Getting a new job is no easy task these days. In fact, it can be downright discouraging after having gone through dozens of rounds of interviews and still not getting that offer. Just thinking about how to get through and stand out among the hundreds of resumes being sent out for each position and struggling against the competition from equally talented developers is also another thing.
If you want to get noticed more, here’s a formula that works to get you an interview with your dream company, fast. This has been tested time and time again on many students and professionals alike, and it always seems to yield results. It isn’t just some generic advice you read online either that doesn’t work in real life. Here are the steps that you need to take to create that LinkedIn Banner that takes almost no time, and is guaranteed to get you noticed.
What You Need For This To Work:
- A LinkedIn Profile
- An eye-catching banner for your profile
- Your resume
- A little bit of patience
Step 1: Creating The LinkedIn Banner
Unless you’re a graphic designer yourself, the easiest way to create a good-looking banner is to pay someone else to do it for you. You can employ freelance designers to do the job. Some come in easy on the budget, but there are others who are on the pricier side. You can also use online design software such as Venngage which has a wide range of LinkedIn banner templates you can customize to your liking. You can also start from a blank template if you want to experiment.
Remember to keep it simple when it comes to your design. This is a professional network after all, and in this case, less can give you more. You can select images that can appeal to your target’s interests or even their office culture. As for the text, you can’t go wrong with your name or the name of your company/business, your position, or your specialization. You can also include a portfolio site here if you have one online.
For example:
Martin Barbers, Managing Director, WhiteRing Venture Capital
Use a font style that is clean, legible, and easily readable especially if there’s a long word included. It should also pop out against the main image of your header.
Step 2: Optimizing Your Profile For Viewing
Once you have finished designing your profile banner, make sure to use it while browsing your profile. This makes sure that you get the right scale of the things included in your banner. You don’t want to make any big mistakes here otherwise, this will just happen when other people view your profile. Imagine how embarrassing that would be!
I’m pretty sure there’s no need to adjust anything here if you managed to choose an image that has the correct size already. You can also check out this guide for more information on how to optimize images correctly.
Optimizing your text doesn’t take that much effort. You just have to be careful with your font size, line height, and kerning.
Step 3: Connect With A Friend Or Two
This is where you need your friends’ and connections’ help. LinkedIn offers an expiring link for each of its user’s banners which can be copied and shared with other professionals in the network. This way, they’ll know who you are without even needing to log into LinkedIn or check up on your profile status; they just click the banner itself to find out more about you.
You can directly share this link to anyone you’re connected with through Messages (No email necessary). You give them this link (http://www.linkedin.com/in/yourname/) and ask them to click on it. After which, you send another message with the text “Check out my LinkedIn Profile Page” and include your banner link. Keep doing this until you connect with one hundred people or more through this method.
Step 4: Your Applications
Now that your friends have added a banner to your profile page, you can now directly apply for opportunities without having to even create a new headline. Since people will be able to see who you are and what you do online, they’ll never miss an opportunity to contact someone they might think is valuable enough for their company. Just select any job postings in LinkedIn and copy/paste your resume anywhere they ask for it (or just attach it). If there’s no such thing as a “Resume” field, then it’s probably just a regular job application where you just need to fill up your name and contact information.
If they ask for a portfolio website, then use the one that you also included in your LinkedIn banner at the bottom of your profile page as a faster alternative.
What are you waiting for?
It’s time to put up your banner! If you haven’t made one yet, go ahead create the header that will manifest the good vibes on Venngage! You should have your banner ready in no time at all. Now, just add this image as a custom image on your LinkedIn Profile and get ready to receive some phone calls! Happy hunting and good luck!