How to successfully use LinkedIn in today’s contract job market

LinkedIn has become the key job-finding tool for professional IT workers in recent years. In an increasingly urgent online world, there may even come a time, when possessing a LinkedIn profile becomes a prerequisite to securing a new contract.

It is clear that LinkedIn is the dominant online networking service for professionals. Whereas members use the site to connect and reconnect with colleagues and clients, Twitter and Facebook are used more to interact with friends than communicate with would-be clients and colleagues.

A recent survey of small business owners by The Wall Street Journal and Vistage International found that 41% of respondents thought LinkedIn could benefit their businesses, compared to a mere 3% of ‘thumbs up’ for Twitter.

Another survey, carried out by Executives Online last year, found that 93% of job applicants (contractors and permanent) used LinkedIn in some way for the purpose of finding work.

What is it good for?

LinkedIn serves a distinctly different purpose from a traditional job board such as Jobserve. Rather than solely posting and applying for roles, it principally allows users to reconnect and stay in touch with contacts who could potentially help them source contract work in the future.

As most contractors know, the most lucrative contract opportunities are regularly snapped up via ‘word of mouth’ recruitment before they even have a chance to be publicly advertised online.

The service not only provides a platform for you to display your online CV, enabling it to appear in recruiters’ search results. But perhaps more importantly, it also enables you to access those coveted roles that are never even posted on job sites in the first place.

This is achieved by re-establishing dormant connections and nurturing new networking relationships. The key is identifying people – such as recruiters and previous contacts – who you can have a mutually beneficial relationship with.

Making the most out of your LinkedIn profile – 10 useful tips

These days, whenever I receive an email or business call, often the first thing I do is scour LinkedIn for more background information on my new contact.

You can get a good (or bad) impression of someone via a glimpse at their LinkedIn profile. Often, what is included, how it is written, and even the photo, can make or break a deal.

Perhaps the best advice to give when it comes to maximising the impact of your online profile is to view it as a key arm in your personal marketing armoury.

Here are some of my tips for making the most out of the world’s leading networking site:

1. Photo

You really should include a professional photo. In the early days of LinkedIn, most users simply opted for the default silhouette, but these days, it is virtually unheard of for users to remain anonymous. If you’re not going for the ‘corporate’ look, make sure your photo isn’t too off the wall, as this will make you look less of a serious candidate.

2. Completeness

Complete all the sections on your profile, however tedious it may be to enter details of a contract position you carried out a decade ago. Any typos or errors will undermine perceptions of your professionalism and attention to detail (both key attributes of a successful contractor!)

3. Spell Check

Your resume is your online CV, so copy and paste your profile into a spellchecker, and show it to someone you trust for an honest opinion before going live.

4. Search

Remember that you want your key skills to rank well in search results, so include your main keywords, either in the ‘title’ of previous roles you’ve held, as well as the ‘Skills & Expertise’ tags. These keywords should strategically appear throughout your profile sections and headline so you rank well in searches. Once again, don’t over do it though.

5. Groups

Join one of the thousands of niche groups which have been set up to cater for specific skills, industries, and interests. Try some of the generic ‘contractor’ groups too, but you may want to filter the number of automatic email updates you may have unwittingly subscribed to upon joining.

6. Truthfulness

Make sure that all your online and offline career details match up. Recruiters are increasingly using pre-employment screening firms to vet the details of applicants, so take time to clean up your online footprint. Search for yourself on Google, and remove or update any social media content which is unflattering, or contradictory.

7. Endorsements

Ask clients and past colleagues to recommend your services, and add these reviews into your profile. Other users can also endorse your skills – both those you have pre-set, and also any others they think you should get credit for. The number of endorsements for each of your skills is displayed near the bottom of your profile.

8. Building Connections

Take time to look up people you know, and handwrite a message to anyone you want to re-connect with. If you allow the LinkedIn API to access your email server, you’ll be presented with hundreds of potential connections, although we’d recommend you take care and select prospective connections on an individual basis.

9. Spammers

Although the opportunity to spam on LinkedIn appears to be fairly low, and it’s hard to grow your online reputation by taking short-cuts, you will still receive some invitations to connect from people you’ve probably never heard of, so check out their online profiles before connecting.

10. Your profile is a ‘living’ document

Above all, remember that your resume is a working document. Keep it up-to-date, and don’t be shy about sharing ‘updates’ with the world – either comments or links to articles/content you may have posted elsewhere.

Article written by James Leckie.