LinkedIn tips

Top 5 LinkedIn Tips for Job Seekers

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By Hannah LaDuca

Technical Recruitment Specialist

Are you looking for a new job? It can be a tough, rough, and stressful experience. Fortunately, we’ve got a few LinkedIn tips to help you get noticed by the right people at the right time.

Remember, LinkedIn is the best and easiest way for recruiters to see what you’ve got, so please—don’t blow it off. In fact, eight people are hired through LinkedIn every minute. Here’s what to do.

  1. Let recruiters know you’re available.

Did you know that LinkedIn has a special feature to let recruiters know you’re open to work? This is a great way to promote yourself on LinkedIn. First, you want to let recruiters know you’re open to new job opportunities. Here’s how:

    1. Go to your LinkedIn page
    2. Click on the Open to button under your name and profile photo
    3. Click on the Finding a New Job
    4. Add your job preferences
    5. Click Add to Profile
    6. Choose who sees you’re open—LinkedIn members or recruiters only
    7. Click Add to Profile

Note: LinkedIn may or may not keep your job search private if you’re currently employed but searching for new opportunities, so you’ll have to run the risk of your employer seeing you out there. Our advice? Don’t let that stop you from getting after it.

Related: After Talking to a Recruiter, Take These Four Steps

  1. Focus on skills.
    Forty-four percent of hiring managers used LinkedIn skills data to fill their open roles. Spend some time adding skills to your profile, demonstrating your transferable skills, and taking the skills assessment on your LinkedIn Profile page.
  1. Connect. Connect. Connect.

When it comes to LinkedIn connections, the magic number is 500. As LinkedIn trainer Wayne Breitbarth points out, “Most people with large networks are experiencing greater success on LinkedIn.” According to Breitbarth, having a large LinkedIn network will help you:

  • Appear more often in search results
  • Appear higher in search rankings
  • Create more opportunities for engagement
  • Show up more often in People Also Viewed

Don’t be bashful. Reach out to current and former colleagues, relatives, and other professionals in your field. The second you surpass 500 connections, the closer you are to being successful on LinkedIn.

  1. You have a profile pic, right?

If not, get one. Get one now. And no, a stiff-armed selfie’s not going to cut it. Having a profile photo will get you 21 times more profile views.

If so, is your photo appropriate for a professional platform? If it’s even a question, your photo is probably worth updating. Just look like you normally would in your professional setting, and you should be good.

General tips for adding the best LinkedIn photo include:

  • Use a current photo of yourself
  • Make sure it’s a high-res photo
  • Showcase your beautiful face—it should take up 60 percent of the frame
  • Look happy and approachable (smile!)
  • Wear what you’d typically wear to work (or dress for the job you want)
  • Do not use filters

Get a complete list of LinkedIn photo tips here: 10 Tips for Picking the Right LinkedIn Profile Picture

Bonus: Add a background image that accurately reflects your brand. Are you an engineer? An educator? A creative? Add a crisp, clean, and non-distracting LinkedIn banner image.

Here are 10 LinkedIn Background Photo Ideas To Make Your Profile Stand Out from Forbes.

Note: Recommended dimensions for LinkedIn banner photos are 1584 pixels by 396 pixels.

  1. Bulk up your recommendations.

Do you research and read the reviews when you need a product or service? Before hiring someone to fix your car, paint your house, or serve you dinner, don’t you ensure they’re legit? Yeah, hiring managers and recruiters do the same thing when seeking talent to fill positions.

LinkedIn recommendations are basically testimonials about who you are as a pro, so of course you want glowing reviews from people you’ve worked with. Subordinates, colleagues, and superiors—their perspectives matter, and their opinions can be the difference between getting a job opportunity and being passed over.

Think of a person with whom you’ve worked really well in your department or field. Now think of a manager who’s always loved your work. Now think of an accessible C-level employee who’s given you positive feedback in the past. Here’s how to reach out to them for a recommendation on LinkedIn:

  1. Go to your LinkedIn profile page
  2. Scroll to the Recommendations section
  3. Click Ask for a recommendation
  4. Type the name of the connection you want to ask
  5. Navigate the prompts

Don’t forget: Writing a recommendation is just as important as receiving one, and it’ll probably be easier to get one if you give one. So start cruising LinkedIn and get going!

There a many more tips and tricks for getting yourself noticed on LinkedIn, but there are just too many to include here. Until then, continue to conduct more LinkedIn research on your own and maintain a polished online presence on all your professional networks.

For more job seeker resources, view our resources for job seekers.

This blog was written by Hannah LaDuca.