On a Job Search? Forget the Resumé.

Girl looking at a linkedin page on a laptop

Well, maybe ‘forget’ is going too far. You will still need a resumé but it isn’t the most important tool in your job search. Your most important tool is LinkedIn … specifically your profile and your network of connections.  

Your resumé still has a role to play – to highlight your accomplishments that are specific to the job you are applying for. Your resumé should be brief, professional and completely tailored to a specific opportunity. The primary purpose of a resumé is to secure an interview.

However, your LinkedIn profile does so much more! It provides a much richer picture of your experience, capabilities, and personality. It’s your very own ‘sales brochure’ complete with testimonials, and multi-media capability. Using stories rather than bullet points, you can speak in a more conversational tone to present a more accurate picture of who you are, what you’ve done, and what you can offer.

Time spent enhancing and improving your LinkedIn profile is a very good investment. Here are a few things to consider:

  • Check out others’ profiles. You will find things you like in each of them that can be used in yours as well.
  • Be sure to include keywords in the section just under your name that you believe will be used in searches by prospective employers.
  • Add multi media to your profile – videos or ads that you worked on.
  • Post short articles on topics that you are passionate about.

It’s important to remember that LinkedIn is a public forum, so don’t include anything that you wouldn’t want published on the front page of a newspaper.  

When done well, your LinkedIn profile provides a deeper look into who you are, what you are, your strengths, what you are passionate about and even provides a sense of your personality. Your resumé can’t possibly do all of that!

 

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