4 Ways Passive Candidates Can Attract Recruiters to Their LinkedIn Profiles

As more and more recruiters utilize social media platforms like LinkedIn to connect with candidates, job seekers find themselves in an interesting position. Nowadays, a dream interview opportunity can easily land right in your inbox with little effort on your part. If you’re part of the 75 percent of the workforce considered “passive job seekers,” it is important to always expect the unexpected.

Passive job seekers, for the uninitiated, are those who would leave their jobs if the right offer came their way. They aren’t actively looking, but they’re open to new opportunities. Many of them are more than happy to connect with recruiters about new job openings. Sound like you? Then you’re a passive candidate!

LinkedIn offers privacy and minimal commitment for passive candidates who want to hear what recruiters have — but only the users who adhere to certain LinkedIn profile guidelines can reap the benefits of job opportunities floating directly into their private messages.

If you’re a passive candidate open to new career opportunities, consider these tips to attract recruiters to your LinkedIn profile:

1. Revamp Your Summary

Your summary is one of the most important aspects of your LinkedIn profile. It gives recruiters a snapshot of your professional experience. A carefully written summary can ensure you come up higher in recruiters’ search results.

For this reason, your summary should list, in addition to your previous roles and responsibilities:

• your current title;
• your past titles;
• and the employers you worked for throughout your career.

2. Include Keywords Throughout Your Profile

Another way to rank higher in a recruiter’s LinkedIn search results involves using keywords properly.

Choose two to three key words that a recruiter might use when searching for candidates in your field. Then, pepper these keywords throughout your profile. Place some in your summary, or in your job titles, or in your job descriptions, or under your education and skills sections, or anywhere else they might fit.

If you are having trouble finding the best possible keywords to attract recruiters to your page, try looking at job postings related to your position or the position your want. Make sure the posts are from companies in your field, as this will increase your chances of finding the perfect keywords.

 3. Join LinkedIn Groups

When you join a group in your profession, it becomes a visible part of your LinkedIn profile. Recruiters will actively seek out candidates that are members of specific LinkedIn groups in your field. Participating in groups shows recruiters that you are passionate about your line of work.

4. Don’t Be Afraid to Reach Out

You can also create strategic connections to increase the likelihood that recruiters will find you. The key is to find active members of local, prominent job and career placement agencies and connect with them — as long as the agency serves companies within your industry or specialty, that is.

If you are worried your employer or coworkers might see your new connections in their newsfeeds, there is a privacy setting on LinkedIn that ensures no one sees this information. This will allow you to reach out to recruiters stealthily, without any of your colleagues catching on.

Just because you’re a passive job seeker, that doesn’t mean you can take a few active steps to boost the odds in your favor. Follow these tips, and you should see a lot more recruiters flocking to your profile.