While the resume remains integral to the often untamed and circuitous paths careerists encounter, the LinkedIn profile has disruptively positioned itself as a peer-to-peer competitor.
In fact, in my 20 years of day-to-day, boots-on-the-ground resume writing, I’ve witnessed an evolution from resumes that once were 1- to 2-page hard copy documents printed on 20-lb. paper all the way through to longer, digitized stories crafted to deliver deeper, richer value with a more thorough, detailed story.
And while job search still requires a resume be delivered at some point in the hiring process, the LinkedIn profile increasingly has become the conversation starter, the portal, if you will, into the executive and professional’s career home. Without a properly and invigoratingly dressed front-door, welcoming the reader into their storied home, emerging careerists and those already at the peak of their corporate trajectory, may find themselves passed over.
It’s akin to placing an outdated home on the market: your house, though magnificently rich in value, will never get the opportunity to show off its beyond-the-threshold inner greatness without the modernized front-door presentation.
Following are 5 resume-like points that your LinkedIn profile should exude:
- Summary: A career-encapsulating overview that blends both your personality and your professional value, all while summarizing bottom-line impact that matters most to your target audience. If you’re not leveraging the full space the LinkedIn platform affords, then you may want to revamp your strategy.
- Experience: Akin to your resume, the Experience section on your LinkedIn profile offers a nearly endless array of options in regard to presenting your roles and affiliations in a reverse chronological order. If you’re currently a gig-economy worker and/or entrepreneur, then you’ll want to prioritize which position to emphasize most and ensure it rises to the top, like cream, to quickly draw in the reader.
- Accomplishments: LinkedIn’s accomplishments section is comprised of sub-sections such as Publications, Certifications, Honors & Awards, Projects and Professional Organizations, among others. While traditional resume accomplishments also include these types of initiatives and honors, they also include metrics (%#$) and other sustainable impacts that don’t always get captured well in LinkedIn’s Accomplishments section. With that in mind, be sure other sections of your LinkedIn profile are properly enhanced with measurable data. For example, you can easily and strategically weave results into the Summary and Experience sections.
- Recommendations: While many contemporary resumes include snippets of testimonials from past employers or clients, LinkedIn’s robust section, called Recommendations, is devoted to more fully fleshed out letters of recommendation. If your Recommendations are lagging, it may be time to consider ways to breathe new life into this influential section that recruiters and hiring decision-makers prize.
- Media: What better way to present your value than including live links to presentations you’ve delivered and articles/blogs you’ve written or in which you’ve been quoted, etc.? While the MS Word formatted resume enables links for the same, LinkedIn’s platform brings those links to life, enabling visual previews of your most treasured online contributions.
So, while the resume is not now, or probably ever ‘going away,’ the market has shifted. LinkedIn has deeply rooted itself into the hiring community. In some instances, the story you’ve articulated through LinkedIn’s channel supersedes your resume, moving you from unknown to being interviewed, ultimately transporting your career to that next exciting adventure!
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I am only one of only 50 master resume writers who has crafted more than 1,500 career stories. An intuitive listener, I reveal your stories using my journalist’s training (bachelor’s degree in writing/journalism). Based on growing demand, I’ve recently updated my services to include a LinkedIn standalone service. Email me at jacqui@careertrend.net to find out more.
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With many recruiters sourcing directly through LinkedIn, some HR and recuiting pros I talk to feel the job board application resume transaction is on its way out. Why not go out and find what you need rather than sifting through all those applications? LinkedIn profiles and activity have to sell your features and benefits to attract an employer. Thx Jacqui, a great post.
Thank you for taking time to confirm what I’m hearing, Ellie! That makes sense, too, that searching through LinkedIn may be a way to overcome some of the challenges bogging down hiring decision-makers and recruiters.
I am an underwater archaeologist and make my living through the archaeological salvage of shipwrecks and treasure for profit, which definitely interests a high percentage of the public and is undoubtedly why I now have over 30K followers. I have found LinkedIn to be an easy way to meet people and get them to actually read something about who I am and why they might want to do business with me. I have been able to turn a number of those followers into sources of information and/or products that I need, investors, business partners, and even friends. I know I don’t tell my story properly, but it is still an interesting one. Read more at http://www.shipwrecks.com/about-spence
Dr. E. Lee Spence,
I have read both your bio and Wikipedia pages. What an intriguing life of adventure you have lived! Your LinkedIn following is amazing, and your testament to its value helps to extend my message here.
My husband and I bought our first sailboat after watching a movie about the rescue of treasure from a shipwreck, so while we can only imagine the life and career you’ve carved, we are indeed one of the many who have an interest in your pioneering initiatives!
As well, I noticed you have authored a number of books; which title is your favorite?
Thank you so much for sharing this bit of career gold in my blog today. What a treasure. You are welcome into the conversation any time!
Jacqui