How to improve your online profile when applying for jobs in education
A jobseeker online profile is a universally accessible way to keep all the details of your CV plus a lot more, including achievements and personal attributes for recruiters to view.
With so much of what we do online now requiring some form of profile. It only makes sense that you optimise your profile when it comes to job hunting too.
That way employers will be able to easily search for you profile through the skills and attributes you provide, such as your previous employment experience, skills, education history etc.
Here are our top tips for creating an online profile job seeker profile for the education sector.
Create the perfect ‘About You’ or Profile Summary
This is essentially where you can pitch yourself to perspective employers searching profiles. This is arguably one of the most important parts of your online profile, as this is where employers will gain their first impression about you. Get this wrong and they will not continue reading your profile. Therefore, you need to ensure that you grab the reader’s attention, by providing them with a “short but sweet” synopsis of your experience and skill set, as well as incorporating your career goals and highlighting your progression in your chosen field.
Like LinkedIn, many websites will allow you to add a photo of yourself that reflects your professional brand. However, remember to always remain professional and resist the urge of adding pictures of your pet dog.
Make yourself easy to contact
It sounds obvious, but always ensure you include your contact information when uploading your profile. Over are years of recruitment we have seen several excellent profiles and CVs without any contact information on them at all, leaving us in a very frustrated situation of not be able to contact the candidate to speak to them about the perfect role.
You should have at least two forms of contact, with an email address as well as a mobile phone number being essential. However, given the opportunity we recommend as many contact methods as possible as that will help ensure you do not miss that perfect opportunity.
Please also remember to check and double check that the details that you have provided are up-to-date and correct. As again there is nothing more frustrating for a recruiter to find a telephone number for an excellent candidate with number missing.
Include your CV
Including your CV on your professional online profile can help to speed up the recruitment process, as the recruiter does not have to chase you up for it.
We recommend that you regularly check your CV to ensure that all the information in it is up-to-date and matches your profile. As this again can mark you down if it is not.
Also make sure that your CV is easy to read and insightful, as typically a recruiter can decide on whether to take you further in the process or not from a 10 second glance. For more guidance on this read our ‘How to write the perfect CV for jobs in the Education Sector’ article.
Link to previous projects, content or websites that you were involved in
It only makes sense to showcase all your online endeavours and achievements on your online profile, it should be a hub in which all the information about you needed by an employer can be found. So, if you have any professional video or image content that you are proud of that is specific to your desired field or any websites of organisations that you built or were a part of, take the opportunity to provide recruiters with evidence of your brilliant work by incorporating links and creating an extensive portfolio.
Make your achievements stand out
Your online profile should be filled with all the amazing things that you have accomplished throughout your working life. It is an ideal way to connect with future employers as they will be looking for you to bring those same achievements to their organisation. Your achievements can make you stand out from the crowd, and are a testimony of your skills, abilities, and commitment to succeed. Therefore, please do not hide them away!
Establish your expertise and skillset
If you are trying to get into a specialist industry and have the unique skill set that is required, it is important to showcase that on your online profile. Or if you are exceptionally good at something related to the role that you are applying for, make it apparent. Establish yourself as an expert in an area that you feel 100% confident in so employers can identify if you are right for the role or not a lot quicker.
We wish you the best of luck in your job search!
If you are looking to apply for jobs in the education sector, please create your online candidate profile using Education Recruiter.
