Your resume, LinkedIn profile and professional pitch are all important tools to use when you’re on the job search. Each element allows you to position yourself when it comes to job interviews and informational meetings. They emphasize your skills, abilities, accomplishments, and experiences developed over your career in various ways, illustrate your success, and relate it back to the industry or position you’re pursuing.
LinkedIn has become a major force in how professionals market and represent themselves, so it’s important to align your profile with both your resume and pitch. But don’t just copy and paste your entire resume. Your profile should be consistent with the summary section at the top of your resume and the core summary of your professional pitch. The purpose of LinkedIn is to position yourself professionally and make appropriate contacts. It’s not simply to look for a job, so posting your entire resume like you would on a job board isn’t ideal.
When using your LinkedIn profile to interact with professional contacts, your pitch helps to engage them in an active dialogue during your first meeting, whether it’s a job interview or informational meeting. After you give your pitch, be prepared to ask questions and offer any information that may be helpful to them. Provide tangible evidence of your achievements, how you work, and the value you bring to an organization.
There is a method to the madness of the interplay between resume, profile, and pitch. Don’t simply rely on sending out resumes or you’ll send the message, “Here I am, merely a job hunter.” Use LinkedIn as a way to build your contacts and develop your career and your pitch to introduce yourself once you establish those contacts and set up interviews and meetings.
When used correctly, these three tools will help build your career and open up doors to new and exciting opportunities.
