10 LinkedIn tips for job seekers

LinkedIn is the best network to help you get dream job . follow these steps to help you utilize the LinkedIn for your dream job hunt.

  

1.Complete your profile and up-to-date

Users with complete profiles are 40 times more likely to receive opportunities through LinkedIn!

Your LinkedIn profile is your chance to showcase your skills and talents and help the right people and opportunities find their way to you. As your professional representation online, you can set it to be discoverable through the millions of searches on leading search engines and on LinkedIn.

Be sure that your profile is up-to-date with your latest work information and you have a well-written summary that touches on your experience, interests, and where you’d like to go. Start updating your profile now.

                                                   Update Your Contact Information

You want employers to be able to find your profile and see what you're about but if your contact information is out of date then you may never get that chance. So get in there and add your most recent email addresses. Make sure that you use a personal email for your primary account. Nothing is worse than being locked out of an account because you can't get a password recovery email.

In the "Additional Information" section you'll also want to add links to your personal site, as well as your social networking links. 

2.Update your Professional 'Headline'

Your headline, located just beneath your name, is set by default to populate this field by grabbing your most recent job title, which isn't always in your best interest. This is the first thing people will see when visiting your page and as always first impressions are often the most important. Since you can only make one first impression, this message needs to be clear , meaningful and tell people what you are about. Use one or at most two of your top keywords in your headline.

3.Update Your Photo

Recruiters and employers regularly look through LinkedIn to find candidates and a professional picture sets the right tone. So it's time to update that old photo . Find the most professional looking picture of you and crop it to a head shot. Once you have chosen a photo it's time to upload it to your LinkedIn profile. This can be found by clicking on Profile -> Edit Profile and then clicking on "Edit Photo" in the upper left hand corner of your page.

4.Build your connections 

Build your connections which should represent your "real world" network.Use the address book importer to import your address book directly from web-based email clients such as Gmail or Yahoo! Mail, or use the Outlook address book importer.

When your network represents those you know and trust, you can utilize them for recommendations, and ask for introductions into a job or opportunity that you are interested in.

5.Search on LinkedIn Jobs

LinkedIn Jobs has thousands of job listings for each category. You can search using keywords, title, company, and location to find the perfect opportunity for you.

Leverage the elements on your profile to help make yourself stand out. Getting recommended and having a strong network builds your professional credibility and helps you get hired.

                                              Use the JobsInsider Toolbar.

Once installed, the JobsInsider toolbar integrates into your web browser, so when you are viewing a job listing on an external job site, you can automatically see your inside connections at that company. Download the toolbar today.

These inside connections can help you through informational interviews or by introducing you directly to the hiring manager.

6.Message Key Network Contacts

Use an “inside connection” to help get you access to company or job you are interested in. When you browse to a job listing on LinkedIn Jobs, you can see which of your connections are at that company. Leverage these connections to help you find the right contacts at the company you are interested in.

You can also use the Advanced Search to find a user by keywords or companies. You can directly contact users through inMails or request an introduction through one of your contacts if you have common connections.

Another great way to use LinkedIn is to research your recruiters or interviewers. You can learn more about their background to have an edge over the other candidates.

7.Get Recommendations

Just like letters of recommendation are an important part of the hiring process, recommendations are a key characteristic of your LinkedIn profile. Recommendations from former bosses, co-workers and colleagues can go a long way when employers are looking through profiles. All too often, two individuals with the same credentials could potentially boil down to who has better recommendations.

The most common way of getting a recommendation is to recommend someone else. Seek out recommendations only with people who know your work well. The same holds true for providing recommendations.

8.Show Off Your Education or Awards

The education portion of your profile is in the left column beneath the Skills and Specialties section. This is the place where you will add all of your classes, bootcamps and seminars. Once you've located this section click the link entitled, Add a School, fill in the requested information and click Save Changes.

Outline in the Honors and Awards section any and all awards received or accommodations given. This section is also located in the left column, down the page beneath Education. Inside of the Additional Information section, you'll see a small area labeled Honors and Awards. Click the +Add link right next to it and add your honors and awards. When finished click Save Changes.

9.Share Your Work

Find a way to share your work inside your groups. Writers may want to add links to their articles; developers or IT managers may want to show how they handled a common problem or share links to different tools, information they discovered on relevant technologies or anything that they think might help or inform someone. Using LinkedIn applications, you can share Powerpoint Presentations, store a copy of your resume that is downloadable and more. These can be located on the LinkedIn Applications page here.

A strong profile can be a key differentiator when recruiters or employers search online for potential candidates. Keeping your LinkedIn profile up to date should be something you strive to do each year just like your resume. LinkedIn is one of the only social networking sites that can give you career ROI, because it appeals largely to professionals, so there is no reason not to spend some time there to create a new profile or straighten up your old one.
 

                    Remove Unnecessary Information from Your Work History

Many technology professionals have had several jobs but they might not all be relevant to your current career goals. Scale back old positions that may not contribute to the role you are seeking. Don't remove them completely that could raise a red flag with employers by creating a gap in your work history. Simply limit them to company name and title.

10.Demonstrate your Expertise on LinkedIn Answers

LinkedIn Answers is one of the best places on the web to share business knowledge. You can ask and answer questions on specific subject matter.

By demonstrating your expertise on LinkedIn you earn recognition that helps you build your credibility.

The more points of expertise you gain, the higher you appear on lists of experts.

These ten tips helps you to search a dream job ..But just don not build your LinkedIn only for job It gives you a Professional life.