10 Tips to Optimize Your Supply Chain Management LinkedIn Profile

by Aileen Laqui

LinkedIn is certainly one of the fastest-growing social media platforms today. According to the site’s latest tally, there are more than 706 million users from roughly 200 countries. A large percentage comes from the Asia Pacific region, which boasts around 158 million users. It is a valuable tool for jobseekers in the supply chain space.

If you do not have a profile on LinkedIn or if you have one that is poorly optimized, you might miss career opportunities. Check out the tips below on how to optimize your SCM LinkedIn profile.

1. Know the basic aspects of a top-notch SCM profile

In a way, building one’s SCM profile on LinkedIn is similar to writing a supply chain resume. The only difference is that the visibility of your profile relies a lot on search algorithm. By including basic LinkedIn SEO elements, you get to improve your chances of getting seen by more recruiters. The key things needed to create a search-optimized profile for an SCM position are as follows:

A compelling headline – Highlight your job title, key proficiencies and skills.
A descriptive summary – Use the first paragraph as your elevator pitch, then add a list of your major accomplishments and industry expertise in the next sections.
A complete and detailed page – Make sure to fill the section with all the information needed.
Including a professional headshot and a relevant cover photo or a banner image containing your call-to-action statement will also boost your profile.

2. Learn the top keywords used in SCM

LinkedIn comes with a sophisticated search feature. It allows recruiters to screen large volumes of applicants using various filter options, such as location, job titles, skills and industry. That is why, if you want to rank in a LinkedIn search results page, your page must have keywords relevant to the roles that you specialize in.

3. Highlight key roles and responsibilities

In the Employment History section, describe your previous roles and responsibilities using bullet points, present important numbers or data like the size of the team you handled and key results of a campaign or project. You can also highlight your achievements in a particular role by writing a short description. Additionally, you can add relevant rich media like photos and brochures.

4. Include details on education, training and certification

Recruiters use specific keywords like a degree or training certification course when sourcing talent in supply chain management. Hence, it comes handy to include information on the university you attended, your degree and other relevant credentials, together with their dates of completion.

5. Establish your reputation with recommendations

What better way to establish your credibility as an SCM professional than getting recommended by people in your industry. You can reach out to previous managers, business partners, clients and suppliers for a recommendation.

6. Add projects you worked on

The Project section provides you with a better opportunity to showcase your expertise in supply chain management. It is also a great place to add your target industry keywords. Some examples of projects you can feature on your profile include programs launched by your team and training or webinars you organized.

7. Customize your profile URL for search purposes

A typical LinkedIn profile URL includes numbers and letters, which is not exactly easy to remember. Good thing, you can customize it by changing the URL slug to your name. It is more practical and it helps you become searchable even outside the platform.

8. Connect and engage with other users

Forbes shares that connecting and engaging with users on LinkedIn is another way to boost your profile’s ranking.

While building your network, you also need to nurture it by regularly engaging with your connections, such as liking or sharing a post by your connections, posting updates regularly, curating and sharing relevant content in SCM, and communicating with your network.

9. Join SCM groups on LinkedIn

Joining LinkedIn groups is also helpful in optimizing your profile as it increases your visibility in the platform. Social Media today explains that joining groups on LinkedIn allows you to meet more people in the industry, and possibly recruiters actively looking for talent. It also builds your industry knowledge and expertise, especially when you join discussions within the group.

10. Create and share relevant content

Like any other social media platform, LinkedIn serves as an excellent content distribution channel. If you have a blog or website, you can use it to get more eyes on your content and to establish authority in SCM. Otherwise, you can publish content directly on LinkedIn.

The articles you publish appear on your profile, allowing you to showcase your knowledge and background as an SCM talent. Also, by actively sharing useful and relevant supply chain information, you gain more exposure and bump up your ranking on search.

LinkedIn is indeed a powerful tool you can use to market yourself as a supply chain professional. With a fully optimized SCM LinkedIn profile, you can increase your online presence and get the attention of key audiences like senior-level executives, decision-makers, recruiters and HR professionals. Start working on your profile today!

Aileen Apuntar-Laqui is the Director – Operations & Research at The Supply Advisory (a division of Datasearch Consulting), a leading executive recruitment firm specialising in Procurement & Supply Chain.

You can view the The Supply Advisory website or contact them directly at info@supplyadvisory.com for a more detailed discussion.