Now that you have a good base, the next step is to get your profile noticed. If you haven’t already, check out Part 1 here. This covers how to build out your profile, what to include, what not to, and everything in between.
Once you have the basics down pat, time to add connections!
Connections on LinkedIn are the equivalent to Facebook friends. Instead of engaging with vacation pictures and updates on children, though, you’ll instead be viewing job updates and reading articles your connections find interesting.
This brings me to Tip #1: Try to build up your number of connections. You can start out simple, even if you’re not looking for a new job. Add co-workers, college colleagues, friends, etc. This helps you keep in contact with people on a professional level without having to get to the personal Facebook friend level. The more connections you have, the more likely you are to pop up in search results, have more visibility on your posts etc. If you’re interested in the benefits of a large network, check out the link at the bottom for an article on medium.com.
Connections on LinkedIn are all based upon 1st, 2nd, and 3rd's. If there is no connection at all, that person is considered ‘out of network’ and will generally be difficult to find. In layman’s terms, a 1st means you’re connected with that person, a 2nd is when that person is connected with one of your connections but not you, and a 3rd means that your connection’s connections have this person in their network but no one in your network does.
This is directly tied to how often you “pop up” in search results. The more connections, the more visible you are overall!
Some LinkedIn superstars will max out their number of connections, somewhere around 30,000. If that’s the case, you can instead follow the person and see their posts on a daily basis. I have done this, for example, with a lot of celebrity businessmen and businesswomen, namely the investors on Shark Tank. What can I say? They post good content.
From there, transition to following companies you want to keep up with: places you might want to work one day, industry leaders, big names in your area, and so on. In addition to seeing job postings first, you’ll also get to see company news, initiatives, trends in your industry, and more. This is an easy way to get real time updates on the business world.
To find additional suggestions, go to the ‘My Network’ tab at the top, click on ‘Pages’, and you’ll stumble across this:
This tab provides real time suggestions, people, companies, hashtags, etc., that match your interests. As you start to beef up the list of pages you follow, the more the suggestions will specialize to you.
Overall, staying connected to colleagues can make a world of difference, especially when helping others out in their job search! By staying updated with past coworkers and classmates, I’ve helped a few friends find their next job.
Say someone you know applied to a job they’re really passionate about, but haven’t gotten a call back yet. Maybe someone else you know works on a similar team or is in a management position at that company. How easy would it be to help out both friends by bridging the gap?
Staying in touch over LinkedIn can also help in other ways. Maybe it’s been awhile since you’ve talked to your last manager or two and the only contact information you have is their old work email address. You’re hoping to list them as a reference on a job application but got a return to sender email, indicating they left the company. Sending a quick message over LinkedIn to get updated information serves as an easy, stress-free solution.
Outside of adding connections, there are other great ways to boost your profile visibility. This leads me to Tip #2: If you’re interested in hearing about new jobs on LinkedIn, go into your ‘Settings & Privacy’ and click on ‘Job Seeking Preferences’ on the side. From there, you’ll be able to select ‘Open to New Opportunities’. This is essentially an easy way for recruiters to know you’re at least interested in new jobs and that it’s a safe bet to reach out to you.
To find this, go to ‘Settings & Privacy’ and scroll down to ‘Job Seeking Preferences':
Even if recruiters do message you, you’re not obligated to accept the message if the offer doesn’t look appealing. The recruiter is not able to see if you’ve viewed the message and you can simply accept or decline based on interest.
We’ve all gotten an InMail or two on LinkedIn for some odd job 12 states away. While it can be incredibly annoying at the time, I would encourage being kind, clicking the ‘No Thanks’ button, and moving along. After all, you never know how a burned bridge now could affect something great in the future!
If you do find a new role, make sure you update your profile to reflect this and turn off the ‘Open to New Opportunities’ notification. This way, recruiters know you’re no longer looking and probably not wanting to hear about other jobs.
As a side note, LinkedIn does take steps to protect against your current company from seeing this notification. While it's not an exact science, it can help ease your mind in case that is a worry of yours.
All in all, LinkedIn is just another great tool to have in your job searching tool belt, and an absolute must as a professional. While I understand that you may not always be on the job search, LinkedIn is still a great tool at any step in your career. By keeping it updated and engaging with others, you’re giving your future self and your connections a leg up. Your dream job could be one InMail away - don’t risk missing out.
This article is my own and does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of TEKsystems.
Article on the benefits of a large network: here.
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