How to get a job on LinkedIn
As you may be aware, LinkedIn is the largest professional networking site and at present, there are more than 277 million active accounts. With so many accounts on LinkedIn, you want to avoid getting lost in the crowd – especially if you are looking to obtain a professional role through the site.
After you have set up your profile, how can you actually use LinkedIn to get a job? Luckily, LinkedIn is considered a powerful search engine and job board so it is the perfect place to look for work. In fact, 94% of recruiters claim they use social media, with 87% using LinkedIn, to look for potential candidates to fill their job vacancies.
In this guide, we will take you through some things you can do to take advantage of this game-changing, networking platform which is available right at you finger tips.
Optimise your profile
Your Title: If you are looking for a job in a particular industry, tailor your profile to appeal to employers in that sector. Start with your title. This is usually your current job title, but make sure you avoid something too bland or vague like Marketing or Tax Accountant. This is because at a glance, it does not show your level of experience compared to something like “Marketing Executive” or “Senior Tax Accountant.” With a full, more descriptive detail, recruiters and potential employers know where you are in the company hierachy and then can be in a better position to offer you the same position on better money or the next step in the ladder.
Your Image: An image says 1,000 words and it should present you as professional and hard-working. Does your facial expression and clothing reflect well on the job position or industry? Having a drink with your friends does not scream the next CEO of the company. A strong, high res image with just you and a white background is highly effective. Something that also works well is you receiving or holding some kind of award or photo’d with a well-known business figure or celebrity.
Your Written Profile: You should aim to pick out key skills which are being asked for in job descriptions you have seen and are looking for. The chances are that you have used these skills well before and not recognised them. These could include things like time management, organisation, punctuality and team-work. A great function on LinkedIn is that your connections have the option to endorse you for the skills you claim to obtain.
Use key words on your profile. Recruiters will be searching for straightforward keywords on LinkedIn to find potential employees in the correct industry for their clients. It is important to use keywords so that you are easy to find by recruiters. So, it is important to think about the type of things a recruiter would be searching for and fit these into your profile including types of computer development, qualifications and awards.
Recommendations: Linkedin allows you to ask other people for recommendations and referrals. It is a great way to show some testimonials and highlight your best qualities and why they liked working with you.
Compared to a basic CV on your profile page, these recommendations above add a lot of meat on the bone.
Use the search function
LinkedIn is a high-power search engine in its own right where a recovered 5 billion and over searches were made on the social networking site in the last year alone.
In order to get started, locate the search bar at the top on the page; here you can type in key words, company names and specific job titles. For example, you could type in “Marketing Manager” and you will get a list of relevant job vacancies, group and people who hold that job title already which may be good to connect with. If you are already connected with a person in the search, it will prompt you to message them.
The search engine also cleverly allows you to filter results by people, jobs, groups, companies and inbox. Once you select one, “jobs” let’s say, it will then allow you to further customise your search by industry, connections, location, job function and experience level.
If you click on Marketing Manager at Sony located in Manchester, for example, one of the most helpful features LinkedIn offers you is that in addition to the details of the selected role, you will see:
- A list of other jobs at Sony
- A list of similar jobs available at other companies
- A list of other jobs that people who also clicked on this job have viewed
After you have used the site for a while, LinkedIn’s algorithm will become tailored to you. It will get a feel for what your preferences are and show you things it thinks you would be interested in on the page and in regular emails too.
Connect and build up a network
People you meet on LinkedIn may actually become someone you end up working for, referring or working with. The connection’s aspect of LinkedIn is like a global group that you have created full of mentors and mentees, business opportunities and job leads – this is clearly one of the best features of LinkedIn.
It is advisable to connect with people in your own industry or in an industry you are trying to get your new role in.
Feel free to send messages to people which are personal and professional such as:
“Thank you for connecting with me. It was a pleasure to meet you at the networking event this week – I enjoyed our chat. Keep in touch! Regards, Jennifer”.
If you do this, you are establishing and building relationships right from the start of your employment journey. The receiver of your message will most likely appreciate the effort you have gone through in order to establish a relationship with them. Consequently, they will probably remember you in a sea of faces on their timeline and will potentially interact with your posts.
This piece was provided by BrightPool Recruitment, a company that specializes in helping their clients with talent strategy and helping to attract the best employees for your organisation.
