LinkedIn offers many free and paid tools to help job seekers in their search for full-time or contingent opportunities.  

The coronavirus has fundamentally changed the way the world works – and this unchartered territory demands continuous adaptability from job seekers in order to stand out in an increasingly competitive and uncertain job market. 

As social distancing continues in most states and provinces, digital networking on the world’s number one professional network is more important now than ever – especially when 97 per cent of HR and staffing professionals we’re using LinkedIn in their recruitment efforts pre-pandemic. 

How to use LinkedIn to find a job 

Optimizing a LinkedIn profile for candidacy may take a little work depending on how active and updated yours is. Before setting out on your search, it’s important to ensure the following is in order to build your personal brand online: 

• Your LinkedIn profile has a photo
• Your LinkedIn profile is 100% complete 
• Your work history section aligns with your resume (dates, titles, etc.) 
• You have connections and engage with relevant content 
• You have recommendations or have given recommendations 
• You contribute to industry-specific groups 
• You follow companies you would like to work for 

Once you have a completed LinkedIn profile and have either established your online brand or are still working to cultivate it, you can delve deeper into the LinkedIn job search toolkit. 
 

First thing’s first: Do you want a public or private job search? 

It’s important to note that job search activity is private, by default. No updates will be sent out when you apply for a job. However, you can promote your job search or hide certain activity that would indicate you’re looking. Here’s how: 

Public: Use the #OpenToWork feature 

Let recruiters or hiring teams know you’re open to new opportunities with LinkedIn’s #OpenToWork feature. This tool allows you to specify the types of job(s) you’re interested in as well as the location(s). This will help your profile will populate in search results when recruiters or hiring teams look for qualified talent. This feature will also allow you to keep your job search private and visible only to recruiters. 

Private: Set your privacy settings 

If you’re currently employed and would like to keep certain activity like updating your profile private, you can set privacy featuresto reflect how connections can view your LinkedIn activity.   

Search for Jobs 

Located on the top of your LinkedIn homepage, the jobs icon easily helps you search for jobs by using filters, keywords and advance search options. 

You can also select from the job roles suggested by LinkedIn based on your qualifications and experience. 

Set job alerts 

Job alerts can be configurated based on your previous searches, preferences and companies of interest. Job seekers will be alerted to relevant job opportunities via email or other notifications. You can also save jobs and apply to them later. 

Join groups  

Joining groups to share and comment on relevant topics is important to building your personal brand, but it’s also a great way to get connected to other professionals in your industry of interest. These professionals can turn into connections, which can then become opportunities. 

Request referrals 

Your network can help connect you to opportunities. If you share a professional connection with someone who works at a company that is hiring, LinkedIn offers a referral tool that enables you to request a referral to the position you’re seeking at that organization.  However, there are do’s and don’ts when requesting referrals!  

Take skills assessments 

LinkedIn also offers short 15-20 minute skill assessments to validate a skill. Once an assessment is passed, you can add a badge to the skills section of your profile to highlight your proficiencies. 

Add skills 

LinkedIn allows you to select and add up to 50 skills to your profile page. Maintaining a relevant list of skills will help recruiters and other connections to understand your strengths and also ensure your profile is  searchable when recruiters are looking for candidates.  

Reach out to a recruiter 

If you’ve applied to a position online and would like to follow up on your application, send the recruiter responsible for filling the position a message on LinkedIn and ensure to include the job number with your message. Similarly, if you have a recruiter among your connections who recruits for positions your industry of interest, you can introduce yourself through a LinkedIn message also. However, there is an art to the professional schmooze when reaching out to a recruiter on LinkedIn.   

As the digital workforce continues to expand, so too, do your opportunities to make connections and discover great job opportunities.  

Are you working with a recruiter to find your next great opportunity?