Building a LinkedIn profile for contractors

Building up an extensive network of clients and prospects is really useful for an IT contractor, particularly in today’s very competitive jobs market.

Linkedin can be an important tool for contractors – so that recruiters can find matches for relevant vacancies and to showcase your skillset to prospective clients or agents.  Linkedin can position a contractor as a specialist in their field through recommendations, skills, groups and the like.

So to help you secure your next contract, you need to make sure that your LinkedIn profile is complete and up-to-date. Many recruiters will actively search your Linkedin profile and help formulate decisions on your relevance.

Here are some top tips to help your LinkedIn profile stand out from the crowd and harness the power of the professional network, so you can really showcase your contracting capabilities.

• LinkedIn works by keyword searches so always ensure that your headline, summary and tags are literally littered with keywords that are relevant to your line of work.
   
• Emphasise results – use the profile to boast about what you have achieved on previous assignments.
   
• Get recommendations to back these up! Having other people confirming that you can deliver what you say you can really strengthens your profile.
   
• Use LinkedIn to expand your contacts network by using mutual connections to achieve introductions to prospective employers.
   
• Join relevant groups and participate in group discussions where you can showcase your skills, achievements and knowledge.
   
• Get your contacts to verify your skills.
   
• Make sure that your profile is 100% complete with information in all of the following fields: current position, two past positions, education, summary, specialities, profile picture, at least three recommendations

ContractorUK has partnered with the UK's leading authority on contractor CVs to provide a FREE review of your CV and LinkedIn profile. Contact The CV & Interview Advisors and one of their team will get back to you to discuss if your CV and LinkedIn profile matches up with industry best practice.