Humans find change very fascinating.
The impediments of our imagination make change more intriguing, mainly when it is beyond the periphery of your comfort zone.
If you have been using LinkedIn for a while, I am sure you must have noticed the ease of applying (Easy Apply) for jobs through your LinkedIn profile.
If you are delighted with the convenience of applying for the job, you must have noticed the unique feature of LinkedIn. Reaching out to the Recruiter or others in the same company is more effortless.
LinkedIn is gaining importance over plain Job Boards and becoming more potent for showcasing your talent & offer a place for a professional network. In India, LinkedIn has more than 82 million users, and it is one virtual platform for talent search.
Now imagine a world where the only way of applying for a job will be by LinkedIn. If that is even possible?
The question is, the idea of marketing your profile & showcase your talent that a resume hardly does, can LinkedIn replace resumes?
It is disappointing, but the answer is No!
In this blog, I aim to help you learn the art of profile building on LinkedIn and discover the potential this tool holds in gradually making file-based resumes obsolete.
You will also realize how much Value LinkedIn can add to your professional career and how to use this application in the best possible ways. Like everything else, there are two facets to using LinkedIn; you can either use it to propel your brand or use it as a mere social media platform like many others.
There's so much more to LinkedIn than you see on your profile. I have come across many people who still don't realize the potential it holds in remaking and redefining your compelling brand. Many people find professional networking difficult on LinkedIn; they would much rather spend time on social media such as Facebook or Instagram than doing productive networking on LinkedIn.
Networking via LinkedIn - Find your purpose
Someone rightly said,
"Your Network is your Net Worth."
How you utilize your time on LinkedIn and other social media makes all the difference. It has made networking super convenient. With LinkedIn, you can connect with people worldwide who share your professional interests.
When you engage in LinkedIn, it is crucial to decide your purpose, unlike on Facebook or Instagram. Your conversations may be casual, mostly with friends on Facebook, but on LinkedIn, you need to decide why you are here.
I am now sharing my perspective on networking; there are three strong reasons why you should be on LinkedIn. One to search for jobs, two to sell your services, and three to build your authority, be it as an Individual or a Company. If you could share any other angle I have not covered, please share in the comment.
Hence, deciding you fall into which category is critical to frame your engagement strategy, audience persona, and conversion plan. Do I sound like a marketing geek? Don't we, most of the time, try to prove our worth in the marketplace to stay active and relevant! Crude, but that is the reality.
Networking via LinkedIn - Find your Audience
The following essential element of networking is to define your audience. I have taken multiple courses to understand the best ways to utilize LinkedIn. One thing all influencers share is to choose your audience wisely.
If your purpose is specific and you know why you need someone in your network, it becomes easy to define your audience persona.
Your audience should be able to help you resolve your problems or add Value to your life & career.
Say you are a career seeker. You have defined your goal to join one of the big five consulting firms and have an eye for a regional role. Here it would be best if you connected with people in HR & Consultant leadership who can refer you for a similar job when it arises.
Another example is switching careers from regular HR Support services to an Analytics role. Here you need to connect with recruiters and HR Leaders who might value your competence with analytics and help you in your career shift.
Edge of LinkedIn Profile over Resume
I started this blog with the idea to draw the advantages of LinkedIn over a regular resume.
You have many limitations with resumes, whereas your LinkedIn Profile can serve you as your website. You can create pages besides your professional profile to showcase your competence and achievements & resolve a specific organizational problem that might interest many.
If you visit my LinkedIn Profile @coachrahulguha, you will find I have two separate pages for my Business Customers and an Academy page specially made for ardent career seekers.
If I could draw reference from my earlier para, you are creating a page on Data Analytics to draw, engage and nurture your audience even being in the same HR Support Services Role. This shows your interest and lets like-minded people visit your page to get FREE Value.
LinkedIn pages have enormous potential to showcase your brand and narrate your story, whereas a Resume can detail your background and history.
Recruiters' attention shifts & capturing the mood
Not many people talk about this. Under the new normal, it remains a fact that people's attention span shrunk to a great extent.
Recruiters are alike; they look for highlights that best match their job description while doing the initial shortlisting. I do my headhunting from LinkedIn. Once you land on a resume, it is apparent to check with the detailed profile, connected pages & a common connection that is impossible with an emailed resume.
Creating the first impression is vital to capture the mood of the Recruiter or your audience.
LinkedIn is a platform where you can do it the best. Use of Banner and adding to your skills could be most helpful in drawing attention.
In my view, Video Resumes are gaining ground, and one can build differentiation with a crisp profile video; LinkedIn mobile version can upload a 30-sec video.
Now I have shared enough pointers to help you understand why LinkedIn can help you showcase your profile while resumes will stay as a crisp brief.
There is hardly any social media platform that caters to job seekers with a free community and networking capability.
Online activities are going to stay. Even when you forward your resume, the Recruiter will search for social background & proof of your competence. The recommendation feature in LinkedIn comes in handy that resumes cannot cover.
If you like the article and build a compelling Professional profile or do a makeover of your LinkedIn profile, I can help. Please visit my website www.curatescope.com and share this with others who might benefit from this write-up.
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