Careers and Employabil ity Centre

Improving your profile for job searching

In this session we will cover how to:

• Improve your LinkedIn profile

• Research careers using LinkedIn

• Make use of networking on LinkedIn

• Use LinkedIn for job searching

• https://students.linkedin.com/uk

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In this session

Improving your profile

First things first……• What sort of jobs are you applying

for?

• What are the key words that employers in this area are likely to search for?

• What skills are important in these jobs?

GET SERIOUSABOUT YOUR

PHOTO Adding a profile

picture makes your profile 7x more likely to be viewed by others.

Its easier for people to remember you with a photo.

Improving your profile

Key information

• Photo – recent, professional but friendly, smile!

• Customise your LinkedIn URL – your name or name and job area

• Privacy settings:• make sure it is public• make sure your employment status

indicates you are job searching

Key informationHeadline: about 10 words, not job title, include key words

Summary:• first 2 to 3 lines are the most important• include key words• include your experiences, goals, success

stories…

Have a look at this example CV.

Improving your profile

Improving your profile

Complete your profile• Education, work history, volunteering etc

• Skills and endorsements – up to date and relevant

• Get recommendations – ask University tutors, work managers, team members, societies

• Add links to show off your work visually where relevant, eg. presentations, show reel, blog

• Regularly update your profile

Exploring career ideasUniversity of Sussex alumni pageshttps://www.linkedin.com/edu/alumni?id=12726• What have previous graduates of your

degree have gone on to do?• What skills have they developed?• What skills are important in their work

roles?• Can you find out how they got into their

current career?

Different ways to connect•Work / volunteer colleagues•University of Sussex alumni•Follow companies you are interested in Join interest groups – 2 or 3

•Follow individuals – not just famous ones; who inspires you?

• Invite people to connect with you•Ask for recommendations

Networking on LinkedIn

“Hi, I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.”

Networking on Linkedin

Who could you connect with?Can you think of:• work or volunteer colleagues?• organisations?• interest groups?• inspiring individuals?

….. you could connect with.

Work in pairs to come up with some ideas.

Job searching using LinkedIn

More than an online CV• Make sure your employment status points out that you are

job searching.

• Make it easy for recruiters to find you.

• Highlight key skills.

• Include links.

• Include voluntary work and interests to help you stand out.

• Upload your CV so recruiters can access it.

Be proactive:• Contact people – build your

network• Follow companies you want

to work for• Contribute to groups• Ask for recommendations• Gather relevant skills and

endorsements

Job searching using LinkedIn

BUT REMEMBER …But remember…• Data protection – think about what

you put online• Security settings – you can

strengthen these, 2-step verification possible

• Notifications – you can switch these off

• Separate your personal and professional online profiles

What next?

How could you improve your profile?List 3 things you could do to improve yours …..