LinkedIn has become an indispensable tool for job seekers at all levels, but it can be especially useful for executives conducting a job search. With over 740 million members worldwide, LinkedIn provides unparalleled access to professional connections and opportunities. Here are some tips on how to maximize LinkedIn to aid your executive job search efforts.
Optimize your profile
As an executive, your LinkedIn profile serves as your professional online presence and resume. You’ll want to make sure it’s complete, eye-catching, and targeted to the types of roles you seek. Include a professional headshot and summary that encapsulates your experience, skills, and career goals. Outline your executive experience with impactful bullet points that demonstrate leadership, achievements, strategic vision, and more. Share examples of your work through links, publications, SlideShare presentations, etc. Get recommendations from colleagues, direct reports, and bosses to build credibility. Keep your profile updated as you progress in your career.
Expand your network
Who you know matters in an executive job search. LinkedIn offers access to an extensive network – so make the most of it! Connect with former colleagues, classmates, clients, vendors, industry leaders, recruiters, and more. Join relevant LinkedIn Groups to connect with professionals in your field. Follow influential companies where you’d like to work. The goal is to build out a diverse network that can support your search in multiple ways – through introductions, insider knowledge, job opportunities, advice, and more. Aim for quality over quantity in your connections.
Follow companies
LinkedIn’s Company Pages provide a wealth of information including company news, job postings, statistics on current employees, organizational charts, and more. Follow Companies you’re interested in to stay on top of new opportunities as soon as they’re posted. Pay attention to new hires at the executive level to get a sense of their priorities and openings. Connect with recruiters and current employees for insider perspectives. Company Pages are a great way to research potential employers and stay in the loop on relevant openings.
Search for opportunities
The Jobs section on LinkedIn allows you to search postings by title, company, location, and other keywords. You can apply directly through LinkedIn and see how your profile matches up with job requirements.Turn on job alerts to be automatically notified of new postings that fit your criteria. Don’t limit yourself just to jobs listed on LinkedIn. With your professional network in place, let contacts know you are in the market through your profile, posts, and messages. Many executive roles are filled through private listings and backchannel recruiting.
Showcase thought leadership
Position yourself as an industry leader by sharing content that highlights your expertise and perspective. Publish long-form posts, write articles for LinkedIn’s publishing platform, contribute to Group discussions, and comment on other posts. Use multimedia like images, videos, presentations and infographics to increase engagement. Demonstrating thought leadership builds your personal brand and credibility. It also expands your reach so you get noticed by more contacts, including decision-makers at potential employers.
Utilize LinkedIn groups
Joining industry-related Groups on LinkedIn provides specialized forums to establish yourself as an expert in your field. Share advice, best practices, career experiences and industry analysis. You can also pose questions to pick the collective brain trust. Leverage Groups focused on executive roles, specific sectors, professional development, and alumni. Be an active contributor – not just a lurker – to maximize visibility.
Research inside connections
Your network can provide “inside intel” on companies of interest – insights you can’t glean from the outside. Search your connections to see who works at target organizations. Reach out to learn about culture, priorities, challenges, hiring managers, and ideal experience. Insider perspectives give you an advantage in tailoring your approach. Connect with executives at your level to get their advice and learn from their career paths.
Keep your career interests top of mind
Set your Career Interests on your profile to “Open to work” or “Looking for new opportunities.” This signals to your network you are interested in new roles. Recruiters often search based on Career Interests when sourcing potential candidates. Consider setting it to “Advice” to engage your contacts for their perspectives on your search. Promote your Career Interests on your profile intro/summary as well.
Engage with recruiters and hiring managers
LinkedIn Recruiter allows companies to source passive candidates, so expect to be contacted. When recruiters reach out, briefly respond to express interest even if the role isn’t perfect. Recruiters often search for certain skill sets and experience levels rather than specific job titles. So if nothing suitable is available now, keep the door open for future opportunities. Similarly, don’t ignore messages from hiring managers and other contacts. Follow up promptly to strengthen relationships.
Explore alumni connections
Fellow alumni can provide warm introductions and unique insights at target employers. Join alumni Groups on LinkedIn to expand your university-affiliated network. Search alumni at companies of interest to connect and leverage the shared bond. Tapping university resources like alumni databases and career centers can surface contacts not findable on LinkedIn as well. Alums are often willing to help fellow graduates.
Get recommendations
Recommendations from bosses, colleagues, clients and vendors carry a lot of weight, lending outside credibility. Focus on obtaining strategic recommendations that speak to executive skills like leadership, strategic vision, communication, problem-solving and management. Ask the recommenders to include specific anecdotes and impact. Proactively recommend colleagues on their profiles as well, which can prompt reciprocal recommendations. This transforms endorsements into a meaningful asset.
Follow influencers
Follow thought leaders, journalists, consultants, bloggers and other professionals relevant to your industry and role. This surfaces valuable content in your LinkedIn feed. Look for contributors consistently producing insightful and original perspectives. Follow influencers inside target companies as well for an inside look. Comment on their posts and share their content to establish your own thought leadership.
Join Premium
LinkedIn Premium provides features that can facilitate an executive job search. Premium allows you to search profiles anonymously, view expanded profiles, send InMail messages and see who’s viewed your profile. These tools help you research contacts and companies without revealing your interest until you’re ready. Premium also removes ads and provides data insights on your profile performance.
Use advanced search
LinkedIn’s advanced search allows you to use filters to target very specific sets of results. For example, you can search for 2nd degree connections that work at a certain company and have software engineering in their titles. Refine and customize searches to hone in on the right people and opportunities. Advanced search also allows sorting by keywords, current employer, years of experience and more.
Conclusion
With LinkedIn’s reach, network effects and suite of capabilities, it is an essential platform for any executive job search. By thoroughly optimizing your profile, expanding your connections, demonstrating thought leadership, pursuing opportunities and leveraging premium tools, you can significantly increase your chances of landing your next leadership role. Consistent effort focused on quality over quantity will enable you to tap into LinkedIn’s full potential for an executive-level search.