5 Tips For Engineers To Increase Their LinkedIn Profile Views
You are a skilled, talented individual with a story to tell. What motivates you to be your best is what also endears you to others. Your LinkedIn profile needs to be a reflection of your accomplishments as well as give shape to the person you are. Understand that 95% of engineering recruiters identify social media as a universally adopted hiring tool and 87% use LinkedIn as part of their hiring cycle. In addition, most hiring managers and recruiters will move on from your profile within a minimum of 6 seconds should their interest not be piqued. So, how does one create an impactful profile, highlighting career accomplishments while painting a picture of a well-rounded individual? Here are 5 tips that you can incorporate today.
“Two things remain irretrievable: time and a first impression.” Cynthia Ozick
To start, ensure your profile picture looks professional (if not taken professionally) as this is your first—and only—chance to make a good first impression and don’t be afraid to smile. A background picture, although not necessary, should also be simple and professional. Your headline is equally important. It states your current job title, company name and location. First, make your job title compelling. You have 120 characters to describe what it is that you do, therefore you can expand on “Mechanical Engineer” by stating in 1st person “I am a mechanical engineer and results-oriented problem solver with a strong background developing cutting-edge medical devices."
Next, the summary section is arguably the most important section of your LinkedIn profile as it gives you the opportunity to showcase who you are professionally as well as personally, free from the structure of timelines. It is a chance to tell your story. Furthermore, studies show readers spend more than 90% of their total time focused solely on this section. As it is the first box of text beyond your headline, ensure that the beginning of your summary has a hook to capture the attention of your audience. Write your summary in 1st person, with a conversational tone. In highlighting your relevant skills, abilities, accomplishments and attributes be succinct. Also, you will be found more readily, by hiring managers or engineering recruiters if you make your summary keyword rich. Including specific words will direct more traffic to your profile, while relevant numbers and statistics related to your accomplishments lends you greater credibility.
Read more: 5 Templates That'll Make Writing the Perfect LinkedIn Summary a Total Breeze
In outlining your relevant experience, ensure it pertains to your professional goals, incorporating keywords wisely. Use reverse chronological format and bullet points (no more than 5) to highlight your achievements. Also, be concise. As an engineering professional, your attention to detail is of utmost importance. Your LinkedIn profile should be a reflection of this. For example, when promoting your strengths in the Skills section you need not include every skill you have acquired up to this point, but be sure to round out your skills portfolio with both hard and soft skills (strive for a minimum of 5). Following this, people can then endorse you for that specific skill, and the more endorsements you have, the higher you will be listed in engineering recruitment search results.
Don’t be afraid to ask for recommendations. Similar to an endorsement, a recommendation will strengthen your profile and establishes credibility. Make your request specific, in the form of a guided question. “Would you please write me a recommendation?” is too open-ended. Replace this with “In your opinion, what are 3 traits that make me a valuable civil engineer?” There is no limit to the number of recommendations you can post, or the number you can give. Engineering recruiters often look to the recommendations section of your LinkedIn profile, following your summary, to see what others have said about you and form a stronger impression of you.
Write your own LinkedIn post within your profile, or include a link to a personal blog wherein you can detail projects in which you have taken part. Here you get the chance to give prospective hiring managers and engineering recruiters a more vivid look at your work through pictures, video and the use of other rich media, promoting your accomplishments.
Implementing these tips today will help you stand out, and highlight your capacity as an Engineer, while rounding out the individual that stands behind your professional designation. At PHM Search | Simply Technical we recruit 100K+ Senior & Executive Engineers for the consulting, manufacturing, construction and technology sectors. We curate relationships at the personal and professional levels, developing a plan to meet your career aspirations. Contact us to discuss the realization of your goals.
Sources:
https://www.autodesk.com/industry/manufacturing/resources/mechanical-engineer/linkedin-tips-engineers
https://www.randstad.ca/job-seeker/career-resources/job-search-tips/7-things-engineers-should-know-when-looking-for-a-job/
https://www.triad-eng.com/the-best-linkedin-profile-tips-for-engineering-job-seekers-in-2018/
http://business.time.com/2012/04/13/how-to-make-your-resume-last-longer-than-6-seconds/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-hook-your-reader-persuasive-linkedin-summary-franco-ncrw-cprw/