If you are currently expanding your career and looking for better opportunities, you know that the process of finding an opening and applying to it is time-consuming. Fortunately, there’s LinkedIn. This professional network is known as one of the best social media platforms to hire and get hired. Its popularity grows more than 60 percent in the last 10 years.
Most users love and use LinkedIn Jobs because it's the easiest way to use LinkedIn to get a job fast and it’s so easy it requires no technical skills. But LinkedIn Jobs is just one of the tools on LinkedIn that you can use in your job search process.
If you want to widen your possibilities and find more openings, you should also try to find job opportunities on LinkedIn posts in addition to the LinkedIn Jobs section.
Let's see how both tools can help job seekers.
P.S.: Let‘s set something straight first before we dive in deeper. What the title “How to Use LinkedIn to Get a Job in 60 Seconds” means finding job opportunities; and maybe up to sending out your application. Anybody would tell you that it’s impossible to go from unemployed to actually getting hired in 60 seconds. The screening process alone could take days (or even months).
Using LinkedIn Jobs
LinkedIn Jobs is a powerful tool and the most common way job candidates use to do job searches on LinkedIn. While the method is well-known by many, there are a few tricks here that might take job seekers further.
Note: The screenshots are taken on the desktop browser version of LinkedIn. The mobile version might have a different layout design, but the functions should be the same.
While it doesn't look like Google at all, LinkedIn is also a search engine. So we can use the searching principle to find the result we want.
First, let's go to LinkedIn Jobs and do the search. Use the position that you want to find as the relevant keywords. Next, you determine the location of the job. LinkedIn will suggest your location based on your profile, but you can use worldwide, remote, or other specific locations. Then you click the search button.
On the result page, you will find jobs that "more or less" match your search criteria. You can choose one, or more, and apply.
But you can also refine your search even further. There are this filters that you can use. For example, you can choose “Easily Apply” to narrow down the result to only jobs where you can apply directly on LinkedIn instead of going to the company websites or some career websites.
There's also the “Date Posted” filter where you can specify when the jobs were posted. If you want to be among the first applicants, set it to 24 hours. If you want to expand your opportunities, set the date to a wider time frame.
You can also filter by Experience Level, Company, Job Type, and even more specifically in the “All Filters” like Industry and opportunities with less than 10 applicants. Play with the filters to learn more about them.
And one more thing, there's a small switch called “Job Alert” that you can toggle on or off. If the switch is on, you will get job alerts in your email inbox every time there are new job openings similar to your search. You can do different searches and turn on different job alerts.
If you decided to apply for the “Easily Apply” jobs, you will be asked to fill in some information. The cool thing about it is that some (or all) of the information are pre-filled by LinkedIn based on your profile information.
Most of the time, you just have to click the next button as LinkedIn will use your already-available info. This includes your uploaded resume or CV (Curriculum Vitae). Finally, click the “Submit” button and your application is sent to your (hopefully) future employer.
This is how to use LinkedIn to get a job in 60 seconds as the whole process takes less than one minute.
Now let's continue to the second, but the less-used method of using LinkedIn to find jobs.
The Art of Searching and Filtering through Posts
Fact: not every job poster uses LinkedIn Jobs to post their open position. In fact, I think (I might be wrong) that smaller companies or individuals prefer to use LinkedIn posts to find their required talents. And yet, job seekers have heavily underused the posts.
Here are the steps you can use to sort through the posts and find the ones you need.
First, do the usual search from anywhere within LinkedIn. The job title that you want to find will be the keyword phrases.
And here's something that not everybody uses: add “hiring”, “we're hiring” or something along the lines of the additional search keyword(s).
Then use the first filter to find “Post” instead of “Jobs”
One more important filter that you should use is the “Date Posted” one. Set this one to 24 hours or as narrow as possible. You don't want to apply for a job posting that is 3 months old, do you?
You'll be surprised at how many openings you can find posted in the last 24 hours alone.
But this LinkedIn posts method has some disadvantages compared to the LinkedIn Jobs method:
- You still have to sort out the result as some of them might not be "we're hiring" posts.
- Unlike “Easily Apply” jobs, you need to do some extra steps to apply such as commenting on the post and sending an email pitch directly to the poster.
Some Things to Prepare Before LinkedIn Job Hunting
Now you know how to use LinkedIn to get a job in 60 seconds and expand your career, there are several things that you should prepare before you start applying for jobs. Most of them are related to your LinkedIn Profile because the first thing most job posters do after getting your application is to check your profile to see your details, background, education, etc.
1. Use a friendly headshot and catchy banner
Your profile photo or headshot might be the first thing that anybody will see in your profile. Don't leave it blank. Show yourself. It doesn't have to be a professional photo - just a selfie using your smartphone will be enough. But make sure that your cover photo is clear and bright enough with you as the focus.
Don't forget to smile, and the world would smile with you. People like friendly faces.
2. Craft a great headline
The second thing that people will see is your headline. So make it great. The content should be about your skills and how you can help your prospective employers. This is your chance to stand out and make a good impression.
Job hunting is actually similar to establishing your personal brand as a business. You can use your headline to write your elevator pitch.
You can peek into profiles of people within your industry, and get inspiration from their headlines.
3. Say your accomplishments in the work experience
People will tend to skim your work experiences. So make it in bullet points, concise, and easy to read. Also, use accomplishments instead of job descriptions. Add data, metrics, and numbers. Show the recruiters that you're not only one of the potential candidates who know how to do a job, but you can actually get the job done.
4. Fill out all the skills
LinkedIn allows you 50 slots of skills. Use all of them if possible. Some keywords that recruiters use to do LinkedIn searches are skills. So if you wanted to show up more in the search results, try to think about what keywords people will use to find you.
Don't forget to add soft skills like being a team player, communication, adaptability, and leadership. These are the traits that will make you a great person to work with.
5. Have your resume ready
While LinkedIn might act as your online resume, you would want to have your "more traditional" resume ready as a PDF file to attach to your application. This will speed up the process. And once you upload your resume to LinkedIn, it will be available to be used the next time you apply without you having to re-upload it again.
It's also a good idea to have a portfolio page where you put your best works: articles, videos, artworks, podcasts, anything. Creating one will take some time and effort, but it will be worth it. You can share a simple line URL whenever needed, and the content can be updated anytime. In the long run, this will save you not just a minute or two, but hours of your time.
6. Network and outreach
LinkedIn is jam-packed with professionals from various industries. Why not take advantage of it? Start marketing yourself. Connect with people in your industry, especially the ones who work in the companies where you have your dream job. Start a regular conversation with your connections, maybe asking for some advice on your career, and then let them know that you are looking for an opening. Some of them may be recruiting.
But remember, sending your resume in your first message is not the best practice. Build the connection first.
You can message people from their post, their profile page, or using the messaging bar below (on mobile it's in the top right corner). But please note that LinkedIn InMail messaging is only free to your 1st connection.
7. Be Social
At its core, LinkedIn is another social network similar to Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. And the best way to go around social networks is by being social. This means you post regularly, leave comments on people's posts, and engage. Gary Vaynerchuk coined the famous $1.8 strategy to grow your social network. It basically said that every day you need to leave your two cents until it amounts to $1.8.
Don't forget to join relevant LinkedIn groups in your industry and contribute regularly. It's also advisable to post different types of content on LinkedIn. You can post photos, video content, PDFs, and even long-form content like articles.
Being social on LinkedIn will pay off in the long run by exposing you to more opportunities as you grow your networks. You might not be looking for your next job, but the job could come to find you.
What's Next?
For those who are currently shaping their career path and actively looking for new opportunities, these time-saving tips on how to use LinkedIn to get a job in 60 seconds can be very useful.
If you actually USE them.
The platform is so powerful, that if you use it correctly, you can even get headhunted.
Set a regular time every day to apply to the available job posts. If you take advantage of the Easily Apply filter, you can apply to 10 openings in less than half an hour daily.
Of course, whether you'll get job interviews or not will depend on many other factors, including your LinkedIn profile, resume, your qualifications, and how relevant you are to the jobs that you're applying for.
But as the wise men said, "Knowing what to do won't get you anywhere. Doing what you know will." So start applying the tips and get your dream job.