How to use Linkedin to get your next job
In a tough economy, finding work placements and getting yourself out there can be hard work. Making yourself visible online can certainly boost your employment opportunities and this means being socially active on Linkedin.
Linkedin is the free online social network for work professionals. It is the ultimate online stage for self-promotion – a way to showcase your previous work experience and present yourself as a strong work candidate.
With over 200 million users all over the world, recruiters are looking at Linkedin to head hunt new staff and promote new jobs. Above all, most human resource practitioners are looking you up on Linkedin when they receive your resumé so being on there in the first place is essential.
Update your profile
When you sign up, Linkedin will first give you recommendations of people who you may know. These people will become your connections and Linkedin will use your email address to suggest other members you may know. You can chat to your connections and even rekindle some old friendships.
Updating your profile is easy. On the right hand side, the site provides a checklist of things that you should be adding to your profile including a Summary, Projections and Grades. It will give you a percentage score of how complete your profile is – something that I think Google Plus have picked up and emulated.
Apply for jobs
Using the Linkedin Resume Builder, you can take your profile that you’ve just uploaded and turn it into a nice looking resumé. Choose from a dozen formats to create a killer looking resumé that you can print off and take to your next interview.
Linkedin gives you the opportunity to apply for jobs that other companies and recruiters post. These job are suggested to you on the right hand side of every page and you can apply just one click away. In theory,you can apply for a 100 jobs in one morning. You can get very specific with the job you are applying for including role, salary and location. Once you fill in some details, you can then monitor the position on offer and even see how many other people have applied.
A nice trick is to change your work status to “Looking for a job in marketing…” or whatever your discipline. This is something that will scream out to potential employers and make you that little bit more noticeable.
Post regularly
It’s a great idea to post regularly on the newsfeed with things in your industry that interest you. It can spark debates and engage your connections and subsequently make people view your profile more.
See who viewed your profile
One of the most interesting things about Linkedin is the way you can see who has viewed your profile. Although there is an anonymous button in case you want to snoop around on some people you know, generally the link on the right hand side shows you exactly who was looking at your profile. This is a very exciting prospect and I can only imagine the outcry if Twitter and Facebook followed suit.
But this functionality is a great tool to see which recruiters and companies have been checking you out and you can use this as an invitation to follow up on any job prospects moving forward.
How we’ve been hiring
At The Lenders List, we’re always looking for techies to add to our team. Using Linkedin, we’ve been able to put out job posts for specific roles and locations and we’ve received a response from applicants in minutes. This tells us that the platform adds a lot of value to recruiters so therefore potential employees will maximise their utility by using Linkedin to the fullest.
By Daniel Tannenbaum
Find me on Google+
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