Having a resume is not enough in the job market nowadays. You must demonstrate your drive, and dedication through various outlets. This may be through passion projects, or creating a strong social media presence such as a blog. Professional profiles are a strong indicator of a good candidate, and one of the easiest ways of making one is through LinkedIn. Not convinced? There are many benefits to using LinkedIn for your job search, and here are just a few.
Discoverability
Job Recruiters and Hiring Managers use Linkedin, this is one of the many benefits of using it for your job search. Most employers already use it frequently; it is a common professional platform with nearly 800 million users. 87% of recruiters find their candidates through LinkedIn according to Jobvite. By creating a LinkedIn profile you increase your discoverability immensely. You will have a greater reach with a professional profile, and job searching will come easier since employees will be the one searching for candidates and coming across your profile. It also helps decrease the time consuming process of searching for a job. You no longer have to contact each company individually, and present them your profile. LinkedIn brings the job search to you.
Create Your Brand
Building an online presence such as a blog or YouTube channel takes years of work, and dedication to gain the slightest amount of recognition or even a small following, but with LinkedIn you can create a professional profile in a matter of minutes. Just having your profile on LinkedIn alone is already a great first step! Creating a presence for yourself on a professional platform like LinkedIn indicates your credibility. The site itself acts as a validator, and shows employers you’re real. If you create a strong profile it will attract employers. Make sure to add an appropriate photo for a profile picture, note your skills, work experience, and any other information you deem relevant to your job search. Consider what makes you marketable, and will help employers understand who you are, then encapsulate that in a short summary for your profile.
Networking
Another benefit of using LinkedIn for your job search is the amount of networking opportunities that are at your disposal. Through LinkedIn you can follow companies as well as their employees. This will benefit your research when looking into specific companies. Following the pages of your companies of interest will help keep you updated. And after you’ve created a strong profile try sending connection requests to the employees of the companies you are looking at. There are also LinkedIn groups that are available for you to join. Join groups that cater to your desired work field, and expand your network from there. By joining LinkedIn groups you can create connections, and participate in discussions that demonstrate your knowledge of your field.