If you’re looking for a job, it’s important to remember that social networking sites can play a big part these days – whether it’s you trying to network and find out a little more about an employer or a potential employer trying to find out a little more about you. Of all the social networking sites though, it is LinkedIn which tends to be regarded as the most important platform for any serious job-seeker. If that is exactly what you are then the following tips should help – 5 Ways to use LinkedIn to find a job.

Update your Profile

Like all social networking sites, you must create and personalise your profile and in this case ensure that is portraying you in the best light possible. Your intention should be to ensure that your profile gains the interest of potential employers or recruiters, therefore you should always ensure that your skills and experience are highlighted and up to date. Your LinkedIn profile can be a much better method of selling you as a potential candidate than a CV ever could, so don’t waste it.

Add Skills

In essence the skills function on LinkedIn is a little like adding tags to your profile. You can add up to 50 skills which can strengthen how your overall profile appears. If you need a little assistance with regards to which skills to use, LinkedIn provides suggested and related skills for you. Also, by adding skills you can improve how your profile appears in search engines or when a potential employer or recruiter utilizes LinkedIn’s own search function.

Get recommendations

If your network of contacts on LinkedIn includes people who you have previously worked with or for, it’s both advisable and extremely worthwhile to engage with them and ask them to write a recommendation for you. Recommendations can really enhance your overall profile since they provide a much deeper insight into you as an employee than your CV typically would. If the recommendations focus on the value you brought to an organisation – your achievements and accomplishments, this helps to strengthen your case as a potential employee to any employers or recruiters who may be viewing your profile.

Look Professional

If when you created your LinkedIn account, you simply added the first photo you had at hand as your profile picture, it’s time to make changes. The photo that you use should be relatively formal – a standard head and shoulders shot and ideally one that conveys a pretty professional impression from the off. This is certainly not the place to use one of ‘those’ pictures that you happen to be tagged in after a Saturday night out.

Join Groups

There are countless groups that you could join on LinkedIn that could help your job search and career itself in some way. You have the option to potentially join up to 50 groups, so you should always ensure that you choose the right groups for you. That may mean joining career support groups where you can connect and get information and advice on all job-seeking matters or it could mean joining niche groups related to your local area or chosen profession or market sector. The key thing is simply to ensure that you join the groups that will benefit you most.

We hope that by highlighting 5 Ways to use LinkedIn to find a job, it will help some of you on the next stage of your career journey.