Information provided by Amber Bockman with the LinkedIn Careers team.
Seven ways to use LinkedIn for Your Job Search
Wondering what kind of role LinkedIn can play in your job search? Well, 9 out of 10 recruiters use LinkedIn to find candidates*, and 75% of hiring managers look at LinkedIn profiles before deciding on a hire. LinkedIn is more than a living resume. Whether you are actively searching for a job or considering a transition, you can use LinkedIn to make better, informed decisions. Here are seven ways
- Have an All-Star Profile
- Make sure your career interests are updated to get the right job recommendations: Finding the right job can sometimes feel like you’re looking for a needle in a haystack. One action you can take to help is to share your career interests, which in turn helps LinkedIn personalize job recommendations for you. Using the Career Interests dashboard, you can set your career interests by location, company size, industry, and the job titles you’re interested in pursuing. Here you can also turn on Open Candidates to privately signal you’re open to a new opportunity — in fact, this can help you show up 2x more in searches by recruiters, and ensure they’re seeing the types of roles you really want.
- Draw on all your experiences, not just your work history: Are you an active volunteer or passionate about a particular cause? Have you received any special recognition or perhaps you speak a foreign language? From courses you’ve taken to test scores you’re proud of, make sure to capture this experience on your profile.
- Have an eye-catching summary:
- Tell your story.Think of your summary as your elevator pitch – how would you spark interest in just 20 seconds? Instead of a laundry list of your work experience, concisely share your passions, motivations, goals and what makes you unique as a professional. For example, you could start with: “I am a budding talent acquisition specialist with a knack for finding the perfect hires for businesses.”
- Be real.How would your colleagues and friends describe you and your work? Include those words and write how you speak. If you’re enthusiastic and witty, be enthusiastic and witty. And for those struggling with writer’s block, we’ve added a nifty suggested summary tool so that all you need to do is personalize.
- Build Your Network
- Did you know that more than 70% of professionals on LinkedIn have been hired at companies where they have a connection? The next time you’re checking out a job opening or a Company Page on LinkedIn, we’ll show your mutual connections in the messaging conversation window. The people you know at the company may be able to help you learn more about the culture, make an introduction, or refer you to a job. Starting a conversation is a great first step toward opening up new opportunities.
- use the alumni tool
- Unsure of what’s next for your career and who to talk to about it? LinkedIn’s alumni tool makes it super easy to see what companies your alumni work at, where they live now, what skills they have and what they studied to get to where they are. Think of it as a roadmap of the different career paths people took who went to your same school. Why is this information relevant to you? The next time you want to see where your major can take you or how to get your foot in the door at your company of choice, you now have a network of alumni you can tap for advice or who can help you make an important introduction.
- Get Career Advice from experienced leaders using LinkedIn
- While finding the right job is important, we know it’s only one part of the equation. Mentorship is key to developing and sustaining a satisfying career and improving your professional life, regardless of whether you’re giving or receiving some form of mentorship. Career Advice is a new feature that helps connect members across the LinkedIn network with one another for lightweight mentorship opportunities. Whether you need advice on your career path, switching to a new industry or best practices for a project you’re working on, Career Advice can help you find and connect with the right person who can help.
- Using Profinder in the Gig Economy:
- The world of work is changing – you can see it in the numbers. Freelancers who made up a mere 6% of the workforce in 1989 are expected to represent 43% of the workforce by 2020. 53 million Americans have made the transition to freelance for a variety of reasons whether that be flexible hours, the self-designated pay structure or they crave variety in their work. LinkedIn Profinder is a freelance tool that puts you in front of local companies allowing you to focus on your job rather than drumming up leads.
- Research Your Income Potential:
- Salary matters—a lot. Better compensation and benefits were the #1 reasons employees chose to accept their current company’s job offer, according to LinkedIn’s Global Recruiting Trends 2017 With LinkedIn Salary, we’ve tapped into our network of more than 460+ million members to provide deep insights into the compensation landscape. This includes salary, bonus, and equity data for specific job titles, and the different factors that impact pay such as years of experience, industry, company size, location, and education level – all of which becomes critical knowledge as you navigate your career. Also, rest assured that when you enter your salary, it’s immediately encrypted and remains private.
- Get alerts when jobs are posted:
- Looking to stay up to speed on when your favorite company posts a new job or if there is a relevant job listing for a particular title or role you’re looking for? Simply go to our Job Search App (available for iOSand Android) or do a job search on desktop, and create alerts with your preferences, including titles, keywords or companies. This way you’ll be the first to know when the job you want opens up.
- Use it to prep for your interview:
- You’ve successfully landed an interview. Now what? Time to get prepared to make sure you have the winning interview formula. Here are three ways LinkedIn can help you nail it:
- Find common ground. Start the interview off the right way by finding common ground. Do your homework to warm up the conversation, so you don’t have to start an awkward conversation about the weather. Check out your interviewer’s LinkedIn profile to see if you have any connections in common, maybe you went to the same school, or maybe you follow the same influencers.
- Demonstrate you’re perfect for the team. Not surprisingly meshing with a company’s culture and team is key for employee happiness and morale. Take the time to find out what makes your team and company tick by going through their Company Page on LinkedIn. At LinkedIn we are encouraged to dream big and to know how to have fun. No surprise that when we interview new team members we love hearing examples of how they are doing just that. Use these insights to prepare a few examples that demonstrate you’re going to be a great fit.
- Relationships matter. We all instinctively know this, but make sure to leverage connections that have affiliations with the company or currently work there. Understanding what business problems the company is trying to solve or having an inside view of what it’s like to work there will help you feel more confident during the interview. Reach out to those connections to put in a good word for you and don’t be shy to message them questions about the company.
- You’ve successfully landed an interview. Now what? Time to get prepared to make sure you have the winning interview formula. Here are three ways LinkedIn can help you nail it:
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