5 Articles To Help PhDs Create The Perfect LinkedIn Profile

I first created a LinkedIn profile in the second year of my PhD.

At this time, I was struggling with my project and with my supervisor.

Our funding was drying up and the project that I was forced to work on was a dead end.

I submitted data after data demonstrating that we should switch gears, but my supervisor would not hear it.

It was horrible having to work on a project that I knew was going to fail.

I was about to give up and I wanted out.

So, I threw together a LinkedIn profile to see what jobs were out there.

I thought my profile was excellent.

There was a great photo of me in a lab coat with some computer equipment behind me.

My headline read “PhD candidate”.

I wrote down all the techniques I knew how to do in my experience section.

I felt very accomplished — a company would be lucky to have me.

But, no one ever contacted me on LinkedIn. Not a single connection request or message — it was bizarre.

I put getting a job in the “too hard” bucket, set LinkedIn aside, and resumed my PhD work for the next few years.

But again, there came a day a few years on when I knew I had to get out of academia.

Things in the lab had deteriorated and I didn’t want to be there a single day longer.

This time, however, I sought help.

I found an alternative career mentor to help me learn what I needed to do to successfully leave academia.

One of the biggest “ah-ha” moments that I had was realizing what my LinkedIn profile should look like.

The LinkedIn platform is a great resource that I had been wasting with my profile that made me look like a silly, unprepared academic.

I learned how to make my profile look professional and respectable.

I learned how to network online with industry professionals, the right way.

I just learned so much.

And, it wasn’t long until the job offers started rolling in.

How A Professional LinkedIn Profile Will Boost Your Job Search

Your LinkedIn profile is the professional impression that you are giving to the more than 500 million people who use the LinkedIn platform.

And, within those 500 million users, there are many recruiters and hiring managers.

According to Jobvite, 87% of recruiters use LinkedIn to find job candidates.

Is your LinkedIn profile giving the right impression to potential employers?

If you don’t have a LinkedIn profile, you are missing out on being seen by the vast majority of recruiters.

And, if you have a bad LinkedIn profile, it’s likely that you are being denied by recruiters, based on that poor profile.

But, what can you do to improve your LinkedIn profile?

What do recruiters want to see?

How is the LinkedIn algorithm judging your profile?

Well, for starters, according to LinkedIn, including a photo on your profile results in 36 times more message replies.

And, as reported by Money, including your location on your LinkedIn profile will cause a 23-fold increase of your appearance in search results.

These are just 2 of the many ways that you can optimize your LinkedIn profile.

The more you understand about how LinkedIn works and what employers are looking for, the better your profile will become.

And, to earn a high-level industry position, you must have a LinkedIn profile to match.

Is your LinkedIn profile worthy of earning you a PhD-level job?

Cheeky Scientist Top 5 LinkedIn Profile Articles

The majority of academic PhDs immensely undervalue LinkedIn.

But, to get hired in industry, you must adjust your focus.

LinkedIn should be a key component of your industry job search.

Here are the top 5 Cheeky Scientist articles about how PhDs can create high-quality LinkedIn profiles that they can use to get hired in industry…

7 LinkedIn Hacks That Get PhDs Hired

LinkedIn is a medium underutilized by PhDs because academia leads you to believe that it doesn’t matter.

Academia is wrong. Your LinkedIn profile is very important.

If your LinkedIn is unprofessional or lacking information, you will likely be screened out before the interview process.

A poor or non-existent LinkedIn profile makes you appear ill-prepared for industry.

According to Undercover Recruiter, 93% of companies use LinkedIn for recruiting job candidates.

This article provides 7 strategies for PhDs to ditch the academic mindset and create a LinkedIn profile that will get them hired in industry.

3 Ways To Ruin Your Job Search With A Poor LinkedIn Profile

Your job search will have many components.

Networking, writing a resume, updating your LinkedIn profile, interviewing… each of these is important.

But, having a bad LinkedIn profile can cancel out any gains you make in other areas.

New connections will want to connect with you on LinkedIn, and employers will screen you based on your LinkedIn profile.

Are you losing out on new opportunities because of your unprofessional LinkedIn profile?

This article discusses 3 mistakes PhDs often make in their LinkedIn profile and what you can do to avoid them.

Top 10 Reasons Your LinkedIn Messages Are Being Ignored

You know that networking is the number one way to get hired.

So, you’ve been reaching out to people on LinkedIn.

You’ve sent message after message, but no one has responded to you.

Are you doing anything to deserve a response?

Just because you send someone a message does not mean that they should respond to you (you are not that important).

This article addresses the top 10 reasons that your LinkedIn messages are being ignored and explains what to do instead so that new connections will want to respond to you.

5 Ways To Take Advantage Of New LinkedIn Changes For Your Job Search

As a PhD, you need to demonstrate to potential employers that you are prepared to enter industry.

Employers often hold negative views of PhDs fresh out of academia, thanks to some unflattering stereotypes of PhDs.

You must do everything to can to combat the academic stereotype.

This begins with having a professional, industry-ready LinkedIn profile.

Your LinkedIn profile is your first impression.

This article will help you make the most of that first impression by explaining how PhDs can best take advantage of the LinkedIn platform in a job search.

7 Ways To Include Keywords In Your LinkedIn Profile

Resume writing really is an art form, and just because you have a PhD doesn’t mean you automatically know how to sell yourself in 2 pages.

As a job seeker, it’s your responsibility to have a keyword optimized LinkedIn profile so that you show up in these search results.

Otherwise, your LinkedIn profile will be lost among the more than 500 million other LinkedIn users.

To get hired, you need to stand out from the crowd.

This article details 7 ways to include keywords into your LinkedIn profile and ensure that you appear in recruiters’ and hiring managers’ searches.

LinkedIn can, and should, be a major asset to your job search.

LinkedIn provides PhDs with a platform to connect with industry professionals and build industry credibility before they have an industry job.

But, your academic training has not taught you how to use LinkedIn properly, and many PhDs don’t even think they need a LinkedIn profile.

Using LinkedIn to its fullest capacity offers a way for you to set yourself apart from other job candidates.

Put in the effort to learn how LinkedIn judges profiles and what recruiters and hiring managers are looking for on a job candidate’s LinkedIn profile so that your profile can be a major asset to your job search.

If you’re ready to start your transition into industry, you can apply to book a free Transition Call with our founder Isaiah Hankel, PhD or one of our Transition Specialists. Apply to book a Transition Call here.