A huge proportion of the population is trying to cope with redundancy on the top of all other anxieties. Most chief executives find it hard & challenging to let the world know that they are redundant. However, this is the best strategy to let others in your network know about your redundancy to get their career back on track at the earliest.
Redundancy, redeployment are so commonplace now-a-days that there is no shame attached. It is in your best interest to forget this stigma & express yourself. LinkedIn is one of best way for these chief executive to demonstrate & circulate their availability to head hunters, decision makers & hiring managers.
At any given point in time, around 3 million jobs are posted on LinkedIn & 97% of recruiters use LinkedIn to scout for talent. With 660 million worldwide users, just copying & pasting your resume content on LinkedIn is not going to get you noticed.
A complete LinkedIn profile tailored for jobs candidates are exploring & including industry specific & search engine optimized keywords can increase your LinkedIn views by 100% + & 4 folk increase in a week. The following game plan we use, which can be useful if you have been recently made redundant.
- Marketing pitch: Try to put yourself in the shoes of your future employer. You should be willing to answer the following questions/outline the thoughts:
- What is motivation & inclination in hiring you?
- You should invest time & think in terms of making a business case.
- What is the value you carry?
- What is the ROI you can deliver?
- What are your core competencies & strengths?
- Think how you can differentiate yourself from others. Outline a strategy as you would do while creating a business case or sales pitch.
- Focus on translating your success stories & skills into key measurable results
- Update your current status in the headline: Headline is one of most important aspects in LinkedIn algorithms. Please remember that LinkedIn allows only 120 characters so use them to create a credible snapshot of your strengths & competencies incorporating relevant keywords. Your headline is also a great way to demonstrate your availability with phrases such as “ current seeking opportunities in —-.
Your headline does not necessarily have to be your formal job title. It should not be vague with phrases such as “ I help business grow”. Recruiters & hiring managers search for relevant keywords in headline & would look for words like Director for growth, business development head, digital transformation lead etc.
3. Optimize your profile with relevant keywords: LinkedIn is a great application tracking system(ATS). It is important that your profile contains the right keywords at right places to maximize your opportunities to appear on the top of recruiter searches. These keywords could be your skills, job titles, knowledge, industry ( which you wish to target), size/scope of organisation or expertise which recruiter is most likely to type on LinkedIn. A particular strategy has to be followed when populating keywords in your LinkedIn profile- saying or including the same thing but writing & expressing it in a different way since you may not know what recruiter would be searching on LinkedIn. Include words which are used to describe professionals at your level. If you are a senior/chief executive, focus on highlighting the challenging roles you took & results you delivered. Your focus should be on achievements in the area of strategy, growth, planning, efficiency or performance improvement, advisory or coaching.
Most industries have some specific keywords or jargon. Employers use them in job descriptions.
Make sure you include these in your profile using full name &/or abbreviation since recruiters are going to search them while scouting for talent.
Your desired location is also to be considered while populating your profile with relevant keywords. Recruiters do search for your desired/preferred location. Again It does not have to where you current live.
4. Demonstrate your expertise: You should consider adding a short summary of your board memberships, projects &/or synopsis of your published work in your LinkedIn profile. They portray your personality & showcase your broader life experience. Posting articles, blogs & papers you have written will help you position as an industry expert. Others will reach out to you for your professional advice. LinkedIn is a great way not only to let recruiters know you are open for opportunities but also to build your personal brand, differentiate yourself from competition & showcase yourself as a visionary leader.
5. LinkedIn profile should reflect your brand & aspirations: Your LinkedIn profile should include all aspects of your value creation across the range of roles you are applying for. Your summary section with a limit of 2000 characters should be used to demonstrate your career story & position yourself as a visionary leader. Prefer including accomplishments driven narrative that highlights depth of your experience & picks specific achievements/successes. It is always recommended to conclude your summary with a call to action such as “I would be happy to connect with recruiters & headhunters regarding opportunities in —-” reinforces your position as an active job seekers & makes it convenient for recruiters to get in touch with you.
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