Date Added: 09.05.22

If you’re not on LinkedIn in 2021, you could be standing in your own way when it comes to landing your next energy job. Whether it’s been a long time since you last hunted for a new role, or you’ve just never leveraged the power of personal branding before – we’re about to show you how to use it to your advantage during a job search.

Once upon a time, having an all singing, all dancing LinkedIn profile was just a nice to have. These days, you could wind up being overlooked for that dream job if you’re not making the most of the platform. We like to think of ourselves as LinkedIn veterans, so take it from us, if your future employer finds who they need on LinkedIn, they aren’t going to be searching anywhere else.

Still not convinced? 40 million people use LinkedIn to search for jobs weekly and 3 people are hired through the platform every minute. Yes, you read that right, every, single minute. As recruiters, we’re big fans of LinkedIn. Not only does it help us find all the best candidates at the click of a few buttons, but its job board function is a firm favourite of ours too.

Ever heard of the phrase “he who shouts loudest gets heard”? Well, that logic applies when it comes to the LinkedIn algorithm – the tool which determines which profiles and content are shown to whom. Recruiters and employers alike will use LinkedIn as a tool to search for candidates that match their job spec – ergo it works in your best interest to make sure your profile is up to date and easy to find.

Give your profile some love

It may have been some time since you’ve logged on to your LinkedIn profile, but the platform has undergone a series of updates which give you more freedom to customise your little corner of the internet.

Even a few years ago your profile consisted of your photo, a personal summary and your work experience. Those days are gone, in 2021 you’re able to add links, posts and media to your ‘Featured’ banner and really show prospective employers what you’re all about.

Whether you simply use that space to signpost that you’re looking for work, or to link to a document, press article or online piece of work that showcases your skills – you’ve now got more space than ever to flesh out your digital CV.

Take some time to draft up an eye-catching headline announcing that you’re available for work, a compelling personal summary of what you can offer, as well as reaching out to ex-colleagues for recommendations and skill endorsements.

Stay active

Unfortunately, it doesn’t stop there. You know how we mentioned that the algorithm favours profiles that are up to date and consistent? To be super searchable and easily reachable by potential employers, you need to be active on there – even if it’s just a temporary measure during your job search.

By being active, we mean posting updates and views of your own as well as interacting with other people’s posts. LinkedIn is a hotbed for discussion and debate at the moment thanks to a recent update that places conversation at the heart of the platform.

You’ll be amazed at what getting involved in a debate on the latest industry or hiring trends can do to expand your network as your comments will be shown to the networks of anybody who interacts with them. With that in mind, make sure you’re commenting on topics that are relevant to your industry – your next boss could be flicking through their news feed and really like what you’ve got to say.

Watch what you post

When you consider that 70% of recruiters and hiring managers run a rudimentary social media check up on prospective candidates, you might want to run a search on yourself and see what comes up.

This one spans outside of just LinkedIn. Ultimately, you never know who is on the other end of that screen and what they might see as a red flag. So, if you want to be judged on your abilities and not your views, old photos from that Zante 2006 holiday or questionable preference in memes – lock all your other social channels down. At least until you land the job and can get to know everybody properly anyway.

Need more?

For us all at Consult, LinkedIn and personal brand is something that we train one another on as we recognise its importance in today’s digital landscape. With that in mind, with the recent spate of energy redundancies and lots of people finding themselves at a loose end, we thought we relish the chance to help towards getting energy and utilities professionals back into work.

Whether you’ve been affected by redundancy or just want some advice on making yourself a more attractive candidate online, we’d love to hear from you. You can get in touch with our friendly team today to find out about our latest energy jobs on 0121 633 3030.