4 Mistakes Job Seekers Make With Their LinkedIn Headline

If you’re job searching, being on LinkedIn is a must! Not only can you find recent and relevant job openings, but it also opens up the opportunity for employers and recruiters to find you, for you to do research on the company and specific individuals within the organization, and for networking.

4 Mistakes Job Seekers Make With Their LinkedIn Headline

Get daily updates directly to your inbox


If you’re job searching, being on LinkedIn is a must! Not only can you find recent and relevant job openings, but it also opens up the opportunity for employers and recruiters to find you, for you to do research on the company and specific individuals within the organization, and for networking.

Most of LinkedIn’s revenues come from recruiters who use it as a major source for finding talent and you want to make sure you come up in their searches. You also want to make sure that your LinkedIn profile is compelling and gets people to want to contact you. As the Headline is the first thing people will seem, here are some tips on how to optimize it.

1. Don’t let it default to your current job title and company.

When you don’t manually change your LinkedIn Headline, it’ll default to your current job title and employer name. While it’s alright to leave it like that, especially if you have a self-explanatory job title and work with an employer that is recognized, you can get better results when you take time to customize it.

Present a Headline that’s relevant to your target audience while you make your personal brand statement. The difference is a Headline that reads: “Sales and Marketing at XYZ Company” vs. “Sales & Marketing Executive for Fortune 500 Financial Services Firm.” The latter Headline does a better job informing others of what this person does, who they do it for and in what field.

2. Present your selling point.

Your LinkedIn Headline needs selling points or a value proposition that makes you stand out. What is it that makes you stand out from someone else who may hold similar skills and experience? That’s what you need to think about.

3. Pepper your Headline with keywords.

If you want your profile to show up in search results, it has to have the relevant keywords others are searching for. Determine the keywords that recruiters will search for and make sure that is in the headline. In fact having the keyword multiple times increases your ranking.

If a recruiter is searching for talent to fill a sales position at a pharmaceutical company that sells cancer drugs and your Headline only reads “Sales Professional,” it’ll probably show up much lower in the search results than someone with a Headline that hits on some of the keywords.

A good headline might be:

Sales Executive | Pharmaceutical Sales Rep with Over 10 Years of Top Ranked Sales Performance

Note that the word “sales” is mentioned multiple times.

For more tips, read: “How To Keyword Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile.”

4. Get creative. Be memorable.

Like the creative advertisements, a Headline that is written creatively and that is memorable will entice others to want to know more about you. Work your brainpower to come up with something powerful and unique.

A major battle job seekers have on LinkedIn is getting others to look at their profile, but with a customized Headline that speaks to the audience you want to reach, you’ll get results. The LinkedIn Headline may only allow 120 characters, but that’s your chance to hook others to view your profile.

Get a free CV REview before applying for your next job applications 

Free Resume Review click here

Don Goodman

About the author

Don Goodman’s firm was rated as the #1 Resume Writing Service in 2013, 2014, and 2015. Don is a triple-certified, nationally recognized Expert Resume Writer, Career Management Coach and Job Search Strategist who has helped thousands of people secure their next job. Check out his Resume Writing Service. Get a Free Resume Evaluation or call him at 800.909.0109 for more information.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock

Rate this blog entry:

Like what you're reading? Subscribe to our top stories.

 

Published from

Report this post

Add blog
 

What do you think ? Comment below

No comments made yet. Be the first to submit a comment

Comments

Pure Jobs Blogger
Already Registered? Login Here
Guest
Thursday, 28 March 2024
Spring Cleaning For Your Job Search: Part 1
How To Avoid A Huge Personal Branding Mistake

Popular on Pure Jobs

Most popular

It is commonly thought that first impressions in business are the impressions provided by employe...
Sarah Ellis
06 July 2017
Making a little bit of extra money from home need not be difficult. There are plenty of ways to e...
Sarah Ellis
13 June 2017
How does your resume score?
How does your resume score? See how your resume stacks up. Submit now.

Career news, advice and insights -Purejobs

Poll

How Long Have You Been Job Searching?

Feed

Subscribe To Us And Stay Updated with the latest career advice on pure-jobs.com.

Related post

Follow us:

Advertise with us

Would you like to advertise here? Place your banner or link here.



Subscribe to updates from our blog

PLEASE NOTE! WE USE COOKIES AND SIMILAR TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE BEST USER EXPERIENCES

However, by continuing to use the site without changing settings, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.