How to Use LinkedIn to Find a Job

LinkedIn now has more than 500 million users, with 2 new users joining every second. Additionally, 44% of LinkedIn users earn more than $75,000 in a year, and it’s been reported that 41% of millionaires use LinkedIn.

This makes LinkedIn the place to be if you are on the hunt for a new career opportunity or if you want to grow a business. I want to help you use LinkedIn to find high-quality career opportunities and get noticed by recruiters.

If we’ve never met before, I’m Heather Austin from ProfessorAustin.com and The Career Club on Facebook, and here, I share simple solutions to help you build a business or launch a career you love.

FREE 5-Day LinkedIn Mini Course

LinkedIn is the place to be for professionals and job seekers. Let your LinkedIn account help you find and land your dream job. Access your free LinkedIn mini course today!

Here’s how you can let LinkedIn work to your advantage in your professional growth:

 Tip #1 – Change Privacy Settings

Changing your privacy settings will signal recruiters and hiring managers that you are actively looking for work. To do this, click on your picture, select “Settings and Privacy,” then “Privacy.”

Click on “How others see your profile and network information,” then “Job Seeking Preferences,” and select the top item, “Let recruiters know you are open to opportunities.”

Clicking on it will reveal a toggle. Turn it to “Yes.” Now, potential employers are much more likely to reach out to you!

Tip # 2 – Fully Optimize Your Profile

Before you begin your job search, you need to optimize your profile; you want potential connections and employers find your profile in its best possible condition.

Plus, if your profile is in tip-top shape, LinkedIn’s algorithms can work best to your advantage. Optimizing your profile includes having a professional profile photo, a well-written summary, and a catchy, industry-specific headline.

To find out what areas of your profile need to be optimized before you begin your job search, take a look at this video I made to teach you 7 steps to get started on LinkedIn.

Tip # 3 – Understand the Importance of Connections

The more connections you have, the better your chances of finding the right career opportunity for you, so grow your network!

My recommendation is to connect with at least 10 – 20 people a day until you’ve established a relatively good-sized network.

Start by connecting with people you know personally, and then move on to people that you haven’t met in person but that have something in common with you (i.e., attendants of your alma mater or employees at your company).

Always customize your connection requests to each person. Here’s how I would write a connection request:

Hi Holly, I noticed that like me, you are also a career strategist. It’s great to see we have a few shared connections. Would you mind if we connect on LinkedIn? Heather

Tip #4 – Use the Jobs Feature

Select the “Jobs” tab at the top of your LinkedIn window to start browsing. Here are a few ways to find your ideal job:

• Browse the jobs LinkedIn presents to you.
• Browse positions by a specific company.
• Use the search bar to find postings by title.

Once you’ve found a position you are interested in, click on it and read the description. You can then choose to save or apply to the position.

Save, Apply, and Easy Apply

If you’re interested in a position, but you aren’t ready to apply just yet, you can save the position and reference it for later.

You can also click “Apply” on the job posting. For most positions, this will take you to an external website where you can apply.

Sometimes, an “Easy Apply” option is available on a job posting; here, you can also use your LinkedIn profile to apply for the position.

Tip # 5 – Don’t Forget to Follow Up

Following up is a very important step! Keep track of the positions you apply for and then follow up with the hiring manager or recruiter to let them know about your interest in the position.

Some positions will list a contact person who you can follow up with a few days after you apply. Other positions won’t contain this information; in which case, you’ll have to do some digging.

If no contact person is listed on the job posting, do a people search. You may have to be a little creative. For example, if I was trying to follow up on an application for a position at Overstock, I may need to try a number of searches like the following before getting it right:

• “hiring manager overstock”
• “talent acquisition overstock”
• “recruiter overstock”

In addition to following up with the hiring manager or recruiter, make sure you follow the company page. This will ensure that you get word on the latest news from the company, such as events or positions they are looking to fill. If you really want to get noticed, like, comment on, and share posts a company publishes.

In Conclusion

There you have it, folks: some simple steps to let LinkedIn help you find a job. And if you’re not quite sure if your LinkedIn profile is completely optimized, make sure you enroll in my free LinkedIn mini course!

FREE 5-Day LinkedIn Mini Course

LinkedIn is the place to be for professionals and job seekers. Let your LinkedIn account help you find and land your dream job. Access your free LinkedIn mini course today!