Applying to jobs on LinkedIn? Advice from a hiring manager that will put you ahead of 95% of applicants.

I want to share some tips for those of you trying to land a job because I know it’s getting more competitive by the day as layoffs escalate and hiring slows, which means there are more applicants to fewer jobs available. Focusing on these tips when applying to jobs on LinkedIn will help you stand out from 95% of applicants.

Brush up your LinkedIn ‘Headline’ section. Why? This is the key part of the summary that LinkedIn creates for your application, and is your first impression with the hiring team. 

When you apply for a job, the recruiter or hiring manager sees a brief summary that LinkedIn provides including your name, location, ‘Headline’ if you have one, and your most recent roles.  They can click to review the summary, choose to view your entire profile, and/or review and download the resume you provide as part of your application.  On a related note, this is the same summary of your profile that recruiters see when they are running searches for candidates. Based on what you do or don’t have in this summary, your application will be shortlisted or passed over. 

Write a Headline if you don’t have one. This is an important way to define who you are and what you bring to the prospective employer.  The key is making it relevant to the roles to which you are applying. It can be your current or most recent job title (IF you are applying to the same role elsewhere, more on that below), it can be a few terms that best describe your skills and experience, or it can be a little about you and what you are looking for in your next role and your unique value proposition.  Here are a few good examples I’ve seen recently:  

• One way to incorporate your job title in a way that would sound appealing to other similar companies hiring in marketing:  Marketing Director driving brand success and customer adoption for leading Tech firms 
• This is a way to incorporate top skills that would be key for someone applying to roles in talent acquisition: Senior Talent Acquisition | Recruitment Life Cycle | Employer Branding | Building Strategic Recruiting Plans 
• This would be a standout way to show your experience and skills while incorporating a value proposition (much like you might have at the top of your resume as a Summary).  It sounds like it’s highly personalized for one particular institution but will appeal to any org claiming they are dedicated to quality patient care:  Nurse Practitioner with 9+ years of experience in NICU, Level III and Level IV settings. Excited to bring my expertise to your esteemed institution and contribute to your commitment of excellence in patient care.
• Finally, here is an example of a Headline as a statement of what the candidate is looking for in a new opportunity with a mission-led organization: Seeking a long-term career aligned with values, integrity, and a positive-mission-driven company that works beyond the corporate purpose and seeks to change the world around them for the better. 

The key for any approach is that you use keywords and experiences relevant to the jobs to which you are applying.   In other words, if your headline reads that you are a Dedicated Business Analyst and you are applying for Finance roles, you might not get enough of the recruiter’s attention to explain why and how you are qualified for a Finance role.  Your application will look unrelated and you’ll be passed over before your resume and cover letter even have a chance to explain how you are qualified. 

Without a Headline, the summary LinkedIn provides with your job application is basically just a listing of your current or most recent job titles and employers, education, etc.  It looks bare in comparison to other candidates’ summaries and can be particularly unimpressive if your recent jobs don’t match up perfectly with the jobs to which you are applying.   It’s easier and safer for an employer to hire a candidate who has already done the job for which they are hiring, so they pay careful attention to the types of roles, industries, and employers for which you’ve worked.  

Now that your profile appears relevant to the types of jobs to which you are applying, let’s focus on your resume… 

It sounds like a pain, but you should be tailoring each resume and cover letter for every job application you submit. 

Your resume (and cover letter if you provide one) is where you have the opportunity to sell the hiring team on your skills and experiences, and how they can help the prospective employer solve what they are looking to solve.  You don’t have the same opportunity to do this on Indeed if you are using the ‘easy apply’ option, where you are forced to apply to jobs using the same generic resume. What you gain in time saved, you lose in terms of ‘quality’ of your application. On LinkedIn, you have the opportunity to show your fit for their specific job opening by uploading a unique resume that’s been tailored to match.

Why? 83% of hiring managers admit to hiring candidates who have tailored their application materials.

1. Each Hiring Manager is looking for something unique and they each have exacting standards.
2. It's safer to hire people they believe want to work at their organization - not just those looking for any job.
3. This is your best chance at standing out from the (generic) crowd.
   
   

Why is it important to show an employer you really want to work with them and what motivated you to apply?  

Because hiring and training isn't an exact science. Many people don't work out, and it's very time-consuming and expensive for the employer to find the right people with the skills and experience with the highest likelihood of succeeding. So they want to invest the time in people they believe are invested in working with them.

My point is, that if you have a top-notch resume tailored for their role that highlights your skills, experience, and accomplishments relevant to the role, with a personalized cover letter telling a compelling narrative - you'll get noticed. You'll be the fit on paper that gets you a chance at an interview.

Okay, so how do you tailor your resume and cover letter for every job? 

Pro tip: It's an open-book test.  The employer tells you what they are looking for within their job posting and on their company's website. Use the keywords and ideas found on the job posting, on the company's website and LinkedIn profile, and find out the skills (hard and soft) and accomplishments necessary to succeed in the role for which they are hiring. And highlight the ones you have that match up. It helps if you inject this into your Summary right at the top so a quick scan by the hiring manager will demonstrate that you are a good match and that you’ve been in related jobs recently. 

Don't make it up, but if you meet the qualifications, you owe it to yourself to put your best foot forward on paper. 

Tailoring resumes and cover letters no longer has to take all day

Before AI, the process to research and write could take hours per application, preventing you from submitting hundreds of applications. Now, however, tools like Jobflow do this work for you in seconds by taking the best of your skills, experiences, and career accomplishments and instantly optimizing and tailoring your resume to match any job you apply to. It will even draft a personalized cover letter that tells a compelling narrative about your career journey, value proposition, and fit for the role. The result sounds like you spent all day crafting your application, without fabricating any details. 

Jobflow even offers a Chrome extension that provides you tailored application materials while you browse jobs on LinkedIn.  Simply click a button while you see jobs you want to apply to and Jobflow delivers your optimized, tailored resume and cover letter. Applying to 10 jobs today on LinkedIn?  You’ll receive 10 tailored versions of your resume with a personalized cover letter to match. 

In summary: Update your LinkedIn profile Headline to impress upon the initial scan by the hiring team, and then tailor your resume and cover letter for each application.  You’ll land more interviews in a fraction of the time. 

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