10 Ways To Shake The Dust Off Your Empty Job Search Profile

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You’re on LinkedIn, you’re on all the major job search sites, you’re scouring through job posts like crazy. You’re messaging employers, but only hearing back from a few saying they already have other candidates in mind. What are you doing wrong? Probably nothing. It’s what other job seekers are doing right — filling their job search profiles with all the right stuff.

You might have already read the articles telling you to place a professional photo, work experience, education, and awards on your profile. OK, you can do that, but there is so much more you can do to enhance your online presence.

Shake the dust off your empty job search profile and include these elements you may not have thought about:

1. A Customized URL

Platforms like LinkedIn allow you to do this under the edit your profile feature. Make sure your URL includes your first and last name, nothing too creative. Your goal is to be found. You can place your customized URL on your resume, business card, or any of your social media pages so employers can easily find your profile.

2. Personality Test Results

Many employers screen candidates for personality test results anyway. Proactively provide the info from your DISC and Myers Briggs assessments, with embedded links so employers can learn about you in depth right from the start. However, don’t include unprofessional information from online personality quizzes like “What rap song describes your life?”

3. The Numbers Of Your Success

Use numbers and data to describe achievements at previous jobs such as, “Developed a program that increased sales for March YTD by 31 percent” or “Received 87 positive customer reviews in the first quarter.” Quantifying your success helps sell your skills by backing them up with power and tangibility.

4. Key Words 

Just like the ATS scans resumes submitted online for keywords, search engines also pick up on the words recruiters type into job search platforms. For example, recruiters looking to fill a sales position might search “business development,” “lead management,” or “cold calling.” Research the keywords relevant to your industry and sprinkle them throughout.

5. A Link To Your Portfolio

Your school work and work samples from previous positions aren’t doing anything for you sitting in a binder in your bookshelf. Create a digital copy of your portfolio and place a noticeable link to it on your job search profile. There are dozens of websites that will help you build your portfolio for free like about.me.

6. Full Descriptions Of All Experience

Just because a full description of each job is on your resume doesn’t mean you should skimp on this section of your job search profile.

7. Volunteer Experience

Planting a garden at the senior living home may not have anything to do with your aspired career in product marketing, but it shows you are community-oriented. That might be the element that cues an employer to think you fit into a company’s culture.

8. Status Updates With Industry News

Your profile doesn’t have to be a one-way picture of who you are. Make it interactive by sharing news and engaging others in conversation.

9. Integration With Other Profiles

Some job search platforms, like ours, allow you integrate with your LinkedIn profile so you don’t have to fill everything out again. This also makes for a more consistent brand as employers are exposed to the same full information each time they find you.

10. Multimedia

With the digital age upon us, it wouldn’t hurt to stand out by placing a link to a video under your summary section. You can record a short introduction video to show your personality or you can use a relevant video from a school project or internship. For example, you can showcase your public speaking abilities by including a video of a speech you gave in class.

Once your job search profile is no longer down to the bare bones of functionality, you’re more likely to get some messages and/or interview requests. Keep your job search going with the same vigor you had from the start. Now, your newly filled profile will show employers you mean business.

What are some other strong elements you can fill your empty job search profile with?