LinkedIn Job-Seekers: Which location should you display – local or major market?

Today, I spoke with a candidate who had a small town in Michigan - Oxford - displayed on his profile as his "location".  Since Michigan is a market I heavily recruit in, I know where Oxford, MI is located.  Unfortunately, most people would have no idea where Oxford, MI is in relationship to Detroit, and that could hurt this person's chances of "being found" on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn gives many members the option of choosing to display their profile location as a local market (i.e. “Oxford, Michigan”), or a major market (i.e. “Greater Detroit Area”).

VERY IMPORTANT: From my testing, the location displayed has nothing to do with appearing in search results.  In searches, geographic selections are determined by a member’s ZIP/Postal code – not the location they have chosen to display.

As this blog is intended to benefit job-seekers, the location displayed on a member’s profile is used primarily by the recruiter or hiring authority who is viewing the profile to evaluate whether or not the person lives in a suitable location for a specific career opportunity.  This is done AFTER the profile has appeared in search results.

The location displayed is an important part of the selection process.

With that in mind, members should select their location based on their target audience.  If they are trying to attract interest from local employers it may be best to use the local market location. If they believe an opportunity could come from someone distant to them, most likely they should display the major market on their profile. 

Most people couldn’t point out Oxford, MI on a map, but could easily locate Detroit.

However, if the local market location is a well-recognized market with a positive reputation for your target audience, displaying the local market may be advisable, even if your target audience is not local.

For example, if your ZIP code is 90210, you have the option of displaying “Beverly Hills, California”, or “Greater Los Angeles Area”.  Since most people know that Beverly Hills is near Los Angeles, displaying “Beverly Hills, California” may be a sound choice.

To view/edit your “location” options follow these steps: Log into LinkedIn -> Hover over your miniature picture in the top right corner -> Privacy & Settings -> Edit your name, location, and industry (In the "Profile" section);

You will be taken to a page where you can select your ZIP/Postal code and the location name:

Make your selections and “Save Changes”.

The most important points to get out of this blog are:

1. Your profile needs to be designed with your target audience in mind;
2. The location displayed on your profile is an important part of the selection process – use it to your advantage;

This is the first of what we hope will be many blog posts intended to benefit people who utilize LinkedIn to advance their careers.  The goal of MaxOut LI, and this blog, is to help them gain Maximum Results with Minimum Effort!