As a student or graduate, it’s very unlikely that you know how to use LinkedIn. Especially to get those all important graduate job offers, despite 6 people getting hired through LinkedIn every minute. Why else would you be here? Lucky for you, we’ve discovered the ultimate LinkedIn hack to make your profile stand out. Here’s how to make it happen by using SEO in your LinkedIn profile
Your LinkedIn About Section
Your LinkedIn ‘about’ section is where the magic happens. It’s not only the first thing anyone will read when visiting your profile. It also matches your profile to a recruiter or employer’s search results through keywords and SEO.
This means that your about section should be optimised for being discovered through search (SEO). Boom, effective LinkedIn profile.
Why Does SEO Matter on a LinkedIn Profile?
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is what Google and other search engines use to determine whether content is relevant or not. This is how companies get their websites to come up first in popular search results. It goes without saying that if your plumbing business is on the first page of Google for plumbers near me’, then you’re going to get good business.
In exactly the same light, if you can get your profile to come up on the first page of LinkedIn’s search for ‘Finance Graduate’ then you’ll get a bigger chunk of opportunities in finance coming your way.
A simple search in Youtube for how SEO works will tell you everything you need to know.
Using SEO In Your About Section
So how can you start to include keywords and therefore SEO optimising your LinkedIn about section?
The simple answer is to work backwards. The first question to ask is what is your ideal graduate role? Be specific. Note it down. Next, you need to put on your recruiter hat. Write down a few different search phrases that you think recruiters might type when looking for someone in your desired role.
For example, if the role you want is an ‘Investment Analyst’ then popular search words might be: Finance Student / Analytical Skills / Research Skills / Eye for detail etc. Think like a recruiter. What skills are involved? (Check out some application forms for relevant positions – these will tell you the most sought-after skills).
The next step is to note down the top 5 profiles that come up in each of these searches on LinkedIn. For each, you want to spend a little time going through each profile, and note down any keywords that keep coming up. So if all 5 profiles that come up after the search ‘Finance Student’ have the keywords finance, business, accounting, economics then you’ll need to find a way of including these words in your About Section too. If you don’t study economics, there’s nothing stopping you from writing ‘One habit that I’ve got myself into is to keep an eye on global economics by watching the news each morning’.
Repeat this process for all the search criteria that you can think of. Pack that About section full of popular keywords, search phrases, and other hot topics. Before you know it, you’ll be ranking consistently for all of the relevant searches that recruiters and companies will make.
Don’t forget, you can jump on a free 15-minute call with one of the team if you want to chat through your LinkedIn questions or get help optimising your LinkedIn profile with our virtual reviews.
