LinkedIn began rolling out a new look last year. If you haven’t looked at your profile recently, perhaps it is time you did. Some of the changes will affect the way you are found and how you are seen on LinkedIn.

You may ask, why should I care. Consider these facts:

  • LinkedIn has 433 million users in 200 countries and territories.
  • 100 million people actively use the site each month.
  • 1 in 3 professionals worldwide have a LinkedIn profile.
  • Military and veteran members are the most active users.

If you’re actively managing your career, there’s one very important statistic that you should be aware of:

87% of recruiters use LinkedIn.  Let me put that in the right perspective, 87% of the people that are hiring for any position use LinkedIn as their method of finding applicants.

Let’s start with your homepage. That little photo and your headline will show up whenever you publish on LinkedIn. To begin editing your profile, click the photo. The image and your headline can be edited in the top “Intro” box of your profile. Just click the pencil icon to get started.

The collapsed format means that recruiters will scan quickly. You’ll need to front load key accomplishments for each position in the first paragraph of the expanded view.

Add Some New Information

Even though your profile is more condensed than previously, LinkedIn has provided a new way to augment the information on the page. At the top of the right-hand column is a teal button that allows users to “Add a New Profile Section.” You can add to your employment history here, but there are also opportunities to add volunteer experience and list up to 50 skills.

Taking LinkedIn for A Test Drive

LinkedIn is an excellent resource for job seekers who want to research companies of interest and seek out connections to help with their career.

  1. The Search feature has changed – Advanced Search, which allowed users to filter, sort and save searches, has disappeared in the new version.
  2. The ability to sort and tag contacts is gone – The new version allows users to sort by recently added contacts and name fields only.

There are also some new features under the Jobs menu option that will be especially useful to job seekers who might not want to publicize their availability.

Acess “update preferences” link in the second box on the “Jobs” page. After clicking the link, you’ll see options to turn on notifications to recruiters and the ability to specify experience levels, company size, and industries of interest. Another switch allows you to automatically submit your profile directly to a recruiter when you are directed to the LinkedIn profile to an application website.

Private sector demand for talented applicants is near a 10 year high. It’s a great time to consider a military transition or your next career move and to seek professional guidance to make sure your profile and your resume present you at your best.

For more tips see Barbara Adams’ article at LinkedIn.

Go to www.TADPGS.com, click on the “Looking for People” tab, then view “Veterans Solutions”. To see more information for Veterans, please join our LinkedIn group, Veterans Hiring Solutions for Veterans at http://linkd.in/Sg346w. If you have specific questions, contact me at  Ben.Marich@Adeccona.com.