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Locum agencies, such as Clarity Locums, are a great place to find locum shifts, but have you considered using LinkedIn to search for job opportunities?
For many pharmacists, LinkedIn is something unknown or seen as only used by professionals from other non-medical fields, such as recruiters, business owners and others, so it is often underestimated as a place to find work in community pharmacy.
Today, more than 400 million professionals worldwide use LinkedIn and this is undoubtedly the best professional networking website available for you to look for job opportunities, to connect and interact with other professionals in your field, to develop new skills and also to promote yourself.
Linkedin is not a place where you just post your CV, it is a great place to find and be found, that is, to find new job opportunities and be found by recruiters who may have the job you are looking for.
Linkedin is also a great place to keep up to date about healthcare news, share articles and other relevant content, participate in groups conversations and online events.
And all this in your hands, 24/7, accessible through your mobile phone, tablet or laptop.
Below you can find valuable tips that can help you build a great linkedin profile and make the most of its features.
There are many incomplete linkedin profile, without any information, photo or education. If you want to look like a professional, we advise you to take the time to create your linkedin profile and write it strategically with relevant information that will make you stand out from the crowd.
Once this is done, you only need to update when you change jobs, get a new certification, etc. The time you have invested will be worth it and work for your benefit, even when you are sleeping!
Many people create their LinkedIn profile as if it were their own CV, but as we explained to you at the beginning of this article, linkedin is much more than that. It is a professional network with many resources available, so be sure to make the most of it.
Your personal profile should be written in a professional tone, but that doesn't mean you can't add your personal style to it, just don't overdo it.
The LinkedIn profile is not like other social pages, so keep in mind that your boss, co-workers, recruiters and the linkedin community will see what you share, post and comment. Remember to maintain a professional image.
Your photo and headline are the first things people notice on your linkedin profile. So make sure you upload a professional photo. By this we mean a clear photo, with a quality image, neutral background, where you find yourself with professional clothing and a friendly smile.
The headline is the section at the top of a LinkedIn user's profile where you can describe what you do under 120 characters.
Your headline doesn’t necessarily have to be your job title and company you work for. Instead, go for a customized headline that will stand out from the crowd. The more specific you can be about what sets you apart from others, the better.
The summary section is also a very important part of your LinkedIn profile. In this section, you have the opportunity to write about yourself and tell the story behind your professional career path, key skills and industries where you have worked. Make sure your summary is clear, well structured and welcoming to the reader. Keep in mind that recruiters will read it. Besides your hard skills, don’t forget to include your soft skills, as they are just as important as the first ones.
The work experience section is very important. In this section, you have the chance to show the jobs and companies you worked for and their duration.
However, if you are working multiple shifts for multiple pharmacies, it is difficult to represent these experiences on your profile without overloading this section. There is no single way to do this, but here are some tips to help you.
If you are working for a locum agency, you can write the name of the agency as your “company”.
You can access the Clarity Locums company page here
Don't worry if you have more than one "current employer", that's fine. Just avoid generic terms like "self-employed".
Only add experiences that are relevant to your career direction and try to avoid unexplained gaps in your work history.
Add your Education, Licenses and Certifications
Other great fields to highlight your expertise are your education, licenses and certifications. They represent another opportunity to add keywords that show up in searches.
Skills and endorsements
In this field, you can add all the skills you have and rearrange them as you wish. You can get endorsements from colleagues, bosses or any LinkedIn connection you have. Endorsements are another great way to highlight your expertise. Make sure your top 3 skills are the ones that best show your experience.
Show your accomplishments
Do you speak one or more foreign languages? Have you been involved in any project? Did you write an article? This is the ideal field to highlight those accomplishments. It will further enrich your profile.
Ask for recommendations
The recommendations serve as proof of your professionalism and skills, and recruiters highly value this when choosing the right candidate.
You can ask any of your LinkedIn connections for recommendations, but try to choose people you have worked with closely and who know your strengths and weaknesses well. Try to get at least three or four recommendations.
If you are locuming for Clarity Locums currently feel free to reach out to Anthony or any of the locum team for recommendations.
Make sure people can contact you
Don't forget to add your contacts in the “contact info” section, at least your email address. Many people leave this off and miss the opportunity to be contacted.
We also recommend that you customize your URL (preferably linkedin.com/yourname), rather than the combination of numbers that LinkedIn automatically assigns when you sign up. You can edit all of this in the contact information section.
Follow relevant businesses
Follow companies in your community like pharmacies, hospitals, clinics and others. That way, you can keep up to date on them and maybe find your next job opportunity.
By following, liking and sharing content and posts from these companies, you are informing them of your presence in the community. It is also a great way to get in touch with other health professionals.
Connect with others
Start to connect with your contacts on linkedin. Ideally try to get more than 40 connections. Having a profile with no connections or few connections will sound strange to recruiters who may think you don't know a lot of people. Try not to send random connection requests to strangers to get connections. It may be the case you are reaching out to a stranger in relation to a job opportunity or discuss a post they shared, if you don’t know the individual you can add a note to your invite request to introduce yourself.
Join groups relevant to your profession or industry
By joining groups, you'll instantly connect with people in your area and be able to participate in relevant discussions. In these groups, people can share articles, videos and their own opinions. Some groups are private and not open to the general public so you’ll have to request access.
Share engaging content
Linkedin allows you to share a series of content such as updates, news, blog posts, videos and much more. You can share healthcare news, articles, CPD information and promote yourself. If you have a blog or website related to your work, linkedin is a good network for sharing your articles. So you will talk about your work and services and stand out to relevant people within your field.
Open to work
If you are currently looking for a job, you can let recruiters and your LinkedIn network know that you are "open to work". Just go to “add profile section”, “introduction” and click on “looking for job opportunities”. Put the jobs you are interested in, the areas of the country you are willing to work on and add to your profile. Before you do this, remember that Clarity also has a range of full and part-time opportunities for locums who may be interested in working in a regular location.
Check out our permanent roles here
With all these tips and the right keywords, recruiters will be able to find you and you will certainly be contacted about job opportunities.
Clarity Locums is also here to help you develop your career as a locum pharmacist and help you find the best locum shifts in your area.
Apply for shifts, submit time sheets, and upload documents 24 hours a day with the locum agency that never closes
First of all check out our FAQs section, it might just have what you need.