LinkedIn is a powerful tool used not only for networking but also for applying for jobs. A massive platform used to expand professional circles, connect with industry experts or hunt for job seekers is equally adapt in strategizing your job search. However, many LinkedIn users are not fully aware of the true potential of the platform and end up not using it to their full benefit. Building up connections and using them to aid in your job search is a skill every LinkedIn user needs to master.

Here are 7 ways to help you get hired using LinkedIn fulfilling your job search.

1. Have A Strong Headline

The LinkedIn headline appears just below your name. Not many users are aware that the headline and name are the only things displayed upon searching the LinkedIn database.  A recruiter hopping upon your profile can see your name and headline and decide on to click further. Make your headline really strong & catchy with keywords which benefit the viewers or matches their search! The headline should be one that showcases you as the brand and reveals what you plan to deliver.

Having a powerful headline will eventually make your recruiter click on your profile! Instead of keeping it simple as, “Seeking A New Opportunity” or “Actively Looking for A Change” make it more interesting like, “A Marketer Who Is Looking for Small Brand to Make Big” or maybe “An Operations Manager Who Is A Left/Right Brainer & Strategist.”

2. Keep Your Profile Updated

Ensure that your profile is 100% complete and updated with all the changes in terms of job changes or skills etc. Complete profiles are more likely to be contacted by potential employers rather than incomplete ones. The LinkedIn profile should have detailed information about all your previous and current employment and skills acquired from them, stating the tenure of all the jobs.

Showing off your accomplishments along with a good professional display picture can certainly add more strength to your profile. A link to your online portfolio or professional website will enhance your profile even further and attract recruiters to your profile.

3. Expand Your Professional Circle

Make connections across industries. You have a database with gazillions of professionals giving you more power, utilize it to your best. Broadening your network will gift you with connections across industries and help you in your job search by giving you more visibility of your professional ecosystem.

Employers looking to recruit people for their companies would definitely rely on known referrals and you can certainly gain a few. However, remember not to add everyone on LinkedIn to your list but only those whom you would like to connect to or are employed by a company you have your eyes on. Start making connections.

4. Pursue Your Dream Company

Being a job applicant, you must have target companies on your mind before looking out for a new job. Before LinkedIn touched our lives, there was a lot of legwork required to pursue such dream companies to learn about their vacancies or any known references within these organizations. Being on LinkedIn you do not need to have such a cumbersome approach anymore for your job hunt.

Following your dream company is just a click away on LinkedIn along with checking out who is on their leaderboard. And if this was not enough you can even check if anyone of those leaders has any mutual connections with you. A new branch opening, quarter end results or new products releasing, now everything can be known to you about the company even before applying for a job.

5. Check Your Options for a Job Search

There is a specific tab to search for jobs of your choice and apply as well from it. It is called the “Jobs” tab. Search for your preferential jobs via keyword and country. An advanced search option will refine your search by date posted, experience required, company and specific location of the job availability.

What’s more? Your last job searches can be saved in case you need to rethink before applying! Regular email updates are also available from LinkedIn on your Email ID for new job listings. And if all of this was not enough, your target companies and their job openings are all visible to you in a matter of few clicks.

6. Earn Recommendations

Your profile does not only display your job experiences and skill sets but also recommendations and endorsements. A recommendation is recommending you for a job well done or for your immense professionalism that when exuberated led to a winning streak for the company! Endorsements, on the other hand, are endorsing the skill sets mentioned by you on your profile by your network.

A hiring manager looking up your profile for a job opening would certainly be impressed by the number of recommendations and endorsements you possess. Reiterating them that you are a skilled and credible candidate for the opening will lead to new beginnings. So, start recommending and endorsing and earn back yourself by getting the favour returned.

7. Polish Your LinkedIn Profile

Similar to resumes, recruitment managers also need a professional, well-written and polished LinkedIn profile nowadays. This is the very reason why people want to have their LinkedIn Bios updated along with their Resumes and Cover Letters by professional resume writers. The need to establish yourself as a brand via your profile is an essential factor and can only be achieved by selling yourself effectively so that employers end up picking you for the job!

A video of you addressing a group, an event you are attending which can boost your skill sets or an article shared on your wall, which you came across and found as a good read catering to your industry are ways to sell you the brand. Nobody wants a boring history of jobs but value adds to those jobs that empowered your previous company or colleagues boosting your professional stint!

Actively participating in LinkedIn can get you hired. The next opportunity awaits you. Step up the LinkedIn ladder and grab hold of it before it’s too late!

All the best!