Whether you are considering a career move, or actively looking for a new role, it is important that recruiters are able to find you when they are searching for candidates with your expertise. This blog post provides CV writing help if you choose to write your own CV rather than using a CV writing service.
This article outlines how you can improve your visibility so companies and recruitment agencies are able to find your CV and online profile, so they can contact you about roles which may interest you.
This is a key component of most job search strategies, alongside actively searching and applying for roles. For some people who are in no rush to move roles, this may replace the need to actively search and apply for roles. This may be less important (but still worth doing) if you are applying for a role where the recruiter may not need to search for additional CVs.
Searching for candidates
Most recruitment agencies and large companies search for candidates for their vacancies using internet job boards and/or LinkedIn. This is an important part of a recruitment campaign for senior or specialist roles where there is a relatively small pool of qualified candidates. If these candidates are not actively searching for a new role, they will not see a recruitment advert or apply for the role. Therefore, recruiters actively search for potential candidates and approach them to see whether they are interested in their role.
If you would like recruiters to approach you about potential roles, it is important to keyword optimise your CV and LinkedIn profile and ensure your CV is available for recruiters to view in online CV databases.
Online CV databases
Most of the national job sites and newspaper sites have a database of CVs which they charge recruitment agencies and companies to access. These sites include Indeed, Monster, Total Jobs, Reed, CV Library, The Times, The Guardian and many local newspapers.
It is worth uploading your CV to as many of these sites as you can, as most companies only have contracts with one or two sites. Complete as much information as you can, particularly about your requirements and the types of roles you are interested in. If you are given the option, always upload your CV, rather than copying it in to keep the correct formatting. It helps to give your CV a descriptive title – Experienced Operations Director is more likely to be opened than Peter’s CV. As many of the sites require similar information, many people find it saves time to copy the content they have written for the first site into a Word document and then copy and paste this into other sites.
LinkedIn is slightly different to the recruitment sites because it is primarily a professional networking site designed to help people to stay in touch with former colleagues and to develop a professional network of people who can provide help and advice. Most people on LinkedIn are not actively looking for a new role, however they may be open to discussing potential career opportunities.
LinkedIn sell recruiter licences to recruitment agencies and large companies, which enable them to approach people who have expressed an interest in discussing career opportunities. The recruiter contacts people by sending a message through LinkedIn, so you either need to check your messages regularly or set up email notifications.
In order to be approached via LinkedIn, you need to set up a LinkedIn profile, which includes a brief summary of your work history and employment history. This is aimed to be a brief snapshot of your experience, rather than a copy of your CV, so it doesn’t look as if you are actively looking for a new role. You can share your full CV with recruiters at a later stage.
When you register with LinkedIn you can choose what type of information you wish to receive (e.g. career opportunities, reference requests, and expertise requests). Recruiters can only contact you through Linked In if you have chosen to hear about career opportunities. LinkedIn contains various privacy options which enable you to keep your profile only visible to connections (and recruiters), or to set up a public profile which is usually one of the first results on Google when someone (like an ex-colleague) searches for you by name.
LinkedIn enables you to connect with colleagues, or ex-colleagues, join interest groups and contribute to discussions, however you do not need to actively participate on LinkedIn, or have any contacts in order for recruiters to approach you about potential roles.
How to keyword optimise your CV and LinkedIn profile
Recruiters search on CV databases and LinkedIn using specific keywords, and therefore your CV or LinkedIn profile will only appear in their search results if it contains these keywords. Ensuring your CV contains the correct keywords is also vital to ensure your CV reaches the recruiter when you are applying for roles. Many companies use automated computer systems which automatically decline candidates without the right skills before they reach the recruiter.
As part of my CV Writing Service, I keyword optimise your CV and LinkedIn profile, however if you have written your own CV you will need to do this before you start applying for roles, or uploading your CV to any of the online CV databases.
The easiest way to keyword optimise your CV and LinkedIn profile is to review several job descriptions, identify the main technical skills required, and ensure these are included in each section of your CV and LinkedIn profile. Usually recruiters use keywords centred around the main technical skills for the role, so for a Project Manager these may include Project Management, Agile, PRINCE2, Scrum and Kanban rather than soft skills like communication skills, teamwork and organisational skills. Usually similar roles use similar keywords, however they can have subtle differences like Scrum, CSM and Certified Scrum Master so it’s worth including a mixture of these and briefly reviewing these before you apply for roles (see the article on tailoring your CV). You should incorporate keywords naturally, so your CV and LinkedIn profile are engaging, rather than reading as if they have been over stuffed with every possible keyword.
Next Steps
Once you’ve decided to look for a new role, it’s worth updating your CV straight away, so you are ready to apply for roles as they arise. It can be very frustrating to be unable to apply for the perfect role because you don’t have time to update your CV. You may find it helpful to read the articles on CV Writing and Interview Skills where I provide further CV writing help, as well as advice to improve your interview skills.
Do you need professional assistance in writing a stand-out CV, or improving your interview skills? I offer CV writing help including a CV writing service, as well as interview skills coaching and career coaching sessions – please don’t hesitate to contact me.
