How to Get Your LinkedIn Profile Right

by Ruaidhri Horan, Marketing Manager, Abrivia Recruitment

An overwhelming majority of hiring managers will have a look at your LinkedIn profile prior to calling a candidate for interview. They will expect that your profile will not only be consistent with what is on your CV and cover letter but will offer proof to substantiate what you do or claim you are capable of doing. Below are 5 tips to avoid conflict or confusion that may arise between what your LinkedIn profile says in comparison to what your CV and cover letter say.

1: Ensure your profile is up to date
Hiring managers who find you have not updated your profile for s number of years may feel you are apathetic and not properly motivated. If a hiring manager notices that key milestones and achievements are missing from your LinkedIn profile or not even alluded to, this will raise suspicion.

2: Enhance what you say on your CV
A CV is traditionally a collection of dates, positions and achievements typed on a piece of paper. LinkedIn allows you to bring these achievement to life through videos, presentations, images and testimonials. Have a look at the array of LinkedIn tools and decide which are best positioned to enhance the contents of your CV.

3: Be Easily Found
Ensure that your name as it appears on your CV is consistent with the name you use on LinkedIn. Potential employers will only get frustrated if they cannot find your profile within a few minutes. Avoid the temptation of using the Irish version of your name on your CV and your English version of your name on LinkedIn or any other variations of your name, which will only cause confusion.

4: Join relevant Groups and be active in Group discussions
If you are an IT programmer, a hiring manager will more than likely check you are in IT related groups on LinkedIn. Even better, if you start discussions or reply to discussions in these relevant groups, it will exemplify to your potential employer the active passion you have for IT programming.

5: Ensure that your profile is 90-100% complete
A half page LinkedIn profile is a missed opportunity. Aim to have your LinkedIn profile between the 90-100% completion levels. On the right hand column of your LinkedIn profile page, LinkedIn will tell you what level of completion you are currently on and what gaps you need to fill to achieve 90-100% completion.
LinkedIn offers job hunters an opportunity to showcase to potential employers their potential and achievements in a more engaging manner than the tight constraints of a Curriculum Vitae. Potential employers expect consistency and an opportunity to ratify what you claim on your CV and Cover Letter