Your LinkedIn profile serves as an extension of your resume; it includes additional information that you cannot generally work into a one- or two-page document. But is your profile living up to its potential? If you want to be seen as a top design engineer in your field, then you need to make sure your profile summary is on point. Take the time to review your summary’s content and use these tricks to help you stand out from the crowd.
The “Why” of Your Work
We are all motivated by something and giving light to your reasoning can make for a compelling introduction. Consider the parts of your job that keep you moving forward and encourage you to delve even deeper into your chosen specialty as a design engineer. Maybe you enjoy taking business ideas and using them to create more advanced, efficient structures, equipment, machines, or systems. Or perhaps you enjoy creating something on paper or via computer-aided design (CAD) software and seeing the representation become a reality.
Expressing the driving force behind your pursuit can help demonstrate your passion for the field in a meaningful way.
How You Do What You Do
Everyone has different skills and traits that differentiate themselves from other design engineers. Include a few sentences that provide insight regarding how you do what you do. This allows recruiters and hiring managers to visualize how you function in a work environment.
If you aren’t sure how to phrase these statements, treat it like you are answering the unasked question that is on every hiring manager or recruiter’s mind: how are you a solution to their business problem? Every position within an organization represents a problem that needed to be solved. By describing how you can provide answers to their unspoken challenges, you can clear one hurdle on the path to new employment.
Say it with Numbers
When it comes to your design engineer LinkedIn profile, and your resume, something nothing speaks louder than numbers. Quantifying your accomplishments gives much-needed context to your experience.
Isn’t this the kind of information that belongs in the Experience section of your profile? Yes, it is. But if you have particularly powerful metrics to provide, there is no reason you can’t include them here as well.
Your profile summary needs to hook potentially interested recruiters and hiring managers, so don’t be afraid to list a key accomplishment or two here to help encourage them to continue through the rest of your profile.
Include Contact Information
If someone wants to contact you regarding a possible opportunity, don’t make them hunt for your contact information. Instead, include your email address, and possibly your phone number, in a prominent place.
You may choose to close your summary with your contact information, though you can also place it closer to the top. Experiment with the location and see if one area of another yields better results.
For those concerned about leaving contact information so publicly available, consider setting up an alternate email address and phone number (an internet-based phone number can work well) solely to list on your profile. Just make sure to check it regularly for messages, or set up forwarding to an account you already check regularly.
If you are ready to find your next job, and you want skilled employment professionals by your side, The Advance Group is here to provide the guidance and connections you need. Contact us and see what opportunities may be available for design engineers in your field.
