Michael DeSafey | Executive Recruiter and HR Professional

How to Write a Great LinkedIn Profile for Construction, Engineering and Environmental Professionals

LinkedIn Profile Tips For Construction, Engineering And Environmental Professionals

How to Write a Great LinkedIn Profile for Construction, Engineering and Environmental Professionals

Date : May 13, 2014 | By : michael_desafey

Over the past decade, the construction, engineering and environmental industries have seen tremendous shifts in employment demands and competition for jobs. Now more than ever, it is important for those who work in these industries to diversify their marketing efforts and present the best possible professional image to the industry to be considered for emerging, exceptional job opportunities.

One of the most effective ways to be noticed within the industry and diversify your job-seeking efforts is to use LinkedIn. LinkedIn is the leading social media site to network with potential employers who are searching for associates like you. However, just opening a LinkedIn account and listing bits and pieces of your experience in your specialized field will probably not produce the results you are looking for.

It is important to understand how to create an amazing LinkedIn profile that makes you stand out from all the rest and get noticed by potential employers.

Understanding that the most important step in creating a LinkedIn profile that will get noticed is to make sure your profile is complete, has relevant information and presents the best possible image of yourself to the industry.

Following these basic tips will greatly enhance your presence on LinkedIn:

LinkedIn Profile Summary

The profile summary section is one of the most important parts of the profile on LinkedIn. This is the area of your profile that you can really show off your skills, qualifications / accomplishments and present to the viewers what makes you different from every other person within the construction, engineering and environmental industry.

When you read most profiles on LinkedIn, they almost seem a little generic. So spending a little time to draft a compelling narrative and utilizing all the creative tools available on linkedin will greatly enhance the visibility of your overall profile.

Picture and Tag Lines

Be sure to upload a picture of yourself; Profiles with pictures are much more highly viewed by users. You should additionally pay a lot of attention to your tagline. This offers you an opportunity to be a little creative and showcase your business mission statement; who you are, what you do and your skills in a short and brief statement.

Add Attachments

A great way to build an exceptional LinkedIn profile that is effective is adding videos and pictures that are relevant to your field. For example, if your industry is residential building, you could upload pictures and videos of houses that you have built or other projects you have worked on. Seeing video of a project or of a beautiful home that you created is much more interesting to a potential employer than simply reading about your experience and expertise in engineering.

In addition to videos, LinkedIn allows you to incorporate beautiful and eye-catching presentations and graphics. If you have a PowerPoint presentation that you use when applying for positions in-person or along with emailed resumes, you should certainly include those presentations within your LinkedIn profile. Great presentations demonstrate your knowledge in the area of construction, engineering and environmental work while substantiating a level of professionalism in your field.

Keywords

If you have a specialize skills in your field that you want to market, consider using specific keywords to drive traffic to your LinkedIn profile. For example, if you specialize in green construction, you can use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner to search for terms that relate to your specialty and can help people searching for that particular type of specialty or trade find your LinkedIn profile. When done correctly, this can be very powerful in bringing viewers to your LinkedIn profile from outside search engines.

Recommendations / Endorsements

You should also take the time to get endorsements from associates in your field and past clients. By doing this, people you have done work for in the past can vouch for certain skill sets you have mastered, thereby making recommendations for you. Endorsements, especially from past clients who are happy with your work, are one of the best ways to encourage potential employers to hire you.

Utilizing LinkedIn for professional networking will greatly assist you in finding a job. When you incorporate all of the items discussed here you will harness the power of social media, create a networking tool that will evolve over the years and continue to benefit you throughout your career.

Michael DeSafey is a leading executive recruiter for professionals in the construction, engineering and environmental industries. He is currently the President of Webuild Staffing (www.webuildstaffing.com ). To learn more about Michael or Follow his Blog please visit www.michaeldesafey.com