Soaring Above the Crowd on LinkedIn!

When I launched this newsletter, I shared I’d be trying new things pretty frequently…already on my 3rd banner, and have some fun new changes - the one I think you’ll like the most is that the featured jobs section is now a bunch of CURRENT openings from my network!

Our topic this week is all about how can stand out on LinkedIn. LinkedIn can be one of the best tools in your job search - but with millions of job seekers, you need to stand out to land the job!

I shared a couple of good posts on this topic this week so rather than another post on this topic, I’ll just share this one and this one. And here’s one of the must-have tricks for anyone who is open-to-work.

But for our newsletter, I want to focus on YOU. You know best what you need in your search so I’m answering YOUR questions about how to use LinkedIn to your advantage.

What’s the best way to catch the attention of recruiters?

Creating content is a good way to gain followers and network. It can show your expertise and make it easier to get people to accept your connection requests. It can also give you credibility.

But the best way to attract recruiters to your profile is to optimize your profile with key words.

1. Your job titles in your headline, about, and experiences sections align with your target job.

2. You include skills under experiences that align with the key skills needed for the jobs that interest you (use job descriptions to get an idea of the skills needed).

3. List those same skills in your “About” section as well!

Here’s a fun example: I did a round of feedback with a follower on their LinkedIn. Before making these changes, she did not show up on the first few pages when looking for her target job title in her location. Afterwards, we checked and she was #14 on the first page!! This means she is FAR more likely to hear from recruiters now!

I also suggest following and engaging with content from people with your target job titles, department leaders in your target field/company, and recruiters at your target companies.

How do I find the right recruiter?

First, keep in mind that most messages won’t get a response at all - some people don’t check their inmails, some have so many they may miss yours, and some may be prioritizing and determine that it doesn’t make sense to respond to you right now. If you’re hearing back on just 10% of your messages, you’re doing well.

So how do you maximize your chances? By using the same tactics that good (emphasis on good!) recruiters and sales people use!

1. Find the right people: Search for recruiters aligned with your target company and department, people with the same job title, etc.
   I saw this post recently which is a pretty strategic breakdown of finding a target through LinkedIn’s search! It’s geared towards finding a sales target, but you can use the same approach to find relevant recruiters.

2. Research your prospects: check their job title, what kind of roles they post about recruiting for, etc. Look for recruiters (who work on roles) as opposed to managers or directors (who manage but don’t usually recruit for roles directly unless it’s a very small company). And see if you can find a way to personalize it through a connection (could be namedropping a mutual connection, commenting on a shared interest, etc.)

3. Minimize the ask: Asking for a meeting? Unless you’re the perfect candidate for a hard-to-fill role AND they are the recruiter/hiring manager, expect a no. That’s a BIG ask on their time for no little benefit. Ask 1-2 easy to answer questions? That’s more likely to get a response.

4. Be truly qualified for a current opening: This is the hard part. Your chances of getting a positive response (or any response at all) when you’re unqualified for a role or when there are no relevant openings are really low. Qualified means you meet 80%+ of the requirements.

If you’re looking to do more general coffee chats/informational interviews, I’ve got a free guide here!

What if I’m targeting several career paths?

1. Use your headline to appeal to each role/industry/field you’re interested in: Open to Chief of Staff or L&D roles? Make sure both of these are in your headline. But try to hone in on a few titles - too vague? No one will look further.

2. Align skills to these areas: Under your experiences, add specific skills that align to skills needed in each of your target jobs. This will help you show up in recruiter searches for those skills.

3. Use your “About” section to share your story: Explain a bit more about your career trajectory and what has led to multiple interests. Telling your story will be crucial.

4. Get creative with job titles: For example, maybe you’re an HR Coordinator who wants to move into an Operations role. A title of “HR Coordinator (Team Operations) or “Operations and HR Coordinator” is going to show up in more searches for operations roles than one of “HR Coordinator”

5. Be prepared for more networking: When recruiters are sourcing for a role, they are looking for your profile to make sense quickly to them - if your profiles is too broad/vague, they may keep scrolling. So you’ll need to reach out more to tell your story.

And what are recruiters looking for anyway?

You have about 10 seconds with your profile to catch their attention. In that 10 seconds, we’re usually looking for enough indicators that you’re a good match to a role to know if it’s worth looking further.

If your headline and last two roles under experience clearly show your job titles, key skills, and industry, then recruiters will have enough to know if there’s a match.

🛫 Community Connections 🛬

Staying informed is critical in your job search - this helps you make small talk, create relevant content, and incorporate cutting edge insights into your responses during interviews!

Start your day with Morning Brew (it's free!) This is one of the only things I read every day! Morning Brew is the daily email that delivers the latest news from Wall Street to Silicon Valley. They manage to make the news fun and engaging. Check it out!

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The In-Flight Amenities 🍱

I’m changing this section based on YOUR input! You said you wanted MORE jobs instead of a featured company - so here are people in my network who are hiring!!

Jobs you need to check out:
Zapier has a couple of exciting openings right now, including employee relationships partner for my HR friends, and a brand campaign manager role, along with quite a few openings in engineering.
If you've got solid experience in Performance Marketing, this opportunity could be a great match! Or how about this one (with one of my fave companies, Teal!)
Speaking of Teal, Lia Zneimer who leads brand/content marketing for Teal just posted this list of marketing roles WITH recruiters/hiring managers tagged!! 🙌
And of course Open AI is growing - and they have a few HR openings!!
My buddy Josh Czupryk shares jobs in education - but they aren’t just for educators! His April blast features 300+ remote jobs with an average salary of $115k.
Erika Kullberg (an awesome creator on TikTok/Youtube) is hiring a Video Editor - deadline to apply is 4/14!
Looking for remote sales? Check out this Account Executive role - posted by the hiring manager!
And here’s a Talent and Operations role that’s totally remote with a really cool small company - I have several colleagues there and think this would be a fantastic place to work!
And as always, I share jobs regularly in my Talent Collective! (If you’d like to share jobs, we’d love to have you!)

A jobseeker you need to hire: Meet Okenya Haylett!

I’ve gotten to know Okenya a bit through her thoughtful questions during a LinkedIn Live around navigating a transition in her career, and am excited for others to have the chance to connect with her and support her on her journey.

Okenya has worked with families in social services - recruiting, supporting, and training thousands of foster parents. She has experience with developing strategy and training around diversity and inclusion, and onboarding of families. She prides herself on being an empathetic leader, and brings over 15 years of experience to her next position.

In her next role, she wants to move into a full-time remote role in learning and development/training with a mission-driven company. She is motivated by having a tangible impact in her role.

Think you might have a role that’s a good fit for Okenya, or be able to help make a connection? Add her on LinkedIn, or email her, and let’s get Okenya hired!
Interested in having your story shared? Sign up here!

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