Can a LinkedIn Profile Help You Find a Job?

Author: Mrs Marzena Jurewicz-Komuda, Career Advisor

Graduate of the Job Coaching - Career Advice and Career Coaching degree at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities SWPS in Warsaw. Licensed coach of the “Spadochron” (ENG: “Parachute”) group training programme - a 5-day-long workshop for those planning their career, looking for a job, and changing their profession, certified by the Foundation of Social-Economic Initiatives. 

Sales Manager with more than 20 years of experience working in international enterprises. Co-leader and responsible for sales/marketing in the career advice project MINISTRY OF CAREER, organised in cooperation with the University of Social Sciences and Humanities SWPS in Warsaw.

Consultant in OUTPLACEMENT projects - support programmes for those made redundant by their companies, helping them transfer to new workplaces. They are commissioned by international companies holding the title of the biggest in their field on the market.

Author of online courses and e-books, sharing her expert knowledge in various social media channels, such as Facebook and Instagram. 

Focused on broadly-understood support in planning and developing the career paths of her Clients - in the process, she draws on her own experience as an employee of one of the biggest international enterprises. Working with her clients, she concentrates on the collaborative search for their career potential and provides professional guidance throughout that transfer.

She receives excellent recommendations regarding the tutorials and training organised by her. Mrs Marzena Jurewicz-Komuda is commonly regarded as effective - her Clients quickly achieve their desired goals and change their professional life for the better.

You can find out more about Mrs Marzena Jurewicz-Komuda's activity as a Job Advisor on her website, Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

CAN A LINKEDIN PROFILE HELP YOU FIND A JOB?

Professional development is a part of a person’s general progress. Taking advantage of all the potential opportunities results from the natural will to develop, to grow, to reach the full extent of one’s capabilities. Various theories of professional development claim that the process begins as early as childhood, lasts until adulthood, and is a continuum of decisions influenced by diverse factors – including biological, psychological, economic, as well as social.

The effects of an inaccurate development choice, making decisions that are not entirely conscious include:

• not working in your actual profession (a waste of time – why should we learn it, if we don’t find it appealing)

• low quality of performed work (stemming from a lack of talents or interests in that particular area), no satisfaction coming from work

• psychological tension (when work doesn’t bring us pleasure, exceeds our capabilities – or quite the opposite, we find it tedious)

THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Thanks to technological development, the phenomenon of “self-presentation” in the professional development process has gained a completely new meaning. All sorts of social media channels make presenting oneself in cyberspace possible. Their main aim is to encourage interaction, awaken interest, allow not only for consumption, but also for the exchange of content.

Various forms of technology are a tool meant for the creation and social communication on the Internet. Therefore, with their help, candidates can mark their presence and properly introduce themselves. A correct way of designing and managing social media profiles allows us to construct our identity in a conscious way.

At the same time, it enables us to build a relevant image meant to develop our personal brand. We are perceived as brands. And because of that, the conscious creation of one’s image is incredibly important.

WHAT IS LINKEDIN?

In today’s world, social media fulfil the role of information carriers. LinkedIn is definitely one of the strongest channels, with significant opinion-forming power. It also acts as an intermediary facilitating interaction between candidates and employers, but also between entire companies. LinkedIn is, therefore, the biggest medium focused on career development, building a solid network of contacts – both business and professional.

Let’s not forget that this social media channel is considered the biggest international platform aimed at creating business image belongs to the Microsoft enterprise. Because of this, it positions really high in Google. That being the case, a professional LinkedIn profile is a perfect personal branding tool.

SHOULD I CREATE A LINKEDIN PROFILE?

Today, when technology rules the world (and our lives), creating a LinkedIn profile is essential. Managing one’s professional identity and building a business network is currently an absolute must if one wishes to consciously plan their career development.

Statistics show that 92% of recruiters perform online background research about a candidate.

For example, if a recruiter wishes to find information about a candidate by googling their name, their LinkedIn profile will most likely appear among the top search results. Why then force a recruiter to speculate? Providing them with a well-designed profile highlighting your strongest sides is definitely a better solution.

If we prepare it properly, it can serve as our digital “business card” – not only on the platform itself, but on the Web as a whole. The topic is quite broad – if you’d like to learn more, I highly recommend the book LinkedIn for Personal Branding. The Ultimate Guide by Sandra Long.

WHY LINKEDIN?

Why? Because „planning” provides us with security and allows us to notice opportunities we can take advantage of. It helps us create a vision of our future, find inspiration, come up with an idea for managing our lives. Thanks to LinkedIn, we can build a network of our own valuable business contacts, reach the decision-makers in our dream companies – and that factor can bring a significant change to our future.

You can also find a job via LinkedIn – what’s more, you can even be spotted by recruiters and employers. You can be more visible online and have control over what image others see. That lets us appear more reliable as potential employees.

LinkedIn is also a true wealth of knowledge – scrolling through the portal, we can perform an analysis of a given industry or employer and examine career paths offered by other players on the market.  Therefore, it can offer inspiration for our further development. LinkedIn is, after all, the world’s biggest network of professionals across virtually all industries. A strong presence established there definitely increases our chances of finding employment.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The art of being successful in social media, including LinkedIn, is based on creating relations. On honest, personal communication that in the future can result in effective employment. The platform’s aim is to allow its users to showcase their strongest sides and competencies.

But for whom?

Well, the recruiters are first in line, of course, followed by employers and other contacts. This is why the keywords recommended by JobDesigner for searching for and inviting contacts to connect are: recruiter, headhunter, consultant, researcher, business partner, HR, Human Resources plus, optionally, company’s name or positions within the area of interest.

Please note! Before sending the invitation to connect, you must visit the person’s profile and base your welcome note on the information found there. It’s good to give the main reason for wanting to connect.

Example drafts of a welcome note

Or

The effectiveness of our actions can be measured through the Social Selling Index. This professional tool provided by LinkedIn will define our effectiveness in a few areas.

The four components of your result are:

Creating your personal brand

Complete your profile with the customer in mind. Become a thought-leader by publishing meaningful posts.

Finding the right people

Identify better prospects in less time, using efficient search and research tools.

Engagement

Discover and share conversation-worthy updates to create and grow relationships.

Building relationships

Strengthen your network by finding and establishing trust with decision-makers.

Of course, apart from offering features meant to build your public image, LinkedIn also constitutes a virtual CV of sorts – it is also an incredible recruitment base. For this reason, it is essential to make sure your profile is complete. What’s more, a good profile is one that is not only complete, but also up-to-date. What matters isn’t just the content, headline, and keywords – it’s also the graphics, such as your banner or profile picture.

Details such as what to include in your LinkedIn profile, where, and in what form make up an entire exhaustive article. It will soon appear on JobDesigner’s and her parters’ websites – I highly encourage you to have a look!

Marzena Jurewicz- Komuda

JobDesigner

gsm 516 294 201

https://jobdesigner.pl/

https://www.instagram.com/_jobdesigner_/

https://www.facebook.com/JobDesigner/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/jobdesigner/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/marzenajurewiczkomuda/

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

www.linkedin.com

www.prawo.pl

E- MENTOR, dwumiesięcznik SGH w Warszawie; Parzoń, A. (2019). Autoprezentacja zawodowa internautów w portalu społecznościowym LinkedIn.com. e-mentor, 4(81), 71–78. DOI: 10.15219/em81.1436

Sandra Long LinkedIn for Personal Branding. The Ultimate Guide

Puls Biznesu LinkedIn dla szukających pracy Adrian Gamoń 30.07.20.