Improve your employability by using LinkedIn

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In the previous post, I shared a little bit about how hard it is to secure an internship or find a job after graduation. I’ve put an emphasis on the importance on having an online presence to boost your odds in getting that acceptance letter. In this post, I’d like to share a trick to improve your employability, which is by having a LinkedIn profile!

I was offered a job through LinkedIn. True story. I didn’t apply for it. My manager stalked me and sent a message that changed my career: ‘Do you want to join our company as a content manager?’

I had just graduated six months earlier and I was offered a better job – both in terms of career prospects and salary. And I didn’t even apply for the position.

That’s the power of LinkedIn.

Sold? The first thing you need to know: get your headline right

Employers look at your LinkedIn profile before other social media. This makes having an outstanding profile even more important.

The first thing employers notice is your headline, as it is how they decide whether to click on your profile. For example, when my manager stalked me, my headline was Content Writer at YCAB Foundation, Editor at Indonesia Mengglobal, Blogger. My manager is able to deduce the skills I have and click my profile to find out more.

If you’re looking for jobs, don’t just write ‘Student at University of Melbourne’. Be specific of your roles and specialisations. (Here’s an even more in-depth tips to write your LinkedIn headlines.)

Totally a newbie? Here's the beginner's guide to LinkedIn.

Pay attention to your skills

After completing your profile (experiences, education and more), I want to emphasise on the skill section: be mindful of the keywords.

Your skill tags show the expertise you have. For example, I have blogging, online journalism and social media as my top skills. Ask your connections to endorse your skills too! It increases your credibility.

Grow your connection

That said, LinkedIn is not only a place to dump your resume. It’s a place to connect with people – your friends, colleagues and even your future employers.

So start with those who you already know. Connect with your tutors, lectures and classmates.

Then, connect with people you want to work for. You can also go one step further and ask them for advice. Most people would happy to help you.

Get as many (good) connections as you can. Employers love to see you having 278 connections instead of 32 connections. Believe it or not, this influences your chance for an interview.

‘Can you recommend me?’

Ask for recommendations – the more the merrier. Ask your tutors, colleagues, managers and mentors. In sum, ask someone who has an authority to talk about your skills.

Building recommendations is hard because if you’re like me, asking people to say good things about yourself seems weird. But what if they do write a recommendation? Your profile will be awesome.

From the eleven people I’ve approached for recommendations, nine replied.

Want more tips? Read this post by Forbes.

LinkedIn does not only show your resume – it connects you with future employers. It gets you in the loop with jobs you don’t even know exist. Who knows, you might not need to apply for another job!

 

 

Photo: smi23le, used under Creative Commons license


BAGIKAN
Berita sebelumyaRahasia Sukses Program Doktoral
Berita berikutnyaBeasiswa Global Korean Scholarship (GKS)
Marcella Purnama is a blogger and author of What I Wish I Had Known: And Other Lessons Learned in Your Twenties. Despite excelling in all things science, she went to study Arts and stumbled into writing. After graduating from her Bachelor’s degree, Marcella worked as a content writer at both nonprofit and corporate settings before throwing in the towel to get a Master’s in Publishing and Communications. She was a former IndonesiaMengglobal editor from 2013–2015. Read her thoughts at www.marcellapurnama.com.

2 KOMENTAR

  1. ‘Most people would happy to help you’? So, you’re one of few who wouldn’t? Tempo hari saya sudah kirimkan kamu 2 pertanyaan pribadi yang cukup spesifik via LinkedIn, dimana yang terakhir terkirim pada 25 Desember, sampai saat ini belum ada balasan sama sekali. Terlebih lagi, pertanyaan saya sama sekali bukan ‘headline’ dan sebagainya yang kamu tulis di sini, Mohon, Marcella dan siapapun yang membaca ini, beritahukan kepada sang pengirim pertanyaan jika memang pertanyaannya kurang lengkap, tidak jelas, akan dibahas lewat tulisan di Indonesia Mengglobal, atau bahkan tidak bisa dijawab.

    Seperti yang sudah kamu katakan di atas, LinkedIn bukanlah tempat untuk pamer kemampuan, pernah kerja di perusahaan XYZ, punya gelar di sekolah ABC dan sebagainya. Apa gunanya kamu taruh LinkedIn di sini kalau kamu sendiri tidak memakai dengan semestinya?

    • Chill man! Do your own research and don’t whine about one or two messages without replies. If you want to get jobs in the first place. you need to know that many recruiters don’t simply reply your message right away (or they sometimes DON’T). Deal with it and move on. Oh right, she also mentioned that you need to grow your network first. Do you know here in particular? Does she know who you are? I hope you could get a nice reflection. Good luck!

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