By now, if you follow us, our newsletter, or our blog, you have already read our latest insight on building a successful LinkedIn profile. Now, you might be wondering how you can additionally stand out, since your profile has been elevated.
We are here to help! Do you want to set yourself up apart from your competitor? Read about the 4 best ways to utilize your LinkedIn profile to stand out and get noticed.
1. Interact with your network
Make a habit to scroll through the newsfeed on your home page daily. Interact with the individuals who are posting! You can like or comment on their posts. If you are comfortable with it, you can create your own posts as well. Make sure to keep them relevant for a professional social media platform. Recruiters can see everything you have posted (even if you are not connected) and what comments you have made on other people’s posts. By interacting with your newsfeed, other individuals will notice you and connect with you. You will build your network by interacting with your newsfeed and grabbing the attention of a hiring manager!
2. Respond to all InMail and Messages
There are a lot of companies looking for individuals to join their team, therefore a lot of recruiters are reaching out to people to see if they are interested. It is important to respond to any messages and InMail’s within the first 24 hours, even if you are not interested. This shows the recruiter or hiring manager that you are responsive and organized. It will open the line of communication (even if you are not interested in that role) and get the ball rolling for an interview. If you are not interested in the role, respond back, and let them know what you are looking for. That way they can keep in mind that a role like your desired position opens. Being responsive will also tell the LinkedIn algorithms that you are interactive with your network and will categorize you into a group of people that are more likely to respond. InMail’s costs money and recruiters will reach out to the individuals who are more likely to respond before they would send a message to someone who does not fall under that category.
3. Connect with HR and hiring managers at the companies you applied to
When you apply to a job via LinkedIn or through any other job board, search for someone to connect with that is in HR (preferably talent acquisition) and for the hiring manager. In your connection invite, let them know you just applied to “xyz” position and are looking forward to speaking with them. This will grab their attention, and more than likely spark them to look for your resume and follow up with you. Reaching out will also show them you are a problem solver, have initiative, and are extremely interested in their open role.
4. Let Recruiters know you are open for work
In your settings, you can let recruiters know you are open to work. Many people are hesitant to do this because they are scared someone from their company will see they are looking for a new job. LinkedIn blocks anyone at your current employer from seeing this. Also, only individuals with a recruiter seat on LinkedIn will be able to view this (a recruiter seat is a premium account LinkedIn has available for talent acquisition professionals). Recruiters can search for individuals who are open to work and will more than likely reach out to them first before they reach out to anyone else about their open role.
We could tell you many things that will make you stand out from the crowd, but these four top tips will be sure to help you and your profile in no time! Do you have additional questions about what you can do to stand out? Please reach out to us and schedule a consultation call.