Never put this on your LinkedIn profile…

if you are a recent graduate (and if you are a long time graduate too)

Photo by LinkedIn Sales Solutions on Unsplash

I was recently approached by a recent graduate (he identified himself like that) asking for help with his job hunting. He had already struggled for a few months to get an offer.

Before moving forward with anyone, I always need to know how dedicated a professional is to getting a job. The easiest way to find out is to see how much effort she has put in so far and what she does every day.

My common questions are

1) How many interviews have you had so far?

2) How many job applications do you make in a day?

3) What are the strategies you are using to get a job?

I was surprised that the boy already

1. Has had 5–10 interviews in the last 6 months (I am suspicious about this number because if you don’t know exactly how many interviews you got, what was the feedback and how they wanted to move forward, it’s pretty strange and will hurt your ‘conversion rate’ 100%)
2. Had been applying 30–50 applications/day (it’s pretty good)
3. Used LinkedIn, Reed and Gradcracker, Uni job portal.

Also had applied directly through the company’s websites.

And had approached Hiring Managers directly.

I was quite impressed because not many, even mature professionals, put in those efforts. It’s definitely a good sign, but what is broken?

I have not seen his CV yet, but I checked his LinkedIn profile… And I found tons of reasons for very little traction (at least on LinkedIn; however, I think it will be quite similar in his CV).

Here are the top 3 mistakes that hurt your job hunting success if you do the same.

Mistake 1. Putting broad ‘nice words’ into your headline

If you don’t have much experience and you are not known in your space, you need to be straight to the point and hook Recruiters and Hiring Managers.

In your headline, keep only keywords that are mentioned in the job ads that you are targeting. Add key 2–3 skills with ‘|’ to separate visually.

Mistake 2. Not giving a clear explanation of your job experiences.

Even though you don’t have many years to talk about, what you have is already precious. Use it.

Have a job experience description for each role.

As your minimum, put a few simple sentences, and then you will tweak them later if you want. But it will already persuade recruiters and managers that you are a strong and valuable professional.

Here is a solid structure:

S-situation — what company was doing and a few words about the company;

T/A — tasks that you had/ activities — what you did there;

R- results, even the smallest ones. It will be your first iteration.

Mistake 3. Writing general stuff about your ‘wants’, graduation and searching for a job journey in your summary section.

It’s your first proper chance to pitch. Do it. Convince Hiring Professionals that you have the skillset and energy to move forward their company, department, and team.

Write what you already have, what you have done and what you bring to the company you work with. And, of course, it should be tailored to the top 3–5 job specs (= Job Ads = Job Descriptions) that you are targeting.

It’s fast and simple, and it will give you much more room to be found and considered for the next stage of the process.