Why is LinkedIn important for your job search?
Are your job search efforts applying through dozens of job boards getting you anywhere? Does it feel like you’ve applied to hundreds of available positions but still haven’t heard back about any of them?
Job seekers working solely through the job boards may be struggling because an estimated 85% of available jobs are filled through networking. That’s right, it really does pay to know the right people.
Fortunately, you can take your job search to LinkedIn, a platform where networking and job opportunities spanning 200 countries and thousands of recruiters collide.
How do you use LinkedIn to power your job search and land that interview? Keep reading for seven simple, easy-to-follow tips that will help you leverage LinkedIn and get the job of your dreams.
1. Connect With Peers, Employers, and Coworkers
We tend to think of social networking and job hunting as two separate things. When it comes to LinkedIn, the goal is to do a little bit of both.
Connect with the people you went to school with, any employers you’ve worked for, and any current or former coworkers. If you’re wondering, “How do I use LinkedIn to find a job in 2021?” remember that networking is key.
By connecting with others on LinkedIn, you open lines of communication to them and the people they know. Your network connections, may know of an open position or have one to offer themselves and discover, through your well-curated LinkedIn profile, that you’re perfect for the job.
(While you’re at it, don’t be afraid to ask people to endorse your skills. For example, if you list “writing” as a skill and a professor connects with you on LinkedIn, ask them if they’d be willing to vouch that you are, in fact, a strong writer.)
2. Perfect Your LinkedIn Headline and About Section
The first thing anyone will see on your LinkedIn profile is your profile photo. The second is your LinkedIn headline and About section. Together, these three things are key to grabbing the attention of recruiters and hiring managers. Both the headline and About section only allow for a small number of characters, which means that you really want to take advantage of the keywords that make waves in your industry.
If you don’t have a ton of professional experience under your belt just yet, use words like “aspiring” and phrases like “working toward a career in” followed by your dream job.
3. Translate Your Resume to LinkedIn Formatting
So, you’ve gotten some help putting together a phenomenal resume. Now it’s time to translate that resume into LinkedIn formatting, which allows you to add to your story without being too repetitive.
Remember, you don’t need to describe every class you’ve ever taken or every task you’ve ever performed at a job. Recruiters may only spend 7 seconds looking at your resume and you should assume the same goes for your LinkedIn profile. Stick to the experience that is relevant to the field you want to enter.
Use short statements and bullet points to organize your text. In this digital age, many users will view your profile on mobile devices with small screens. So, you want to make it easy for them to read your content. Don’t use big blocks of text as they won’t get read with the reader moving on to the next candidate.
4. Learn How LinkedIn’s Job Search Function Works
How does LinkedIn help you find a job? Well, there are two ways but both are powerful.
The first is that a recruiter finds your profile while searching LinkedIn looking for great candidates whether they’ve applied for the position or not. The second is that, like other job boards, LinkedIn gives you a platform to search for current job postings, many jobs posted on LinkedIn are ONLY posted on LinkedIn, not on any other job boards.
Ultimately, you want to be in that first wave of applicants as soon as a job is listed. One way to do that is to follow the companies you admire and want to work for so that you get notified of any updates they post, including job listings. You can also subscribe to job alerts that will also notify you when a job listing in your field goes live.
Remember, the stronger your profile, the better your job search results will be.
5. Join LinkedIn Groups In Your Field
Asking to connect with people you don’t know in real life can be viewed as a bad thing. However, there are still ways to connect with people in your field even if you’ve never worked with them.
Look for LinkedIn groups in your field and join them so that you can participate in industry-wide conversations. Comment on posts made by other members and make your own posts to share your insights, opinions, and skills. This allows you to build trust and credibility with people who potentially may be looking for someone like you either now or at some future time.
6. Use LinkedIn to Prep For Your Interview
As I mentioned earlier, recruiters use LinkedIn to seek out qualified candidates. As a result, they tend to have their own LinkedIn profiles that are helpful when preparing for your interview.
Do some digging and see if you can find out if your recruiter will also be your interviewer. If you do track down your interviewer, learn about their career path, experiences, interests, and skills. This can help you think about responses to their questions that will really engage their attention and help you stand out.
In the end, the question isn’t just, “How do I search for jobs on LinkedIn?” It’s also, “How do I use LinkedIn to nail the interview and land the job?”
7. Impress Recruiters With LinkedIn Articles
LinkedIn is more than just a job board. In a way, it functions as a professional social media platform, as well. That means that you have an opportunity to curate a “feed” that shapes your professional image.
Reading and sharing innovative and groundbreaking articles in your feed is a great way to stay ahead of the curve. However, you can also use LinkedIn to write your own content, which can really catch the attention of recruiters and companies. If you feel like you have something impressive to add to the conversation, don’t shy away from that “Write Post” button!
Master the LinkedIn Job Search and Network Your Way to a Job
Landing a job without knowing the right person isn’t always easy. That’s why I recommend tuning into the LinkedIn job search and perfecting your profile so that it can do some of the work for you. Take advantage of LinkedIn’s networking opportunities and make the connections you need to break into your field.
Are you not sure what your dream field is yet? Are you uncertain about how your experience stacks up? Schedule a free 30-minute phone consultation with me so that we can narrow down your aspirations and the qualities that make you a perfect candidate.