3 Ways to Use LinkedIn to Build Your Career

by Heather R. Huhman

In a world where social media allows us to connect with almost everyone in the free world instantaneously, one platform dominates the professional networking space. Its name? LinkedIn.

By now, most people in the professional world have heard of LinkedIn. Job seekers know it can help them find a career, but many don’t know how to maximize their use of the platform. This hurts their chances of standing out to the almost 50 percent of companies that solely use it in their social recruiting practices.

When employers look for potential candidates on LinkedIn, there are a multitude of ways they narrow down the pool. Check out these three tips to help you get the most out of your LinkedIn profile, increase your chances of getting noticed by recruiters, and become a better proactive job seeker. 

Apply for jobs

LinkedIn not only connects people in order to build their network, but also it allows you to find and apply for jobs directly through the site! Just like any other job board, you can search for the exact job you want and discover employers from around the world. The benefit for job searching through LinkedIn: it allows employers and job seekers near-instant access to connect and gather information about each other, and gives candidates more insight into the company and its employees.

If you make a list of companies you want to work for (which you should, if you haven’t), LinkedIn lets you follow the company pages of those that have one. On those pages, companies often exclusively post jobs, since they know it will reach people who have already vested interest in their organization by following them in the first place. This gives you access to positions you never would have known existed and also lets you engage/connect with employees in those organizations.

When you apply for a job on LinkedIn, it’s important to read the entire job posting. Doing so lets you get a feel for what exactly they’re seeking so you can tailor your application specifically to the posting.

Since the LinkedIn application system only lets you attach a resume when applying, many companies give specific instructions for how they want candidates to apply in order to get more information. By not doing so, you’re probably not going to get considered for the job, since they now know you just blindly applied without following the application instructions.

Also, don’t just apply to every job posting because it’s so easy — chances are, it won’t get noticed.

Ways 2,3, and the complete article