How to Stand Out as a Scientist on LinkedIn

With 850 million members worldwide and more than 58 million companies employing through the network, your next scientific venture is likely only a few clicks away.

Why is LinkedIn important for scientists?

Just 30% of science PhD candidates still work in research after three years, despite the 67% initially wishing to work in academics. 70% of PhD holders who are still working either conduct their own research or seek employment in a larger sector.

Not that a career in academia or networking within the scientific community isn’t valuable, but it’s crucial to remember that goals and motivations frequently change over time.

LinkedIn can be a valuable tool for building new networks after scientific conferences, whether you decide to work inside academia or outside or to develop worldwide research ties by connecting with your fellow researchers.

Additionally, LinkedIn can be pretty helpful in bridging the gap between your networks and any future employment prospects. You can quickly find out who works where, learn about the corporate culture, and see if there are any openings for new employees.

What does a LinkedIn All-Star profile look like?

LinkedIn rates individual profiles using strength scores, assigning a “Beginner,” “Intermediate,” or “All-Star” rank based on the degree of profile completion.

On LinkedIn, a profile is referred to as All-Star if all suggested actions have been completed. All-Star profiles are significant since they have 1.5 times the average reach, which affects how far your postings are seen.

Additionally, according to LinkedIn, individuals with All-Star accounts are 40x more likely to be offered jobs through the social media platform.

Generally, the essential requirements you must meet to earn All-Star status are as follows:

• Recommendations

• Experience

• Skills and Expertise

• Education

• Profile Photo

The top 5 essentials for a scientific LinkedIn profile

1. Update your profile regularly.

Keeping track of job dates is a vital thing to take into account. The end dates for various roles are frequently left out of LinkedIn profiles, giving the impression that individuals are holding down close to ten jobs concurrently. Neater and more organised profiles create a better first impression and can help you stand out from the competition.

2. Respond to messages and be attentive.

When looking at your profile, the LinkedIn Recruiter algorithm frequently displays you as ‘more likely to respond’ if you reply to recruiters’ InMails. This increases your chances of directly receiving messages from recruiters or corporations about opportunities because you’ll be more visible to them. To give you that advantage, it’s excellent form to reply to messages, even if it’s just to express your disinterest in a job formally.

3. Display your education

Your profile should include a thorough educational background, especially if you’re a scientist. You can add any honours or certificates you’ve received in the appropriate section: “Licenses and Certifications” or “Honors and Awards.”

Additionally, to increase the visibility of your work to potential connections and employers, you can detail any publications of your work in journals in the “Publications” part of your resume by including information about your project and any scientific posters as a pdf.

4. Extend your network

Due to the way LinkedIn Recruiter searches, having few or no connections can make it harder for employers to find your profile. It’s crucial to make an effort to create a network of former and current co-workers, researchers, collaborators, mentors, students from your university course, and even friends.

Even if you’re just beginning out in your job, you don’t need to add hundreds of people right now. Instead, it would help if you gradually expanded this as your career develops. 75 to 100 connections is an excellent place to start.

As you expand your network, you can request recommendations from former or present co-workers, managers, clients, and academic supervisors.

5. Describe your qualifications and experience

Recruiters search for applicants using a customised version of LinkedIn called “LinkedIn Recruiter,” where they can conduct keyword searches to identify the profiles of people who most closely match the jobs they’re hiring for.

Scientific applicants must incorporate keywords of any methodologies or specialised talents within their profile because recruiters filter by skills-associated keywords. The ‘Skills’ section is where you can do this.

Additionally, you may utilise the “Summary” section to go into more depth about your background and major interests.

A brief summary of your responsibilities should be included under each position in the “Experience” section, and information about your course should be included under “Education”.