How to Use LinkedIn to Find Employment Opportunities

Let us tackle several ways on how you can use LinkedIn to your advantage:

1. Let the world know what you know. If you own and manage a personal or a professional blog, then it is suggested that you tie it up with your LinkedIn profile. This way, every time you post new information about industry trends, breakthroughs in your field of expertise or even short how-to articles, your profile will gradually accumulate valuable details which can help establish your credibility in the domain of the World Wide Web.

2. Advertise your skills and competencies. You have to make your profile visible to prospective employers. So, see to it that you post your service offerings as well as your product or service portfolio. Your portfolio should include articles, graphic designs and other projects that you have previously worked on. You also need to post your contact information (your mobile or business phone, your complete mailing address, and of course, your email address) so that hiring managers can easily get in touch with you.

3. Follow your target employers. Get the latest information about your target companies by following them, using your LinkedIn profile or your Twitter account. This way, you can immediately know if there are job vacancies that need be filled in as well as the details of events (i.e, recruitment activities, etc) that your prospective employer will be sponsoring.

4. Make frequent updates to your profile. Make sure that your profile reflects your most recent success and career achievements, such as completing your graduate or post-graduate degree or delivering a critical job assignment, on-time.

5. Expand your social network. LinkedIn can also help you expand your social network. After all, the site encourages members to join professional as well as alumni groups which attract hiring managers. However, you cannot attract prospective employers if you will remain an idle member of your professional group. So, go the extra mile and post questions to your fellow professionals or respond to group queries. Soon, your active participation in your group will pay off in the form of job leads to your target companies.