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Anatomy of a Passive Candidate’s LinkedIn Profile

May 2, 2016 by Marc Miller Leave a Comment

Anatomy of Your LinkedIn Profile as a Passive Candidate

In my last post, Are You a Excellent Passive Candidate or a Turkey?, I discussed why you want to be a passive candidate. I am following it up with how to construct your LinkedIn profile into a recruiter magnet.

The infographic below is provided Akken Cloud and has been used by multiple bloggers. I am going to explain how this applies to being a passive candidate.

I am going to break this down into two phases:

Being found by a prospective employer
Getting the prospective employer to contact you

How to Be Found as a Passive Candidate

This is all about job titles, keywords, and where they go within your LinkedIn profile.

The first thing I want you to do is start harvesting keywords from job descriptions and websites of your target companies. Use a word cloud for this endeavor. Please read the following post called, Finding Keywords to Manage Your Career. The post has a video that will demonstrate how to harvest keywords.

Once you have a list of keywords, you will want to carefully place them in your LinkedIn headline.

Next, you need to start thinking like a recruiter and configure the rest of your profile with recruiter search strategies in mind. Please read the following post, Why Are You Not Being Found? Try Thinking Like a Recruiter.

If you follow these strategies, your profile should be found more frequently. However, this is just the first step. The recruiter is now looking at your profile, but how do we entice them to reach out and touch you?

Enticing the Reader

Remember, you are a passive candidate. As the infographic below states, you want to create a profile that is eye catching. You want the reader to keep reading.

Header Image

All LinkedIn profiles now have a header image. The image is 1400×425 pixels. It should be eye catching and incorporate your personal brand. Here are a few tips from my good friend Viveka von Rosen.

Incorporate a call to action. For most of you, you want to include a google voice number or an e-mail address. The great thing is header image is exactly that — it is an image. Trolls cannot screen scrape your profile to harvest your personal information.
Show your personality – The image represents you.
Provide value – Share a tip or answer a question in the image.

For more tips, read Viveka’s post on Social Media Examiner, How to Use the New LinkedIn Header Image for Profiles.

The header image should encourage the reader to want more. Check out Viveka von Rosen‘s header image.

Remember, you are a passive candidate! Your LinkedIn profile is an extension of you.

LinkedIn Picture

Your picture should align with your personal brand. You might want to use the website PhotoFeeler to find out what people think about your current picture.

Plan your picture out. Check out my post, 3 Key Elements of your LinkedIn Photograph which will help you plan the elements of your picture.

LinkedIn Headline

By default, your LinkedIn headline has your current job title and company. The headline should be keyword enabled. If you have a tag line, use it in the headline. The headline is 120 characters long. Use all of it.

Check out my post, 1st Place to use Keywords is in your LinkedIn Headline.

LinkedIn Summary

Your LinkedIn summary should tell your brand story. Write it in 1st person. It is your story.

Read my post, 3 Themes for Writing Your Brand Story to give you an idea on how write your story. You will probably want to get some help. Some of my best client brand stories have been written by adult daughters. For more on why you should get some help, read Your Brand Story – Who Should Write It?

The LinkedIn summary is 2,000 characters which includes spaces. You story needs to written concisely and to the point. I have found it is usually best to write it without consideration of length and edit it down so that it fits.

Your brand story is key to getting the recruiter to want to reach out to you.

The Anatomy of a Successful LinkedIn Profile Infographic

Read carefully the following infographic from Akken Cloud.

Click To Enlarge

Great Content as a Passive Candidate

As the infographic states, you need to create some great content. When you write LinkedIn Publisher posts, it is an opportunity to demonstrate that you know your stuff. It is not about telling me you know your stuff, it is about showing me you know your stuff.

Make the content you create work for you. If you are lucky, your content may go viral like some of mine have done. Check out my post, Getting Noticed – LinkedIn Publisher and Shareability.

Closing the Deal

Once you get someone to look at your LinkedIn profile, you want to close the deal. It might be that you want them to connect with you. It might be that you want them to contact you. Either way, tell them what you want and make it easy for them to do so.

You are a salesperson and the product is—you. As a passive candidate, your LinkedIn profile is sales collateral. Make it work for you!

What changes are you going to make?

Marc Miller

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The Job App: Is it the Answer for Your Job Search?

March 2, 2016 by Marc Miller 4 Comments

Job App: Is it the answer?

In December, we published the results from a survey regarding how people use their smart phone: Career Pivot Smartphone Survey Results [Infographic]. One use that came up was using your smart phone to search for jobs—in particular, using job search apps.

To follow up on that finding, I recently spent some time reviewing job apps to evaluate their usefulness. The apps that I chose to review were:

Indeed
LinkedIn
ZipRecruiter
Glassdoor

I used the following categories to rate each app:

Ease in setting up an account
Amount of job prospects offered, via email or notice on my mobile device
Ease in applying for a position
Overall impression

Job App Setup

In the job app profiles that I created, I set a broad range for the type of jobs I was looking for in order to see what was available. My list included entry-level marketing coordinator, social media coordinator, and marketing manager/director type positions.

Indeed Job App

I created an account using my personal computer and uploaded my resume to Indeed. After the resume was posted, I had the opportunity to edit the content as needed. Indeed asked for additional information such as salary requirements, list of certifications, licenses, military service, skills, and years of expertise. This information is what will be presented to prospective employers.

After uploading my resume to Indeed via my computer, I logged into the Indeed app on my phone. You can access your resume and make simple edits to the text of the resume, if necessary.

The app allows you to search by multiple job titles and locations, and provides a list of recommended jobs for you to review.

On the “My Jobs” tab in the app, it allows you to keep track of the saved jobs, jobs you’ve applied for, jobs you interviewed for, and jobs offered to you. It also keeps track of visited and archived jobs. The app has good tracking process to assist you in your job search.

LinkedIn Jobs App

I was able to log into the LinkedIn Jobs app using my current email and password for my LinkedIn Account.

The app allows you to set your search parameters for jobs, which includes the ability to search for jobs anonymously by job title and location. You can use multiple job titles and locations in your search parameter.

The app has a feature called “Discover” which provides you with recommended jobs for you to review.

Another feature is that the app allows you to track the jobs you viewed, saved, and applied to—for future reference. Each job listing will let you know if the positing is new or how long ago it was posted (1 week, 2 weeks, etc.).

The app allows you to apply for jobs using your LinkedIn profile so there is no resume to upload. If you are active on LinkedIn and keep your profile current, you won’t have to regularly upload your resume to the app to ensure that the information is up-to-date. I like the one-stop quality of this app.

Zip Recruiter Job App

I also created a Zip Recruiter account on my personal computer. I uploaded and edited my resume.

In addition to your personal resume, there is the Zip Recruiter Resume. The resume editing process for the Zip Recruiter Resume is not a neat process. I found it to be a little rough around the edges. When I uploaded my college information, it didn’t load properly. So I deleted the information and tried three more times, but was unable to get the information uploaded to Zip Recruiter.

I never did figure out what the Zip Recruiter Resume will be used for, but was able to determine that the personal resume I uploaded will be presented to prospective employers when I apply for a job.

While accessing the app, I was able to adjust the job search parameters, such as title and location. Zip Recruiter also provides suggested jobs to review. It allows you to track your saved jobs and applied for jobs for your reference. Additional information about the company offering the job is available on the individual job post.

Glassdoor Job App

As with the other apps, I created my Glassdoor account using my personal computer and uploaded my resume. I was also able to edit my resume.

Unfortunately, I was never able to sign in to Glassdoor via my phone to adjust my account profile. However, I was able to search for and apply for jobs on my phone. You can import your resume from Dropbox, Google Drive, and LinkedIn, or access your uploaded resume to their site to apply for jobs. The app allows you to follow companies for alerts about company happenings.

It also lets you save your job search feed, apply filters such as distance, date posted, company rating, and job type (full time, part time and internship), and each posting includes some information about the salaries at the company.

My Thoughts

Copyright: stylephotographs / 123RF Stock Photo

The apps are easy to set up and provide you with many options to use to look for jobs and monitor your job search activities. I like those features. I also appreciate that they provide you with a lot of information about companies that you can use in conjunction with your networking activities or other job search activities.

In order to make the apps more effective, I think you need to rely on a Dropbox or Google Drive account to be able to store multiple resumes and cover letters to have available for the quick apply feature on your mobile device. However, if you want to tailor your resume and cover letter, you probably want to rely on a computer to help you with that process. I’m not talented enough to revise documents on my phone!

Would I solely rely on an app to find a job?

Probably not…but I would include job apps in my job search tool box.

Let me hear about you experience using job apps during your job search.

This post was written by Elizabeth Rabaey, a Baby Boomer herself, is a creative with a love for details. She has spent over 20 plus years working for environmental engineering and consulting companies providing project management and technical assistance on many innovative engineering projects. She has applied creative, literary and scientific skills to these projects to help the client maintain a profitable business operation and protect humans, health and the environment. Connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Be sure to check out the Career Pivot Client Testimonials Page

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Repurpose Your Career - A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life

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Social Media Goes Corporate – Are You Ready? [Survey]

February 10, 2016 by Marc Miller Leave a Comment

Social Media Goes Corporate

I recently read an article from the CEO of Hootsuite, Ryan Holmes, titled 2016’s Biggest Social Media Trends for Business. He highlights 5 social media trends that you cannot ignore.

Yeah…I know you have been thinking that social media is a fad. Some of you think you do not have to participate.

Well, social media is going corporate. If you want to advance your career, you will have to be proficient on social media. If that ticks you off—get over it.

Let’s talk about those 5 trends.

Social media at work is on the rise

Ryan states:

For years now, we’ve been promised that a new generation of internal social networks—for use inside company walls—will spell the end of email. No more hunting through your inbox for information. No more group email threads from Hell. And yet email has lumbered on in the workplace.

He is so right! I know you have received way too many e-mails where someone replied “copy all.”

Slack and applications like it are rapidly moving into the corporate space.

Facebook for Work is in a pilot phase!

Social media is moving behind the firewall and onto corporate networks. How you interact with your colleagues at work is changing.

Are you comfortable with those changes?

Are you going to insist that the only way to have true relationships is to meet face to face?

Companies turn to their own employees for bigger social media reach

Ryan states:

Nearly 80 percent of businesses now have a dedicated social media team. But many still struggle to reach an audience. 2016 will see companies turn increasingly to an underused resource in the effort to get the word out: their own employees. Employee social advocacy programs, which encourage staff to share updates about the business on their own social media accounts, have grown by 191 percent since 2013 and are due to take off in the year ahead.

You are now expected to be on social media promoting your company. This is particularly true as it relates to hiring.

Yeah, I know you hate Facebook. Well—get over it.

Companies start paying attention to social messaging

Ryan states:

Here’s an eye-opener: Globally, there are nearly 4 billion active users of messaging apps, from WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger to WeChat and Kik. The top 5 apps in the world in terms of frequency of use, in fact, are all messaging apps: users are popping them open more often than even Facebook or Instagram.

This is an area that I admit to being behind. Messaging is exploding. It is not just texting on your smartphone (you do have smartphone, right?), but it is using a variety of messaging apps. The only one I use is Facebook Messenger, and even that is infrequently.

Social media advertising (really) takes off

Ryan states:

Haven’t noticed the exponential increase in ads on your social media feeds? That probably means they’re working. In contrast to old-fashioned banner ads, the new generation of “native” social media ads like Facebook and Instagram sponsored posts and Twitter promoted Tweets look and act a lot like normal social media updates from friends and followers. They’re also targeted with an uncanny degree of precision: Advertisers are able to drill down not just by age and gender but by interests, location, company affiliation, role and more. So the ads you get are probably the ones you actually want to see.

Advertising on the Internet will never be the same. Facebook recently announced that their mobile advertising has surged. This is a big shift in the advertising space. Have you noticed? You do have a smartphone, right?

Social video takes over

Ryan states:

In case you missed it, social video is exploding. Last year, Facebook more than doubled its daily video views to 8 billion, reportedly overtaking YouTube. Twitter launched native video of its own in 2015, while Snapchat now reports 6 billion daily video views in its own right. In total, adult users now consume a total of 66 minutes of online video, each and every day.

Have you watched a Periscope broadcast? Have you been on Blab?

Video is exploding. I have been hosting office hours, every Monday evening at 8 PM CT (GMT-6) using Blab.

Soon, video will become the norm. Are you comfortable being on camera?

How are you using Social Media?

Well, are you actively using social media in your personal life?

Are you actively using it in work life?

Are you actively using it in your job search?

Please take our monthly survey Tell Us What Social Media You Use. This survey is closed but you can view the survey results here –> Career Pivot Social Media Survey Results [Infographic]

You can see the previous survey results here on the Survey Results Page.
Marc Miller

Be sure to check out the Career Pivot Client Testimonials Page

Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons below?

Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast

When you subscribe to this blog you get full access to Career Pivot’s Whitepaper Library

————————————————

Check out my latest book which is available on Amazon.com!

Repurpose Your Career - A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life

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Check out the BoomerJobTips Page for the latest curated content relating to baby boomers or join us on the BoomerJobTips LinkedIn Group

Blab – Boomer Job Search with CareerSherpa and CareerPivot

October 28, 2015 by Marc Miller 5 Comments

Blab with Hannah Morgan and Marc Miller

This week, I had the joy to be on a Blab session with Hannah Morgan, aka Career Sherpa.

You are probably asking yourself, “What the heck is a “Blab?”

Blab is a livestreaming platform that enables a public video chat among four participants at a time. If you are familiar with the likes of Periscope, Meerkat, and Google Hangouts, it is kind of a combination of all three.

Basically, it is a free service which facilitates an open conversation on the internet. It is layered on Twitter (you need a Twitter ID), but it is a simple and easy to use open video service. Numerous people can watch the Blab, but only four will talk together at a time.

Check out my discussion with Hannah Morgan on Job Search and Baby Boomers.

Blab Office Hours

I am considering holding Blab “office hours” one evening a week in 2016. I would be available to discuss whatever you want for that hour. You could pop in to discuss things with me, but remember: the office door would remain open! Others would drop by and listen to our discussion.

Another option—I could plan a Blab session each week to discuss a suggested topic and then open it up for dialogue. You could either be ready to be on the video or type in your question. This would be a great way to start a discussion and build our community.

My goal is to have a place where we can have a weekly gathering to discuss issues, get the audience comfortable using video technology, and have some fun. Think of it as a water cooler for those of us with a little less…or a little grayer hair on the temples. You get the idea.

If you would, please take a moment and comment at the bottom of the post to give me some feedback on this idea to use Blab.

Marc Miller

Be sure to check out the Career Pivot Client Testimonials Page

Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons below?

Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast

When you subscribe to this blog you get full access to Career Pivot’s Whitepaper Library

————————————————

Check out my latest book which is available on Amazon.com!

Repurpose Your Career - A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life

————————————————

Check out the BoomerJobTips Page for the latest curated content relating to baby boomers or join us on the BoomerJobTips LinkedIn Group

#2 Method to Find Companies – LinkedIn Advanced Search

October 14, 2015 by Marc Miller 1 Comment

LinkedIn Advanced Search

LinkedIn Advanced Search is a powerful tool to find people. More importantly, it is a powerful tool to find companies that have problems you can solve or that can hire you.

In my previous post, I discussed using weak ties to find companies that can hire you.

Now, we want to find people who look, smell, and sound like you…and see where they are working.

We are going to use LinkedIn Advanced Search to query for some very specific information which includes:

Job Title – People who have the job title you currently have or desire to have
Certification – People who have certifications that are the same or similar to what you have attained
Keywords – Profiles that contain the same keywords that you use

LinkedIn Advanced Search – Job Title

For example, I want to find people in my area who have the current job title “Product Manager.”

I fill in three fields in the LinkedIn Advanced Search form:

Title – Product Manager
Set status to Current
Location to Austin, Texas Area (where I live)

I click on Search.

What appears is a list of LinkedIn profiles of people who have Product Manager as their current job title and have their LinkedIn location set to Austin, Texas Area.

These individuals live in Austin, Texas Area, but this does not mean the business they work for is located in the Austin, Texas Area.

There are 2,590 profiles that meet my criteria, but the image to the left displays the first four.

Notice that the third entry is an individual whose headlines says Product Manager at Insights.

I can tell that Insights is a UK based company. I never knew that Insights had an office Austin. They may not have one. All I know right now is they have at least one employee in Austin.

How many employees does this company have in Austin?

I can find that out by going to the Insights LinkedIn company page.

On the right hand side of their company page you will see how you are connected. There are 462 employees on LinkedIn. How many are in Austin? Click on See All.

I clicked Add, which allowed me to type in Austin, Texas Area.

Insights has 68 employees in the Austin, Texas Area.

Does Insights have an office in the Austin, Texas Area?

I do not know, but I now know they have some kind of presence and that at least one of their employees is a Product Manager.

This may be a company with:

A satellite office
Remote employees working from home

Repeat this process for each job title variation. In this case, you might repeat using Product Management or Product Marketing.

Now, it is time to do your research on the company.

LinkedIn Advanced Search – Certifications

Next, I can perform the same type of search looking for certifications or degrees. I might search for:

Technical certifications like CCNA (Cisco) or MCP Microsoft
Human Resource Certifications like SPHR
Project Management Institute Certifications like PMP
University Degrees like MBA or PhD.
Professional Credentials like CPA or PE

Use the same process in searching for certifications as your did for job titles.

LinkedIn Advanced Search – Keywords

Finally, use keywords alone or in combination with either job titles or certifications.

For example, if you were looking for:

HR generalist role
At a manufacturing company
SPHR certification is desired

You might want to use keywords manufacturing or manufacturer, SPHR in the last name field, and HR or Human Resources in the title field.

You will need to experiment with different title variations and keywords. If you are comfortable with Boolean searches, you can add AND or OR to the search terms. You can download a LinkedIn Boolean Search Tip sheet here.

This is time consuming, however, you will find that there are real gems to be found using LinkedIn Advanced Search. You will find companies that you had no idea had a presence in your community.

What search terms are you going to use?

Check out the rest of the social job search series.

Marc Miller

Be sure to check out the Career Pivot Client Testimonials Page

Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons below?

Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast

When you subscribe to this blog you get full access to Career Pivot’s Whitepaper Library

————————————————

Check out my latest book which is available on Amazon.com!

Repurpose Your Career - A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life

————————————————

Check out the BoomerJobTips Page for the latest curated content relating to baby boomers or join us on the BoomerJobTips LinkedIn Group

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