If you are a functioning professional these days, you likely have a LinkedIn profile.
Perhaps it contains a list of your jobs and your education. Maybe you have some or even a lot of contacts. You might have a few recommendations. That is a great start.
But to find a job with LinkedIn, you must create a robust LinkedIn profile that pushes you to the front of the line. You want to be found, not just exist on LinkedIn. You want a LinkedIn profile that demonstrates your personal brand and advocates for your candidacy while you are sleeping!
Here are some tips to use LinkedIn to find a job:
- Optimize your LinkedIn profile. Make sure your profile uses words that hiring managers will use to describe your ideal job, increasing the chances you will be found by folks looking for someone exactly like you.
- Personalize your profile so it expresses your personal brand. Your profile should not be a static document stuffed with only facts. Include accomplishments. Make it personal by sharing a bit of who you are so you attract people who might like to work with you.
- Get good number of connections. Be sure your connections include people you know from work and your personal who know you well. Look up former co-workers who might have landed at other companies, perhaps in influential roles. Be sure you connect with them to rekindle conversations.
- Build relationships. Don’t just use LinkedIn as a huge electronic Rolodex. Talk to the people you know and find out about their lives and challenges. Make new connections at your target companies then talk to them professional to professional about topics interesting to the other person. Don’t focus so much on your job search. You are more than your job search. You are an interesting person with opinions and experiences that you can share to help other people. That is how you build strong relationships!
- Research companies. Find and talk to new people to expand network and increase opportunities. Use LinkedIn to research companies to discover who might be a hiring manager or peer or in your target department, then start conversations with them to build relationships. You can learn a lot about a company from the LinkedIn profiles.
- Learn and grow. Take advantage of learning opportunities from other people, training opportunities through LinkedIn Training, and learning from SlideShare.
LinkedIn offers the opportunity to connect with people you know and don’t know yet. The more you leverage this powerful tool, the faster you will find a new job.
If you have no idea what I mean, then we need to talk. The Interview Doctor offers many ways to improve your LinkedIn profile then use LinkedIn for job search. Check out the free training program, How to Use LinkedIn to get the Job You Want.
ARE YOU LOOKING TO USE LINKEDIN MORE EFFECTIVELY FOR A JOB SEARCH?
LinkedIn can no longer be ignored in the job search process.
- It is a known fact many recruiters use LinkedIn as a main part of their recruiting process.
- This means you NEED to understand how to use LinkedIn when searching for a new job.
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