Your LinkedIn presence could land you your next role. That is, a strong LinkedIn presence could land your next role. Combined with a consistent outreach plan you can stand out from other candidates while displaying your skillset and dedication.
In this blog, we’ll cover the A to Z on how you can find your next position as quickly as possible using LinkedIn outreach, profile optimization, and some good old-fashioned persistence.
Now, let’s dive in!
Why LinkedIn for Job Searching?
LinkedIn has always been a lot more than just a networking site. Millions of companies, from early stage startups to large enterprises, post their open roles exclusively on LinkedIn, some even posting directly to their network.
If that’s not enough, here are a few more reasons LinkedIn is the ideal place for your job search:
- There are recruiters everywhere: LinkedIn is a recruiters best friend (or worst enemy). Even if you’re not being headhunted, connecting & engaging with recruiters can bring you a behind the scenes on new job openings.
- Lead with recommendations: What does a hiring manager see when they look at your profile? Recommendations from colleagues, AKA social proof that you’re the right fit for their open position.
- Win extra credit with your network: Here’s a truth of life: people are more apt to hire someone they already know. Jobs at companies where you have mutual connections are a great place to start your search.
- Get a feel for company culture: You can learn a lot about a company (and if you’d like to work there) from their LinkedIn and employee’s LinkedIn page. Some things you should look for include: company offsites & employee-generated content!
Here’s the bottom line. If you’re looking for a job, LinkedIn is the place to be. Even if it’s an uphill battle, focusing on improving your LinkedIn presence expands your professional network, fosters new relationships, and could ultimately land you your next job.
How To Land A Job on LinkedIn Through Outreach
Outreach is the prime way to get a hiring manager’s eyes on your resume. With application numbers through the roof and what feels like a lack of open positions, you need all the help you can to find a job.
Here’s a process you can follow that has (and continues to) land jobs for our community.
Step 1: Narrow Down Your Target Roles & Companies
Before diving into outreach, it’s crucial to define your ideal job and target companies. This will inform the rest of your job search and provide some structure to what can feel like an overwhelmingly unstructured process.
Here’s what the process should look like:
1. Self-Assessment:
- Start with introspection: Take time to reflect on your past experiences, strengths, weaknesses, and interests. What energizes you in a work environment?
- Identify your career goals: Are you seeking long-term stability, rapid career advancement, or a specific industry focus?
- Assess your skillset: Create a comprehensive list of your technical and soft skills. Consider skills you’ve acquired through work, volunteer experiences, or personal projects.
2. Brainstorm Potential Roles:
- Leverage your skillset: Use your self-assessment findings to brainstorm a variety of job titles that align with your skills and aspirations. Don’t limit yourself to just one title – explore variations and synonyms.
- Research industry trends: Explore job boards and industry publications to stay updated on emerging roles and in-demand skills. Consider incorporating these trends into your target list.
- Talk to your network: Informational interviews with professionals in your desired field can provide valuable insights and expose you to new career paths you might not have considered.
3. Utilize LinkedIn Search:
- Advanced filters are your friend: Refine your search results using LinkedIn’s advanced filters. Target specific keywords, locations, company sizes, and industries.
- Saved searches save time: Create and save multiple search filters based on your target criteria. This allows you to easily revisit relevant job postings and stay updated on new opportunities.
- Expand your network: Explore the profiles of people working in your target roles and companies. This can provide insights into their career paths and help you identify additional keywords to incorporate into your search.
4. Analyze Job Descriptions:
- Identify key requirements: Carefully review job descriptions to understand the essential skills, qualifications, and experience required for the position.
- Decipher industry jargon: Research any unfamiliar terms or acronyms used in the job description. Understanding the language used will ensure you tailor your resume and outreach messages effectively.
- Keyword harvest: Identify relevant keywords and skills mentioned in the job description. These keywords can be used to optimize your LinkedIn profile and tailor your cover letter and resume to each specific application.
5. Create a Target Company List:
- Research company culture: Company culture is a crucial factor in job satisfaction. Explore a company’s website, social media presence, and employee reviews to get a sense of their values and work environment.
- Align with your goals: Ensure your target companies align with your long-term career aspirations and values. Research their growth potential, mission statement, and areas of innovation.
- Prioritize your list: Rank your target companies based on your level of interest, fit, and potential for career growth. This will help you prioritize your outreach efforts.
By following these steps, you’ll know exactly what you’re qualified for & what roles to be searching for. This sets you up for success in our next step.
Step 2: Start With The Building Blocks: Profile Optimization
Your LinkedIn profile is your digital resume and first impression. It’s what a recruiter or hiring manager sees before they decide to offer you an interview. Therefore, it’s paramount that your LinkedIn profile aligns with your professional goals & the role you’re targeting.
Luckily, we’re experts in the land of LinkedIn profile optimization:
- Headline: Your headline is displayed in search results, engagement on posts, and even on Google. It should communicate the value you bring to a team & your ‘why.’
- Summary: Your summary is your chance to tell your story. Highlight your career wins & accomplishments.
- Experience Section: Showcase your most relevant work experience using strong action verbs and quantifiable results. Tailor your experience descriptions to the jobs you’re targeting just like you would a resume.
- Skills and Endorsements: Skills are social proof that you’re good at doing what you say you are! Add relevant skills to the roles you’re targeting & let your network endorse them!
- Recommendations: Seek recommendations from past colleagues, managers, and clients. Return the favor by providing your own recommendations as well.
- Profile Picture and Header Image: Your profile photo and header hold a big part in how you’re viewed. Keep it professional.
Remember, consistency is key. Ensure your profile aligns with your overall career goals and resume. For a full look at optimizing your profile, you can read our step-by-step guide.
Quick tip: Use keywords from the job descriptions you analyzed in Step 1 throughout your profile.
Step 3: LinkedIn Outreach: Connecting With Key Stakeholders
Your profile is updated. You know what companies & roles you’re targeting. However, beyond a strong application, how can you ensure recruiters & hiring managers are giving your application the time it deserves?
Here comes the outreach in three parts:
Targeting Recruiters:
It’s best to target recruiters directly after you apply for a role. Typically, recruiters are on the front lines of reviewing resumes & scheduling interviews with the hiring manager. If you get in front of a recruiter, you get in front of the hiring manager.
Here’s how you can go about reaching out to a recruiter:
- Find the recruiter tied to the job you’ve applied for. Commonly this is attached at the top of the LinkedIn job post. If it’s not, you should be able to find recruiters at the company you’re applying at under the “employees” section of their LinkedIn page.
- Draft a concise message detailing why you’re connecting with them & how excited you are about the role. An example message could look something like:
Hi [Recruiter Name],
Just applied for the [Job Title] at [Company Name]. Huge fan of what you’re doing with [area of interest]! Let’s connect!
[Your Name]
- You may not get a response (high tier recruiters handle endless messages per day), but don’t let that discourage you. Follow-up via InMail if they have an open profile. If they don’t you can reach out to the hiring manger instead.
Step 4: Connecting with Hiring Managers:
We recommend reaching out to hiring managers after speaking to a recruiter or, if you can’t get in touch with a recruiter after you’ve applied for the role. While it may feel pushy, outreach shows determination, interest, and makes your stand out amongst candidates who didn’t take the initiative to reach out.
But what should you say?
Hi [First Name], just applied for the [Job Title] position you have open. Would love to share some of my experience & how I could have a positive impact on [Relevant Goal From Job Description].
Of course, if you have any mutual connections or specific selling points, be sure to mention them in your outreach!
Step 5: Find Internal Referrals:
Referrals are a true life hack to job searching. An internal referral is a referral from someone who already works at the company you’re applying to. Let’s explore how to leverage LinkedIn (and your network) for potential referral opportunities.
Who to ask for referrals? It helps if you’re already connected with someone at the company you’re applying to – however, this isn’t necessary. Find your future colleagues (people who work in the same department the open position is in) and send them a connection request.
Why would someone refer you? People are more likely to refer someone they know and trust. Your focus here should be on building strong relationships and demonstrating your value. In short, people want to work with someone they enjoy being around… if you come across friendly & good natured, you may be on the right track to getting a referral – even if you don’t know them well.
How do you ask for a referral? For starters, don’t ask in your initial message. Aim to build some rapport, find common ground, express genuine interest in their role or the company, and show that you’ve done your research. Once you’ve established a connection, you can mention your job search and the types of roles you’re seeking. This will naturally lead to an opportunity to ask for a referral.
Remember, rejection is part of the job hunt. While it’s easy to get discouraged by initial rejections or lack of responses, every connection you make expands your network & gets you one step closer to landing your dream role.
Step 6: Look for In-Network Opportunities
As we mentioned in our introduction, many recruiters & job seekers post their open roles directly to their network before sharing with the public. This offers you a better chance to get in front of your future manager and start a conversation from the start.
But how can you hear about these roles?
The answer is: you need to expand your network with leaders and recruiters at your target companies. You can do this in a few ways:
The Hard Way:
This approach requires consistent effort and is time-consuming. That being said, it does work:
- Targeted Identification: Dedicate a specific time each week to identifying specific profiles you want to target. Utilize advanced search filters to target your ideal companies, job titles, and connection levels (e.g., second-degree connections).
- Personalized Connection Requests: Write a personalized message for each connection request you send. Briefly explain your background, express your interest in their company, and mention a specific reason for connecting (e.g., shared industry experience, a recent article they published).
- Follow-Up Management: Track your connection requests and manually follow up with those who haven’t responded within a reasonable timeframe (1 to 2 weeks). This could involve sending a polite reminder or engaging with their content on LinkedIn.
Benefits: Offers complete control over messaging and allows for deep personalization.
Drawbacks: Can be time-consuming, and you’re limited to LinkedIn’s search limits based on your account subscription.
The Easy Way:
You can automate the entire process (don’t forget, you still need to spend time scrolling through you feed looking for job postings on top of growing your network). Luckily, you can use We-Connect to significantly streamline this process and help you discover in-network opportunities. Here’s how it works:
- Automated Targeting: Import LinkedIn search lists of contacts from your ideal companies, job titles, and connection levels. You can also find contacts from popular LinkedIn posts, groups, and events.
- Scalable Connection Requests: Craft a personalized connection request template highlighting your background and interest in the company. We-Connect automatically sends these to your contacts, as well as automating likes, profile visits, endorsements, emails, and follow-up messages.
- Automated Follow-Up: Manage your outreach efforts through automated campaigns. Set triggers for follow-up messages based on specific actions, such as someone accepting your connection request. This ensures timely engagement and keeps the conversation flowing.
Benefits: Saves significant time, allows you to reach a wider network, and keeps your outreach organized.
Drawbacks: None, but we might be biased 😉
By leveraging either manual outreach or We-Connect’s automation, you can efficiently expand your network within target companies, discover hidden job opportunities, and position yourself for success in landing your dream job.
In Summary
Remember, landing your dream job requires a multi-pronged approach. By optimizing your profile, strategically reaching out to key stakeholders, and leveraging your network effectively, you significantly increase your chances of success. Don’t be discouraged by initial setbacks – persistence and a positive attitude are crucial for navigating the job search journey.
Ready to take action? Start your free 14 day trial on We-Connect & see how a larger network can lead more to more career opportunties.
