ll find the right answers for your specific LinkedIn circumstance.
IMPORTANT NOTE: I’ve numbered each of the three specific questions that I had for my specific circumstance. Below is the summary of answers that I got, with each bullet point a different Instagram follower. You’ll see that in some cases, the advice is different or even contradicting. Again, the “right” answer is going to be circumstantial in a lot of cases.
Firstly, what do I do with all my entry-level retail and restaurant experience?
I’ve worked 20+ jobs over the last dozen years, certainly they don’t need to see all of them (I assume it would actually detract from my job candidacy). But if I am selective with them, which ones are “important?” And how do I deal with gaps in my employment history?
With COVID, gaps aren’t as big a deal. Make your LinkedIn like you’d make your resume, only highlighting experience that is related to the work you are looking for.
Consider keeping the jobs you got a promotion and worked at for 6+ or 12+ months at.
Exclude the job experiences that aren’t relevant to your current job hunt.
You can always stretch your job experience by a month to fill in short gaps. If you say you started a job in February, but you really started in March, future employers aren’t going to check or care.
Gaps aren’t going to be the reason you don’t get a job, but be prepared to answer why there are gaps in your employment. It is a likely interview question.
Gaps are still important, and employers are going to be concerned by them. If you worked the same role for several different companies, you can probably get away with combining them into one. The likelihood they call an entry-level employer from years ago is nearly “zero.”
How important is it to have an industry-specific LinkedIn profile? Or, is there something I can craft on my profile that signals to potential employers that I’m interested in lots of kinds of work?
It isn’t dire to have an industry-specific profile, but it could help. What is dire though, is having a clear and concise work/education history, with some industry-specific buzzwords that showcase your past growth and responsibilities is very important.
Alternatively, consider using LinkedIn as a way to showcase what your aspirations are. Sure, highlight your skills that can be applied to many fields, but also, continue to highlight the skills that are part of your “dream job,” like the ideal industry that you went to college for.
More important than having an industry-specific profile is having an industry-specific resume. That industry-specific resume will be a template, and you’ll want to curate each resume to be application-specific each time you apply for a job.
Remember: Your LinkedIn profile isn’t going to get you the job, it only helps you connect with other people in your industry.
Your profile should be complimentary to your resume. Just be sure that your resume and your LinkedIn profile have the same information and don’t contradict each other though.
What do you put as your headline if you are unemployed? (Or at least unemployed in the industry you’re hunting in). A headline is required when you make your profile.
Can put what your ideal job is, and that you’re open to work. “Experienced _____, looking for new opportunities in _____.”
Or, consider putting “former” in front of a job you used to have (maybe omit the company name though), if you are looking for similar positions.
Can just put something cliche, but still highlights some of your best work attributes. “A performance-driven professional with X-years experience in [industry].”
Miscellaneous tips:
People get notifications if you view their profile. Use that information wisely.
Use LinkedIn as an “inspiration board” for your industry. LinkedIn is where jobs will be posted and shared. Stay active on LinkedIn not only to look at the possibilities, but also curate your profile using “key words” from those “dream job” listings.
Spend time fully completing the “skills” section, too. This sometimes gets overlooked when people make their profiles because it comes after the tedious work and education sections.
Reach out to connections for endorsements on those skills. Endorsements will go a long way.
Don’t be afraid to make connections to people in the industry that you want to be in, even if you don’t know them.
If you have the money for it, you can hire people on Fiverr to help make you an industry-specific LinkedIn profile (for example, a homie hired someone to “translate” their military experience for a civilian workforce).
If you get an interview with a company, go add the hiring director on LinkedIn and introduce yourself.
Unconfirmed, but apparently your profile gets more attention if you have 500+ connections. Either way, have as many connections as possible.
The more you customize your profile, the more realistic your job suggestions will be. It becomes a curated job board, rather than blindly looking (which is what the other sites so often feel like).
Save jobs you are interested in, even if you don’t apply for them. This also curates your profile to suggest jobs you want.
I hope this helps all of you. And I'd like to send my genuine thanks to the homies who reached out to me to answer some of my questions.
Sure, a lot of the information was generic or “common sense.” But it certainly helps to hear it from friends and people you trust. And I’m sure that the incorporation of these tips will lead me to the next big thing.
I’m also sure that I’ll be writing and sharing the next big thing here on the blog.
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