Don’t Miss These 6 Ways to Stand Out on LinkedIn

LinkedIn can be a great resource for job seekers since it is essentially a Google/search engine for recruiters. Many recruiters will use LinkedIn to search for new candidates and you want to ensure that you show up in their search results. But don’t stop there; having a profile isn’t always enough. You’ll want to stay active and interact with the organizations you’re interested in. Here are a few tips for maximizing your chances for success on LinkedIn.

Include the Right Keywords

How mindful are you of the words you’re choosing to use in your LinkedIn profile? If you want to increase traffic to your page, the right answer to this question should be: very mindful! When building your LinkedIn profile (headline, about section, experience), make sure to include keywords that are relevant to the position(s) you’re looking for.  

Think of the job title and description of the role that you would like to have. Then use those keywords to search Google and job boards. When you find keywords that also match your experiences and skills, make sure those same keywords are used in your resume and on your LinkedIn profile, so that you will also show up in the recruiters’ searches.

Write an Impactful Headline

A complete LinkedIn profile does wonders for your SEO in the platform, but what is the point of showing up in a search if recruiters won’t click on your link? Don’t get comfortable by just writing your job title or a vague description of what you do. Your headline is a valuable space to be specific about what makes you stand out as a professional.

Your LinkedIn headline appears under your profile picture and your name. When you comment on people’s posts and appear in searches, your headline is also displayed. Therefore, it is valuable real estate. Use it to pique hiring managers’ curiosity and make sure they read your profile beginning to end.

To further pique curiosity, highlight the value that you bring to your role, the industry, and hard skills. LinkedIn allows for headlines to be 220 characters. Aim to use 120-220 characters. For example, “Applied Scientist at Amazon | 6+ Years of ML Experience | Machine Learning | Deep Learning | Computer Vision | NLP | Python | PyTorch | TensorFlow | AWS | C++ | Data Science | Recommender System | Reinforcement Learning.” This headline starts with their title and company, then their amount of experience along with the hard skills that they have acquired over their time in that industry. Here are some more examples of strong headlines.

Investigate Previous Hires

When tailoring your resume and cover letter, it’s important to pay close attention to the job description and adapt your files accordingly. But this is only the first step in a truly customized application. To know what an organization is really looking for, learn more about who this organization has hired previously and what qualities or qualifications they possess. 

It can be as simple as scanning a few key LinkedIn profiles and reading the organization’s “About Us” page and social media posts. Know someone who works or has worked there? Even better! Reach out to them for tips. 

Curate Your Recommendations

Having a LinkedIn profile full of recommendations is not necessarily a great thing if such recommendations are neither thoughtful nor relevant to your career. Even though you cannot edit the words in your recommendations, you can (and should!) take some time to review the ones you receive and consider if you want to make them visible or not. Published one and think that it’s not relevant anymore? No problem! You can choose to show or hide recommendations whenever you want. 

Tailor your recommendations the same way you tailor your cover letter: not all of your accomplishments need to be there, just the ones that are relevant to the job you’re seeking.

Set a Goal to Expand Your Network

“It’s not what you know, but who you know.” We’ve all heard that expression and felt the sting of someone else getting a new job or promotion because they were connected to the “right” people.

Make a plan of networking with the decision-makers at the companies where you’d like to work. You can also look for and connect with recruiters for those companies, as well as recruiters in your industry. 

Looking to transition into a new role or industry? Connect with recruiters in the industry you’d like to transition into. You may also want to connect with people who are already doing the type of role that you’d like in order to learn more about it.

Once you’re connected, consider engaging with their content in a way that feels genuine and meaningful to you, such as liking and commenting on posts that resonate with you. If they’ve responded to a few of your comments, start a private conversation with them. For more networking ideas, check out Your Professional Network: 5 Ways to Stay Connected Online and In Person.

By getting to know the decision makers in a gradual and comfortable manner, they may be more likely to think of you when a job becomes available.

Stay Connected

If you had a nice interview, yet didn’t get the job: stay in touch by adding the interviewer as a contact on Linkedin, attending events at their organization, etc. The arts and culture world is small. You may not have gotten one job, but if they liked you, they may consider you for others.

– Mary-kate Grohoski, Sales Manager

Put these tips to use by finding your next job on NYFA Classifieds, the go-to listings site for artists, arts administrators, and museum professionals. Follow us @nyfa_classifieds on TikTok for more creative career tips.