DEAR READERS: LinkedIn is a great resource, especially for networking and finding new career opportunities. How should someone handle their LinkedIn activity if they’re looking for a new job but don’t want anyone from their current company to find out?
Linda Pophal, founder of Strategic Communications, helps clients with both traditional and digital marketing efforts, with a focus on LinkedIn’s role. She says it not only is an excellent way to attract clients and business but also works well for job seekers.
“Job seekers can think of LinkedIn as a search engine, and their goal should be showing up in searches that recruiters, HR pros and hiring managers use to find talent,” she explains.
The trick is to use it in a way that makes you visible to companies that are hiring and not to your current employer and colleagues. Here are some ways Pophal and other career pros suggest doing that:
Incorporating keywords and phrases recruiters would use to find potential employees is key in this step.
“Job seekers should consider the type of job they want, the type of expertise recruiters would be looking for to fill that type of job, and then incorporate key words and phrases related to that job (or) work into their profile from their headline and throughout as much of the content as they can,” Pophal advises.
When updating your profile, be sure to turn off the “notify network” button, stresses Amanda Miller, candidate experience manager at Resume and Career Services.
“If it’s on,
