The 5 Most Overlooked Job Search Features on LinkedIn

by Lea McLeod


If you’re a student, recent grad or entry-level professional using LinkedIn as a strategic job search tool… terrific! You’re already far ahead of many of your peers.

Now that you’re comfortable with LinkedIn, you might want to check out some often overlooked features, even by more experienced professionals and job search veterans.

These features might give your job search the boost you are looking for!

1. The Vanity URL

This is a small task… that makes a big difference!

In a recent session I was doing for students, the coordinator did not have her vanity URL. For discussion’s sake, let’s say the coordinator’s name was Georgia Brown. If her resume had just landed on my desk, and I wanted to check her out on LinkedIn (as recruiters are wont to do), there were pages and pages of Georgia Browns. Pages!

There is no way a recruiter is going to hunt for your particular profile. So, make it easy for recruiters and hiring managers to find you on LinkedIn. Create your vanity URL and include it in all your marketing correspondence.

2. The Projects Section

This section allows you to detail projects you’ve worked including academics, internships or research, allowing you to showcase relevant skills and the results you’ve accomplished. You can also include links to websites and connect with other collaborators who worked on the project, showing the recruiter the team aspect of the project.

What specifically goes into this section? Anything from research projects, business case studies, simulations, technical presentations, creative outputs (like videos, music), events you’ve worked on, internship projects, volunteer work… anything relevant to your job search!

Go to the “Edit Profile” view in LinkedIn to get started… and get started!

3. The LinkedIn Alumni Tool

This handy tool tells you all about the demographics of your fellow alums: where they live, where they work, and what they do.

The device will default to a specific timeline, but you can change the filter by looking at different start and end dates for attendees. You can then look by company, location and role, and drill down for each category.

This features also enables you to you find alumni in the industries, cities or roles  you want to learn more about. Then you can connect or reach out to them via the Alumni Groups page. Go to the LinkedIn Alumni tool to get started. Don’t forget to join your alumni group as well. Go to the Groups Directory and find yours.

Tips 4,5 and the complete article