How to find a job or work using LinkedIn

How to find a job or work using LinkedIn

By Sue Ellson BBus MIML MAHRI MPC CDAA ASA WV SPN AH

There are times in our life when we have to think more laterally about how to find a job or work and right now, one of the best tools you can use is LinkedIn!

In this article, I recommend the best strategies I give to my personal clients and encourage you to consider trying them out for yourself, or passing them on to someone you know who is currently looking for a job or work and is willing to try using LinkedIn.

Ways to find a job or work using LinkedIn

1. Complete your LinkedIn Profile
2. Fill out that you are 'Open to Work' or 'Providing Services'
3. Subscribe to Job Alerts and Recommendations based on your Profile
4. Secure at least six Recommendations, both Given and Received
5. Secure at least 20 Endorsements for your top 3 Skills and give others Endorsements too
6. Follow Target Company Pages and engage with their content
7. Get a Copy of your LinkedIn Data and reconnect with your Connections
8. Consider completing some LinkedIn Learning Courses
9. Reconnect with your former School, College, University and Alumni
10. Explore Groups
11. Find People with Google Advanced Search
12. Research, Research, Research and Ask Questions

1. Complete your LinkedIn Profile

I fully understand that filling in your LinkedIn Profile is not necessarily the easiest thing to do. You may be unsure about how much information to include or not include (I believe the more the better, if you don't tell, you can't sell). Make sure it is keyword optimised and that you have completed all of the items on the LinkedIn Profile Cheat Sheet. Remember to discuss your achievements and your tasks and fill in as many sections as possible. If you need personalised help, you can contact me.

If you are not currently working, I encourage you to 'add' a section in the Experience area and say that your job title is 'Career Research - Job Title, Keyword, Keyword, Keyword etc' and that your employer is 'Various' in your current location and in the Description, talk about what you are looking for. The algorithm appears to favour someone with a 'current' job rather than no job. As soon as you get a job, you can update your LinkedIn Profile with the new role.

2. Fill out that you are 'Open to Work' or 'Providing Services'

On your Own LinkedIn Profile, there is a blue box that says 'Open to' and you can fill this in with up to five job titles across five locations or up to 10 services in the location where you are based.

In the 'Open to Work' section you can mention if you are happy to work remotely and you can either choose to make it visible to Recruiters Only (who have the paid for the LinkedIn Talent Solutions Offering) or to All LinkedIn Members in which case you will end up with the green scarf around your LinkedIn Profile picture (I am not a fan as I believe it makes you look 'desperate' but it is a personal choice).

3. Subscribe to Job Alerts and Recommendations based on your Profile

This can be done via the Jobs icon on the top menu. When you search for a Job, you can save it as a Job Alert and click the Job Alerts tab if you want to see the Job Alerts you have chosen and whether or not you have turned on 'Recommendations.

There are various other options here including Interview Preparation, Skill Assessments, Resume Builder and Application Settings. Make sure you have clicked on all of these choices and set things up for your purpose.

Make sure you also look at the Jobs listed on LinkedIn and tailor every application for that specific role. Don't use the exact same details for each job. I encourage you to attach an 'Application' document rather than the same Resume for every role. Every client of mine that has done this, tailored their application specifically for the role, has been contacted for an interview!

4. Secure at least six Recommendations, both Given and Received

On your own LinkedIn Profile, you need to make sure that you have both given and received at least six recommendations.

You can give any of your LinkedIn Connections a Recommendation by clicking on their LinkedIn Profile, clicking the More button and then choosing 'Recommend.' I like to write recommendations by starting with how I met the person, what I have observed and wishing them all the best in the future and sign off with my name. For example:

'I met George Smith in April 2019 when I started working at XYZ Corporation as a business analyst. We worked on multiple projects together and he always supported the team and our objectives and provided clear expectations at all times. He developed excellent relationships with key stakeholders and provided professional training and mentoring to me personally. I would like to wish George all the best in the future. Jane Roberts'

You can be quite strategic about who you write Recommendations for - and I would suggest that you start with the people who have been most helful to you in your career and whose work you really admire. Secondly, you can choose some higher profile people because when your Recommendation appears on their LinkedIn Profile, some different people might visit your LinkedIn Profile.

Thirdly, you can choose people who are your peers in either your industry or profession, hopefully with some similar keywords on their LinkedIn Profile.

However, in all of the Recommendations you prepare for others, please only put in writing what you would be prepared to say in court. Make sure you outline their specific skills rather than just say they were 'amazing.' If they had some skills that were good but overall in the role they were poor, please only focus on the specific skills rather than the full job title.

You can ask for Recommendations by direct message or you can click on the More button on your Connection's LinkedIn Profile and Request a Recommendation.

5. Secure at least 20 Endorsements for your top 3 Skills and give others Endorsements too

Either whilst you are going through the Recommendations process or separately, start Endorsing your Connections for their Skills and hopefully they will return the favour! Your goal is to secure at least 20 Endorsements for your top 3 Skills. If you can secure Endorsements from people who have been endorsed for the same Skill or have worked with you, that is worth extra brownie points.

6. Follow Target Company Pages and engage with their content

If a Company uses LinkedIn Recruiter, and you are already following the Company Page, you are more likely to appear in their search results if the keywords on your LinkedIn Profile match their search request. If you have also engaged with some of the Company Page content, that will also help. There are various reactions you can choose from and you can also add appropriate Comments (the longer and more relevant, the better). You may also like to see if anyone you know works at the Company and ask them for information about working at the Company and if they have any suggestions on how to secure work there.

The Company Page may also have a Jobs Section so check that out as well.

7. Get a Copy of your LinkedIn Data and reconnect with your Connections

You can Download a larger Data Archive of your content on LinkedIn at https://www.dhirubhai.net/psettings/member-data and when you receive the email, click on the link and download the files, one of the files will be a list of all of your Connections. You can go through this list and reconnect with people and perhaps also find other people you remember when you see this list and connect with them as well.

You can organise a time to let them know what you are doing and a) ask for information about options moving forward b) ask for their opinion on what your strengths are that you can focus on moving forward c) ask if they can recommend anyone you can talk to. Please remember to thank them for their time. You may even like to offer a payment for their time before making a time to chat. Referrals are one of the best ways to find work.

You may also like to look at the 'Inferences' file in your download to see what Inferences LinkedIn has made about you.

8. Consider completing some LinkedIn Learning Courses

Now could be a very good time to upgrade your skills, especially if you haven't completed any training in a while. There is some free information here and you can access all LinkedIn courses with a LinkedIn Premium Membership (free for the first 30 days, but remember to cancel it if you don't want it to continue). You will need to submit credit card details to start the free trial.

9. Reconnect with your former School, College, University and Alumni

You can add your partly completed courses (listing actual subjects completed) and fully completed courses (again with all subjects and possibly topics) in the Education section. Then when you click on the LinkedIn Page for your School, College, University or Alumni, you can reach out to people who may be able to provide you with information or referrals - or even just reconnect and catch up!

10. Explore Groups

Similarly, Groups can provide central sources of people and information that may be relevant to your job search. Use the Advanced Search feature to find Groups that could be relevant for you.

11. Find People with Google Advanced Search

If you use the Search box on LinkedIn and can't find a person you are looking for, or details of people who are not part of your network as 1st or 2nd level connections, you can put in search queries at https://www.google.com.au/advanced_search and choose the site linkedin.com. Happy hunting!

12. Research, Research, Research and Ask Questions

LinkedIn is an incredible research tool for finding out who is connected to who, what their background is, what they have been recognised for and so much more. If you secure a job interview, you might want to learn more about the company on LinkedIn, the staff and the decision-makers. You can look at their profile description and compare this with their website. If you would like to do all of this anonymously, you can change your profile here https://www.dhirubhai.net/psettings/profile-visibility and then change it back afterwards. I like to leave myself turned on when I look at profiles as there is a 30% chance the personal will look at my profile in return.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. Contacting people out of the blue and asking for a job is probably not the best way to introduce yourself. Asking for information, in a respectful way, with the appropriate thanks afterwards, can lead to amazing results.

I hope you find these tips helpful and I wish you well with your job search! You may also find these articles helpful.

• How to choose your next job or career
• Multiple Job Strategies That Will Work
• Tough Love for the Unemployed under 30
• Tough Love for the Unemployed 30-50
• Tough Love for the Unemployed 50+
• The problem with saying 'just get a job'
• Could finding a job or work be a psychological mind game?
• What to do for your career whilst you are at home
• Tips for finding remote work or working from home jobs
• Networking - Free and Paid Online and Offline - What really works?

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Keyword Hashtags

#linkedinforjobs #linkedinforwork #findajob #findwork #linkedin #sueellson

First Published: 17 February 2021

Last Update: 17 February 2021

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Sue Ellson BBus, MIML, MAHRI, MPC, CDAA, ASA, WV, SPN, AH is an Independent LinkedIn Specialist, Business and Careers Consultant, Trainer and Author.

More information at https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/sueellson and https://sueellson.com

Questions directly via email sueellson [at] sueellson.com