Learn the top 10 things every job seeker must know about the world’s #1 job search tool.
If you haven’t heard, LinkedIn is the tool job seekers need to use to shorten their search and maximize the number of interviews they land (JobVite.com). In short, there’s no better way to penetrate the Hidden Job Market you may have heard about, which encompasses the 70% of all jobs never advertised in newspapers or job boards, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Improve your LinkedIn results with these must-have strategies:
Understand what LinkedIn is
- LinkedIn.com is the #1 tool that HR managers and recruiters use to source new candidates (JobVite.com). If you’re not [a] on LinkedIn and [b] quickly found through a keyword search, you aren’t visible to millions of companies.
- LinkedIn is a database – an applicant tracking tool. If your profile does not contain the right mix of industry-specific keywords, your profile will disappear into a black hole and will not be found by recruiters and employers.
- Your LinkedIn search results are directly related to the size of your network. Searching for organizations, contacts, or businesses can provide fewer results if your network is tiny.
Get better results with your LinkedIn profile.
- Groups are the easy way to expand your LinkedIn network and results. By joining 20-30 relevant groups, you broaden your network and grow your networking reach exponentially.
- Google is your LinkedIn secret weapon. You can leverage Google to help you peek into LinkedIn and see the groups, contacts, and companies the website is screening from you.
- Your tagline can help you boost your keyword count. Incorporate 3-to 4 of your keyword top picks into your tagline to bolster your LinkedIn AND Google visibility.
- Your status can help you boost your keyword count. Incorporate a rotating series of keywords into your status line to improve your LinkedIn AND Google visibility.
- LinkedIn’s Answer function is, well, the answer. Answers can also improve your LinkedIn visibility – source or ask questions strategically every week to lace your profile with still more keywords (provided you provide keyword-rich questions and answers in the first place, of course).
Make the most of your LinkedIn self-marketing
- Your offline networking commercials can strengthen your LinkedIn visibility. Post your keyword-rich personal commercials in relevant group discussion boards on LinkedIn at least once weekly throughout your search.
- It would help if you leveraged a mix of “push” and “pull” marketing strategies on LinkedIn. Elements such as keywords, photos, tagline, rich content, attachments, and LinkedIn Answers are all ways to pull recruiters toward your profile. But don’t forget to utilize discussion posts, Inmail, invitations, and proactive relationship-building as ways to push your profile toward your target market gently.
The bottom line? If you’re not on LinkedIn, you risk not being “found” by employers and recruiters. And if you’re not using LinkedIn proactively to promote your candidacy, you’ll attempt languishing in your job search a lot longer than you would have otherwise. So get LinkedIn and get found!
