Don’t fumble the bag: Avoid these common LinkedIn mistakes to find your dream job

Don’t fall into the trap of creating lacklustre profiles that fail to showcase your skills and achievements. Picture: Supplied

Don’t fall into the trap of creating lacklustre profiles that fail to showcase your skills and achievements. Picture: Supplied

Published Mar 12, 2024

Share

Are you dealing with extreme stress and burnout as you look for a new job? Well, you are not alone.

According to a 2023 poll performed by employment firm Insight Global, 55% of jobless individuals are suffering fatigue while job seeking.

In today’s competitive employment market, a solid online presence is critical, and LinkedIn is one of the avenues that provides professional networking and job possibilities.

Vincent Lachetta Jr, president of Peppermonkey Media, gives a crucial road map for navigating the modern job market, including ideas that can help you avoid harsh burnout and achieve your dream job:

Your profile: The silent job application

With so many employers using LinkedIn first to study applicants, your profile is effectively your professional introduction.

However, many people fall into the trap of generating unimpressive profiles that fail to highlight their abilities and accomplishments, without trying to put any effort into making oneself sound desirable or keeping their profile up to date.

To make yourself stand out, make sure your headline is engaging, your description is appealing, and your experience section is a dynamic story that entices potential employers to learn more.

Networking missteps

Having a large number of connections is typically worn as a badge of honour on a LinkedIn profile, but you should instead cultivate a quality-over-quantity approach.

In the rush to make new connections, the quality of your network is frequently overlooked.

However, adding contacts without a planned strategy might dilute the efficiency of your network by connecting you with people who have nothing to do with the area in which you wish to flourish.

“You should focus on building meaningful connections with the people who actually matter in your industry,” Lachetta Jr said.

“A close connection with one of them could land you your dream job working in a company or project they’re involved with, while one hundred extra connections could just mean you end up with a hundred more useless posts on your feed.”

Let others speak for you

Many platform users underestimate the power of recommendations, frequently because we have been trained to feel uncomfortable when asking someone to do us a favour.

However, testimonials from colleagues, bosses, or clients boost your profile’s credibility and give potential employers with vital insights into your work ethic and talents - all of which appear more authentic because they are not simply you bragging about yourself! If you’re bashful about seeking recommendations.

Keywords: The search engine game

Recruiters frequently use keywords to locate potential candidates on LinkedIn, so if your profile lacks terms related to the job or sector you’re looking for, you may be invisible to those who may give you your ideal job.

Take the time to go through job advertisements for occupations that interest you and determine which keywords are most commonly utilised. You may then add these industry-specific keywords to your profile to improve your visibility in search results.

Underestimating the power of personal branding

Your LinkedIn profile is more than simply a list of credentials; it’s a chance to highlight your own brand.

“Remember, no one works with qualifications or experiences - we work with people. That’s why hiring managers don’t just want to know if you have got the skills for the job - they also want to know whether you’ll fit in,” said Lachetta Jr.

To develop your personal brand, offer ideas, views, and experiences that represent your professional identity.

Regularly contribute to debates in your profession, write publications, and attend industry events to position yourself as a thought leader.

In essence, do all you can to put yourself out there and demonstrate why you care about your business or the field you wish to enter. You could even discover that doing this automatically attracts recruiters to you.

IOL Business