Why and how you attract headhunters on your LinkedIn profile?

LinkedIn is the social network dedicated to recruitment, giving you the opportunity to expand your network with a single click. Currently, LinkedIn is proving to be the specialist social network for developing your network, and more specifically for recruitment. Indeed, many job vacancies are posted by recruiters who also have a strong presence on this platform. On top of checking shared openings, having a profile allows you to be found by headhuntersand to keep updated with news from your sector of activity. However, creating a profile is not enough : it is important to optimize your profile in order to gain visibility, improve your referencing and therefore be more easily found by talent hunters. Find out all our tips for creating your profile correctly and how recruiters.

With over 930 million members worldwide and over 63 million registered companies, LinkedIn is the most popular social network for expressing expertise. In a few figures, LinkedIn is: 2 million daily publications, 61 million people use it every week, more than 210 million job applications sent every month and 8 people hired every minute via this social network, i.e. 6,000 people hired every day. LinkedIn is the professional social network by definition; it is the platform with the largest number of executives, which represents an exceptional opportunity for recruitment firms like Fed Africa, specializing in top and middle management positions. However, creating a profile is not enough: it is also important to optimize it to ensure that you are visible to the largest number of headhunters. 

A social network dedicated to recruitment 

Many headhunters use LinkedIn daily to find the best talents on the market, and this applies to all types of sectors. Creating a LinkedIn profile allows you to take advantage of an ecosystem where both candidates and recruiters are present, and where the job search is facilitated by LinkedIn “jobs” section.

This social network facilitates exchanges between candidates and recruiters, allowing you to communicate by written, spoken or even video message instantly to convince you interviewer. Moreover, this social network’s interface is easy to use and intuitive for all generations, even though 78% of LinkedIn members are under 35. Your presence on this platform will enable you to seize every opportunity that may come your way. However, it is important to keep your profile updated, and to fill in your technical and relational skills as you go along. All these elements will ensure that recruiters get the best possible exposure to you, and that your profile catches their attention.

Among all existing social networks, LinkedIn is the one that offers the greatest opportunity to highlight your expertise and skills. Indeed, LinkedIn allows you to keep in touch with your professional network via the "connections" section. Besides keeping abreast of the latest news in your sector, you can also react by commenting, and generate content. However, make sure you publish quality content, i.e., related to your sector of activity, as LinkedIn uses algorithms that have very specific expectations. Furthermore, when searching for candidates, headhunters analyze and verify the information presented on your profile, in relation to your LinkedIn CV. Having a well-completed LinkedIn profile makes it easier to be found, and is reassuring for recruiters, as it gives them a more detailed insight into your profile and personality. Unlike traditional CV libraries, LinkedIn is not just made up of people who listen to the market. Headhunters are looking for profiles with very specific skills, which sometimes leads them to look for profiles that are active. LinkedIn is an excellent way for candidates to find out about companies, their employer brand, their teams, their visibility and their attractiveness.

Optimize your profile to attract them 

Pay particular attention to your profile. It is essential to have a profile picture, as recruiters mainly consult candidates with a visible profile picture. The aim is to give a good, first impression, so make sure it is professional, i.e framed at face level and with a neutral background. The personalization of your banner is also important, and we advise you to opt for a banner that represents your business sector. As for “the title”, be catchy and describe your job or the position you are looking for. It is important to define it, because it is the element that appears next to your name in search results. You have up to 120 characters to arouse recruiters’ curiosity and make them want to know more about you.

Keep in mind that LinkedIn uses a search engine optimization algorithm, so choose your keywords according to those that appear at the top of the search engine results. It is also important to provide details of your experience, while remaining concise so as not to overload the reading of your profile. Presenting the projects you managed and the results you achieved will give headhunters a good indication of your expertise.

To further optimize your profile, ask your colleagues, clients or collaborators to write you recommendations. These will appear directly on your LinkedIn profile, giving you greater visibility and reassuring recruiters. Your score is also based on your connections, so get into the habit of adding people you meet to your network to build a qualitative network.

Note that it is important to adapt to the platform’s built-in algorithms, as these are what will reference your profile and ensure that you are visible to headhunters. Your profile will be assigned a score, which you can consult via this link. This score is defined by the algorithms, and to increase it, it is important to complete your profile well, share relevant content regularly, make new contacts and interact with them regularly. And that is not all: profiles are also referenced on Google. This is a significant advantage, as it allows you to be found and hunted by recruiters completely free of charge. To make your profile easier to find, remember to simplify your URL link to https://fr.linkedin.com/firstname-lastname. By filling in your experience rigorously using keywords, it will be easier for headhunters to access your profile and get an idea of your potential – in other words, whether your profile is a good match for the position to be filled. 

Think like a headhunter

Knowing how headhunters work means you can design your profile to meet their expectations. Headhunters frequently use keywords to carry out their searches, known as “Boolean operators”. To refine their searches, recruiters also use filters to better target candidates according to their sector of activity, location, training etc… 

This methodology encourages candidates to regularly update their profiles. In addition, we advise you to manage your contacts well, and to prioritize quality over quantity. Headhunters will analyze your network. When they consult an interesting profile, it is highly likely that they will subsequently analyze their network to find new talent. LinkedIn will also recommend other profiles related to their search. It is therefore essential for candidates to provide detailed information on their experience if they wish to be associated with quality profiles.

Your objective is to arouse the headhunters’ curiosity, and they must also be able to tell in a matter of seconds whether you have the necessary technical and interpersonal skills to match the job vacancy. Headhunters look at your professional experience, your skills, the choice of keywords that define you, your presentation and your argumentation concerning the description of your missions. In your summary, keep paragraphs short and devote the first 250 characters to keywords that recruiters are likely to be looking for. Headhunters want to find out about your background and personality, so do not hesitate to go into detail about your experience and training, and remember to illustrate your points, taking care not to divulge confidential information. 

Today, LinkedIn is the professional social network par excellence for both candidates and headhunters. It is important to take care of the content and form of your profile to arouse the curiosity of talent hunters and optimize your profile score. Finally, make sure you keep the recruiters' methodology in mind, making it easier for them to find you and adapt you to their expectations, so that you become the ideal candidate in their eyes. Take the time to respond to recruiters, even if you're not interested in the offer you have been given, as you may be contacted again for a position that matches your career aspirations. Fed Africa is a recruitment firm specializing in top and middle management positions in Africa and the Middle East. Take a look at the vacancies available on our website. No offer matches your search? Send us your CV via our unsolicited application form. If you're currently looking for a job, follow Fed Africa on LinkedIn to keep up to date with the latest vacancies.