If you haven’t created a LinkedIn profile yet, that has to be Step #1.  We’ll talk in detail about the critical elements of a Search Engine Optimized LI profile in a future podcast, but let me give you a few quick pointers here:

1.  Your pic is critical – make sure it’s only of you, professional, and your look friendly.

2.  Your summary is the most important text of your profile. You have approximately 2,000 characters to tell your story and compel employers to reach out to you…make it count.

3.  There’s a good reason the magic number of connections on LinkedIn is 500. Get to that number any way you can, and then you can start being more selective about who you connect with.

So, to re-emphasize: having a decent profile is key to the tips I’m giving you here, so you make a good first impression when people look at your profile.

Here are ten ways you can use LinkedIn in your job search:

1.  Find someone in the company you are applying to, such as a human resources professional or department decision-maker, and reach out via LinkedIn.

2.  Find who you know and are connected to relative to a position you are applying for and ask them to help you in some way, such as putting in a good word for you or giving you some “insider info.”

3.  Identify who you know relative to your target employers; these are the people you want to network with, preferably face-to-face.

4.  Join LinkedIn groups that put you in proximity to decision-makers in your target employers.

5.  Follow your target employers; this gives you an inside scoop into jobs as they open up.

6.  Research your target employers on LinkedIn.

7.  Reach out to people who work at employers you are interested in to get the inside scoop.

8.  Use the Jobs function on LinkedIn to find out who’s in hiring mode, regardless of whether or not they’re posting positions you’re interested in.

9.  Post a video of you, talking about your qualifications, on LinkedIn. Make sure it’s professional.

10.Use the Advanced Search function to find people you already know so you get your connections to 500+.

To visit my website: www.exclusivecareercoaching.com

Follow My YouTube channel (Lesa Edwards); it’s chocked full of value career management content is easily digestible bites.

Want to speak with an expert about your career/job search goals? Need help figuring out what’s holding you back from achieving your dream career? Let’s talk. Here’s the link to schedule a 30-minute consult call with me: www.timetrade.com/book/D6KLN. Hope to see you soon!