Earlier this week, a client raised an interesting question at the conclusion of a lengthy resume coaching call. She asked whether she should paste her resume content into her LinkedIn profile to replace its current content.
The answer I gave her was “no.” Career management coaches do not recommend pasting resume content into LinkedIn profiles because LinkedIn is social media. It is not an online resume site. Instead, resume content should be rewritten in a conversational, social media style.
But building and posting a LinkedIn profile is just a start. You should be active on LinkedIn for its AI and machine learning (ML) algorithms to work for you. When you curate your LinkedIn presence effectively, the platform will become more than just another social media outlet for you. It could become what some experts call an authority accelerator. In other words, you can position yourself as a subject matter expert in your field.
It is easy to be active on LinkedIn so you can increase your chances of being noticed. Start by taking these actions once you have completed your LinkedIn profile:
- Make connections,
- Prepare posts,
- Publish on LinkedIn,
- Join groups, and
- Give recommendations.
These actions will save work rather than taking up an excessive amount of job search time.
Make connections.
Social media is about connecting virtually with other people, and LinkedIn is no exception. The platform has two basic ways for communicating with people you know—invite them to connect with you or invite them to “follow” you. As a jobseeker, focus on establishing connections rather than accumulating followers. Find profiles of people you want to communicate with, and then click “connect.”
It is essential to set up LinkedIn connections. Recruiters have told me they do not see jobseekers in their search results unless the jobseeker has 50 connections or more.
It is easier than you think to build a network of LinkedIn connections. You may feel that “I do not know anyone.” Start with schoolmates, add friends and family, and then include current and former coworkers who are already on LinkedIn. You will probably have 50 connections once you’ve done this.
The client I worked with last week also told me “I do not know anyone.” But we found people both of us knew in just a few minutes!
Accept LinkedIn’s “add a note” choice when you send each request. This has at least two benefits. First, it will give you the opportunity to begin a meaningful dialog with them. And, when these people are interested in what you have to say they will read and then share your posts. This will further increase the chances that your profile will be seen.
LinkedIn has a limit on the number of connections you can create. Prominent LinkedIn members in your field may have reached their limit or be close to it so they will not connect with you. You will be able to “follow” them, though, and see their posts in your feed.
Prepare posts.
LinkedIn, like other social media platforms, encourages you to post updates for your connections to read, react to, comment on, and share. The site is business social media, not entertainment, so presumably you are a busy person. No one is going to expect you to post constantly unless social media marketing or management is a part of your job.
Your posts can be up to 3000 characters in length, and you can include links in addition to media. Connections and followers are more likely to stop scrolling and read your posts when you include media in addition to text.
My favorite kind of post is related to blog articles I have added to my website. LinkedIn algorithms, though, are designed to encourage members to remain on the site. Fortunately, there are options for posting more information without leading connections and followers to other sites.
Publish on LinkedIn.
You may not want to create your own website, blog, or YouTube channel for sharing your ability when you are seeking employment. Instead, you can post articles, publish newsletters, or even broadcast live audio and video on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn will give you the choice of writing an article or creating a periodic newsletter. Your articles can include images, links, and hashtags, much like your own blog.
Last week, I created my own “Navigate What’s Next” newsletter on LinkedIn. It took only a few minutes to publish the newsletter, something that would have been a lot of work 40 years ago—using images and content I already had. And I started accumulating subscribers within minutes.
Those who are more ambitious can create live audio and video broadcasts that “live” on LinkedIn. While this is more work than publishing an article or newsletter, a professional broadcast studio is not needed.
Employers may see your expertise before they see your resume!
Join groups.
There is an even easier way to get more visibility on LinkedIn—join groups. Normally, I encourage clients to join the group or groups on LinkedIn for alumni of their schools. Career coaches consider alumni connections to be among the strongest most people have. Alumni typically help each other even if they did not know each other in school.
My most productive connections on LinkedIn and other social media platforms have been those with former coworkers, so look for groups related to organizations you have worked for in the past. Some years ago, a fellow coach helped me land a job where he worked. Then, I recommended him for a job where I worked.
Give recommendations.
Yet another way to expand your reach is by giving recommendations to people in your network. There’s a good chance that those who receive recommendations from you will reciprocate. As a result, both of you will have “social proof” of expertise. It also helps you “show that you care,” and not just “show what you know” when you help others with recommendations.
Concluding comments
LinkedIn is not just a resume database. It is a social media platform and a digital media platform. Use it as an authority accelerator to find your next job faster.
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