As a professional social network giant, LinkedIn has 740 million members in 200 countries. It is no surprise that 87% of recruiters utilize LinkedIn to find their ideal candidates. Further, popular search engines like Google and Bing index LinkedIn profiles. If you want your profile to get noticed and stand out from competitors, apply the right profile keywords: specific words or phrases used in search queries that boost your LinkedIn search ranking.
According to Forbes, including the right keywords in your profile can allow you to locate relevant groups, build your network, and maintain an active presence. Be careful not to overload your profile with keywords. Instead, sprinkle them throughout your profile naturally. If you are not sure which keywords to select, search your LinkedIn network by using the most likely keywords that describe your role such as “finance director” or “logistics manager”. Review the profiles of those at the top of these search results to discover additional keywords.
Customize Your LinkedIn Profile
Apply the Ninja Technique to personalize your profile, and attract recruiters and potential employers relevant to the position you’re seeking.
The Ninja Technique involves:
• Finding several relevant job descriptions or listings.
• Creating a word cloud.
• Selecting the most relevant keywords.
• Incorporating them into your profile.
Search for 3 to 5 highly relevant job listings, then copy and paste the descriptions into a text file. Include all of the information available such as responsibilities, qualifications, minimum requirements, and work experience. From this text, create a word cloud using either an application or a website; there are several open-source resources available. From this word cloud, identify the most prominent words that align your experience with the relevant job listings. Make sure those words are featured frequently throughout the text of your LinkedIn profile.
Examples of relevant keywords for a finance professional might include:
• Investment Portfolio
• Private Equity Analyst
• Marketing Strategist
• Financial Advisor
• Real Estate Investor
By taking the time to research appropriate keywords for your jobs of interest, you can create an optimized LinkedIn profile that highlights your skills and attracts the attention of recruiters in your area of interest. To learn more about how to create a strategic LinkedIn profile that gets you noticed, see our comprehensive LinkedIn Optimization Guide.
