How to Become More Findable on Linkedin
If you’re committing your time to applying to job openings online, why does it matter if you’re findable?
In-house recruiters are ALWAYS curating their pipelines, either for current jobs or future ones. You will get inbound job leads for positions that are relevant to your skills, and therefore more likely to be a match for you and you for them.
You are 5x more likely to be hired if you come from a recruiter or referral, instead of applying online.
You have probably experienced the black hole of applying online. The easier the online application, the more applicants and less likely you are to get a response. Flip the table around: Identify the core value you provide, and make yourself show up in search results for people who are looking for that.
Recruiters are looking for two things:
1) People with the right skills for the job
2) People likely to respond
Make yourself findable and approachable to increase your chances of inbound job leads.
Here is a detailed guide to make yourself more findable on LinkedIn. Want more? Check out my Resume and LinkedIn Breakthrough Session for customized guidance on your personal career goals.
Pro Tip: Show, don’t tell. Instead of using generic language like “I’m a sales leader”, use demonstrative words that showcase your work and lead people to that conclusion. Here are some examples: Increased revenue, optimized, spearheaded, developed, grew, built, mentored, initiated, streamlined, developed, trained, etc.
Keywords
Strategic boolean search is one of the main ways recruiters hone in on the right profiles. Be specific. Take the time to look for relevant keywords for your industry and target role.
Which keywords? Look at other profiles, job descriptions, and tools like TagCrowd to figure out what keywords are frequently used in your industry and target role. I’ve done some research for you and recommend starting here:
Sales: Sales, agency, brand, revenue, client, quota, GTM, growth, C-suite, partners, advertising, solutions, pitch, process, forecasting, tools.
Marketing: Marketing, social media, content, mobile, lead gen, portfolio, strategy, email, newsletter, market research, product, event, copy writing, brand, demographic, SEO, SEM, PPC, PR, Facebook, Instagram.
Revenue Operations: Revenue, orecasting, scale, reporting, growth, analysis, yield, data, compliance, collaboration, cross functional, software, operations, process, workflow, systems, customer, leadership.
People Teams: People, HR, talent, compensation, culture, pre-IPO, training, development, learning, hiring, employee, leadership, diversity, programs, recruitment, teams, DEI, operations, performance, regulations, payroll, scale, documentation.
Where? Everywhere. You want to strategically sprinkle your profile with these keywords in order to appear in more search results. Add these to your headline, current job experience, past job experiences, and About.
Add Expertise, Specialties, or Experience to your “About” section: Here you can easily make a comma separate list of unique keywords that someone looking for your skill set might search with.
Product specialties: OTT, CTV, video, native, etc.
Regions or territories: LATAM, EMEA, PNW (Seattle, Portland, California), etc.
Technology or Software: Salesforce, Hubspot, Gem, etc.
Don’t forget the basics. If you’re in sales, make sure the word “sales” is sprinkled throughout your profile. Same with marketing and any other keyword that might be so straightforward that you forget to think about it.
Instead of Experienced Leader try Experienced Sales Leader.
Instead of Tech Savvy Professional try Experienced Marketing Leader, Content Generator, and Revenue Driver.
Headline
Don’t just use your default heading - LinkedIn gives you 220 characters so specifically describe your talent, services, specialties.
Be concise and descriptive, and use this to share your key business value. How can you summarize your competitive edge? You will get better, more relevant connections and inbound job leads the more specific you are here.
Instead of AE at [company] try Top revenue generator in South East territory for CTV companies.
Instead of Digital Marketer at [company], try I generate engaging copy for established nonprofits in the Michigan area.
Here’s a great article full of tips for a hard hitting headline.
Aspiring for something? Add that. For example:
Account Manager aspiring toward Sales
Established revenue driver. Aspiring sales leader.
SDR working toward Account Executive
Don’t forget the basics!
Looking at a poorly generated or incomplete LinkedIn photo is kind of like watching your grandparent navigate Facebook. At a very basic level, recruiters want to know that you’re tech-savvy, know how to use the platform, and are articulate in communicating what you do. Don’t skip the basics.
Photo: Make it professional and clean. Humanize yourself. Not including it can show that you’re not active on LI (and thus not likely to respond), or don’t know how to use the platform.
Cover photo: If your current company doesn’t have a standard template, Canva offers a great free tool to generate your own professional design easily. Make this an extension of your professional brand.
Experience: Update your past positions to showcase your top projects, successes, and wins. Make sure this uses keywords and descriptive words to show up in more search results. What did you do, how did you do it, and what was the business impact?
Respond to your inbox
Your response rate is part of LinkedIn’s algorithm that helps you show up in searches. Reply to all the inquiries that come into your inbox, even if you’re not interested. A simple “Thank you but this is not relevant to my work” or “I’m not interested in exploring something new now, but will reach out if that changes down the road” will keep you at the top of recruiter search results.
Bonus: How active you are on LinkedIn also impacts where you show up in search results. Comments matter more than likes. Set an easy to attain goal of commenting on 5 posts per day to show up in more searches.
Groups
Groups make you show up as a more relevant connection in your searches. Search for and join groups that are relevant to your industry and target job.
Company followers
If you are already following the company that a recruiter is reaching out about, they will know that you are more likely to respond. And remember - recruiters are looking for people who a) have relevant skills, and b) are likely to respond. Additionally, you will be notified of new job postings at companies you’re interested in.
Follow your competitors
Follow companies that are interesting to you
Use Lumascapes to follow companies in your industry that might not come to the top of your mind
Expand your network
LinkedIn is a networking tool, and you only show up in search results when you are connected to the searcher (as a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd degree). This means that the more connections you have, the more searches you will show up in.
Always add a note when you’re connecting - you can use my templates below as a starting place:
Start with who you know - look up your current and former companies, open the people tabs, and start connecting.
Expand to people in similar roles to you. Here’s a template: “Hi, I can see we’re in the same field. I’d love to connect and learn from each other.”
Expand to people you want to become: “Hi, your career in marketing looks fascinating to me as an aspiring CMO. I’d love to connect and learn from you.”
Skills
Candidates with 5 or more skills are 3x more likely to be contacted by recruiters on LinkedIn. List relevant skills, and get endorsed for them to show up in more searches. This might feel outdated, but it does impact whether and where you show up in a search.
Education
Add any programs that you’ve participated in that might increase your ability to network. NOLS, Outward Bound, etc. These are often life-altering programs that create a deep bond within alums, and allow for an easy way to connect.
Languages and International Markets
Are you bilingual, or managing an international territory where recruiters from that region might be looking for you? You can add a whole new profile in your second language that specifically targets that type of employment.
Go to your profile —> Add profile in another language (top right)
Here’s a quick start guide from LinkedIn
Years of Experience
The LinkedIn algorithm calculates years of experience from your total years in the workforce. So keep those early-career positions on your profile, even if they’re brief and less descriptive; they will increase your years of experience and help you show up in more senior level searches.
