5 Ways To Get Found On LinkedIn

Why “Seeking Opportunities” Should Never Be Your Headline

How to Instantly Stand out to Recruiters on LinkedIn

Understanding how to get found on LinkedIn is something all job seekers are aiming to accomplish. Given 87% of recruiters use this platform to find or vet candidates, it’s essential to understand how to help your profile stand out.

And one of the absolute worst things you can do is begin your headline or summary with one of the following:

• Seeking opportunities
• Unemployed
• Looking for employment
• Open to new opportunities

If yours currently has this, don’t worry, you’re not alone.

According to Terry Craig, the founder of both Verge Careers and CareerHero and a recruiter, he sees this all too often.

This past week, I searched ‘Open to new Opportunities’ on LinkedIn. That came back 1.4 million LinkedIn members all using this as their headline in hopes of landing their next gig.

Simply put, if you use a title like the ones listed above, a recruiter will never be able to find you.

“If you change the heading to anything but what you are, you’re invisible, you’re erasing who you are, what you’ve accomplished, and why people should hire you,” said Craig.

Candidates typically use headlines like the ones mentioned above because they’re insecure about a gap on their resume. But there’s no reason for you to spend your first encounter with a prospective employer handling objections.

“For those currently unemployed, I want to hear, ‘I’m not working right now, but I’m ready to get back at it and I’m ready to kick some ass for this company’. That statement alone instantly helps you stand out.”

Rather than focus on the fact you’re unemployed, use this time to reset and better yourself as an applicant for when you’re ready to jump back into the workforce.

Now that you know what not to do on your LinkedIn profile, let’s jump into what you can do to help your profile stand out to recruiters.

5 Ways To Get Found On LinkedIn

1. Put a Job Title In Your Headline And Summary

Research shows that the best LinkedIn headlines (those resulting in 45% more messages from recruiters) include a standard job title.

Recruiters and companies need a clear job title – in both your title and summary – to find you.

For example, let’s say a recruiter is searching for a project manager on LinkedIn. Candidates with “Project Manager” written in their headline appear highest in search results, followed by those who include the keyword further down in their profile.

For those project managers using “seeking opportunities” in their headline, where do you think they appear on the list? They don’t even show up.

If you’ve worked as a project manager in the past, you’re a project manager! If you’ve managed projects, taken a project management methodologies course online and have the skills you need to be a strong project manager, you are a project manager! Even if you’re not currently employed as a project manager, it’s still honest and appropriate to use it as your headline if it’s what you know, love and want to do.

2. Use Keywords Throughout Your Profile

In addition to adding your job title to both your headline and summary, it’s important to use keywords describing specific skills throughout your profile.

Recruiters frequently use built-in skills filters or add specific keywords to their initial search. For example, “Content creator, digital marketing, social media, WordPress, Adobe Creative Cloud, Photoshop”.
If you’re a project manager, add project coordinator, analyst, or anything that would group as a project manager to your profile. If you’re a writer, include publisher, editor, SEO, SEM, all of those keywords to better describe you as an expert in your field.

“Recruiters want to know, as quickly as possible, why they should – or should not – consider you as the perfect candidate; keywords help them come to their conclusion,” said Craig.

3. Change Your LinkedIn To Looking For a Job

Utilizing LinkedIn’s Openwork feature instantly helps you get found on LinkedIn by recruiters.

To enable the #Openwork feature:

1. Click the “Me” icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage
2. Click View Profile
3. Click the Add Profile Section button to the right of your profile photo
4. Click Intro
5. Click Looking for Job opportunities
6. Provide the requested information in the pop-up window that appears

You can also secretly check a box on your LinkedIn profile (here’s how) to tell recruiters that you’re open to new opportunities, which can improve your search result performance.

4. Avoid Changing The End Date On Your Employment

If you’ve been laid off, do not change your current employer end date to show the position ended – at least for several months.

“There’s no hard and fast rule on how long you can ethically get away with not changing the end date,” said Craig.

Keep your headline and summary reflective of what you do, and utilize the Openwork feature to reflect that you’re looking for new opportunities.

5. Add Location To Your Profile

Typically, when recruiters search LinkedIn for candidates, they also limit that query to a certain distance as the closer an individual is, the more likely they are to accept positions; for example, searching within 25 kilometres of a job listing.

Make sure you include your location on your profile, whether or not you’re willing to relocate or travel for work and where you’d be willing to relocate to.

There you have it, what to avoid when it comes to your LinkedIn profile and five ways to help you get found on LinkedIn by a recruiter.

About CareerHero

CareerHero is a niche site that is hyper-focused on helping job applicants learn about companies beyond the website or Glassdoor ratings. We offer career coaches, resume writers, job mentors, industry experts and immigration services to help make job applications a seamless – and fun – experience for all.

Find out more!