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{Guest Post from Skye Moffett-Head of HR and Talent at Such A Voice}
It’s high time someone offered some resume/LinkedIn advice and I have decided to spin my pet-peeves and silent rants into a powerful “HOW-TO” article for professionals and job seekers. I have been recruiting and hiring for five years, and one of the most frustrating issues is coming across a LinkedIn resume that is incomplete or super vague.
Stop. Doing. This.
It is literally costing you money with each gig you lose out on. Because recruiters/headhunters often use boolean language (you should familiarize yourself) and we’re on a clock. The normal time to fill a talent position for our clients is 10-14 days, sometimes less!
If your LinkedIn resume is vague, confusing, or nonexistent, we don’t have the time to do research to figure out if you’re a fit. We will just move on to the next potential candidate for the job. That’s why all job-seekers on LI need to present the information on a silver platter, and in a crystal-clear manner, to ensure specificity.
And if you haven’t bothered with the “About Me” section of your profile, then I’m not interested.at.all.
Within 30 Seconds. I Need to Know:
– Do you actually offer any services or do you only do the work you are in for a single company? (I encourage all freelancers to get the LinkedIn widget that says “services offered”)
-What exactly you do or what you want to do if it’s a career shift.
-Where your strengths lie. I cannot stress this enough LIST YOUR CAPABILITIES AND CERTIFICATIONS. Are you a rockstar with Keap? Are you a Quickbooks pro? Voice-Over with your own home-studio? Tell me in your profile.
– Don’t contradict yourself. If your tagline says you’re a bookkeeper but everything else says you do construction then I have no idea which one you actually do and I’m not bothering to figure it out.
– If you are gainfully employed but you still do side gigs, indicate that. And if not, indicate that.
– Happy clients/referrals (this is huge in today’s market, get people to write them on your website or linked-in) are GOLD.
– Do you own a company or is it just you acting as a solopreneur?
– Do you only coach other people in this field or do you still work?
– I know it sucks, but if you have under 100 connections I assume you may be too new or not very good.
Bonus round: More Critical Details to Remember.
– If you have a minimum day/hour/overall rate, say it in some way. My client has a budget and I’d like to not offend you or reach out and waste both our time if it’s not in your ballpark. If you don’t feel comfortable putting a dollar figure on your website, something as simple as “I work with Fortune 500 companies to improve their XXX” helps me gauge if you’ll be a fit monetarily for the business I’m hiring for.
– If you don’t want a permanent/ongoing contract, say it.
– IF YOU ARE NOT OPEN TO NEW CLIENTS, SAY SO (this one really bugs me).
– If you know other qualified people that have different qualifications or if you just don’t have time right now, refer someone. This earns you a big gold star and when you are ready for work you best believe I’ll get back to you.
– I don’t care where in the world you are, it’s a remote world now which is phenomenal. I care that the client wants someone who can work EST hours for the 6 hours a week they need someone. Make it clear what time zones you can be available for.
– Don’t let your LinkedIn read like a resume. It needs to be dynamic and engaging and prompt me to want to contact you, and sometimes I’ll have questions. One of the worst things I can be told is “It’s on my LinkedIn.” I either know or maybe I missed it, either way, I’d like for you to tell me about it and engage on the subject.
I want everyone on LinkedIn to do well and land their desired jobs and gigs. Best of luck to everyone!
About Skye
As Head of HR and Talent with a brilliant and diverse team at Such A Voice; a US-based virtual company specializing in continuing education in the voice-over realm, Skye is dedicated to providing strategy and innovation in people management. Her scope of expertise includes administrative operations, learning and development, and human resource management to further Such A Talent’s passion. As a firm believer that quality of life directly impacts work ethic and productivity, Skye is also an adamant advocate of prioritizing our well-being and facilitating that process within the SAV culture. When not working with exceptional talent, Skye offers Hiring/Recruiting services as a freelancer and volunteers her time and expertise to military personnel transitioning into the civilian sector. Connect with Skye Moffett on LinkedIn.
