A LinkedIn certified career enlightenment writer, James understands LinkedIn’s influence in the professional development world. When asked how the job search has changed over the past few years, James answered without hesitation, “The biggest game changer has been LinkedIn.”
Founded in a living room in 2002, LinkedIn was officially launched on May 5, 2003. More than just a job board, LinkedIn has developed into a professional tool linking together recruiters, marketers, employers, and employees. In 2016, Microsoft completed its acquisition of LinkedIn.
James said, “If you’re looking for a job or career change, you have to be on LinkedIn because that’s the superhighway where most people are going to find those particular jobs that are not advertised anywhere else. Plus, it’s recruiter-based so recruiters are constantly looking through LinkedIn profiles to find that perfect candidate who may or may not be even looking.”
James understands the utility of LinkedIn for anyone interested in a career transition. She engages in LinkedIn coaching and reviews profiles for clients. Creating an attractive profile is an ongoing process. James, “We need to get everything filled out. It’s got to be the right tense. It’s got to be touchy-feely. Be sure to update it.”
James continued, “It’s got to be current. The right message has to be sent. As far as job seekers, that’s going to be really important. Not the only part, but that’s going to be a real important part of the engine that moves them forward.”
Crafting the Resume
The first step for many in their job search is developing a resume. Nearly every resume James comes across has the same issues. Her simple advice can change the outcome of a job search.
James’ first piece of advice in resume crafting is to check that the information is accurate. In almost every resume she critiques there are typos. James said, “I’m not talking about commas and periods. I’m talking about typos in the phone number. Typos in the email address.”
Cringing, James added, “Can you imagine sending out a resume to 250 people and the email and/or phone number are wrong?”
James’ second piece of advice in resume crafting is do not use a Microsoft Word resume template. The templates can be a starting point but should be remade by the resume writer. James’ reasoning is two-fold. She expounded, “Use the template, try to mirror that but don’t use it because the algorithms that the search engines are using, they totally chew up the Microsoft Word.”
In addition, she has found that using a template may send the wrong message to potential employers. James explained, “It looks like you don’t care. It goes to work ethic.”
Job seekers can utilize LinkedIn for their virtual resume. James detailed the process for reformatting a LinkedIn profile into a resume, “[I]f you go to your profile and you go to save to PDF, it’s an option under ‘more.’ It reformats your LinkedIn profile into a black and white, save to PDF format. It looks like a resume.”
A starting point for many job seekers, James encourages clients to use the information on their LinkedIn profile to craft their resume. As with the actual resume, it is important that the information is accurate. She encourages everyone to look at their LinkedIn profile. James said, “Make sure it is as good and it is as filled out as humanly possible so that even if somebody is just looking at it with the naked eye they can get a good glimpse of what you’re about.”
James’ third piece of advice in resume crafting is to focus on quick information. Forget icons and fancy graphics. James explained, “A resume, just like any other social media branding, it’s about that special brand and it’s not about icons. It’s about quick information.”
A quick piece of information to include at the top of the document is credentials. Credentials include any type of degree. James emphasizes for clients with advanced degrees that they need to make sure it shows, typically after their name.
