Top 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Applying For a Job on LinkedIn
This week was filled with a very interesting experience. We announced the official launch of HVACJobsCenter.com in various LinkedIn groups. We were hoping to have many Job Seekers visiting our website to register and look for jobs, and of course Employers and Recruiters to post their job offers. We did, but we were mainly astonished by how people responded with comments in some of these LinkedIn groups… and not necessarily in a good way.
It inspired us to write this short – and hopefully entertaining – post pointing out huge mistakes you MUST avoid when looking for a job on LinkedIn. We hope some of these guys read our post.
Mistake #1 – Bla bla bla I just need a job now…
Please, please, please, read the job offer before you apply!
If you haven’t read the conversation yet, please click on the image on the right and read it before you continue.
Our post clearly says: “New HVAC, Plumbing and Refrigeration Jobs Posting Website”. It doesn’t say “Here’s a job, apply in this Group”. If you can’t even read the post before you write something, it’s hard to imagine how you can properly respond to real job offers.
And there’s more! The post is pretty short, all it says is ‘HVAC, Plumbing and Refrigeration Jobs in USA and Canada – HVACJobsCenter.com‘. Yet most of the people who commented to apply were from the Middle-East. A waste of time for everyone, unless you are willing to relocate. But then at least mention it.
That’s an extreme example, yet it applies to details as well. Did you check the job requirements and what are the tasks and conditions? While reading the job offer, you might realize you don’t even want that job, so why waste your time? And if you really do want this job, the job offer description will give you tips on what should be emphasized in your application and at the interview, increasing your chances of success.
Mistake #2 – Yeats of experience!!!
A first strike is still one strike.
Obvious mistakes show lack of care and professionalism. You might not need to be Shakespeare to work in your field… but professionalism and reliability are required in almost every job. Employers want to be able to depend on you. Some mistakes are so obvious that almost any software would correct it for you. Word, Outlook… even LinkedIn highlights your mistakes while you’re typing!
If you want to be taken seriously by recruiters, don’t be careless. It doesn’t need to be perfect but there’s a minimum you should do. Use any tool at you disposal or ask someone to review your letter of introduction and resume. The same applies to your LinkedIn profile and messages. Take an extra minute to correct obvious mistakes. Unless you really don’t care about the job, but then why even apply?
Mistake #3 – Please check my profile!
Mistake #3 – Please check my profile!
“See my profile” is not a proper letter of introduction.
It’s almost like calling a potential employer on the phone and say “Hey Dude, I’m interested, if you want my resume just drop by my home and I’ll give you a copy”… almost…
Don’t get us wrong, having a strong profile on LinkedIn with extensive experience and recommendations is very important. It sells you! Talented people currently employed and not looking for new opportunities are often approached by Recruiters just because of their LinkedIn profile.
A LinkedIn profile can even be your ‘resume on steroids’. But ‘Check my profile’ is NOT a proper letter of introduction. Never send a resume without a personalized letter of introduction. LinkedIn applications are the same. Don’t just comment publicly, send a private message to the recruiter. Introduce yourself properly, clearly mention your interest in the job and explain why. You don’t need to ask recruiters to check your profile, this is most likely the first thing they will do if they liked your approach.
Mistake #4 – Are we live?!?
Hope your boss and colleagues aren’t on LinkedIn.
This one was particularly amazing. 11 out of the 17 comments are people with current jobs – as per their profile – and publicly applying for a new job. Their profile clearly shows their name, position AND the name of their current employer. It’s almost like a TV journalist saying how much he hates his crappy job, live on TV without realizing he is.
Have you asked yourself what would your boss do if he knew you were applying for new jobs on LinkedIn? Less likely, he might offer you a raise to convince you to stay. Most likely, you will find a new job posting for your position on LinkedIn. But then you might as well repeat mistake #1 and apply!
You might not like your job and look for a new one. You might not even care about being fired before you find another job. But if you need to pay next month’s rent, play smart. Apply in private and don’t mention it in your profile. Use job boards like HVACJobsCenter.com. You can create a private profile and chose not to share your resume. When applying for a job, it goes directly to the recruiter and nobody else will know about it. Unless the recruiter is your boss… but that would be mistake #1, you’re not supposed to do it now that you’ve read this post!
Mistake #5 – Not having a ‘hirable’ profile
Here’s a few tips on how to make your profile more ‘hirable’:
- Use a nice picture of Yourself. Not your dog, not your baby, not your favorite beer and definitely not your toilet, even if you’re a plumber.
- Yet a picture of you partying and drunk isn’t recommended.
- … and just in case while we’re at it, make sure you wear clothes on that picture!
- Smile. Smiling always helps!
- Enter your Summary (a description of you, this is the perfect place to sell yourself), Work Experience, Studies and Skills.
- You can set your title as ‘Looking for a Job’ or something similar to bring attention, but why not be more precise about what you do? For instance if you’re a Plumber, write ‘Experienced Plumber, looking for a new job‘.
- If you are currently employed, discard that last point (mistake #4)!
- Enter your location. Companies looking to hire someone with your profile are more likely to contact you if you’re in their area.
- Ask people you’ve worked with to recommend you on LinkedIn.
- Your mom saying you’re a great guy won’t help… well, actually we’ve never tried this one before… maybe it could help, it’s up to you to try it or not!
We hope you enjoyed this article, please don’t hesitate to share it with your friends and contacts!
One Response to “Top 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Applying For a Job on LinkedIn”
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Comment made by JobsCenterAdmin on Apr 24th 2014 at 2:44 pm:
Update: 13 days after posting our official announcement, it keeps going and we are now at 23 ‘Please check my profile’ kind of applications to a job post that isn’t a job post in this LinkedIn group.
The good news is recruiters posting jobs on HVAC Jobs Center don’t receive any of these useless comments.
This shows how you must be careful when posting your jobs on LinkedIn. You must carefully choose the groups where to post, otherwise it could become very time consuming for very little results.
We obviously don’t post jobs in this group, this was just an official announcement.
We reach job seekers on LinkedIn using our direct contacts and our group: ‘HVAC, Refrigeration and Plumbing in the US and Canada’.
Our LinkedIn contacts (currently 2,364 contacts) and group members are all HVAC, Plumbing and Refrigeration professionals currently located in the US and Canada. This is our focus and this is why we politely refuse most requests coming from other countries. We apply pretty much the same formula to other Social Medias.
Filtering candidates is a very important part of recruiting and this is why we try our best to attract only job seekers from the right industry and location, bringing better value to Recruiters in the process.