I write a lot about using LinkedIn for executive job search and I’m always on the lookout for helpful LinkedIn tips.
LinkedIn has so much going on, with so many ways to find various people to connect with, build your personal brand, expand your network and meet your career goals.
Are you doing all you can with LinkedIn?
Practical LinkedIn Tips and Strategies for Executive Job Search
I’ve gathered some tips from people in the know about the ins and outs of using LinkedIn.
Protect Your Privacy on LinkedIn
In 8 Privacy Settings You Should Change on LinkedIn Right Now, LifeHacker advises making adjustments to safeguard your personal information from the world (and especially advertisers) through your LinkedIn profile:
- Re-evaluate your personal information.
- Sign out of LinkedIn on devices you don’t use.
- Check what’s on your public profile.
- Take a look at who can see your activity.
- Control LinkedIn’s messaging experience.
- Stop LinkedIn’s email spam.
- Control the data potential employers see when you use LinkedIn to apply
- Don’t let all of your data be used for advertising
LinkedIn Tips for Job Search Research
Executive resume writer, Donna Svei, suggests using LinkedIn Career Explorer for various aspects of job search research. Launched in 2020, LinkedIn’s Chief Product Officer, Tomer Cohen, said:
“Our new Career Explorer tool can uncover careers you could transition into and might not have considered by mapping the skills you have to thousands of job titles. Explorer will highlight additional skills you may need and LinkedIn Learning courses to help you get them.”
Here are Donna’s 10 Absolutely Ingenious Ways to Use LinkedIn Career Explorer
- Find the best skills to put on a resume and LinkedIn profile.
- Identify career paths.
- Assess the long-term potential of those career paths.
- Learn more about jobs that interest you.
- Find people who have the job title that interests you.
- Assess the market for job titles that interest you.
- Create a professional development plan.
- Find resume and LinkedIn profile keywords for your targeted job titles.
- Identify keywords for your LinkedIn recommendations.
- Increase your visibility in professional communities.
Look for these things when you research
In a post I wrote about using LinkedIn for research and insights, I noted some things to look for in your company research:
- Company overviews and history
- Products and services
- Challenges they’re facing right now that you can help them with
- Corporate/company culture
- Company leaders and key decision-makers
- Other employees
- Industry influencers
- Latest news and trends
Your research on LinkedIn will help you:
- Gain access to the goldmine of “hidden” or never-advertised executive jobs.
- Determine how you’re uniquely qualified to help your target companies overcome current challenges.
- Learn how to define and refine your personal brand and ROI around your potential value to them.
- Identify those all-important relevant keywords and phrases to use across your personal marketing.
- Know how to craft (or refine) your resume, biography, LinkedIn profile and other materials around what will resonate with your target companies.
- Identify the people at your target companies to connect with for insider information, introductions and leads.
- Circumvent the gatekeepers. Avoid the HR-driven search process, by positioning yourself in front of and connecting directly with key decision makers, and other employees.
- Assess potential employers and do your due diligence.
- Prepare to speak intelligently about your target companies and industry when networking.
- Nail interviews by being an informed, knowledgeable candidate.
Connect Directly with Hiring Managers on LinkedIn
In a LinkedIn update, career coach Loren Greiff shared a tip on how to connect directly with hiring managers who circumvent LinkedIn Jobs but still post their job openings on LinkedIn:
- Search ‘hiring’ followed by the name of the role you’re interested in, such as ‘hiring art director’
- Filter your search to posts, then by industry
- There you’ll see jobs posted by hiring managers on their posts. vs. an official job posting, which means you have direct access to the HM and their timely need.
This is how HM’s and companies are getting around posting jobs on LinkedIn Jobs and other job boards. They do this because it’s:
- Free to post.
- More direct than going through their HR group so they can vet candidates to their precise needs (over and above the job description)
- Easier to control and manage — with others able to share, tag and copy for further referrals.
How To Tailor Your LinkedIn Feed
The LinkedIn blog asked:
“Did you know that your social activity on LinkedIn impacts the type of content seen in your feed?”
Here’s how they suggest tailoring your feed:
Signal what you like and dislike: You can tell us what you want to see more and less of by clicking the three dots (…) on a post. This will open a toolbox of options available, including saving the post to review later, reporting the post, or even hiding the specific post from your feed by clicking “I don’t want to see this.” These are all quick ways to help your feed become more relevant to you.
Add your voice: When you like, comment or share posts, you’re letting us know that these types of posts are something you care about. We’ll make sure you see more of these posts, whether from that person or company, or that format of post. And when people like or reply to your insights, we will make sure they see more of you.
Use hashtags: From broad business topics like #creativity and #content to other topics like #blacklivesmatter or #digitalmarketing, hashtags are another way to shape the conversations and insights in your feed. Simply click on any hashtag you like in the feed and then click follow under the hashtag’s title. Here are a few more tips for using hashtags.
LinkedIn Tips About Messaging
Another article on the LinkedIn blog described how to start a private conversation with messaging – both with connections you already have and when starting a new conversation with someone not in your network:
Anyone can message 1st degree connections for both 1:1 and group conversations. Once you start a group chat, you can add people you’re directly connected to.
To reach out beyond 1st degree connections:
Ask for an introduction to someone you’re not yet connected with — ask one of your connections to kick off a group conversation between you and the person in their network with whom you’re interested in chatting. Because they hold a mutual connection, they can start a group message.
Message a Premium member who has enabled Open Profile — if you can see a Premium Profile Badge on someone’s profile, they may also have Open Profile turned on. If you are a Premium member and you want to be able to get messages from non-first degree connections, you can ensure this setting is on here.
Subscribe to a premium or business solution — with LinkedIn Premium, LinkedIn Recruiter, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, or LinkedIn Campaign Manager, you receive credits to directly message another LinkedIn member to whom you’re not yet connected.
To send a message request:
With message requests, you can reach out to any members who are:
- Members of the same Group
- Members attending the same Event
- Co-workers at your current company
- Members who have enabled #OpenToWork
When you send a message request, the recipient will be notified, see the shared context, and can decide to either accept or privately decline.
Don’t Forget LinkedIn Voice Messaging
LinkedIn Voice Messaging has been around for a few years, but I don’t see a lot of members using it. People say they get much better response than with LinkedIn written messaging because their personality comes across better.
The LinkedIn blog says you should use voice messaging to:
Easily message on-the-go: People speak about four times faster than they type, making voice messaging great for explaining longer or more complex ideas without the time and involvement of typing and editing a message. It’s also helpful for when you’re on the move and don’t have time to stop and type.
Get to it when you can: Leaving a voice message can often better for a recipient than calling them since they can listen and respond when they have a free moment.
Better express yourself: Speaking in your own voice allows you to build a more personal connection and effectively communicate. It’s easier for your tone and personality to come through, which can sometimes get lost in translation in written communications.
You’ll need to use the mobile app to record voice messages. Read more about it in LinkedIn Help.
More LinkedIn Tips
Essential LinkedIn Guide for Today’s Executive Job Search
Smart Personal Branding: Posting LinkedIn Updates vs Updating Your LinkedIn Profile
Do Executive Job Seekers Really Need LinkedIn Premium?