Each week, NETSHARE hosts Ask the Coach, a phone-in coaching session with leading career management experts. Here is an excerpt from this week’s session with our newest expert to join Ask the Coach, Christine Dennison, The Job Search Coach.
LinkedIn continues to be a powerful job search tool for those who know how to make the most of it. In this week’s Ask the Coach call, job search expert Christine Dennison shared her insights into how to use LinkedIn to maximum advantage.
Think of your LinkedIn headline as your web “shingle” inviting visitors to come in to your shop. Remember that when a recruiter is looking for candidates by plugging in search terms, all they will see is a list of names with headline associated with them. Your headline should be enticing and point to what they can expect to find when they check out your profile.
Avoid clichés and meaningless phrases or claims. Terms like “experienced, dynamic, accomplished” are hackneyed and while they may describe your accomplishments, you should avoid them. Let the reader come to their own conclusions about what they want to think about you.
Be careful in how you use exact titles in your profile descriptors. You want to indicate that you have experience and are a professional who may be open to more than just C-level positions. The term “executive” can go a long way to describing your experience without eliminating you from the running for specific jobs. Also focus on categories and job functions. If you say “20 years of experience as…” you have them thinking about your age and not your expertise.
Also be careful of how you use words like “seeking” that could box you into a corner. For example, if you say something like "Supply Chain Executive seeking opportunity in Detroit, Michigan area" you have narrowed your field of opportunity substantially, but that may be exactly what you need to do.
What works best are LinkedIn headlines that are simple and straightforward, such as “Marketing Executive, known for ability to create business-building, multi-channel B2C campaigns,” or “Manufacturing Operations and Finance Executive," or "Sales Executive with deep network relationships in the Midwest Region." Each of these headlines offers an invitation to learn more, with enough key words to help recruiters find you in the right context.
