19 LinkedIn Job Search Tips to Land Your Next Big Gig

If you’re looking for a job, you can’t overlook LinkedIn as one of your top resources.

The platform has over 950 million users^{1https://news.linkedin.com/about-us#Statistics}; every minute, eight people get hired through LinkedIn!

In this post, we’ll review all the key tools, hacks, and strategies to use LinkedIn to find your ideal job.

Set Up a Masterful LinkedIn Profile

First and foremost, you need to buff up your profile.

A comprehensive LinkedIn profile will boost your chance of getting a job interview by 71%^{2https://www.resumego.net/research/linkedin-interview-chances/#:~:text=a%20job%20interview-,Job%20seekers%20with%20a%20comprehensive%20LinkedIn%20profile%20have%20a%2071,and%20find%20a%20new%20job.}. 

Here is a graph of the numbers provided by ResumeGo for each job level.

The data is clear—if you are applying for LinkedIn jobs, ensure your profile is souped up.

Here is a checklist you can go through to make sure you’ve dotted your i’s and crossed your t’s.

• Pictures
  • Profile picture: Go for a high-resolution, clear image where you look professional and approachable. Get feedback from friends on picking the right one.
  • Header image: Use this space to showcase your industry or specialization. It should complement your profile photo.
• Headline and summary
  • Compelling headline: Use this space wisely. Include your current position, but also mention what you’re passionate about.
  • Engaging “About” section: Write a brief but comprehensive summary focusing on your achievements, skills, and what you’re looking to accomplish professionally.
• Experience
  • Job titles and descriptions: Clearly state your job title and responsibilities. Use bullet points for readability.
  • Quantify your impact: Include numbers or metrics to show your impact in previous roles.
• Skills and endorsements
  • Prioritize skills: You can list up to 50 skills but focus on the most relevant ones to your career goals.
  • Seek endorsements: Endorsements add credibility. Reach out to colleagues who can vouch for those skills.
• Recommendations
  • Give to get: Writing a recommendation for a colleague increases the likelihood of receiving one.
  • Make it specific: If you’re requesting a recommendation, provide guidelines to your recommender on which skills or projects to focus on.
• Education and certifications
  • Be comprehensive: Include all relevant educational experiences, not just degrees.
  • Add certifications: If you’ve completed online courses or gained certifications, list them to boost your credentials.
• Accomplishments
  • Showcase your work: The “Featured” section displays portfolio pieces, articles, or projects.
  • Awards and honors: Don’t be afraid to toot your own horn! If you’ve been recognized for your work, your LinkedIn profile is the place to showcase it.
• LinkedIn URL
  • Customize your URL: A custom URL is easier to remember and looks cleaner on a resume.
• Interests
  • Follow relevant people and organizations: This shows you’re keeping up with your industry and populates your feed with relevant content you can engage with.
• Additional Sections
  • Publications, languages, projects: These are optional sections but can be incredibly useful depending on your industry or if you’re looking for international opportunities.

13 Tips to Strategically Use LinkedIn to Get a Job

Once your LinkedIn profile is polished and professional, it’s time to make the platform work for you. Here are some LinkedIn features and tips that can supercharge your job search.

1. Advanced search options

LinkedIn’s search bar isn’t just for names and companies. Use the advanced search option to filter jobs by location preference, industry, and even alumni connections. This helps you find opportunities that match your goals.

Just type your job search inputs in the top left corner. Then click the arrow in the green oval to “jobs.” Then, set as many filters as you’d like to direct your attention to the perfect job opportunity.

2. Job Alerts

Why manually search for jobs when LinkedIn can do it for you? Set up job alerts based on your preferences, and you’ll get notifications whenever new positions open up.

Create the job search filters that appeal to you to set up an alert. And then, toggle the “set alert” button on the left side of the screen.

Then, to check any alerts, click the jobs icon (which looks like a briefcase) at the top of the page.

Then, click “Job alerts” on the left sidebar.

3. “Open To Work” feature

Try the “Open to Work” feature to let recruiters know you seek opportunities. You can control who sees this—just your connections or LinkedIn community.

To use this feature, view your profile, then on the left, click the “Open to” button.

This option will display a banner of your profile picture, so you are essentially broadcasting to the world that you are looking for a job. This can feel vulnerable, but it will up your chances.

4. Use “Easy Apply”

You can use the “Easy Apply” button with certain job postings.

With just a few clicks, you can send your LinkedIn profile as your application for a job.

Make sure your profile is updated since it will effectively serve as your resumé.

The upside of this approach is that you can apply to dozens of jobs in an hour.

However, there are two downsides to Easy Apply. One is that Easy Apply jobs might have tons of competition because it’s so quick and easy.

The second downside is that when you apply for jobs, it’s ideal to tailor your resumé to the job description. But if you are using Easy Apply for multiple applications, you can’t tailor your LinkedIn profile to all job postings simultaneously.

5. Estimate your odds with JobScan

he website JobScan is a service where you can paste your LinkedIn profile alongside job descriptions you want to apply for, and JobScan will tell you how well-catered your profile is to the jobs you want.

You’ll get a score that looks something like this:

6. Follow company pages

Browse through all the specific companies you are a fan of, and follow their company pages.

This will keep you updated on company news and job postings. 

If you apply for one of these companies, you’ll be attuned to their process and can include that knowledge in your cover letter or interviews.

If you’d like some more guidance in developing your career, you might enjoy this free goodie:

7. Get a badge for your skills

If you are adept in any hard skills, you can take a test on LinkedIn called a “skill assessment.” You will earn a badge for that skill

 if you score in the top 30%.

A badge validates your capabilities and will make your profile more credible.

Here’s a link to take a skill assessment.

If you’d like a LinkedIn badge to show off your interpersonal skills, here’s one great course called People School, for which you can get a badge.

8. Engage, engage, engage

Commenting on posts, sharing articles, and contributing to discussions boosts your visibility and positions you as a thought leader in your field.

If you make posts, consider that adding an image to your text post will double your engagement^{3https://business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions/linkedin-pages/best-practices}.

This is more of a long-term strategy. But if you use LinkedIn consistently over time and develop a social network there, you’ll have tons of people to turn to when you need a new job.

And if you want extra advice on networking on LinkedIn like a pro, you might enjoy this guide.

9. Publish a post letting people know you are seeking work

Writing such a post will alert your immediate network that you’re on the market, making it more likely that friends, former colleagues, and acquaintances will think of you if they come across an appropriate opportunity. 

Make your post professional and clear. Highlight your skills and experiences in a way that makes it easy for people to help you.

It can feel scary to put yourself out there like this. But getting a job you love is so much easier when other people in your network pass opportunities your way.

10. Participate in LinkedIn groups

Join groups related to your industry or career interests. Type a keyword plus “group” into the search bar and see what happens.

Using groups can be a shortcut to networking with like-minded people on LinkedIn.

Plus, sometimes job opportunities are shared within these groups before anywhere else.

11. Connect with alumni

If you studied at a community college or University, you can use the Alumni Tool to see where your classmates are working now, what fields they’re in, and what skills they have. 

You can take this as an opportunity to get back in touch with some of your old chums and expand your alumni network.

12. Use the “Find Nearby” feature

If you’re at a conference or industry event, the “Find Nearby” feature lets you connect on LinkedIn with the people right next to you. It’s kind of like a modernized version of swapping business cards.

It’s a great way to boost your network and put out your interest in finding work. If you meet someone at a networking event, you could say, “Great to meet you. Would you be interested in connecting on LinkedIn? Also, I’m looking to take on a role in XYZ; if you know of anything, please let me know.”

To use the “Find Nearby” feature, do the following:

• Turn your Bluetooth on
• Open the LinkedIn app on your phone.
• Click “My network” at the bottom of the screen
• Click “Find nearby (off)” at the top of the screen
• Then wait for a moment, and LinkedIn will scan for other people nearby who also have the feature on

13. Compare your skills with the posting’s skills

When you look at a job description on LinkedIn, you can scroll to the bottom to see the skills the job asks for compared to your skills. 

Once you see the gap between your skills and the required skills, you can update your profile to reflect the relevant skills you can offer for the job.

Here’s what that section looks like:

6 More Tips To Use LinkedIn Premium To Boost Your Chances of Getting a Job

If you want to further your LinkedIn game to help with your job search, consider investing in LinkedIn Premium. At the time of writing this article, you get your first month free, and then it’s $39.99 per month after that.

I used to play computer games back in the day. I remember some people would download “hacks” that essentially gave them extra abilities and unfair advantages in the game that nobody else had. LinkedIn Premium is like the professional version of that.

Here are a few of the advantages you can use to help you with your job search.

14. InMail

If you want to expand your network, InMail gives you a massive advantage.

Usually, you can only message people you have already connected with on LinkedIn. But InMail lets you send a message to anyone on LinkedIn. Yes, anyone! 

You can pick the CEO of your favorite company and ring their digital doorbell.

Plus, LinkedIn says Premium InMail  is “2.6X more effective in hearing back than email or cold calls.”

If you’re looking for a job, you could use this tool to contact hiring managers or recruiters who may not be in your existing network. 

15. Discover who’s viewed your profile

LinkedIn Premium provides complete visibility into who’s checked out your profile, including how they found you and where they work. 

This is a weird feature, considering so many people lurk and snoop on social media behind the veils of anonymity. But LinkedIn lets you see who’s been lurking on your page.

If you notice recruiters or employees from companies you’re interested in have viewed your profile, that’s your cue to reach out. 

16. Cut the line as a “Featured Applicant”

When you apply for jobs on LinkedIn, having a Premium account pushes your application to the top of the list as a “Featured Applicant.” 

From a psychological principle called the serial position effect, we know that people are most likely to remember the first and last items on a list better than the ones in the middle.

So if your application is up top, you’ll likely stick in the recruiter’s memory.

17. Use “Applicant Insights” to scan the field

LinkedIn Premium offers a tool called Applicant Insights that allows you to see how you stack up against other applicants for the same job. 

Scrolling down the job description, you can see the total number of applicants and an aggregated view of applicants’ seniority, education level, and location.

Knowing where you stand can inform your application strategy. For instance, if you see that you exceed most qualifications, you might confidently approach your cover letter and interactions. On the flip side, if you’re lacking in some areas, you can either focus on jobs where you’re a more robust candidate or take quick action to improve specific skills.

18. Use “Company Insights” to get the inside scoop

Another powerful tool is Company Insights. The first thing you can do with this tool is find hired candidates you share something in common with—the same alma mater or similar interests—and then use InMail to message them. Stick your foot in that door.

The second thing you can do with Company Insights is look at the company’s data. You can see information such as:

• Employee distribution
• Growth by function
• Hiring trends
• Notable company alumni
• Total job openings by function
• Where the company has been investing

Information is power. And you can use your extra data to get a leg up in applying to work at the company.

19. Get degrees on “LinkedIn Learning”

This platform offers courses on various subjects, from software skills to leadership development. 

Completing these courses boosts your skill set and adds certificates to your LinkedIn profile, making you more marketable.

You can use this tool strategically. If a job you’re seeking requires a skillset in negotiation, you can level up your skills in that area and then advertise it in your application. 

Frequently Asked Questions About LinkedIn Job Search

Takeaways on Your LinkedIn Job Search

Once you harness the power of LinkedIn, your odds of finding a job soon will skyrocket. Just remember these few tips:

• Beef up your profile!
• Set up job alerts.
• Set up “Open for Work” 
• Make a post that you’re looking for work
• Take skill assessments to get certified
• Use InMail to reach out to recruiters
• Take a course on LinkedIn Learning to make your profile more credible

Best of luck in your job search—you go this! And if you want more general tips on getting a job, here is some awesome advice from career specialist Jenny Foss.