Your Career

6 LinkedIn Tips for Job Seekers

September 20, 2023

Looking for a meeting planning job? Speaking at Prevue’s Webinar, Next Step Career Advice for Meeting Planners, industry recruitment powerhouse Dawn Penfold shares strategies on how to stand out from the crowd.

The meetings industry job market is Dawn Penfold’s passion and profession. A former meeting professional, she founded Meetingjobs in 1990 to fill a need for a professional recruitment company serving this industry. She merged with Cadre in 2021 to connect candidates and hiring officials for freelance positions. Today she provides a full complement of labor resources across the hiring spectrum, from full-time planners to project-based contract planners to on-site event staff.

LinkedIn, says Penfold, “is the go-to place for planners on a job search and a great place to network.” But it’s not enough to post a LinkedIn profile and leave it languishing. Here are Penfold’s top tips on how to use LinkedIn effectively:

1. The first thing a recruiter does after receiving a resume is check out the applicant’s profile. The number one rule is to make sure that your resume matches your LinkedIn profile. Make sure that your LinkedIn profile is up to date, and that your photo is professional but shows some personality.

2. Be careful what you apply for. After you apply for a position, LinkedIn will come up with others that match the job description. Don’t click yes, because the application will go directly to a hiring official who will call you. It’s important to be be selective, and to sound intelligent about the details of every application.

3. Don’t ever select “open to work” if you’re an employee.

4. Be creative with your branding. For example, you can customize your LinkedIn “ring” with a phrase like “special events diva” or other wording that defines you as a meetings specialist.

5. Hiring recruiters spend a lot of time on LinkedIn. It’s a great place to network with fellow planners and define your expertise in specific industry niches, like pharma, association, etc. Hiring recruiters will notice.

6. Be sure to include your LinkedIn address (public profile URL) on your resume. If you have a web site, include a hyperlink to your profile.