Having racked up the hours of chatting face to face (or virtually) to candidates recently with Lightning Lounge i thought it would be useful for candidates to know the key things that are discussed in order to share as many tips for job-seekers as possible!

Now, the hottest topic in our chats so far has been LinkedIn…it’s completely split opinion amongst candidates, with some overusing it and some the polar opposite it’s been really eye opening to hear first hand peoples experiences.

LinkedIn is an absolutely fantastic tool, but only if used how it’s designed properly and that is to utilise it’s quite frankly incredible algorithm. I’ll be discussing different areas of Linkedin over the coming weeks, but today i’ll be focusing on the connect model.

So here are our top tips as to how to get yourself noticed on Linkedin via Connecting:

– Have a CLEAR photo as your picture that speaks to the type of person/company you’re looking to attract. You’re better off having a photo with a white background than one where you’re clearly 5 wines deep in vodka revs.

– Connect with people you’d like to be in your network, but make sure you send a personal message alongside the request and don’t be afraid to make it eye catching – recruiters and hiring managers receive hundreds of requests and if you’ve not bothered to say why you want to connect won’t be accepting you. Make your messages fun and get your personality across!

– Instead of applying for jobs, why not put out some fun content? Comment on other peoples posts as you never know who will see this (aforementioned LinkedIn algorithm rules!) and utilise the platform to expand your network and connect with like minded job-seekers or hiring managers.

– The more connections you have the more people will see your activity, and the higher chance there is of a hiring manager seeing your profile – remember 70% OF ROLES ARE NOT ONLINE so you never know who’ll view your profile.

And a few LinkedIn no no’s for you:

– Refreshing the jobs tab and ‘easy applying’ for any job remotely relevant to you, you’ll get annoyed you won’t hear back and it’s a waste of your mental energy

– Being passive and just occasionally ‘liking’ a post – don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and comments will generate more screentime for your profile with the algorithm

– Not having Linkedin messenger linked to your phone – you could be missing a message from a recruiter on a strict time frame and lose that opportunity

– Having the wrong location on your profile / outdated contact details – you won’t appear in organic searches for the location you’re job hunting in, and you wont be contactable

– Having ‘currently seeking opportunities’ as your job title – you won’t appear when recruiters do job title specific searches, leave your most recent role title there