Tips From a Talent Sourcer

As a Senior Research Analyst at SwingSearch , my job is to market map, research, and hunt for the best candidates to interview for our high-growth startup clients. While Swing’s recruiters will focus on their networks and will ultimately interview and qualify a candidate, my role, and my team’s role, is to uncover talent in unexpected (and expected) places for the Recruiter to consider for a call. That’s all to say, the content of a LinkedIn profile is extremely important to me. And perhaps even more important than my first impression, your LinkedIn profile is often the first thing your future boss will review before deciding to move forward with an interview (Yes, these days LinkedIn comes before anyone looks at your resume).? Here are some tips to make sure the first impression is a positive one.

?#1: Make Sure Your First Impression is Up to Date

• When sourcing, I’m always looking at the trajectory of a potential candidate's employment history and their journey. Is there a common thread to their career decisions and interests that would align with the client we are working with?

To-Dos:?

• Make sure the content is up-to-date with an accurate work history; add explanations for gaps or short stints at companies. It’s likely that you’ll be asked to explain anyway. Transparency is key!?
• Show career progression; highlight your growing skill set by keeping promotions and/or titles current. Consider leaving previous titles to show progression within your current company.?
• Share metrics and data that spotlight your achievements (e.g. revenue growth, team building/expansion, sales goals attained, etc.).
• Location, location, location! In our rapidly changing world of work models: remote, hybrid, and in-office, your current location is key to letting employers know if you’re a viable candidate. If you're in the market, you can also indicate your preferences on your profile.?

?#2: Words Matter

• Searching LinkedIn Recruiter uses the same technology as the world wide web; keywords matter! Choosing keywords and curated content will make it more likely for your profile to show up in search results. This also helps you stand out to potential employers, recruiters, and sourcers because it helps us to understand what it is you do!

To-Dos

• Take the time to curate your About and Experience sections. These are the best places on your profile to bring attention to the hard and soft skills that make you unique.?
• Describe your job responsibilities with keywords - the same ones that recruiters and sourcers are using to find you!?
• For example: A product marketing manager might consider their current job responsibilities and add some of these sample keywords/phrases: collaboration with sales (or other teams ??), content creation, content strategy, go-to-market strategy, growth, market analysis, marketing campaigns, organic engagement, product positioning,? social content, etc.?
• If you’re in the market but unsure of what keywords to add, use your own job description or the job description from your ideal job to generate ideas.?

Note: It’s not just keywords (but they do help!). Sourcers spend much of their time layering on various search parameters to find the best-rising leaders and stars. Even before I start looking at candidate profiles, I create target lists and research the overall market. There are multiple factors in building a search for the ideal candidate that can include: industry knowledge, technical experience, certifications, management experience, customer understanding, tenure, location, education, etc.. And of course, in the case of my work at SwingSearch where we focus on helping startups build their teams, we also look for builders, grit, player-coaches, and more!?

?#3: Typos Send a Stronger Signal than you Realize

• Typos or grammatical errors aren’t the end of the world, but recruiters and sourcers are less likely to show a profile with grammatical errors and misspellings to a hiring authority. Since a LinkedIn profile is a first impression, making sure it’s as polished as possible will help put your best digital footprint forward.??

To-Dos:

• Ask a mentor, colleague, friend, or family member to review your profile and suggest possible edits. It’s easy to overlook misspellings or grammatical errors, so having an editor can help make sure those are corrected!?

?#4: Be Human

• If your LinkedIn profile serves as the first impression, it will also serve as the first conversation starter. Steer people toward what you want to talk about! What personal interests do you have that reflect who you are? Showcase any professional award or accomplishment you are proud of. Dynamic leaders are dynamic in and out of work and it’s okay for your LinkedIn profile to reflect that. We’re not hiring for robots, at least not yet ??, so I encourage you to make sure your LinkedIn profile doesn’t sound like one.?

To-Dos:

• Cultivate a LinkedIn profile that reflects you and start those conversations!

Written by, Desiree Corbett , Senior Research Analyst at SwingSearch