Hiring managers and internal recruiters are frequently searching, contacting, and screening active and passive candidates on social media sites, especially on LinkedIn. Since LinkedIn is the place where job seekers and hiring managers can easily come together in essentially any industry, including construction, your profile should be updated regularly to reflect any new skills, education, and work or volunteer experience.

Think of LinkedIn as a marketing tool. It is where you market yourself professionally, whether or not you are looking to make a career change.

By keeping your profile current and effectively using industry language you will make your profile infinitely more searchable. But remember: a current profile and a searchable profile are not one in the same. Place key terms in all areas of your profile that hiring managers may search for. This includes the headline, summary, experience, and skills sections of your profile.

Many companies—and particularly start-ups—have adopted job titles that are out of the ordinary and sometimes difficult to place within a typical corporate hierarchical structure. This may mean changing your title from “Head Marketing Maven” to “Director of Marketing” or “Client Experience Wizard” to “Customer Service Associate.” While your online title may not match your business card, hiring managers will be able to not only find you, but they will be able to determine if you could be the next great hire for their team and organization.

Make yourself memorable.

While your fun title can make you memorable in face-to-face settings, online it is your profile picture and headline that will make a lasting impression on hiring managers. For a small investment you can have a professional headshot taken. By having a professional headshot, you are seen as a person who is serious about their career and will make a great first impression. Including your ‘Why’ or career mission statement in your summary will also allow hiring authorities to begin to know you before scrolling through the remainder of your profile.

Do not neglect to include your location, additional skills, and recommendations.

These are easy factors to include, and will make your LinkedIn profile feel compete and well rounded. Ask current and former colleagues to write you recommendations, which will add an extra layer of credibility to your profile. Since most people are extremely busy, offer to write up something for them to review. When complete, email it to them so they can edit and post it on your profile. To give your profile even more substance, be sure to include your location and share any and all skills that you have developed throughout your professional life.

Attracting hiring managers to your LinkedIn profile is as easy as making yourself searchable, having a professional profile picture, creating a memorable headline, and writing a summary that shares your professional mission statement. Try to keep these features up to date at all times so you avoid a total re-haul if you decide to start looking for a new job. And who knows, doing so could lead to a totally unexpected and exciting opportunity!

Photo by Hello I’m Nik on Unsplash