This article is specifically for the person who is looking to find that next great position but in an "unofficial way." I will answer these frequently asked questions:
1. Would my being on LinkedIn suggest to my boss that I am looking for a job?
Human Resource Software
2. What are the steps I should be following on LinkedIn in order to position myself for a new job and maybe even be proactive in looking for a new job?
The answer to the first question is "no." There are over 100 million people on LinkedIn, and the vast majority of us are not looking for jobs. As long as you use your head and don't use words like "seeking," "pursuing," "looking" (the kind of words official job seekers need to use), you should look like the rest of us who use LinkedIn daily to grow our networks and ultimately our businesses.
Now on to the meat of the tip, where I will answer question #2, and I am calling this:
LinkedIn for the Stealth Job Seeker
Profile Steps:
Maximize usage of the keywords hiring managers and recruiters use to describe your specialties and skills. Don't forget things like software, processes, job duties, titles, industry certifications, and other words that are specific to your skills and industry.
Use the available 2,000 characters to write very detailed descriptions of your accomplishments for each and every job entry you have listed. You don't know which job entry or combination's of job entries will be the differentiator between you and your competitors. Think of each job as a stand-alone entry (not just a series of jobs), and this will cause you to describe each job more fully and with more details.
Have a headline that is strategically keyword filled. 28 characters are available. Use every one.
Use the skills section to include additional keywords but also to display your various types of expertise.
Include any specialized educational courses in your Education section, and describe those courses in detail, with lots of--you guessed it--keywords. You are allowed 2,000 characters for each of these as well.
Don't skimp on including honors and awards you have earned over the years.
Proactive Steps:
Use the Jobs Tab, and be sure to save ten job searches--the maximum number LinkedIn allows. This will be your 24/7 virtual assistant. It will look for the jobs you have said you are interested in and alert you when there are jobs posted on LinkedIn that meet your criteria.
Set your three free saved advanced people searches for the target companies you are interested in working for. Of course, the titles you should set as criteria are the human resource people and/or the hiring manager. But in the company slot, be aware that by using the OR between company names you can get a lot more coverage than just searching and saving one company. For example, if I am looking for a controller job at Bucyrus International and Harley-Davidson in Milwaukee, I would set the criteria as
Title: hr OR "human resources" OR cfo OR "vp of finance"
Company: "harley-davidson" OR "bucyrus international"
Postal Code: 53092
Within: 50 miles
Join industry groups, and be sure to check the Jobs Tab within those groups for job postings.
Save your favorite status update searches (you find this on your home page by clicking "Search Updates"). Type in the box the names of your target companies in your target region. Many HR professionals use status updates to announce job openings to their network, which you may not even be a part of.
Select "Follow Company" in the companies section for all of your target companies. This way you will be notified of employment changes in the organization as well as specific job postings the company may make.
Remember this -- HR professionals and recruiters are using LinkedIn, the world's largest searchable database, to look for YOU! Following these steps will increase the odds that they will find you!
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