Are you on the hunt for your next position? Are you struggling to find meaningful employment? We’ve put together tips and tricks to help you find your next job from the eyes of a recruiter. At Intellidig, we have worked with thousands of prospective candidates and have narrowed down some key takeaways to help job seekers land their next position.
Improve Your LinkedIn Profile
Did you know that LinkedIn has over 500 million active users? 106 million people use the platform weekly! If you want to be found, you need to invest the time in creating and completing your LinkedIn profile. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
You need to have a profile picture. Profiles with pictures are 21 times more likely to be viewed over profiles without a picture. Ensure that you are selecting a photo that is professional.
Your profile is NOT your resume. This is your opportunity to be more detailed and descriptive. Use the right keywords and let people know how to contact you.
Consider a premium account. There are additional opportunities available with premium that allow you to let employers know you are looking. You can also compare your skills against other applicants applying for the same job.
Customize your headline. The headline is your first opportunity to make a great impression. You can use a standard headline with your job title and company, or customize it to your expertise. Either way, make sure it is informative and compelling. This is your chance to differentiate from the competition.
Emphasize Your Soft Skills
Too often we see candidates focus on only their technical abilities. Remember, it’s not just about what you can do, but how you can do it. Now more than ever before, employers are looking for cultural fit. Ensure that you are showcasing your soft skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile. Examples of soft skills include: positive attitude, strong work ethic and time management abilities.
Network Online
Rather than wait for jobs to be posted, search for people at the company you want to work for or for people who may be in a hiring position at that organization. Instead of email, connect with people via LinkedIn InMail. Another important tip is to look at building your online presence with websites including about.me. More and more job seekers are utilizing this tool and recruiters are searching!
Other possibilities for online networking include Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and Instagram. Ensure that you keep your profile as professional as possible. If you have personal content that you do not want a prospective employer to see, remove it or keep your account private.
Automate Your Search
Allow job alerts to do the work for you. Rather than scour the internet and online job boards, have relevant postings emailed to you. It’s convenient and fast. A few job aggregators include:
- simplyhired.com;
- indeed.com;
- eluta.ca (employer websites); and
- linkedin.com.
In addition to automating, you will want to do your research. It’s a full time job to look for a job. Take your search beyond just googling for jobs. Build your own Google Custom Search engine to find jobs . In doing this, you will be able to create and select what you want to search for and filter out the rest. With this feature, you will be able to sort by date, allowing you to stay on top of job postings with timely application deadlines.
If you are searching for international jobs, utilize country specific websites for different results. For example, Google has advanced search selections that will allow you to filter by region. If you are searching in Europe, this may require you to utilize different keywords and terminology such as vacancies versus jobs or careers.
Educate Yourself on Industry Trends
Websites such as owler.com provides real-time industry news and competitive insights. By subscribing, you will be able to be on top of who’s hiring and who’s firing, what layoffs are happening, which companies are being acquired, merging and more. This is a great opportunity
to educate yourself on current news and trends in the market. If you want to be found for new opportunities, it’s critical that you step up your online presence and market yourself online. If you’re not on LinkedIn, you need to be. Remember, it’s not always the hard skills that recruiters are looking for, the soft skills are equally as important.
At Intellidig, we do things differently. Our entire Talent Acquisition Research methodology is built around in-depth research. We help employers fill their most challenging positions, regardless of industry because our proprietary methodology provides a consistent approach offering a new level of service excellence.
Interested in learning more? Contact us today!