3 easy ways to stand out to recruiters with your skills on LinkedIn

No matter your background or level of experience, even if you’re stepping into the workforce for the first time, you’re always bringing a unique and valuable asset with you: your skills. Skills have become more important than ever in landing opportunities today. In fact, over 40% of companies on LinkedIn globally explicitly rely on skills to search and identify job candidates on LinkedIn (up 20% year-over-year).??

If you’re a recent grad or kick-starting your career, showcasing your skills can give you a leg up in your job search. Here are three ways to stand out to recruiters with your skills:

Highlight skills for the job you want on your LinkedIn Profile

Think about the five most relevant skills for the job you want and add them to your LinkedIn Profile. For example, you can play up Excel skills you may have used in a previous internship, teamwork skills gleaned while playing on your college soccer team or time management skills while volunteering.?

If you’re unsure where to start, look at job descriptions of roles you’re interested in and map the skills required. This will help make sure you’re using the same skill keywords recruiters would search for.? LinkedIn Learning Pathfinder is also a great tool to help you identify the skills you need when looking for a new job, along with suggested courses to help you enhance those skills.?

Show how you used your skills in previous jobs or experiences

Hirers want to know how and where you’ve used your skills: 75% of hirers globally believe context into how a skill was used is important. We’re rolling out the ability for job seekers to add skills directly within a specific experience or job on your Profile, which shows employers what you can do and the value you can bring to their organization. Then, when you search for jobs on LinkedIn, we’ll show you roles that are a strong match based on how your skills line up with those listed in job descriptions.

Hirers using our LinkedIn Recruiter tool have access to advanced search filters and will be able to discover you based on the skills you add to your Profile - along with the context in which you acquired and applied them. They will also be notified when your skills match the skills their open roles, increasing their likelihood of reaching out.?

I also recommend adding as much context to your Profile as possible. For example, adding more detail about how you used your skills in a particular role or adding any relevant articles, presentations and documents to the Featured section of your Profile will help recruiters understand how you’ve put your skills into action.?

Bring your communication skills to life through video?

Highlighting soft skills - like creativity and communication - is also a great way to attract recruiters and help them understand more about you as a person. Consider adding a Profile Video as a way to share more about yourself, your passions and career goals in an engaging way. Almost 80% of hiring managers in the US believe seeing a pre-recorded video of a job seeker would be useful.

Employers are planning to hire almost 30% more new graduates this year, so it’s never been a better time to be a job seeker. To discover opportunities available to you right now, add your skills to your Profile and start searching for jobs on LinkedIn. We’re rooting for you!