Every month, thousands of people search for the LinkedIn resume builder, only to end up with a sea of confusing results. This resume builder service was once a part of LinkedIn’s many offerings, but it no longer exists.
While you have to look elsewhere for resume help, that doesn’t mean that LinkedIn isn’t an essential tool for job hunters. Read on to learn how LinkedIn can help you, and we’ll also discuss some resume building information.
1. Freebies From LinkedIn
One of the best things about LinkedIn is that the basic free subscription provides you with many powerful tools. You can market yourself and share pertinent information about your education and work history, create a large professional network, search for other professionals in your field and correspond with others with unlimited InMail messages.
2. Paid Subscription Options
LinkedIn also offers some extra services for an additional monthly fee. For job hunters, the Career Plan might be something to consider. This paid service allows you to send direct messages to recruiters and allows you see who has viewed your profile in the last 30 days.
Additionally, you will be listed as a Featured Applicant, which means your listing will stand out from candidates with a free listing. This subscription also allows you access to online video courses and LinkedIn also will compare you other similar job candidates so that you can see how you measure up to the competition.
This premium career service costs about $30 per month, but the first month is free, so you can test it out to see if it will be valuable or not. Additionally, you can cancel at any time, so you might use it for a few months, until you find a great new job, and then cancel when the extra offerings are not as valuable for your current needs.
3. Recruiters Use LinkedIn
We’ve seen a few polls that indicated about 90% of all recruiters will use LinkedIn to skim for possible job candidates. Unfortunately, only about 40% of all job candidates bother to sign up on LinkedIn. If recruiters are using it, but you aren’t, doesn’t this mean you probably are missing out on some great opportunities?
It’s free and easy to set up, so there’s no reason not to start building up your LinkedIn profile right away. Dedicate a few minutes today to setting up an account and load up your profile. There’s an entire section when you add your skills and industry knowledge. Load this section up with keywords that recruiters might use when looking for job candidates.
For instance, if you are a marketing specialist you might list your skills as social media marketing, email marketing, mobile advertising and other skills that you possess. When a recruiter searches for candidates, they will search for people who possess these skills, and if you are a good match, they might contact you to discuss your career goals and whether or not you are interested in a job change.
4. But What About My Resume?
While the LinkedIn resume builder service is no longer an option, your LinkedIn profile is a bit like an online resume in that you will list your work experience, skills and education.
We highly recommend that you purchase a resume from a professional resume writing service, such as our own, and use that information to enhance what you write on LinkedIn. It won’t look 100% identical, but professional resume writers understand how to quantify your skills and provide a recruiter or hiring manager with clear examples of what you can do and what you have accomplished.
At Resume Writing Group, we understand how to create top-notch job-winning resumes, as well as how to create an eye-catching LinkedIn page. We also offer LinkedIn Profile Writing as an add-on service, and this can be a great way to ensure that your LinkedIn page and resume are as dynamic as possible, and, of course, error-free.