Today is Social Media Day, so we’re sharing top tips from our recruiters on how to secure your dream job using social media – more precisely, using LinkedIn.
40 million people use LinkedIn to search for jobs every week; three people are hired each second on the platform; 75% of people who change jobs use LinkedIn to help them decide to, and people hired through LinkedIn are 40% less likely to leave their new role within six months.*
1. Nail your profile
First things first, make sure you have a great profile picture and that all your details are up to date. A high-quality, headshot-style photo is perfect, as it’s the first thing anyone will see when landing on your page. Keep it friendly, and the right balance of professional v. personal – you don’t necessarily need to be in your Sunday best, but a snap of you on the beach is probably too far the other way!
South West Recruiter, Vicky, says: “Make sure ‘open to work’ on your profile is enabled, if appropriate for your situation, and always highlight your current job role and current company in bold to ensure clear visibility. It allows for a quick initial indication that you may have the correct level of experience and skillsets needed. Keep an up-to-date CV uploaded on your profile.
“It’s always helpful for a candidate to reference the therapy areas they have worked in to match skillsets accordingly to the new job role I’m sourcing for.
“Ensure a contact number or an email address is clearly stated – this allows for an important initial contact call with you about the role!”
Recruitment Client Partner, Sarah, adds: “As a LinkedIn recruiter, I have searches set up and receive notifications when someone changes their setting to ‘open to work’ – I ensure that I always contact these people!”
Details. Give yourself a good headline – who you are, your experience, why a recruiter should pay attention to you, etc. Decide whether to add that you’re actively looking for a new role, depending on your situation, as this may negatively impact your current job.
North Thames, East England and South Central Recruiter, Mary, says: “Write a three-sentence summary of your professional career in your bio, and what you’re looking for in your next role. The headline and bio are like a cover letter for yourself – make it easy for recruiters to read who you are, and what you’re looking for!”
Sarah adds: “Keep your profile headlines professional – no need for hobbies. Including any industry award nominations always makes a profile pop!”
Have you won any industry awards? If you have, get it up there! This is your chance to sell yourself.
Alongside this, what are your skills? Make sure you’ve added as many appropriate skill sets as you can, aiming for a minimum of 25. Skills will help you get noticed faster as you’ll appear in more search results.
Sarah says: “Searching for candidates on LinkedIn can be quite specific at times in line with a client’s specific brief, so I would always suggest to ‘bulk out’ your LinkedIn profile as much as possible to help ensure you show up on searches.”
Mary adds: “For MedTech roles specifically, I’m looking for those with MedTech or Devices experience, and these candidates can be hard to see a lot of the time. This is why it’s such a good idea to really highlight the products you’ve sold before.”
When it comes to your work experience, think of it in terms of accomplishments. What key results can you add in when describing your duties? Keep it short and sweet if you can – prioritise data and metrics.
North Recruiter, Steph, says: “If you have MedTech/Medical Device experience make that’s really clear on your profile, and ensure any qualifications are on your CV, such as ABPI qualification, science desgrees, etc. If you have gaps in your career history and there’s a reason for it, such as travel, make sure those gaps are filled.”
Note: you can add a link to your LinkedIn profile to your digital CV!
“Ensure that your location isn’t just set as ‘United Kingdom’”, Sarah says, “adding a postcode when setting up your profile can ensure you’re picked up when looking for specific geographical areas.”
South East Recruiter, Estelle, says: “Check your messages, as often we’ll get in touch through InMail. Some candidates unfortunately respond to us too late, after the role has been filled.”
2. Ask for recommendations
Sarah says: “When talent searching it’s good to get a taster of candidates and to see recommendations from previous managers and colleagues.”
You can never have enough quality recommendations from those who know you, and your ability. Request that a few of your colleagues write endorsements for you to help your profile stand out. If you can evidence what you’re saying with great words from colleagues, this will really help qualify you above others.
3. Get involved in Networking
If you’re looking for a new role then a good place to start – apart from applying for roles, obviously – is to reconnect with former colleagues and see if they may be able to help you. It’s common to see LinkedIn as a transactional platform – apply for a job, get job, done – but it is a social platform, and should be used that way to best effect.
Could former employees recommend you to their HR/Recruitment teams? You’ll know the best way to approach this, based on your former colleague relationships.
Ask them if they know of anyone it may be worth you speaking to, and if they put you in contact with an appropriate person then you can reach out and start to build new connections. Start slowly, cultivate a relationship, and pick the right time to enquire about any vacancies. Don’t send them a CV initially, as you don’t want to appear pushy.
Engage, engage, engage.
The more involved you are with commenting, posting, and engaging with content on LinkedIn, the more noticeable you’ll be to hiring staff and colleagues who could refer you to recruiters, etc.
Follow big influencers on LinkedIn like Neil Patel, Bill Gates, and Richard Branson, and those within your industry/sector, and comment on their posts. You’re almost guaranteed to get more likes commenting on these, and consequently, get noticed faster.
Groups.
LinkedIn groups are an underutilised tool on the platform for expanding your network, participating in debate, and getting job search help. A little research and you’ll find lots of specific groups for job-seeking, industry-relevant tips, and best practice for doing well at interview.
You may find groups immediately useful, or you can play the long game with them and initially use them for building your confidence and learning more about your industry/sector.
4. Activate Job Alerts
Make sure you have job alerts set up to get notified of possible new opportunities. You don’t need to be on LinkedIn for these to come to you as you’ll receive an update email direct to your inbox when the alert has been released.
Another benefit is that you may receive alerts about companies you hadn’t thought of, broadening your job-seeking horizons.
Tick all of these LinkedIn boxes, and you’ll put yourself in the best position to stand out for the roles which are perfect for you, and pip the competition to the post!
To browse our latest pharma, medtech and biotech client vacancies click here, or connect with our award-winning recruitment team on candidates@staroutico.com / (+44) 01225 336 335.
Related posts:
- What does your social media presence say about you?
- How to use social media to build your personal brand
- How to customise your LinkedIn profile URL
Ref: influencermarketinghub.com, 54 of the Most Important LinkedIn Stats for 2022
