We talk a lot about keywords.
Sometimes I wonder if you really know what I am talking about. I just worked on a resume and LinkedIn profile that are truly wonderful and present a wonderful example to share with you.
My keyword analysis for this resume and LinkedIn profile has the greatest density I’ve ever encountered!
This client, Dave, is a highly technical systems developer. His resume is longer than a normal resume because it is important to delineate the technology used and the results achieved. Normal resumes would not be this long. But Dave’s LinkedIn profile is not different from your profile. He has the same opportunities and space to share his information as you do.
Check out what Dave has done with this LinkedIn space! His top five keywords appear in his LinkedIn profile the following times:
Develop (76), Tech (55), Design (50), Application (46) and Analysis (45)
Unbelievable! I don’t think my LinkedIn profile is that dense, although I work hard on keyword density because I want people looking for a job search coach to find me. I wasn’t sure so I counted. Here are how many times my top five keywords appear in my LinkedIn profile.
Job (83), Search (51), Interview (50), Career (45), Coach (38)
See? Dave has me beat! And I am a professional!!
Do you think Dave’s profile will get noticed? You bet it will. In fact, he reports that recruiters are crawling all over him.
This makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? Recruiters and hiring managers are attracted to the LinkedIn profiles that have the most important keywords reflected in the highest density.
Compare Dave’s keyword density to another client of mine, Ray, and check out his LinkedIn keywords.
Ray has had a frustrating job search. No one seems to notice him. Here is how frequently his top keywords appear in his LinkedIn profile:
Sustain (22), Green (12), Data (12), Service (10, Customer (8)
No one is finding Ray’s LinkedIn profile. His keywords do not appear frequently enough to get anyone’s attention. Dave will get a job much faster than Ray even discounting the different industries and professions simply because Dave will be found and Ray will remain quietly floundering away.
By the way, notice we haven’t talked about resumes? These days the resume is less important in your job search. It can only be viewed by a machine at one company at a time in response to your submission to a job posting. That is much less efficient than having a fully optimized LinkedIn profile that anyone can find at any time by using those keywords critical to the job you want.
Does your LinkedIn profile reflect a high density of your keywords? Please count and let me know below. Who can beat Dave’s keyword density?
Are you looking to use LinkedIn more effectively for a job search?
LinkedIn can no longer be ignore in the job search process. It is a known fact many recruiters use LinkedIn as a main part of their recruiting process and this means you NEED to understand how to use LinkedIn when search for a new job.