Using LinkedIn to Increase Your Job Prospects

LinkedIn has become the premier networking site on the internet. They claim to have over 44 million users from over 200 countries and you will find it difficult to come across a company that is not represented on the business networking site.

As a jobseeker LinkedIn can help you to increase your chance of getting a job whether it’s through increasing your online visibility to employers or preparing for an interview.

Keep your account up to date
Make sure that all you contact details, career history, educational history and personal description are complete and accurate. Especially make sure these correspond to your CV in case the recruiter checks your profile against your CV for consistency.

Gather recommendations
Request recommendations from previous employers. Try and ask for recommendations from senior figures within organisations you have previously worked in. This can help to provide alternative references of your professional capabilities.

Answer questions
If you are skilled in a particular field take advantage of LinkedIn’s question and answer feature. Here any LinkedIn user can ask a question or ask for some advice. Any user can then answer these posted questions. If a prospective employer sees you are providing clear and professional answers to questions it will give them an example of your skill level and professionalism.

Optimise your account
It is important you use the correct language, terminology and skills throughout your LinkedIn account to make sure that prospective employees will find you. For example if you are training to be a new media marketer make sure you use an array of carefully thought out and highly relevant terms (i.e. search engine marketing, social media, search engine optimisation), instead of more generic terms (online marketing, internet marketing).

Build your network
Increase your network and connect with any former colleagues, business contacts, and clients you may have had relations with before. This will increase your chances of ranking high for any LinkedIn search recruiters may carry out, as well as increase your visibility among other people’s networks.

Connect with possible employers
Once you have applied, or even prior to applying find someone relevant (i.e. HR, departmental manager) within the company and ask them any outstanding questions you may have. LinkedIn also offers you the opportunity to research the company, their history and employees

Perform a search from an employer’s point of view
Imagine you are a prospective employer; Search LinkedIn for various key terms relevant to your job and search for your name. See how you rank for these searches. If you don’t rank very highly consider altering the text to include more important terms as well as increase the number of contacts you have. Also search for your name in Google to see how you rank in their listings (if you are lucky to have a very unique name you should find you rank very highly).

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