“According to Global Web Index, Gen Zers spend an average of 2 hours 43 minutes a day on social media,” Ignite Social Media wrote. Assuming your usage is close to average, you likely spend around 990 hours a year on social media. But do not fret, there is a more productive way to satisfy your social media cravings: professional social media.
With over 830 million users and 55 million job listings, LinkedIn can be a valuable tool for your success in today’s dicey job market if you reallocate only a fraction of your social media screen time to the platform. That being said, consider these tips to optimize your professional social media profiles.
Profile appearance
- Keep your profile photo up to date. Your profile photo should be an in-focus, well-lit photo from your shoulders up. If possible, dress professionally or put on light makeup. If you feel comfortable doing so, a smiling photo goes a long way. If you are a UTSA student, take advantage of the University Career Center’s free professional headshot resource, the Iris Booth.
- Strategically choose your job headline. Are you actively applying for jobs? Personalize your headline to match the job title you are searching for. Are you graduating and want employers to know you will be in the job market soon? Put something like “Senior communication major at UTSA” in your headline.
- Create a custom banner. While you can use a plain banner photo, go the extra mile and personalize it by adding your job title, email address or a QR code linked to your portfolio.
Resume materials
- Keep your job experiences up-to-date in the “Experience” section. You can chronologically display internships, part-time positions, full-time jobs or freelance work. Add descriptions of your duties using strong action verbs and quantifiable achievements.
- Update the “Education” section with any schools you may have attended along with the activities or societies you were involved in.
- Are you forklift certified? Make sure to note that in the “Licenses & certifications” section. This could also include TABC certifications, food handler licenses, CPR certifications and more.
- Strategically choose the assets you add in the “Skills” section. LinkedIn has a maximum of 50 skills per profile, so tailor them to the jobs you are applying for.
- LinkedIn has several profile section options for users to showcase their experiences and qualifications. Other sections to add include services, career breaks, courses, recommendations, volunteer experiences, publications, patents, test scores, languages, organizations, causes and more.
Activity
- Connect with people you know and message people you may not know but want to connect with. The free version of LinkedIn allows you to send 100 connection requests weekly and five personalized connection invitation messages monthly, so make them count. If you are interested in applying to a specific company, utilize the search function to find employees at that company to connect with.
- Join groups that align with your career interests. You can post to the groups and connect with people in your field from the groups as well.
- Post updates on your job status, achievements and professional events you attend.
- Comment on your connections’ posts. Congratulate them on their achievements, compliment their work and ask relevant questions.
Even if you do not use professional social media every day, at least having an account, or better yet, keeping it updated can reflect your technological abilities, enthusiasm in your field and much more. For more information on LinkedIn or LinkedIn Premium, visit their website.
