Job Hunting on LinkedIn
Your LinkedIn profile is your chance to get your name and face in front of thousands of professionals in your industry. If you're looking for a job, that's essential. The good news? LinkedIn will actually measure the “completeness” of your profile as you work and offer suggestions on how to make it stronger. So, treat your profile like your resume.
Before we share our tips, here are steps from LinkedIn themselves on how to build a profile and develop a network:
Keywords are the key (no pun intended)
Recruiters search for candidates using keywords. Specialized recruiters will purchase Recruiter Licences from LinkedIn to have more flexibility and options in their searching.
The words you use to populate your profile, are the ones that will allow the system to display your profile to recruiters when they search for candidates.
To cut the long story short, you might want to use the words in your profile that you want to be found for. So if you are looking for an accounting job, use words and skills that relate to accountancy in your profile.
Pro tip: If you are not sure what keywords to use, look into the jobs that are being posted on the platform to see what type of requirements they have. Then use similar terms in your profile
Where to use keywords? Well, the main areas are in your profile “Headline”, “Current Position” and the “About” or “Summary” sections. More keywords can be added in describing the responsibilities and achievements you had in the “Experience” section as well as the “Skills” section.
How to Develop a Network?
Your connections can exponentially increase your exposure and access to other connections. The right connections can help you get inside information on a company, refer you for a job, or provide career advice. So, the more connections you have, the better your chances of finding someone to help with your job search.
You can connect with almost anyone
There is a common misconception that you can’t connect with some people because there is no “Connect” button on their profile. However, if you click on the “More” button on the left side, you can still connect.
Always add a note to your connection request
Whenever you send a connection request, you are given the opportunity to add a note. Use that to your advantage. Highlight why you would like to connect to the person and how this can be beneficial for both of you. For example: “Hi Jonas, I have recently seen your post about [add the topic] and it was very interesting. It would be a pleasure to stay in touch”.
Use search
Filter your potential connections based on their companies, industries, and job functions. You can also see whether you have any connections who work at a specific company from a company’s page or job listing.
Use Advanced Search
You can follow companies and people to receive regular updates on the news and trends that are pertinent to hiring. Besides, use the advanced search option to refine your search and to search by date posted, experience level, specific location, job function, company, and industry.
Look for alumni associated with your college or university
Become a member of your university’s alumni group on LinkedIn. Virtually every college and university in the world has one or more alumni groups. Go to the Groups Directory and search for the name of the educational institutions you attended and join as many as an appeal to you.
Join a discussion
To get noticed by someone, a good practice is to engage with their posts. Comment on an article someone has posted or you can also provide your opinion on the post or ask a question to start a conversation and have a start for a relationship.
LinkedIn Groups
By joining groups relevant to your profession or industry and contributing to ongoing conversations in industry-aligned groups will help you learn about your colleagues and competition, build expertise, and position you as a passionate & engaged professional.
One interesting channel for LinkedIn tips comes from an unexpected source. TikTok! Search for this profile on TikTok as it has amazing advice on how to best leverage LinkedIn tools: https://www.tiktok.com/@wonsulting
Optimizing your LinkedIn profile means making a lot of major (and minor) tweaks.
But you don’t have to do it all at once. If you start small and commit to doing a little every week, you’ll find yourself with a well-optimized profile in no time.
To read more tips to hunting jobs during this unprecedented time please download Post Pandemic Job Hunting Guide
Posted by
Nadhirah Afiqah- Marketing Assistant