How to Use LinkedIn Effectively in Your Job

If you’re part of the job seeking population, you will know what LinkedIn is. It’s the world’s largest professional networking platform used by more than 660 million users all over the world in 2020.

You may have dabbled with it during college, or you probably have been required to include your LinkedIn profile along with your resume and cover letter when submitting a job application. Even without requiring it for a job application, over 87% of recruiters actively use LinkedIn when it comes to evaluating job candidates and other recruitment efforts.

Having said that, it’s quite easy to just let your LinkedIn profile sit on the platform. Sure, you would use it for job application(s), networking event(s) and other related professional occasion(s), but what else is there to do?

In this article, we’ll talk about:

Steps to optimizing your linkedin profile
Capitalizing on your networking
Tips on searching for jobs on linkedin
Why use linkedin for your job search

To understand just how useful it is to not only be on LinkedIn but to be an active user and practitioner on it, let’s take a look at the reasons why LinkedIn became the reputable networking site it is now. This information was gathered and put together after extensive research and interviews with human resource professionals.

LINKEDIN’S REACH

LinkedIn has over 30 million companies listed on the site allowing more than 14 million jobs to be open to the public. Job recruiters use LinkedIn as a regular tool to look for employees.

In fact, a recent study found that a whopping 122 million people received an interview through the social media platform. Additionally, over 35.5 million of those people landed a job and got hired through the site. That’s a turnaround number of about 29% of the people who used LinkedIn for their job search.

In terms of how big the platform is, LinkedIn doesn’t lag far behind Facebook. In fact, LinkedIn has been around the web longer than Facebook. Founded in 2002, it has been supporting its users for a longer time period. The longevity of the tech company is evidence that it has found its dominance within its niche on the internet.

LinkedIn’s longevity, search ability on the internet, and its reputation as the internet’s professional networking site are enough reasons why you should be using LinkedIn and capitalizing on such a useful professional tool.

With those in mind, let’s dive into some tips, tricks, and best practices to optimize and maximize your LinkedIn experience for your job search.

STEPS TO OPTIMIZING YOUR LINKEDIN PROFILE

COMPLETE AND UPDATE YOUR PROFILE

It is important to update your profile often to catch the eye of businesses you are interested in. Updating your profile often allows companies to see your accomplishments and how you would benefit their company. Updating your profile allows the business lenders to see your profile and compare it to requirements that are mandatory for the job.

LinkedIn has millions of members. With thousands of skills listed, the platform has million jobs open on LinkedIn Jobs. There are many job opportunities but hundreds of people are looking for the same job. If you update your profile with the standards and requirements needed for the job you are looked upon higher than those who do not meet the majority of all of the requirements.

LinkedIn is a free business resource for the public created by Reid Hoffman in 2002. Over a hundred million people have received interviews through LinkedIn. In order to get a job through LinkedIn, you must start with the basics.

PERSONALIZE YOUR PROFILE

In order to maintain professional status, you must maintain your profile.

You must:

Include a clear professional picture
Write a headline that explains who you are and where you are living • Get recommendations

If coworkers comment on your profile it boosts confidence and credibility • Connect to the business by setting up meetings or phone calls. If you create a strong profile you will stand out and become more successful.

WHY YOUR PROFILE PICTURE MATTERS

When choosing a picture for your profile there are a few standards you must follow. To get the best profile picture follow these 5 tips.

Choose a picture (Overuse of makeup is unnecessary)
Use a high-resolution image, with your face taking up the majority of the picture. Make sure you’re the only one in the picture (Do not crop yourself out of a family photo).
Do not take the picture yourself. It’s better to have your photo professionally taken.
Choose the right expression.
Choose a plain background with good lighting.

Do not over-edit a photo. Make sure you look as you would appear for the job. Examples:

Avoid:

Acceptable:

Do not set images that are not related to you.

Avoid:

Your profile picture is your first chance to make a good impression on the company you’re looking to work for. Your first impression is key before they look at your certification and the experience you have completed. It is highly recommended to add a profile picture to your LinkedIn account. Adding a picture to your resume on the other hand is looked down on. It lowers your chance of getting a job because it distracts from the experience and skills you hold.

Once businesses have seen your profile they will send you a connection message. When receiving a connection message accept the message and send a thank you. If you are unsure of the job make sure you ask questions before accepting. Businesses are willing to answer any questions you have before working for them.

Your profile picture also serves as a visual for companies to have a glimpse of who you are and the brand or message you are communicating. It’s unlikely that the inclusion of a profile picture is used by companies to discriminate against people, it’s more of a tool to assess the level of professionalism a candidate has.

THE DO’S AND DON’TS ON MAINTAINING A GOOD PROFILE

In order to keep your profile up to date, you must be willing to edit, post, and update your profile religiously. Tending to your LinkedIn profile shows care and meticulous dedication to employers. \\\

Below is a list of Do’s and Don’ts ensuring that your profile is at its A-game.

Do’s:

Make an accurate, up to date resume
Have a cover letter
Make connections regularly
Use up to date links
Respond to connection invitations and messages quickly and professionally • Gather testimonials/references from friends, colleagues, and coworkers • Use professional language

Don’ts:

Send spam messages
Ask strangers for recommendations randomly
Self-promote shamelessly
Let your account go inactive

EXPERIENCES TO SHOWCASE ON PROFILE

Without showcasing your experience in the best way you possible, job recruiters aren’t as enticed to look into your profile. Your profile is your chance to elaborately list your experiences with their corresponding skill sets in order to be more competent in the job world.

Relevance is key. You don’t have to list every single job experience you have. You can definitely be smart about it and list the most relevant and recent experiences you have had that shows and illustrates your skills better. What you showcase should be what employers look for.

Some of the things you can do in order to do that are listed below.

Word your experience heading(s) carefully
Label your work by the titles or certificates you have received
Identify and emphasize skills earned through those experiences • Emphasize achievements, awards, or any other reviews you’ve earned • Use accurate numbers
Use strong points
Use action words (Examples: led, grew or managed)
Make sure to be free grammar errors and use professional language (Add in gpa when to add and when to not add)

There are many resumes that are posted on LinkedIn. To make yourself stand out through your resume you must be unique. You must be able to showcase important and relevant experiences. Many individuals list qualities about them in their resumes.

Words to avoid in your resume include the basics such as skilled, motivated, or successful. Be unique with your word choice. Make your talents and experience stand out. Explain yourself in a unique way by experience instead of basic qualities. Showcase pages are very beneficial for companies. You can create 10 free showcase pages on LinkedIn. The purpose of showcase pages is to target a specific audience on certain pages. The page could be regarding a candy shop. The different pages would target different candy lovers such as sour candy specials or dark chocolate deals. It helps target people to the candy store and allow them to see what they want. Show pages are fit for everyone’s needs.

How to create a showcase page

Click edit in the right-hand corner
Decide on the page name (It Must be different than the main page)
Enter information about the company
Pictures, information, and links
Publish

CAPITALIZE ON YOUR NETWORKING

The greatest ally in your LinkedIn job search is your professional network. It is vital to your success to build and foster strong connections on Linkedin. Here are some simple steps to begin capitalizing on your network:

STEP 1: CONNECT WITH YOUR PEERS.

Your peers can be friends, family, coworkers, classmates, anyone in your desired field or who may have connections with someone in your field or company. Connect with the alumni from your school, especially those who chose your same degree and career path. You can go to Linkedin.com/Alumni for a list of individuals who graduated from your

school and where they are currently working. When building your professional network is it important to remember quality vs. quantity. While it is generally good and advised to make several connections, the quality of the connections is what benefits your job search. For example, having 10 connections with individuals outside of your career or degree is not as beneficial as having 1 connection with an individual who is in your career of choice or who is in your preferred company.

STEP 2: FOLLOW COMPANIES AND CONNECT WITH THE EMPLOYEES

Follow companies that you have an interest in and connect with employees in your desired department. Connecting with these individuals shows your interest in the company and their experience. Take some time on each individual’s page to learn more about them and see what you have in common or what you could benefit from connecting with them, take note of these individuals for later. As in the last step, quality vs. quantity applies here too.

It is important to note that when you visit an individual’s page, that the same individual gets a notification that you visited their page with your name and a link back to your page. This is a great asset when it comes to your job search because it puts your name and face on an individual’s radar. In the future, your name may come across their desk and chances are that they will be more familiar with you than your competitor because you took the time to connect which in turn may give you a leg up in the hiring process.

STEP 3: CONNECT WITH RECRUITERS

There are two types of recruiters on LinkedIn that are important to note during your job search. First, is a recruiter that is employed by the company and is capable and quality candidates. Second, is a recruiter that is employed by a staffing agency or third party . The first is a lot stronger and a much greater asset to you in your job search than the second.

Recruiters employed by the company know the company and culture better than anyone else. They know what they are looking for and they know who would be best suited for different positions. You will find that most large companies such as Amazon, Johnson & Johnson, and Google have in house recruiters and departments dedicated to finding the right individual for the culture and positions of the company. These individuals typically know right away if you are a good fit or not for the company. Trust them.

Recruiters employed by staffing agencies likely don’t have experience with the culture of the company and are working off a sheet of requirements for the job. They get paid for every position filled and not necessarily that they fill the position with someone best suited for the company and its culture. While we cannot speak for all recruiters, the HR professionals we surveyed said that these types of recruiters often don’t care about the quality of the candidate or the possibility of you fitting into the culture and company and care more about checking off a set of requirements.

take additional time to talk to individuals from the company to get a feel if you are a good fit or not.

In everything that you do on LinkedIn it is important to be genuine and show your true personality. With recruiters however, it is especially important and vital to your success to be genuine. Recruiters have a second sense for spotting fake or in genuine

individuals and messaging, so be yourself. Top tips to use when speaking to recruiters are:

Engage in conversation
Ask good questions
Showcase your personal brand or genuine self. (ie. I am a mother and I love spending time with my children.)
Personality > Cookie Cutter responses

STEP 4: CREATE AN ACTIVE AND ENGAGING PRESENCE

LinkedIn began as a social network and while it has expanded into so much more the social networking aspect remains the same. Just as you would engage with your followers on Instagram or Facebook, you should engage with your connections on LinkedIn. For example, you can like and comment on individual posts, share their content, and publish your own work. Remember the point we made before on being genuine? This is also true when creating an active and engaging presence. Don’t like, comment or share items that don’t feel genuine to who you are and your brand. Be genuine in your engagement and conversations. Also be consistent.

Utilize hashtags in your posts so that people outside of your network can find you and make connections with you. If you are talking about something relevant to an individual, company or position tag the appropriate person to bring their attention to it.

STEP 5: PUBLISH YOUR WORK

As college students, you have done projects, research papers, visual content, and so much more for your education. Don’t let your hard work sit in a folder on your computer forever, share them on LinkedIn for potential employers to see. LinkedIn is a great place to showcase your portfolio, share the things you are interested in, and showcase your talents. When uploading your work make sure to upload a relevant image attached to your content and add a clear and concise description so individuals can quickly know what they are reading.

STEP 6: INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND ENGAGE IN CONVERSATION

Messaging individuals in your field or preferred company can grow your connections and lead to mentorship and possibly employment. In Step 2 we created a list of individuals who you felt had something in common with you and you could easily connect with. Start with these individuals and work from there. Your initial message can start by congratulating them on their accomplishments, wishing them a happy birthday, asking a question relating to their brand, or connecting with them on your common interest. For example, you message may look something like this:

“Hi Mason, I wanted to reach out and connect with you. I am impressed by your career progression in Marketing and your current employment at Google. I am early in my career and applying to several Marketing positions at this time. I was wondering if you would be able to give me any advice.”

Be consistent in messaging, your initial message should not be the last message you send them and it should not be a cookie cutter message that you copy, paste, and send to multiple individuals. Your message must be genuine and personalized to that individual and to yourself. Professional connections take time and attention to cultivate

and the more genuine the connection the more likely they will remember you when a job opportunity arises. Don’t be afraid to reach out even if it is someone you don’t know or haven’t spoken to in a long time.

TIPS ON SEARCHING FOR JOBS ON LINKEDIN

Now that you are established on LinkedIn and capitalizing upon your network, you are ready to begin your job search. First, HR professionals suggest beginning your search by utilizing your strong network and creating a post that you are looking for employment in your particular field and encourage your network to provide any connections that they have. Check out this example from one of our HR Professionals who was laid off due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Next, make a list of what you are looking for (ie. job title, skill, or company) and what locations you would like to work in. Click the “Jobs” tab at the top of your page and enter those items into the “Search for your next job” box. As you are looking through available job postings, take your time and review the job descriptions to make sure your skills fit what’s required for the job. If your skill set meets the requirements, apply to the position.

The HR professionals we interviewed suggested that you pay careful attention to the verbiage in job postings, specifically in the job description, and use the same verbiage in your own resume to describe your credentials before you apply. Several employers nowadays use AI to filter resumes into a possible applicant pile and a rejection pile. AI looks for specific verbiage and qualities that were mentioned in the initial job posting. If your resume doesn’t have those qualities listed, it will not pass the AI test and will not be put on the pile of possible applicants. In the weeks following your application submitted, refer back to step 6 and engage with employees at the companies you applied to or reach out to the recruiter or employer reviewing your resume.

WHY USE LINKEDIN FOR YOUR JOB SEARCH

Today many employers are using LinkedIn to recruit and find candidates versus times of past where they would review paper resumes submitted to them. This was true for Eric Eyster, currently working for Amazon doing HR at one of their cross-dock facilities in Charlotte, North Carolina. At the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic, Eric found himself among so many others laid off from a steady job doing HR for an automotive manufacturer.

The first thing he did is update his LinkedIn profile and post that he was looking for employment. From there he began applying and connecting with individuals in his field when undenounced to him, his profile was picked up by a recruiter from Amazon.

What happened next?

Impressed by his profile, connections & resume they reached out to him about a position in their cross-dock facilities where he was interviewed and offered the job. “I never applied to this position with Amazon, they reached out to me.” said Eric. During the interview process, Eric connected with individuals at the particular cross-dock and within the HR division of the company and built strong connections.

Through those connections he was about to learn more about the specific position and his potential with the company in the future. He also gathered great advice to utilize in the interview and in turn help him land the job. In our interview Eric said, “My LinkedIn profile significantly impacted my employment with Amazon. Without it, I may have not been able to get this position.” Your experience may not be the same as Eric’s however, it is valid to say that having a strong LinkedIn profile and genuine connections can significantly increase your chances of getting a job. To those who are currently looking for employment, Eric says, “be engaged and network with individuals that are experienced in the field in which you desire to grow in. LinkedIn has so much to offer you if you put the work into it.”

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, LinkedIn can be extremely beneficial as you begin your job search/career. The information provided in this article can help you achieve greatness as you begin this trek to finding your future career/passion. Following the steps provided above, and truly optimizing your LinkedIn profile can be one of the best things you do to ensure your job search ends in success. Your future truly is at your fingertips.