Share this article

Want to get headhunted? Time to brush up that LinkedIn profile

In the old days, when recruiters needed to ‘headhunt’, it was all very cloak and dagger. Asking around for recommendations, find out who was doing well, targeting pubs where the NQA accountants might be hanging out on a Friday, or randomly ringing target companies and ask to speak to the Financial Controller…

Now, in the main, it’s done on LinkedIn. Of course, recruiters still ‘headhunt’, but the reality is that if you want to be found and you’re not on LinkedIn – don’t expect a call. And if you’ve not got a very good profile, maybe don’t expect one either!

A good LinkedIn profile needs to look and feel like you

If you’re a naturally outgoing person with high performance reviews, lots of great client feedback and first time FAE passes – but your LinkedIn profile looks as dull as dishwater, it’s time to sort it! Just listing education, titles and employers is not enough – but it certainly isn’t enough if you haven’t even gone to the effort of including promotions/exceptional academics or any testimonials you might have been lucky enough to receive on LinkedIn.

Think of it like a teaser, or a book blurb…

People worry about disclosing too much on LinkedIn. And they’re right to. You wouldn’t want talk about confidential company information (like financials) if the information is not public, and you also wouldn’t want the LinkedIn just to become another version of your CV. But you do need to think of how to 1) create a story that pulls the disparate threads of your career together, and 2) provide an indication of what your core strengths are.

The minimum required standard

Providing a short overview of your role responsibility and 2-3 key achievements is imperative. Think about this from a high-level perspective and don’t get bogged down in the day to day, like you might in a CV. What is/was your core purpose and what areas did you have success in/improve? Did you receive any awards of promotions during this time?

With your summary, an easy way to think about writing this is in two parts. Firstly, create a mini career synopsis for yourself that takes the reader through your training up to the current day. What key points of your career have been turning points for you? Big 4 training, move into industry with a listed company, then later experience in supporting a merger? With the second part, showcase your core areas of skill/knowledge.

Smash it with your key strength

Be personal – think of your LinkedIn summary like the landing page of a website. You’ve got someone reading, but now you need something to make them connect with you. As someone who reads LinkedIn pages every day, the most compelling ones are where you get that glimpse of someone’s core strength – what they’re really good at. Start by having a think about what makes you good at your job, and why you stand out above others. Has someone told you once what makes you different to other people in the team? Do you know you have a slightly different approach to most?

Good luck!