I would not want to miss the opportunity to use LinkedIn for my job search. It has all the top recruiters looking for talents, and you will find a large number of companies hiring directly from LinkedIn. Having a LinkedIn account is like having job market trends at the tip of your fingers when it comes to finding employment.
The former President of the United States, Obama, once joked that he would join LinkedIn after his term ended in order to find employment! He says, “In seven months or so, I’ll be on the job market. And I’m glad I’m going to be here because I’m going to get on LinkedIn and see what comes up”.
In Canada, networking is key for landing in a job, and LinkedIn is the only professional networking site where candidates can explore the job market and apply directly to Companies via the platform.
How to utilize LinkedIn for your job search
When creating a LinkedIn profile, it is not the same as creating a resume, which emphasizes more on work experiences. LinkedIn represents who you are, and it is focused more on skills and your professional context. Some of the things that you need to be mindful of while updating your skills on LinkedIn, ensure you share your skills relevant to the industry; those relevant keywords are crucial – skills could be both hard and soft skills. Unless you use the right keywords for your skills in your LinkedIn profile, it is unlikely that someone will find you. LinkedIn claims to have more than 740 million users in over 200 countries and territories across the globe. Therefore, it’s very important to keep your skills on your profile up to date.
The Skills & Endorsement section is basically used for updating all your skills. However, when it comes to recruiters’ search results, your headline, summary, and work experience are the best places to seed your top skills and keywords.
Let recruiters know you are looking for opportunities: ‘Open to Work’ feature on LinkedIn
LinkedIn has a feature called ‘Open to Work’ that lets employers, network, and recruiters know that you are looking for a job. According to Forbes, you should be careful choosing the privacy settings for this feature. If you are currently working in any organization and looking for a change, you may not want to let everyone know in your company. Do not select “Share with all LinkedIn members” – if you select this option, LinkedIn simply puts one graphic on the profile photo that you are open to opportunities; it gives unnecessary attention to your network as well as to the less ethical recruiters. Select the option “Share with recruiters only.” This option will notify the paid recruiters on LinkedIn (organizations that have paid access with LinkedIn).
Follow up with the recruiters
Follow up with the recruiters for the job that you have applied for. Some job positions listed on LinkedIn have the recruiter’s profile. If not, use the search bar and type “hiring manager ‘company name'” or “‘recruiter ‘company name’ “or “talent acquisition ‘company name’ “and select the option ‘people.’ When you find the recruiter, it is important to customize the connection with them; explain to them the position you have applied for and how interested you are in the position or ask if you have any follow-up questions. If you are interested in any particular company, follow the company and see other positions that they are hiring for.
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