Amping Your LinkedIn Profile

How I Got A Job In Consulting Using LinkedIn (Vol 1/4) ✍️

After spending a significant amount of time in understanding the Linkedin algorithm, I successfully got my job on Linkedin in 2019. Since then I’ve been reached out by recruiters (not the robots) from firms including Accenture, Deloitte, McKinsey, Indeed, Microsoft.

Before getting a job using LinkedIn you need a few things to work out in your favor, the first being that you need to have an optimized profile.

Get your profile to stand out — Here’s how to get this done 👇

Focus on these 3 things

⓵ Headline

This is your sales pitch, think of this as the book cover you wouldn’t open a book if you don’t relate with the title right?

Use this technique: [Practice/Segment] [Job title] @ [Company]/[Major] Student @ [Uni] | [Side Hustle/How you contribute to the community] | Ex./Former [Company1, Company2]

Example Professional: Strategy Analyst @ Accenture | Content Creator | Ex. Microsoft, LinkedIn

Example Student: Computer Science Student @ UofR | Entrepreneur | Ex. EY Intern

Pro tip: Use standard titles (don’t say associate technology application engineer, use technology associate instead), keep in mind that most people will see a … after a few words on your headline.

* If you’re currently unemployed you need to have a different approach. Mention “Seeking Opportunites in [Industry]” in the job title segment of the Headline.

⓶ Bio

Following the previous example of the book cover, think of the bio as the first chapter of the book this is where you grab the reader’s attention.

What a good bio needs:

• A quick summary of what you do and like (in 2–3 lines)
• Talk about your current position
• Previous experiences
• Something interesting about you that’s a conversation starter

Example Professional:

Entrepreneurial driven, technology consultant currently working at TCS as a lead business analyst. I’ve contributed to presales engagements winning accounts worth $2M while contributing to the largest Vlocity industry vertical account at the firm.

Being a Career consultant, I aim to provide valuable industry insight to students looking for summer internships and recent graduates looking to start their careers in sectors such as Technology and Consulting. I’ve worked with recruiters at topmost companies to get my resume critiqued, that along with my vast knowledge of interviewing with some of the most prestigious firms has given me the necessary resources to be able to craft a strong resume. I look to share my knowledge in the fields of resume building, cover letters, job applications, new careers, and more.

Previously, I worked at Accenture managing a team of 9 consultants building the Vlocity Practice in the Accenture Nashville DC. I maintained communication with Managing Directors and Alliance partners at Vlocity.

On the entrepreneurial end, I led the team behind Uptick Marketplace, a pre-seed startup that used analytics and shopping trends to predict the best price and time to buy/sell products.

Interesting things about me:

I had a Linkedin post in 2019 with 2M+ Views.

I met with Julie Sweet, Accenture CEO as part of leading the Vlocity Capability at Accenture.

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(Students, I don’t have my bio from college, but follow the same format you should be good!)

Pro tip: Use metrics, mention technologies, talk about hobbies, or some interesting conversation starters.

⓷ Skills

This is the overall theme of the book when you read The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham, you hope to understand investing in the stock market. This is the last thing you need to do to make sure your profile is optimized for LinkedIn.

Try Premium free for a month, use the keywords on a variety of job postings that interest you to add to your profile. Check the skills section and make sure your profile reflects all appropriate skills as mentioned on the job posting, this is important since it is how recruiters will find your profile. The keywords bring major brownie points for getting you to be a top candidate for the role.

Just to clarify, I’m not saying to apply to the job posting. I personally use the job posting to optimize my profile, so when recruiters are looking to find suitable candidates, they will reach out to me themselves.

Pro tip: It’s always nice to see that you have people endorsing you for skills, it shows that you’ve demonstrated them in the real world. (Ask your coworkers and friends to endorse you)

👉 Other relevant suggestions (nice to have)

1. Use a professional profile picture it gives a feeling that you’re active on LinkedIn
2. Format experiences them in bullet points so they are easier to read.
3. Add volunteer experiences and projects, it helps make your profile show up on different searches

To wrap up this first vol of this series, I want to say a don’t confuse a job with a career, a career is a long term play. Don’t expect immediate results by tomorrow, but being persistence is the key to making things happen. Follow @Careers Uncorked on LinkedIn for more articles as such from industry professionals from different backgrounds. Add me to your LinkedIn and comment on this article if you’d like me to give you some feedback or give you an endorsement for one of your LinkedIn skills!

Ps. 3 more vols about various but correlated things I did on LinkedIn to secure my job are coming up soon.

“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.”― Theodore Roosevelt