Can LinkedIn Really Help You Land Your Next Role? 10 Strategies That Say Yes.

I'm convinced that job seekers could ONLY use LinkedIn for their search and land their next role in half the time. That's a bold statement, I know. But here's the thing: most job seekers don't know how to leverage all the tools and features that LinkedIn offers to maximize their job search results.?

In this article, you'll discover ten eye-opening stats and strategies that could redefine your job search on LinkedIn. How do I know these work? Because I've seen them in action, not just with my clients, but in my own family. When I updated my husband's LinkedIn profile using these strategies, he went from zero views to being hired in just 19 days - landing a job offer at his #1 target company.

Ready to transform your LinkedIn profile from benchwarmer to MVP? Let’s dive in.

1. Beef Up Your Work Experience

Here's a stat that'll knock your socks off: Members with at least two work experiences completed with accomplishments added get 2X the profile views and connections.?

Key takeaway: In your work history, don't just list your job title, company name, and employment dates. Add those accomplishments! Quantify your achievements, showcase your skills, and give recruiters a reason to remember you.

I like to start each position with insight into what brought me to the company or the industry. It’s a great opportunity to mention if you were recruited into a role or if there was a values alignment.

2. Don't Skip the Education Section

Did you know job seekers who list their education on their profile are twice as likely to receive an InMail from recruiters??

Pro tip: If you're dealing with age discrimination, leave off the graduation dates - they're not required. But do add a date to a recent certification. This ensures you'll pop up in search results when recruiters filter by dates or degrees.

3. Skills, Skills, and More Skills

Hold onto your hats for this one: 50% of recruiters use LinkedIn skills to fill roles, and job seekers with 5 or more skills listed on their profile get 17x more profile views than those without them.

Key Takeaway: Add at least 5 high-priority hard skills to your profile. But why stop there? You can add up to 100! I recommend using as many as possible, focusing on the skills required for your target role. You should also compare job descriptions for your top 4-5 target roles to see which skills are listed across all of them. These are the ones you want to give prominence on your profile.

When Melissa, one of my LinkedIn Unlocked students, added skills to her profile, she saw a 1200% increase in profile views. Another student, Jason, saw a 2000% increase. And when I updated my husband's profile with skills during his last job search? His views skyrocketed by 8500%. LinkedIn favors skills-based hiring, so it makes sense that profiles with skills get more visibility.

I'm hosting a LinkedIn Live event on September 10th at 1 pm ET. If you're looking for more ways to leverage LinkedIn in your job search or would like to ask questions related to your job search and using LinkedIn join me here.

4. Leverage LinkedIn's Resume Builder Tool

Here's a little-known hack: Use LinkedIn's resume builder tool to find the keywords your profile needs for your target job. It's like having a cheat sheet for your profile optimization!

Here’s how to use the resume builder hack:

Go to your profile homepage.

Click on the More button.

Select build a resume.

Click on build from profile.

Put in your target job title.

LinkedIn will populate your profile in the form of a resume.

Our goal isn’t to use the profile as a resume, though. Our goal is for LinkedIn to tell us the most important keywords for that target role. On the right-hand side, you’ll see green checkmarks for your skills that match the job title you used.

Below that, you’ll see LinkedIn’s recommendations for additional keywords. These are keywords that LinkedIn has culled from the millions of job openings and profiles of people with the same job title. They deem these the most important.

You should see around 10 keyword recommendations if you have a free profile. If you have the premium version of LinkedIn, you can see between 15–25 depending on the role and how many keywords you already have that match the job.

Look through the list; if any skills you possess aren’t listed on your profile, ensure that you add them immediately — but don’t add any you do not possess. You can list up to 100 skills on your profile in the skills section. You can also add skills in the work experience section, your headline, and the About section.

I recommend adding 1-3 of the highest-priority hard skills for your role into your headline because your headline weighs heavily in search results. If you include the top three skills required for your target role in your LinkedIn headline, you will get more profile views and interview invitations from recruiters.?

5. LinkedIn is a Hiring Powerhouse

So far, in 2024, 7 people are hired on LinkedIn every minute. More than 50% of recruiters go to LinkedIn to find their next hire.?

I’ve read varying stats around how many jobs are posted on LinkedIn. Between 14-21 million is what I’m seeing, of course that will vary based on time of year and the market. There are also more than 2 million talent acquisition and hiring professionals on LinkedIn using it to find talent.?

The bottom line: LinkedIn works, if you know how to search optimize your profile so recruiters can find you.

6. Share Content to Boost Visibility

On the topic of how to make sure recruiters can find you… Here's a juicy tidbit: Job seekers who share content get 4X more profile views than those who only scroll the feed.?

Key takeaway:? Post at least once weekly to increase your network visibility. You’re not top of mind to your network, recruiters, hiring managers, or potential new connections if you’re silent on LinkedIn.?

If you’re unsure what to post, I share a content strategy with tips, templates, and ideas for making posting easy and less scary. I realize it’s not everyone’s cup of tea to put themselves out there or to even know what to say. I take the work out of it with Module 6 of my LinkedIn Unlocked course. ?

7. Engage, Engage, Engage!

Speaking of visibility, check this out: Members who engage with content by commenting, liking, and sharing get a 4x increase in profile views.?

Action step: Join the conversations happening on the platform. Spend 15 minutes,, at least 3 days per week, leaving insightful, educational, or informative comments on industry-related posts in your feed.?

At least three students in my LinkedIn Unlocked course have landed interviews and job offers because of their comments on other people's posts. By imparting your knowledge and expertise, you're helping others and increasing your visibility with recruiters and hiring managers.

In my LinkedIn Unlocked course, I offer templates and tips for engaging as a job seeker.?

8. Craft a Killer Headline

Here's another number that'll make your jaw drop: A strong LinkedIn profile headline will result in 21x more profile views.?

Hold all the stops because I’m letting one of my favorite cats out of the bag. My number one recommended headline formula.

Drumroll, please...

My favorite headline formula is: Target Job Title + 3 High-Priority Hard Skills + Personal Branding Statement.

When I updated my husband's LinkedIn headline, he got interview requests from recruiters in less than 24 hours. Within 7 days of starting his job search, he had an interview lined up at his number one target company.?

Here are a couple of examples:

- Digital Marketing Manager | SEO, PPC, Content Strategy | Driving ROI Through Data-Driven Campaigns

- Software Engineer | Java, Python, AWS | Building Scalable Solutions for Tomorrow's Challenges

Transforming Executive Careers | Executive Resume Writer | Land Better Offers in 90 Days or Less | LinkedIn Top Voice | Let's chat about how you can make your next career move with confidence

9. Aim for All-Star Status

Did you know that a complete or "All-star" profile receives 20x more profile views??

Key takeaway - Head to your homepage right now. Find out what you must do to complete your profile and make it happen. LinkedIn is great about giving you little nudges on your profile to make sure it is complete. If you’re not seeing their suggestions or the completion level meter on your profile homepage, then go directly to this LinkedIn Help article to read exactly what you need to do to achieve All-Star Status. Then get it done. Right now. Seriously. No excuses!

10. Make New Connections

In 2024, 70% of LinkedIn members were hired at a company where they had a connection.?

Action step: Start connecting with employees of your target companies. This is not just about hiring managers and recruiters but also alumni from your university who work there, people with whom you share a common connection. Here's a simple note you can send:

"Hi James,

We both attended UC Berkeley, and you're also in the healthcare industry. I'd like to connect to engage and support each other further.?

Best,

Jessica"

Now that you know how to optimize your profile for searches, what about a better way to message hiring managers and increase interview invitations? There's my LinkedIn Unlocked course for that.?

You can sign up on the waitlist to be the first notified when enrollment opens in September. Plus, get a free 5-day Leveraging LinkedIn video email course where I show you the major changes I made to my husband's LinkedIn profile that landed him the 8500% profile view increase, interview invites within 24 hours, and a job offer 12 days into his job search.

If you've found this article helpful, please like and comment below. Let's start a conversation about how you're leveraging LinkedIn in your job search!

#Careers #jobsearch #networking #LinkedIn

Great Resumes Fast | Executive Resume Writers

Jessica Hernandez, CPBS, CDCS