William D King: 15 Essential Steps to Maximizing LinkedIn for Your Job Search
LinkedIn is a powerful tool for your job search, but you have to use it properly. This guide discusses how to get the most out of LinkedIn for your job search.
1. Use a professional profile photo.
A good profile photo is essential. It should be a recent picture of you and you should be wearing clothing that is appropriate for your profession.
2. Fill out your profile completely.
Your LinkedIn profile should be as complete as possible. Include your work experience, education, skills, and hobbies, and interests.
3. Connect with former classmates and colleagues.
The more people you connect with on LinkedIn, the better. Former classmates and colleagues can help you find jobs and networking opportunities.
4. Join groups related to your industry or career field.
Joining groups on LinkedIn can help you connect with other professionals in your industry or field and can also help you find new jobs and networking opportunities.
5. Use LinkedIn search to find people and companies of interest.
LinkedIn search is a powerful tool for finding people on LinkedIn who match your criteria as well as learning more about their background, experience, skills, and interests. According to William D King, you can also use it to identify companies that might have job openings or be interested in you.
6. Monitor who views your profile and sends you InMail messages.
It’s a good idea to monitor the different aspects of your LinkedIn account so that you know how many people view your profile each month, which groups send you InMail, etc., so that if someone contacts you through LinkedIn with a valuable opportunity or message, you already know why they contacted you.
7. Use LinkedIn Pulse to share your thoughts with a larger audience.
LinkedIn Pulse is a great way to share your thoughts with a larger audience, which you can then network with and connect with on LinkedIn. Plus, it’s another opportunity for people to view your profile and potentially send you InMail messages.
8. Ask for recommendations from former employers and colleagues.
Recommendations are one of the best ways to help get jobs through LinkedIn because they highlight what other professionals think about you (rather than just talking about your skills or work experience). You should ask for them early in your career (while previous managers might be more willing) but continue asking throughout your professional life since they do not age as résumés do. Asking for recommendations demonstrates your professionalism and that you care about what other people think of you.
9. Use LinkedIn to find job openings.
LinkedIn is a great resource for finding job openings. You can search by job title, company, or keyword and save jobs that interest you so that you can revisit them later.
10. Utilize the advanced search options to target your job search.
The LinkedIn advanced search options are a great way to target your job search and find jobs that match your criteria. You can filter jobs by location, company size, job type, and more.
11. Use the “Apply with LinkedIn” button to apply for jobs directly through LinkedIn.
The “Apply with LinkedIn” button is a great way to apply for jobs directly through LinkedIn. This feature saves a copy of your application and profile information to the company’s account, so that every time you send a job application, it is saved in your profile.
12. Track what companies are viewing your profile or have viewed your profile recently.
You can track which companies view your profile as well as those with whom you might not have direct connections who have viewed your LinkedIn activity page recently. These views could signify opportunities elsewhere on the site or elsewhere, so it’s good to know when someone looks at them or sends you InMail messages about them.
13. Use sending InMail messages as a way to reach out with an opportunity discreetly.
InMail messages become more effective when they are personal to the person receiving them. One way to make your messages more personal is by using LinkedIn’s search feature to find people that might be interested in speaking with you about an opportunity or learning more about what you do.
14. Monitor how often other professionals follow your profile and company page.
Monitoring who follows your profile and company page through LinkedIn can help you gain insight into how other professionals perceive your activity on the site as well as give you a better understanding of who would be interested in what you have to say.
15. Use groups to network, stay up-to-date on trends, and generate business opportunities.
One of the best ways to use LinkedIn is joining relevant groups—and not just for professional networking. Groups can also be a great way to stay up-to-date on industry trends and generate business opportunities.
Conclusion:
Every professional should be using LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is one of the best career advancement tools available today because it can help you meet new contacts, generate business opportunities, and expand your professional network. It’s important to not just use LinkedIn for self-promotion but also as an opportunity to engage with other professionals who might be able to help you out in some way. William D King points out that although LinkedIn is a great tool on its own if you do not utilize it correctly or make any effort at all beyond sending InMail messages, people will view your profile as spammy and stop responding to them.
