The last month has been crazy busy. There is so much stuff to do before getting yourself out on the job market again. As you can tell, I had my last day at GulogGratis.dk. You close a door and you open a new one. My experience and time there was great!
In this blog post, I will be giving you a 101 on LinkedIn. It's a great site to use when searching for a job. Some of you are already on LinkedIn. It seemed like a good idea at the time (still is), but you never got the hang of it - thus you may not have been noticed by others yet. I will try to answer following questions; what are the basics on LinkedIn, and why should you have a fully updated LinkedIn profile?
A lot of you are familiar with LinkedIn. It started out as a site for professional networking and job resume database. The social network changed LinkedIn's game. People started being more interactive by liking, sharing and posting personal content.
Personally, I have been on LinkedIn for years, but I recently updated my profile. It's good for personal branding, and I became more aware of how I have developed as a designer within the last 2 years.
Why to be on LinkedIn?
LinkedIn has a job database where business or recruitment companies search for new employees. If you are not on LinkedIn yet - go get started! Networking makes your profile stronger. Did you just see a job that you want? Maybe someone in your network is already working there as we speak. Go get visible. Grab the opportunity to reconnect. It never hurts to try. Someone out there might wanna help you get this job if you ask nicely.
The basics
Make a complete resume of education and jobs. The most important thing is to include a description. What did you accomplish while working at this company? Who doesn't wanna know the skills of those who apply for a job. It might be a match made in heaven.
Profile image
Showing who you are is important these days. It gets you more views on your profile. In my industry, it is important as a designer to have a strong picture to stand out. If you are working in this field too - then quit the selfies and hire a professional photographer. Alternatively, help yourself to take a good professional portrait.
Headline is key
This headline is the introduction of you before people enter your profile. It shows up in the search bar or even on the newsfeed page. This short piece of information is gonna make me wanna click on your picture to know more about you. Spend time making a solid headline about yourself. Use describing words "Creative", "Responsible" or other buzzwords that can trigger interest in you.
// Remember to add in the headline that you are searching for a job (if you are searching for a job). Make it the second thing others notice. Focus should still be on your profession (in my case UX Designer).
The Summary
This is one of the most difficult things to fill out. It is a short text where you introduce and brand yourself. Recruiters will be looking at job title, years of experience and some more specific criteria.
If it is a person from a company who is reading your summary, he or she might stick to other kinds of information - like who are you as a person. Is it a person who will function well with the tasks made and people in the team? Add some personal details about you. Are you a collector of something cool? On the other hand, maybe you are quite the artist. If you think it is too hard to describe yourself, get help from a friend or colleague. Make them put some words on how they see you as a person.
When describing your former job, be sure to tell what kind of assignments you had, what responsibility you had and examples on what kind of success you had while working there.
Your language or international?
Are you not sure wether to have a profile in your own language or in English? Look at what your network is doing. Who is in your network? What kind of jobs and companies do you wanna attract? Sometimes a company might search with English keywords and if you text is in - let's say; Spanish, you will not show up in their search result.
Recomondations
It's always good to have people recommend you. People from a former job or maybe just people you worked with on different projects. Let them tell others why you are a great candidate for a job at other companies.Show off
At last, show off your projects. Be proud of the work you did for another company. It can be web design, or if you're in the fashion design industry - a dress you designed for a fashion show. Someone out there might want your talent.
Thanks for sitting tight. I learned a lot during research. I hope that you will find this blog post useful as well.
// Check out My LinkedIn Profile
