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The LinkedIn profile is our professional public "business card", and the cover has a large part of the first impression (because it is graphic, the visitor to the profile does not need to invest any active effort, she absorbs the message passively by entering the profile, and this is the first and most prominent part of the profile) and therefore it is in our interests Give her a tasty name that will make her want to invest and read what is written in the profile.

. Not editing the cover can create the impression of someone who "throws away" and the profile itself can look trashyand professional and tight and correspondingly less makes you want to invest the active effort of reading the profile. On the other hand, an edited and customized cover sets it apart from the rest, makes the profile look invested, professional and the correct use of this prestigious piece of real estate should give a visual and tasteful representation of the brand that it is

How to choose a cover photo?

1. The purpose of the cover is to present your professional self. Unlike a contract, here there is more room for maneuver and you do not have to choose an image (or text) that directly represents your position, you will use it to decide what you want to convey: your personality, your added value/brand, achievements.

For example, personality: if you are involved in a competitive sport and win first place - this is an achievement that indicates willpower and perseverance. Soft skills are also a positive thing for marketing. Note that if you choose to put a photo related to your hobby, the photo also indicates an added value that is relevant to the position and this is clear to potential employers.

Professional brand: an image related to the world of content (for example an image of NETWORK SWITCH with the text Let's connect. This is a combination of your professional content world + this is an invitation and connects to the goal of most of us on LinkedIn - to do networking and increase the network of connections.

Added value: technologies that you are interested in and not necessarily related to the position (for example, if you develop server side and are also good on the client side, emphasize this by putting logos of

(HTML, CSS, React etc...)

or a visual summary of your profile - a computer with a bar above it with the names of the technologies you work with

2. Choose a format: text/image/a combination of both

A combination of both does not have to be a quote. You can also use an image from the content world + relevant keywords

3. What would you like to focus on - the content world or the specific role

4. If you haven't found/connected you can always go for a picture with a nice background and a quote

5. Make sure the graphics are of good quality/readable text

6. Make sure that the colors of the cover are in harmony with the colors of the profile picture and that the picture does not hide important parts (like part of the text) after you have added them

7. I suggest that you do not use the images that exist on the site (results of LinkedIn profile banner for X) (use them for inspiration if you need to) and create a background yourself (for example in Canva). If you use the same generic images/backgrounds, it somewhat detracts from the differentiation_cc781905-5cde- 3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_

TPIM for job search:

1. Set up a smart agent for the Indeed website, it is a website that concentrates most of the jobs in Israel

2. approxThe same applies to LinkedIn, job sites (jobnet, jobmaster, etc.)

3. Placement companies: define a smart agent with them as well, take unique sentences (let's say the company deals in field X as opposed to a generic sentence with 3 years of experience). It is important to copy and paste so that the semantics are the same and do a Google search to get directly to the job.

3.1 If you work with placement companies - be active and responsive. Active: follow jobs, and if you see a job that interests you and you couldn't find it on your own (see entry in the previous section), send an email to the recruiter you work for and mention that you are interested in the job #

Responsive: Did they send you to the company? Update when you are called for an interview/follow-up interview. It was important to build the relationship with the recruiter

4. The startup nation finder site: a site that gathers most of the high-tech companies in Israel, you can filter and sort according to a variety of parameters (company size/location/field, etc.). I highly recommend using the screening results as an index and entering each company's website - jobs page + LinkedIn page.

4.1 Even if a relevant position is not advertised, but the company itself/the product interests you, send an email/get in touch on the website: state your interest in the company + a summary of the contract/tell about yourself. Not all jobs are always advertised and sometimes recruiters are recruited from experience (especially in small companies) Even for roles we didn't plan when a talent falls into their hands

4.2 Connect with these contacts on LinkedIn.

5. In general, send connection offers to people in your field, networking (also the previous section) is a good investment not only in the short term, but also in the long term

6. Mark on LinkedIn (there is a button) that you are open to offers. to! Mention it in the title

Last but not least: follow the economic-technological press. The website of Geektime has a corner of venture capital where they update about companies that have raised and how much. Contact them as well (even if a position is not advertised) there is a good chance that they are hiring/will be hiring in the near future. Even if not - you invested in networking.

What are ghost jobs?

Jobs that look real, advertised and marketed - but don't really exist/the job existed but was canceled or frozen.

The popular (and mistaken) opinion is that the sin of advertising ghost jobs is the almost exclusive property of placement companies and the few hi-tech companies that advertise ghost jobs do not invite interviews. The reality on the ground shows that both sections are incorrect.

How to identify a ghost server?

*Each section by itself does not necessarily indicate a ghost servant

1. Generic and unspecified position

1.1 The job posting date is very old (can be up to a year+)

(mainly relevant for placement companies)

2. The job only appears on the company website and not on other websites/digital assets (or vice versa).

3. Jobs that gather dust on LinkedIn (famous for a long time).

3.1 You see the same job re-advertised/with a newer date. Some companies invest more and dedicate and then re-advertise so that the job looks "fresh"

If you have a smart agent for LinkedIn/other sites like Indeed, I recommend opening and saving a dedicated folder for these emails. If necessary, you can search for the company name and see when the job was first advertised and how many times it has been "refreshed" since then.

4. You sent an invoice and immediately received a rejection email

5. There are many layoffs in the company/a large part of those who have the same position for which they are recruiting have an open to work framework on LinkedIn

(If you have Linkedin pro, at the bottom of the company page there is a graph that shows the growth graph of the company)

6. The job requirements and the job description/the day to day section do not match

7. The job looks like it was written casually: no proofreading was done/there are spelling errors, use of unprofessional language, missing relevant details - details about the job, a link to the jobs page/company website/email for sending a contract, job description, description of the company or the product her etc

8. Even if you came across some of the sections for other jobs/past jobs of the same company - this is a red flag

What next?

1. The simplest way to find out is to contact the hiring manager/HR and ask if the position is still relevant. Of course they won't admit that it was a ghost job, but you will get the answer to the really relevant question "is the job relevant"

2. Contact someone who worked in the company until recently and ask

3. Ask in a group with someone who works in the company and you can consult with her

*As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, there are ghost jobs that do not only consist of advertising the position but also interviews, so it is not certain that the company employees themselves knew that it was a ghost job