Issue #5: Members of LinkedIn get a false sense of security
when they search for someone with their credentials and their profile is near the
top of the first page of search results.
Most LinkedIn members realize that how high their profile
appears in search rankings has a tremendous impact on whether another user will
take a look at their profile, or if a recruiter will end up contacting them for
an appropriate opportunity.
From using search engines to find everything from flowers to
tires, we know that the chance of going beyond the first or second page in
Google results isn’t too likely.
As a result most LinkedIn members are relieved to find they
appear on the first page of search rankings on LinkedIn when searching for
profiles with their attributes.
They may actually be ecstatic if they find their profile
right at the top and all they did was create a basic profile, threw in a few
keywords and presto, they rank #1!
Unfortunately, they don’t realize their ranking is unique to
their LinkedIn account. If the same
search criteria were run from another account, the results would be different –
most likely much different.
Looking closely at search results, most users will notice
that, in general, profiles that are 1st or 2nd-level
connections appear first; 2nd-level connections are intermingled
with fellow group members, then 3rd-level and Out-of-Network connections
are further down the list. This is
because LinkedIn uses “relevance” as a factor in determining the order of
search results – with relationship as a major relevance factor. LinkedIn discusses search results in this Help
Center article.
While the information is helpful, the algorithm they use to
determine relevance is proprietary and a closely guarded secret, so most of us
will never fully understand it.
As a result members are kept in the dark about how strong
their profile is and any action they should take to improve their search
rankings.
To make matters worse, the Help
Center article didn’t discuss Search Relevance for their prized Recruiter
Corporate account – the app used by many 3rd-party recruiters and
corporate recruiters, including me.
Fortunately, search rankings in the Recruiter Corporate
account do not appear to take relationship, or direct connections into
consideration, as “Out-of-Network” profiles can be ranked #1 out of 1,000
results.
Members should find out where their profile ranks in
Corporate Recruiter if they want the truest indicator to the strength of your
profile. Judging your rankings based on
the number of times your profile is viewed, as recommended by the Help
Center article is simply not the best indicator of search rankings.
This is a real issue.
Can it be that there are 300 million members of LinkedIn and very few of
them know their search rankings? Yes.
Solutions
What can an individual member do?
- Have a complete profile that includes a core group of relevant key words that are used repeatedly, and hope your profile achieves high search rankings;
- Contact a LinkedIn Profile Writer for assistance - there are hundreds on LinkedIn who would be happy to help;
- Ask someone who has a Corporate Recruiter account for your profile rank based on your criteria;
- Appeal to LinkedIn to create a way for you to test your rankings that would be found by those using their Corporate Recruiter app;
What can
LinkedIn do to solve the problem?
There is
fairly simple solution that LinkedIn can provide. Sure, it will take a some effort, but not an
overwhelming amount of effort. Not only
would this solution remove the “Wizard of Oz” aspects regarding profile search
rankings, it would improve member engagement – something LinkedIn already
invests in heavily. This solution would
be a net gain for both LinkedIn and its members.
LinkedIn
could provide an interface for members to enter search criteria; then inform
the member of where their profile ranks in the Corporate Recruiter app, based
on the search criteria entered.
The member could
be given a numerical ranking similar to this, 33 out of 215. This will help the member determine if they
need to improve their profile, or if it’s adequate and they no longer have a
“false” sense of security – they know
they will appear in relevant search results!
What can
MaxOut LI do to solve the problem?
Bringing the
issue to the attention of the market is the first step. That’s been done. The next step is up to the market: if there
is enough demand, for a fee, we could provide the same type of information
LinkedIn could provide – only we would provide visual proof of profile rankings
while maintaining the confidentiality of others.
Personally,
I would like to see LinkedIn tackle this problem head-on. If you feel the same way, let them know
about!
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