. . . It should be!
I have been doing more interviews over the past few months than you can shake a stick at and the single most annoying thing has been none, not one of the resumes I’ve seen contained the candidates Linkedin profile name and link.
It drives me crazy. Rather than just clicking on the link in their resume, I have to search on Linkedin, hope I get the right person and get frustrated if I can’t find them. There is no excuse for this.
You have to know employers are going to look you up on LinkedIn. They are going to want to see your profile. It’s an automatic these days. So, make it easy for them. Make sure the link to your Linkedin profile is front and center so they don’t have to do any work to find you.
If you have a larger online presence, which you should. Be sure to put all of your links on your resume. Steer employers to everything and anything about you online; your Twitter stream, Blog, Facebook Page (not profile, I believe that is personal and should stay that way) etc. Make it easy for them to research you. Don’t make employers Google you. Give them what you know they are looking for already.
Linkedin is quickly becoming the default “people” research on the web. The best thing you can do is accept it.
Beyond just putting your Linkedin profile link on your resume. Embrace the power Linkedin in it’s totality. It’s how business is getting done.
Jill Konrath recently completed a survey on Linkedin, Cracking the Linkedin Sales Code. It’s a must read. You can download it here.
Here are Jill’s Key Findings:
• LinkedIn contributes to opportunity creation. Overall, 4.9% of survey
respondents attributed “lots” of opportunities to their LinkedIn usage, while
another 39.4% attributed “several” opportunities.
• Prospect research is the most frequent LinkedIn activity. And it’s paying off
with 61.4% of those who do so saying they’re successful at initiating offline
conversations with prospects.
• Top sellers use more of LinkedIn’s capabilities. And they use them more often.
The difference is often striking.
• Top sellers pay attention to their professional presence. Two of the most
valuable activities on LinkedIn are sharing relevant content and showcasing
personal expertise. The one-third of sellers taking advantage of this opportunity
say it pays off handsomely.
• Knowledge of LinkedIn’s capabilities is limited. The biggest challenge (stated
by 58.0% of the respondents) is that they don’t know how to use what’s available
from LinkedIn. And, 41.2% of respondents say they lack the time to learn and/or
use LinkedIn.
Check out the entire report. It’s worth it.
Social media and our online presence are increasingly becoming standard operating procedure. Don’t make it hard for folks to find you. Put it all out there, including on you resume.
