15 Smoking Hot Ways to Use LinkedIn for Job Search

LinkedIn is a game changer for job seekers as well.

It can put the power back into the hands of candidates and out of the hands of recruitment consultants. There are plenty of ways you can be proactive, rather than reactive in your job search.

Here are my 15 top LinkedIn job hunting tips, in no particular order.

1. There is no point in being half-hearted. This point is my big bandwagon point for Australian professionals and job seekers.
2. Connect with people. Look up people from your past and find out where they work now. Use the connect email to invite people for coffee and find out what they are up to. Show some interest in them, and what you are looking for, job-wise will inevitably come up.
3. Find a role model networker who is working in your desired area. Look to see which groups they belong to and join those.
4. Start a group around your area of interest and expertise. Invite people who can add value to join. Welcome them to the group and ask them a question directly. You can build up your knowledge of their organization, and any problems they may be facing, and approach them with a solution in mind (you).
5. Look to see who has viewed your profile, and add them to your network. If they are recruiters, see if they have jobs coming up in your area. As a carrot to see you, mention that you may have useful contacts for them.
6. Look to see where people with your background are working and what their responsibilities are. That way if you want to approach a company directly about jobs, you are making an informed and targeted approach.
7. Invite people out for coffee to find out what they do. This is a good tactic if you want to change careers. You can find out the good, bad, and ugly about their jobs, and whether that might be an area of interest for you.
8. Add value to your network. Be known as someone helpful. You often have to build trust with people before you can ask them for favors. If you see someone asking a question, then answer it. Be proactive and send them an email with a link.
9. Update your status with recent information of use to your network. You’ll give people a reason to contact you if you do that.
10. Link your LinkedIn profile to your personal emails to make it easy for people to connect with you.
11. Put your LinkedIn link to your Facebook profile. I have seen jobs come through friends, and Facebook is one place people tell their friends if they’re looking for staff. You want to make it easy for people to check you out.
12. Go along to social events that are organized via LinkedIn. There is only so much you can achieve online. Trust is better built face to face.
13. Ask a connection for an introduction. That’s kind of one of the big points of LinkedIn.
14. Find out what a job really requires. Job advertisements often have a lot of woolly wording. If you can, find a company insider to give you insight into what the company is about, or even what the job requires. They may even pass on your resume, and save the company a recruitment fee.
15. Your turn! Let us know what your best LinkedIn tip is in the comment section below.

Related: Why Facebook Sucks for Job Search.