LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, today released a new study, Your Story @Work, revealing that while 80% of Malaysians recruiters feel it’s important to communicate achievements online, only 35% of professionals do it.
The annual study, conducted across 19 countries, explores generational, cultural, and industry-specific changes in the workplace. This year’s study focused on attitudes towards sharing professional success and what we can do to land a dream job.
Importance of managing online persona
Given the challenging economic environment in Malaysia and with more companies hiring talent online, it has become increasingly important for professionals to update their profiles regularly and communicate work achievements. The study revealed that only 35% of Malaysians are likely to share their achievements or success online as compared to other leading markets like India (62%) and USA (54%). This finding is further supported by Malaysian profiles being the least updated profiles in the world with 36% of Malaysians saying that their achievements and experience would not line up with their online profile, closely followed by Hong Kong (35%) and Singapore (34%).
Increasingly, the nature of people’s work is getting more complex, which may explain why Malaysian professionals find it difficult to describe what they do. LinkedIn’s survey revealed that almost half of Malaysians (49%) admit that they found it difficult to describe what they do at work, second only to Hong Kong (52%).
How can you land your dream job?
Other than sharing your achievements online, managing your online presence and taking time to update your profile is the most crucial part of landing the job of your dreams. The study pointed out that 70% of Malaysian recruitment decision makers always look at potential candidates’ LinkedIn profiles before they hire them. Based on the highlights from the study, below are the top five actions for professionals to increase their chances of landing a dream job.
- Be a hero of your own story: Help your readers visualize who you are by adding a profile photo. Members with profile photos receive up to 21 times more views.
- Complete your profile: More than half (58%) of Malaysian recruitment decision makers said that an empty or sparse LinkedIn profile makes them less likely to consider a candidate.
- Invest time in creating your online persona: 9 out of 10 Malaysian recruitment decision makers feel it’s important to get a sense of what type of person the candidate is, and the skills they possess than a list of past experience.
- Write a strong summary that draws people in: More than two-thirds of Malaysian recruitment decision makers will opt for creative summary rather than looking at the listed jobs.
- Treat your career as a never ending story: Strong, regularly updated profile can help you explore variety of professional opportunities including finding jobs, mentors to volunteering and new business.
“A strong, creative and regularly updated profile can provide Malaysian professionals a better chance of landing their dream jobs. As you’re the owner of your own work story, it is important to showcase your achievements by adding compelling visuals such as pictures, videos and presentations. This can help keep your readers engaged and potentially land yourself a foot in door with your dream employers,” said Feon Ang, Senior Director of Talent Solutions, Asia-Pacific and Japan, LinkedIn.
