It’s no wonder that having an up-to-date LinkedIn presence is key to any effective job search today. Consider these two statistics:
— LinkedIn has job listings for about 3 million positions.
— Ninety-four percent of recruiters use LinkedIn to source and vet candidates.
LinkedIn’s functionality for job seekers is valuable in three primary ways:
First, it enables you to be found by people who seek individuals with your background, skills and achievements.
Second, it provides multiple ways to actively locate job opportunities. You can then easily learn who among your connections works at those companies.
Lastly, it is a treasure trove of business intelligence. You can use it to identify and research target companies where you may want to work. Moreover, you can learn about the overall company culture and the specific backgrounds of people with whom you are likely to interview.
You probably know that it is important to create a complete and well-optimized profile that includes relevant keywords that link what you’ve done to the responsibilities you’ll find on relevant job ads. Most often overlooked, however, is the next thing you need to do to gain the most from this platform: join and participate in many LinkedIn Groups!
This whole area of LinkedIn is currently being revamped to provide greater value to group members by reducing extraneous promotions, trolling discussions and more. The company recently announced changes that will affect membership and participation in these groups, and these changes will likely increase the value of legitimate networking and information sharing within them.
To find groups, use the universal search function at the top of each LinkedIn page. Limit your search by selecting “Groups” in the drop-down menu, and then search for any of the million-plus groups based on just about any common interest you can imagine.
There’s a seemingly endless number of groups on LinkedIn. To find the best ones for you, you can search by geography (i.e. Greater Boston networking), industry (i.e. health care companies, software industry, etc.) or skill set (i.e. Microsoft .NET developers, inside sales, etc.).
When you click into a group, you’ll find that each one has its own sections, consisting of Jobs, About and Search.
Look for the following significant changes with the recent LinkedIn update:
— Up until now, each group owner or moderator designated the group to be either open — meaning anyone can join — or closed — meaning that you would need to apply to join and all applications were to be screened for approval. Going forward, there will be no more open groups, and in order to join any group, you will need to apply and gain permission from the moderator.
— Larger groups used to be divided into subgroups based on some specialty interest at the discretion of the moderator. Going forward, each subgroup will become its own group.
— LinkedIn has introduced a LinkedIn Groups mobile app for iOS, with an Android version reportedly also on the way. The app will enable you to follow conversations within the groups of which you are a member on your phone and — at least theoretically — promote more active dialogues with other members.
— To further engage people in conversation, you’ll now be able to reference another group member within a discussion by typing “@” followed by his or her name.
When you participate in group discussions, you’ll enhance your ability to further your job hunt in three key ways:
1. Increase your ability to be found by recruiters, human resources and hiring managers. By default, you can be found by anyone in a group to which you belong, even if you aren’t linked to them. When searching for specific talent, recruiters often join groups likely to be populated by people with the right skills or industry background. For example, if you are a .NET developer and join groups related to this skill, you make yourself findable by an IT recruiter who is a member of any of your groups.
2. Build your reputation and personal brand. When you engage in group discussions by sharing articles of interest with others; beginning interesting and relevant discussions; answering questions; and contributing value to discussions, you make yourself known for the expertise you share. You demonstrate your ability and willingness to be an unselfish team player. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel and publish original research to position yourself as a thought leader worthy of being recruited for positions you likely would never otherwise know about.
3. Find jobs that aren’t listed elsewhere. When you find jobs posted within a group’s Jobs tab rather than the main Jobs tab that’s a part of the universal LinkedIn menu, you’ll know that the postings are targeting smaller, more focused talent pools. You’ll easily be able to see who posted the job and make personal contact with him or her prior to applying for a position to learn more about the role, the company and more.
Happy hunting!
Arnie Fertig, MPA, is passionate about helping his Jobhuntercoach clients advance their careers by transforming frantic “I’ll apply to anything” searches into focused hunts for “great fit” opportunities. He brings to each client the extensive knowledge he gained when working in HR staffing and managing his boutique recruiting firm.
More from U.S. News
16 Things You’re Doing All Wrong on LinkedIn
8 Things That Are More Productive Than Staring at a Job Board
3 Ways to Use LinkedIn Groups for Your Job Search originally appeared on usnews.com
