Guide to Being Found by Recruiters: Improve Your LinkedIn Profile Ranking (Personal LinkedIn SEO)

By Susan P. Joyce

Over ninety percent of recruiters search the LinkedIn member database to find candidates who have the specific set of qualifications and/or keywords in their Profile. After searching the database, recruiters get served with "search results" that include a Profile view for each candidate who meets the search criteria.

To be successful, you want your Profile to consistently appear in search results for candidates with your set of qualifications, ideally higher in those results than competing candidates. Being visible in search results and ranking well in them is often called LinkedIn SEO (search engine optimization).

When your Profile is visible in search results, you want to stand out from the other candidates and capture the interest of the recruiters so they click on your Profile, even when you are not actively searching for a new job.

In addition to job offers, other common reasons to be easily found on LinkedIn are to be visible to new potential clients and members of your network as well as to old friends and colleagues

These are LinkedIn's reasons for existing, a giant online rolodex on steriods. LinkedIn's primary revenue stream is LinkedIn Recruiter, the service used by recruiters access to LinkedIn's 500+ million member database. If your Profile cannot be found on LinkedIn, you have a serious problem, unless your career requires invisiblity (spy?).

Understand How Recruiters Search LinkedIn

To better understand how recruiters search LinkedIn, think about how you search an online job board for job postings. You go to a website (CareerBuilder, Indeed, etc.), and enter a series of keywords (typically job title and location). You may also click on an industry or job function from a drop down box. Then, you then get presented with a series of job listings.

Do you click on all of the search results? Probably not. Instead, you only click on those that catch your eye and are most relevant, typically the listings on the first page, often among the top 5. Few pay any attention to the results on the second page, and most don't consider looking at the entries on pages 3, 4, etc. So, being on the first page of search results is very important.

Recruiters search for and choose job candidates in a very similar way. Using LinkedIn Recruiter, they search through LinkedIn Profiles. Usually, they start with Skill categories (which is why your Skills & Endorsements are so important!). Then, they type their keywords (like a job title) into a search box, possibly clicking on some options like industry, location, or other criteria.

They scan the search results, and click on those entries that are most appealing and relevant to the jobs they are filling.

After more reviews and, usually, a Google search on the names of promising candidates, they reach out to the candidates to begin the hiring process. [Read Managing Your Google Resume for more on how to succeed in this part of the process.]

Typically, like everyone who does an online search, recruiters pay the closest attention to the first page of search results, with less attention paid to the second and subsequent pages. Your appearance on the first few pages of results is very important to your visibility to recruiters.

More on how sourcing works: Get "Sourced" to Get Hired and How to Find Jobs Working With Recruiters, Head Hunters, and Staffing Firms.

What Recruiters Are Seeking on LinkedIn

Recruiters have several options for searching inside LinkedIn. They can use Google to "x-ray" LinkedIn, do a "People" search like the rest of us, or pay LinkedIn to use the LinkedIn Recruiter service.

You need your name and your LinkedIn Profile to appear high up in the search results on LinkedIn when a recruiter does one of these typical searches:

• Your Name

  They have your business card, your application or resume, or you have come to their attention some other way, and they are checking you out. Make sure they find YOU, not someone else with the same name. Read Your Most Important Keywords to learn how to use your name properly to minimize identity problems. (Read Defensive Googling to learn how to find and manage your online identity.)

• Your Profession/Job Title

  They are searching for professionals like you who may be qualified for their opening. Note that they do NOT search on the term "professional" (as in "marketing professional"). Rather, they search on the job's actutal title or the job title of the person who would be qualified for their job (e.g. "inbound marketing manager").

• Your Skills

  They are searching for someone with the skills required for their opening. LinkedIn has made this easier by adding a section called "Skills and Endorsements." You can be endorsed only by your first level connections, and each member can have a maximu of 50 Skills. (Read 4 Steps to Leverage LinkedIn Skills & Endorsements for a More Powerful Profile for more details.)

• Your Current (or a Former) Employer

  They are searching for someone who works or has worked for a specific employer.

• Your Location

  They are searching for someone who is "local" for them. If you would like to relocate, use your target location in your LinkedIn Profile to attract employers in that area.

• Your College Degree(s) and/or Certification(s)

  They are searching for someone who has the knowledge and skills required for their opening.

If an entry for you doesn't appear on the first page (preferably) or the first two or three pages of search results, you are invisible because, typically, few people look past the first page.

Bottom Line

LinkedIn is the website used most often by recruiters and employers to find candidates for their jobs. Using LinkedIn SEO is essential today for being found and having credibility with recruiters.

NEXT: Improve Your Ranking in LinkedIn Searches in 10 Steps

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