How to Effectively Use LinkedIn to Land a Job

If looking for a new position, have you used LinkedIn to its full power yet? LinkedIn can help you not only connect to hiring managers, it can help you showcase your skills, background and education. It can help you network your way into a hiring manager’s field of vision and then allows you to stand out in the hiring manager’s eyes as the perfect person for his or her open position.

Read below for some tips on how to use LinkedIn effectively to land your next job.

  • The first step is to make sure your LinkedIn profile is complete. Have a professional photo, a complete summary (one that details how you can help an employer, not what you’re looking for). Fill in all current and past positions and make sure to highlight your accomplishments within those positions. Place appropriate keywords in your profile so that you’ll come up in recruiter searchers.
  • But don’t stop there. Creating a full profile is an important step, but if you just leave your profile alone and wait for the job offers to come in, you’ll be waiting a long time. Instead, join appropriate groups (and add something of value to the group’s conversations). Also, if you have a blog, make sure your posts go live and appear in your LinkedIn feed. (Your followers will see the link and may go read your post.)
  • Join job search groups. Why? Because once you’re a member of any group, you have instant access to ALL members of that group. Meaning that you can directly contact hiring managers and others at the companies at which you’d like to work. (Note: a group’s logo automatically [by default] appears on your profile. You can hide any group’s logo by heading to the “Your Settings” section of the “More” menu that’s included at each group’s page.)
  • Comment intelligently in a discussion when you have something of worth to say. Recruiters regularly visit these job search groups looking for candidates. If you write well and offer value in the group’s discussions, you could very well find yourself contacted by one or more recruiters.
  • Don’t be shy about joining groups. You can join up to 50. The more you join – and comment within – the better.
  • Start group discussions yourself and add to the discussion as other comment. Don’t be spammy and sales-y, however. Likewise, don’t post comments that come across as desperate or needy.
  • Check out the “Jobs” tab in the group’s page. This is different from the main “Jobs” page on LinkedIn. These jobs are more specific to the group’s interests.
  •  If you’re interested in working at a particular company, check out its LinkedIn profile page. Take a look at the company’s employees with a LinkedIn profile and see with whom in your network they’re connected. If they are first-level connections, reach out to them. If they are second-tier connections, reach out to them by sending a message and asking them if you could ask them about their position and work at the company. If they respond and you develop a good rapport, build up your courage and ask them to introduce you to the hiring manager of the department in which you’d like to work. Most people want to help others in their job search. So long as you remain professional and friendly – and not needy/desperate – you have a good chance of getting that introduction.

If looking for work in San Bernardino, Riverside or another Inland Empire city, contact the recruiters at Arrow Staffing. We have the right connections with many of the region’s best employers and we can introduce you to some great temporary, temp-to-hire and direct-hire opportunities with these companies.

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