By Laura Smith-Proulx
Seeking more ways to attract employer and professional interest on LinkedIn? Look beyond the commonly used areas of the site (such as Summary, Experience, or Education) and into the Projects
section.
The Projects section is a powerful part of LinkedIn, impacting the site’s search algorithm.
These projects do NOT have to represent formal initiatives from your work history.
The Projects section can facilitate your findability
as a candidate, especially when you add a substantial amount of keywords.
How to Leverage the LinkedIn Projects Section
Add Projects that show desirable skill sets, group and individual work efforts, new capabilities, or informal use of valuable skills that reinforce your brand message.
Projects must be "linked" to either jobs in your Experience section or entries in your Education section – whether these are current activities or from your professional history.
The key is to emphasize the type of data important to your target employers to demonstrate your value as a prospective employee, whether it’s a specific area of expertise or industry term common in your
field.
To get started using Projects, first navigate to Add a New Profile Section near the top of the right column of your Profile. Then click on the down arrow beside Accomplishments. Scroll down until you find the Projects. Click the button to the right of the word "Projects," and fill in details using these strategies:
- Project Name
This field has strong ranking in LinkedIn’s search algorithm, so you’ll want to add a description that notes skills or job titles where possible.
For example, a Project Manager who has delivered small SAP deployments might add "Project Manager – SAP Modifications, Finance Module." A Sales Rep who is applying for team management roles (but who has only mentored junior colleagues thus far) could
add "Sales Management" as a Project Name to describe ongoing efforts to train other aspiring sales staff.
The Project Name can also be a major initiative that was mentioned in your employer’s marketing materials, such as a rollout of a new customer-facing capability or the release of next-generation software. As you can see, the Project Name can represent any area of your expertise, work history, or skills, with the idea of further marketing your
capabilities.
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