How to find a job on LinkedIn

The world has slowly started to recover some 8 months since COVID 19 made itself known globally. While we’ve made substantial headway in combatting and preventing its spread, there is still a symptom of the virus’ impact we are yet to treat—the rampant decline in employment. With the recovery comes renewed hope for job opportunities. 

What is LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is a business and employment-oriented online service that operates via websites and mobile apps. Launched on May 5, 2003, it is mainly used for professional networking, including employers posting jobs and job seekers posting their CVs.

In layman’s terms, it’s social media for professionals. About 87% of recruiters use LinkedIn to find candidates for jobs. This means if you are not on LinkedIn or your LinkedIn profile is not optimized, you’re leaving the best vehicle for employment opportunities unused.

So how do we create LinkedIn profiles that bring in more job offers? These tips should have you well on your way to doing just that.

Before putting in the time to improve your profile, you want to make sure that your curriculum vitae (CV) is near perfect. While you can apply for jobs using just your profile, it is recommended that you create two or more resumes. This way, the information you provide is relevant to each specific job you apply for. Take great care in making your CV and a special note of the references you provide.

Complete everything

A sure-fire way to guarantee that your profile appears on more searches is to complete everything. LinkedIn allows you to edit the type of information other users will see. This feature should be used to showcase your best attributes. The more information you provide, the more data the algorithm has to work with to give you a richer experience. 

Take the skills quiz

LinkedIn skills assessments have 15 multiple choice questions that demonstrate your knowledge and competence in a concept or subskill. If you pass, the skill is added to your profile, further verifying your ability to perform the tasks required. This isn’t mandatory but forms part of “complete everything,” It will help if you can take one.

Keywords

Do keyword research by reviewing job descriptions of the roles you’re interested in. Take note of the most commonly used words, skills, and job titles and rank them in order of importance. You’ll need to incorporate these keywords into your resume and profile to receive relevant job suggestions and show up in those jobs when recruiters look for candidates.

Be strategic about connections

This is perhaps the part of LinkedIn that is most overlooked and least understood. What is the point of connecting? Much like friends or followers on Facebook, LinkedIn has connections. They are categorized into degrees.

Try to connect with individuals in your field of expertise. This includes colleagues, recruiters, organizations, and people who work for the companies you are interested in. This way, your news feed is populated with relevant results, and you can easily reach out to your contacts should you ever need to.

Ask for recommendations

Building on the community’s theme, ask for recommendations from the peers or managers you’ve worked with. This can help create trust and paint a picture of how you work with others, which is an important consideration when recruiters decide whether you’re a good fit for a company’s culture.

Recap

Right, so you’ve done your keyword research. Your resume is rock solid. You’ve filled in all the information you can, taken a skills test or two, and made strategic connections. It is now time to make sure that your improved profile gets put to fair use. Here’s the last little bit of advice to get you through.

Allocate time

You will need to be disciplined because you will not always be motivated. Searching for a job, in general, can be a hustle. Doing so in this economic climate is frustrating. Set a time of about 15-30 minutes, daily or weekly, for submitting applications. 

Use video to standout

You can create a short video introducing yourself and speaking about your experience then upload it to Youtube. Have the link on your profile so that recruiters can hear directly from you about why you’re suitable for a position.

Take a 30 day free trial of the premium subscription that will give you access to added benefits that can enhance your job hunt. The most powerful of these is InMail, which will allow you to contact a recruiter directly whether you’re connected with them or not. (Don’t forget to set a reminder to cancel the subscription before the trial ends.)

Finally

This is an excellent start to getting your LinkedIn to represent you more professionally. Harness its power, find smart ways to stand out from the crowd, and you no doubt will be closer to landing that dream job. 

In the meantime, try offering your expertise as a consultant on Conrati. You can register using your LinkedIn profile and add value to others by giving good advice. 

Go to www.conrati.com