Companies will look at job candidates’ LinkedIn profiles, so make sure yours is strong, from the summary of your expertise and qualifications to testimonials from colleagues.
When you’re looking for a job, it’s easy to focus all of your attention on your resume, cover letter and interview while ignoring your LinkedIn profile. And while you’ll have much more success applying via BioSpace than LinkedIn (since the former is specifically for biotechnology and pharma professionals), your highest chances of success come with a great application and a great profile.
After all, 67% of companies look at a job candidate’s LinkedIn account before making an offer, according to a survey—which means you definitely want to have a strong presence on the site.
Here’s how to get your LinkedIn into shape in just 60 minutes.
1. Write a Strong Summary (12 minutes)
Almost every visitor will look at your summary, so you want to do it justice. In one to three paragraphs, sum up your current role, your expertise and qualifications and any significant accomplishments (e.g., awards, notable publications and published research).
Make sure to write your summary in the first person, as it’s more natural and appealing than writing in the third person.
2. Flesh Out Your Work Experience (18 minutes)
Does each role—for however many roles you’ve had—have at three to six bullets underneath it? Since there’s no cutoff length for LinkedIn, you don’t have to limit yourself like you must with a resume. (That doesn’t mean you should ramble, it just means you can be a little more detailed with each prior position.)
You should also make sure that your profile contains key words from the jobs you’re applying for, since this will help recruiters find your page. Let’s say you’re applying to be a senior bioprocessing scientist; you’d want to include “bioreactor,” “cell culture,” “metabolic engineering” and so on.
3. Join Some Groups (5 minutes)
Joining industry and job-specific groups shows hiring managers that you’re an active, passionate participant in your niche of the life sciences community.
Search for your specialty on LinkedIn, then join the applicable groups. You should also become a member of more universal groups like the Biotech & Pharma Professionals Network.
4. Add Work Examples (15 minutes)
LinkedIn is essentially a more sophisticated version of show and tell. You can tell hiring managers you’re capable with summary and work experience sections—now show them with samples of your work.
LinkedIn allows you to add documents, photos, videos, presentations and links to third-party websites. Get creative with this feature. For example, if you’ve been published, you can upload your article in PDF form or add the link to the scientific journal. Maybe you’ve presented at a conference—consider uploading the YouTube video of your presentation (if one exists), a copy of your notes or even media advertising your presence at the event.
5. Get Recommended (10 minutes)
Having testimonials from your co-workers, colleagues and bosses will give you instant credibility. Come up with three to four people—preferably from different stages of your career and with different roles—who you think would have good things to say about your work.
Send them a polite message via LinkedIn or email asking if they’d be willing to recommend you. Give them an out (e.g., “If you’re too busy, feel free to decline!” so they don’t feel pressured to say yes. You might also want to outline potential recommendation fodder, which will mean less work for them.
The hour is up—and your LinkedIn is ready to go!
This article was originally published on BioSpace in October 2015 and updated in June 2024 to update a statistic and links.
