The importance of a strong LinkedIn profile should not be understated, especially for prospective engineers searching for a job or developing within the industry. As hiring methods change and online platforms adapt to the virtual nature of job hunting, LinkedIn is a vital tool for any engineer looking for a job in 2021.

When applicants apply for a job, it is common for the employer to search them on Google or LinkedIn. Therefore, it is crucial for applicants to have a profile they can be proud of. Use this guide to craft the ultimate engineering LinkedIn profile and leverage your online presences for success.

The Ultimate Engineering LinkedIn Profile

The success of a LinkedIn profile is hard to measure, and depends on its purpose (i.e. job searching, industry thought leadership, or business development, for example). For a prospective applicant or established engineer, the ultimate engineering LinkedIn profile could be defined as one that results in employment, one that gets industry contacts, or one that showcases experiences and unique insights.

Aside from listing education, previous job experience and volunteering roles, there are plenty users can do to create a well-constructed LinkedIn profile and reap the benefits. Below our engineering recruitment experts at BMR Solutions explore some of the ways you can create a powerful LinkedIn profile.

Ultimate Engineering LinkedIn Profile Tips

Use all Features

LinkedIn has a range of features available to users that help increase profile views, networking opportunities and effectiveness of profiles. From easily recording previous educational institutions or employment, to following topics and joining groups associated with professional interests, users can simply build their professional profile. Helpfully, LinkedIn regularly prompts users to add to their profile and even has a useful profile strength meter to highlight what else users can do to improve it.

An especially useful feature for engineers looking for a job is the jobs tab, which shows jobs advertised on LinkedIn and can be filtered to show industry, geographical, company preferences. Users can also quickly adjust their preferences and set their status as ‘actively seeking job’ or ‘open to offers’ to encourage job opportunities.

Add Skills

A vital LinkedIn feature for any professional is the skills part of a profile. Here, users can choose from a long list of skills and add them to their profile, from practical skills with specific software to interpersonal skills. Adding skills to a LinkedIn profile can raise profile views by up to 13 times – so this feature is not one to ignore!

Engineers should use this feature to highlight their key industry specific skills (i.e. coding languages or logical thinking) as well as top desirable skills for employability such as communication skills. Connections on LinkedIn can even endorse other users for their skills, helping to boost credibility.

Create an Engaging Headline

The LinkedIn headline, alongside the profile picture and name, is one of the first thing others will see about a user. Therefore, the headline can be critical in engaging users. Instead of listing a job title or current company, users can use this small section to briefly outline their intentions; i.e. instead of ‘Maintenance Engineer’, engineers seeking new jobs could put ‘Experienced Maintenance Engineer seeking career opportunities in the South West’.

By including important information in the headline, such as job seeking status or geographic location, anyone who views the profile knows exactly what the user wants and whether they can help.

Advertise in Summary

The summary on a users’ LinkedIn profile is essentially an expanded headline, in which users can use up to 2,000 characters to advertise themselves and their intentions. There are plenty of guides online that cover how to write a good summary, including for engineers specifically. In a couple of paragraphs, engineers should highlight their skills and experience, and how these assets would benefit a future employer.

Network

There is little point in a user having a well-crafted profile tailored to engineering if no one sees it. Users should use LinkedIn to virtually network and attract prospective clients or employers to their profile. From adding connections and following prominent accounts, to commenting on posts and sending messages, LinkedIn users have plenty of networking options.

Users that start conversations with key players or show active interest in the industry are more likely to get opportunities than those who are passive on LinkedIn.

Get Recommendations

The recommendations section on a LinkedIn profile is essentially a show of testimonials, useful for potential employers to get an overview. Anyone with professional experience of a user, such as co-workers or managers, can write a recommendation to express their thoughts and feelings about the user. When starting out on LinkedIn, it may be advantageous for engineers to ask previous bosses or even professors to write one.

Share Thoughts

LinkedIn allows users to create posts and share content, so users should. Posting original thoughts, sharing relevant articles or giving opinions on engineering updates gives the impression the user is knowledgeable and interested in engineering related news.  Even if posts don’t instantly pick-up traction, simply having regular original posts on a profile elevates a users’ profile.

Have a Profile Picture

Profile pictures play an important role in online first impressions on LinkedIn. The profile picture should always be of the user, and preferably just the user to avoid confusion. For the ultimate

LinkedIn profile picture, users should ensure 60% of the picture is their face, the lighting is not too dark, they are smiling (or at least giving a pleasant expression) and are wearing suitable workwear.

Although engineering isn’t the most people-focussed industry, engineers should try to have a presentable profile picture to accompany their LinkedIn profile. The picture does not need to involve a photoshoot; most smartphones achieve adequate photo quality.

Get Started with BMR Solutions

If you are a qualified engineer seeking a new role in the industry, or an engineer just starting their career, BMR Solutions can help you find the ideal engineering role for you. As experienced recruiters for engineering and technical jobs based in Bristol, but hiring for roles across the UK, we have the expertise and industry knowledge to connect applicants to the perfect role. From advertising available jobs for clients, to providing useful industry insights on our blog, our expert team are on hand to help prospective employees and employers alike.

Get in touch today!

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