How to Use LinkedIn to Help You Land a Job

For discerning professionals, LinkedIn can be your best tool in joining an elite organization. Sure, entry is basically without charge, but your relative value gets posted on the wall (i.e., job title, career path, endorsements and number of connections) - waiting to be dissected. Just like an aspiring Boy Scout in a mad scramble for badges, you'd be showing your wares for everyone to see. In time, LinkedIn became the favorite hunting ground for eager corporate recruiters and headhunters out to find the right man for the job. As a result, LinkedIn also transformed into an opportune game changer for job-seekers. So much so that if you're serious enough - or any Tom, Dick or Harry for that matter - in searching for work, ignoring LinkedIn could be fatal. Then again, a step by step guide to your choice occupation might be a tall order. But achieving these 3 LinkedIn objectives detailed below will certainly improve your prospects - helping you nab that dream job faster than usual. 1. To be found, create a brand in LinkedIn: You. Branding can be a powerful tool. Apple use it to perfection. Mention iPad or an iPad keyboard case in a circle of friends and everybody knows what it means. Coke and its executives wield powerful branding for decades - like second-nature. In job-hunting you are no different to a branded product in a grocery store or Wal-Mart's. Once a buyer/recruiter feel you are the answer to their need, they process you and in all likelihood, hire you. Simple. Therefore, you need to put your best foot forward. Nobody wants to get a lousy employee, that's a given. Here are some tips: ● Start with a complete profile. Put on a photo with a smile and get all those profile sections filled up. Added to this, make sure you have in a place a branding statement neatly written at the top of your summary. ● Put a little spin to it. Don't just go the easy road by dumping a long list of skills in your profile. Quantity won't cut it as much as quality. Add value by explaining them. Showing what you did with those skills give a lot more credence. ● Employers and educational background put you on the map. Include them with their particular dates. This make it a lot easier for people to find you. ● Get visible. Maximise LinkeIn's social aspect by joining to as much as 50 groups (i.e., limit). Once in, you get to have useful access to all the members of a group - wily recruiters including. And more importantly, your shining profile gets read by people who matters. For better results, don't just stick with one group rather go across the board (e.g., alumni, hobbyists, entrepreneur groups). Be an asset to these groups. Lend a hand by offering helpful answers to queries. And should you prop up a question, make sure to ask intelligent questions that put you on a pedestal rather than in the gutters. 2. Maximize job opportunities from LinkedIn. Strictly speaking, LinkedIn is not your global equivalent of a local job board, that would be a cold way of putting things. But this social media site sure can function as one. Sensing a lot of talent available, employers and their dutiful recruiters posts job requirements in innovative ways. Your job is to find them where they're hot. ● The more obvious method is to click on that "Jobs" tab. For better browsing, try "advanced" search. This should get you the key details (e.g., date job is posted, filter by industry, function). Full features are available for premium accounts. ● Explore "Jobs" tab in each of your LinkedIn groups. Here's an area where you could have greater chances of getting in. These are jobs not found in the common "Jobs" board but are specifically targeted for a distinct group. Added to this, you can go to the "jobs discussion" area where jobs that are not posted in any "Jobs" board within LinkedIn could be up for grabs. ● Lastly, go to LinkedIn Signal, found under the News tab. This is a collection of all those Status Updates in your network. Slip in your job of choice in the search tab, for instance "hiring software analysts", for a quick update. 3. Maximise LinkedIn to be informed. Information at the right time is key to your job hunt. LinkedIn is like a giant sponge of data. What is important is getting what is relevant to your needs. ● Get into "LinkedIn Today" or "Original Articles", a feature under the News tab. Follow those thought-leaders pertaining to your chosen industry or applied field to give you the latest updates. ● Lastly, make use of Company information available in the site. Follow companies to get to know vital details and developments (e.g., products launches, new services). LinkedIn is a good place to be hired - it's could be the right place if you just make yourself the right person.