7 LinkedIn Job-Hunting Tactics That Work

How to get a job from LinkedIn

1. Add new skills to your profile.

Add relevant skills to your profile so recruiters who are looking for candidates with your background can find you. More than 90 percent of the people who found a job within three months had listed five or more skills on their profile.

That said, be sure to use the right words — “skilled, passionate and motivated” are no longer enough. Avoid words on LinkedIn’s buzzwords list, to ensure your profile appears unique and memorable. When you say something differently, you rise to the front of the pack more quickly.

2. Follow the companies you’re interested in.

Stay up to date on industry news, participate in conversations and learn about new job opportunities. Among the people who found jobs in three months or less, 91 percent used LinkedIn company pages for research. It could also help to follow key people from these companies, as they might post updates or blogs pertaining to the company.

3. Add a professional profile photo.

A profile photo puts a face to a name and helps project a friendly and approachable image. Nearly 90 percent of the people who were hired in three months or less had a profile photo. Just make sure your photo is actually professional. A high-quality headshot is better than a selfie, though both are better than a photo of you out on the town. [Read related article: Are You in the Right Career? How to Choose the Best Job for You]

4. Keep adding new connections.

Grow your network to be more visible, get your foot in the door at new companies and expose yourself to new job opportunities. Of the job seekers who found work quickly, 87 percent had added 10 or more connections in the past three months. Theoretically, anyone who works for companies or in industries that interest you could be a connection. Think about it: Aren’t your own connection requests full of strangers?

5. Join LinkedIn groups for your industry.

Use groups to network, ask questions and look out for job openings posted by fellow group members. More than 80 percent of the people who landed a new job within three months participated in LinkedIn groups. These groups are a great place to build the connections described above, so the steps of joining groups and adding connections go hand in hand.

6. Get endorsed for your skills.

Getting endorsed for your skills helps to show — rather than just tell — employers that you have what it takes to get the job done. More than 80 percent of the job seekers who found work in just a few months had 10 or more endorsements. Obtaining these endorsements is easy: Simply ask former colleagues to endorse you. It’s common for friends to endorse each other too, but professional endorsements are more meaningful. [Read related article: Hiring for Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills]

7. Broaden your professional horizons.

You should always be aware of the latest industry news, so spend at least 10 minutes each day browsing posts to stay informed of trends. More than 80 percent of the people who obtained a new job in three months engaged with LinkedIn content.

Previously, you could use LinkedIn Pulse to access this content. Now, your LinkedIn homepage functions as Pulse once did, curating content relevant to your interests. Broadening your professional horizons is now as simple as logging in to LinkedIn.

How else can you use LinkedIn to find job opportunities?

The tips gleaned from the survey pertain primarily to LinkedIn profiles and communities. They don’t address LinkedIn’s job-searching tools and other methods for connecting to new opportunities. Here are some tips for using LinkedIn to search for new jobs and, hopefully, get them.

• Use the Jobs tool. When you log in to LinkedIn, you’ll see the Jobs icon at the top of your homepage. Click this icon. Then, in the search bar at the top, enter company names or job titles that interest you. Enter a location; then press “search.” You’ll see jobs that are relevant to your search, along with posting dates and, in some cases, salaries. It also shows whether alumni of your university or any of your connections work at these companies. [Read related article: How to Add a Portfolio to Your LinkedIn Profile]

• Set up Jobs alerts. With Jobs alerts, you can be the first to hear about opportunities that match your ideal criteria. This way, you don’t have to manually log in to LinkedIn every day to conduct job searches; you’ll have great opportunities delivered right to your inbox.
• Show you’re open to work. Sometimes, on LinkedIn, opportunities can find you. Enable the #OpenToWork option on your profile to show recruiters that you’re looking for work. If you’ve prepared your profile properly as described above, you might never have to conduct another job search again.
• Contribute to collaborative articles. LinkedIn invites certain users to add their perspectives to content it generates using AI tools. If recruiters and employers read these articles and think highly of your contributions, they might reach out to express interest in your work. Your conversations could grow into a job offer. 

From connected to hired

All of the steps you can take on LinkedIn to increase your chances of snagging a great new job are simple and quick. They’re also things you can do as infrequently or as often as you’d like. The more effort you put into finding a job through LinkedIn, the better the opportunities that might result. And the best part? You can do it all right from your computer. Job hunting has never been more accessible.

Max Freedman contributed to this article.