Written by Vaclav Koranda

Master LinkedIn for Your Job Search Success

Since its launch on May 5, 2003, LinkedIn has transformed into the ultimate hub for job seekers and professionals worldwide. By November 2023, the platform amassed an incredible number of members—one billion. It’s not just a networking site anymore; it’s your backstage pass to endless career opportunities. Whether you’re looking to land your dream job or build a powerhouse network, mastering LinkedIn can be your ticket to professional success. So let’s dive into how you can make the most of it!

Let’s Check the Basics First

We need to start with the somewhat boring basics to make this article complete. If you’re confident that your LinkedIn profile is already top-notch, feel free to scroll down and dive into my insider tips and advanced techniques below.

Let’s take a quick look at the most important LinkedIn profile sections that make the biggest impact on your job search, and some practical tips for refining them:

Name: Use the version of your name that you typically use in a professional setting. If you commonly go by a nickname, include it alongside your full name—for example, Johnny Lim Wei Cheng.

Headline: This shows up in a recruiter’s search results next to your name, so make sure it is impactful. Showcase your core expertise rather than just your current job title.

Photo: Invest in a professional headshot. Don’t use selfies, party photos, or crop-outs from family pictures. Refer below for more insights on the use of AI.

About:This is your personal pitch. Hook readers and make them want to connect. Avoid buzzwords such as ‘strategic,’ ‘dynamic,’ ‘evangelist’, ‘thought leader’, ‘enthusiast’, and similar buzzy rubbish.

Experience: Make sure the job titles and employment dates match your resume. Any inconsistency there is a red flag for recruiters.

Education: Simply list your highest degree—this is usually enough.

Licenses & Certifications: Highlight only certifications that are relevant to your job and respected in your industry. An attendance certificate from a random internal training won’t really impress.

Recommendations: Get at least 5-10 of them. They do carry a bit of weight, especially if they’re thoughtful and legit.

Skills: Focus on hard skills and industry expertise. Endorsements are nice to have but they barely move the needle.

As for the other sections, complete as many as you can, but you don’t have to invest too much time or effort in them. While they add some value, they are not really important when it comes to job searching.

Once you have polished your profile, check your visibility settings—make sure that people can see your name and headline when you visit their profile, as well as that your profile is visible to the public. Fill out your job preferences and add them to your profile. You should also activate the “Open to Work” setting in your profile making you show up in the candidate search engine for recruiters. There is an optional “Open to Work” green banner you can use around your picture if desired. And don’t worry, it won’t make you look desperate, as some “gurus” may suggest. It’s more of a signal to the recruiters that you may be a low-hanging fruit.

How to Network on LinkedIn Properly

When LinkedIn first started, the typical practice was to meet someone in person—at a business meeting or professional event—and then connect with them on LinkedIn. While this remains one of the best ways to build meaningful connections on any social media platform, things have shifted over the years to a LinkedIn-first approach.

There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s important to remember that when it comes to LinkedIn connections, quality always matters more than quantity. Sending out connection requests to everyone might seem like an easy way to expand your network, but a more focused approach is far more effective. Instead, aim to connect with professionals in your field who align with your career goals, industry, or interests. By personalizing your connection requests with a thoughtful message, you can significantly increase the chances of your request being accepted.

Engagement is the heart of networking. It’s not enough to simply add connections—you need to interact with them. Commenting on posts, sharing valuable content, and posting your own insights are great ways to stay active and visible. Thoughtful comments and meaningful discussions can help you stand out and build relationships. Regular engagement shows that you’re invested in your network and not just using LinkedIn as a passive tool.

LinkedIn Groups offer another avenue for networking. Joining groups relevant to your field allows you to participate in discussions, share your expertise, and connect with like-minded professionals. Active involvement in groups can establish you as a valuable member of the community and open doors to new connections.

When you meet someone you share common interests with or could have a mutually beneficial relationship, don’t hesitate to reach out. Invite them for a coffee chat to explore collaboration opportunities, or, if distance is an obstacle, a video call can work wonders in building strong connections and fostering mutually rewarding cooperation.

Read more here: The Power of Networking

Insider Tips and Advanced Techniques

Finally, here are the promised insider insights. Let’s also take a closer look at some advice from so-called (or self-proclaimed) recruitment ‘gurus’ circulating online and maybe even bust a few myths along the way.

Networking with Recruiters

Some gurus suggest searching for recruiters and asking them to connect. A smart recruiter will almost never refuse a connection—that’s a given. Whether it will actually benefit you, though, is another story.

How easily recruiters can find you on LinkedIn depends largely on the type of account they’re using. Recruitment agencies and headhunters typically use LinkedIn Recruiter, or eventually LinkedIn Premium Business, which gives them maximum visibility and connectivity—so they can go far beyond normal network boundaries when reaching out to candidates. Internal recruiters (especially in smaller organizations) however mostly rely just on the free plan or Premium Career (which is for personal use), or Recruiter Lite at best. The last two give more reach than a free account, but still come with some limits—like fewer profile views and less advanced search. So being directly connected to a recruiter can slightly boost your visibility in certain situations.

Always Respond to a Message from a Recruiter

Yes, even if you’re perfectly happy with your job, have no plans to change in the next 10 years, and find unsolicited messages extremely annoying. The biggest “Why?” is simple—you never know. In today’s uncertain world, anything can happen at any time. You might think your job is perfectly secure, and then—boom—tomorrow you’re unemployed. (If you’re wondering how to prepare for a layoff, check out my earlier article here.) Or maybe your amazing boss leaves, and their replacement turns out to be a total nightmare.

Even if everything feels great now, circumstances can shift overnight, and the same recruiter you ignored yesterday could become your lifeline tomorrow. Plus, by responding, you increase your chances of being contacted again. Recruiters’ InMail credits and their ability to send messages are influenced by your responses, so replying—even briefly—keeps you in their good books. Here’s how it works:

  1. InMail Credits: If you respond to a recruiter’s InMail—whether positively or negatively—he typically receives the InMail credit back. This means that even a “Not Interested” response can help him conserve credits.
  2. Response Rate: LinkedIn tracks recruiters’ InMail response rate, especially if they’re using LinkedIn Recruiter. If their response rate drops below a certain level, they may get additional restrictions on sending InMails.
  3. Quality of Responses: While the specific content of the response (e.g., “Yes, I am interested”) doesn’t directly affect recruiters’ ability to send InMails, a higher positive response rate can overall improve their credibility and effectiveness on the platform.

So, think twice before deleting the message without replying. Alternatively, check out my article on how to avoid getting fired—it might just help you reduce the chances of needing a recruiter anytime soon.

Using AI-Enhanced Photos

Some experts advocate for using AI to enhance—or even generate—your professional photo as a cost-effective alternative to hiring a professional photographer.

However, AI-generated or enhanced photos tend to appear slightly artificial and may not fully represent who you are, feeling more like an avatar than a genuine image. While AI technology is constantly improving, at this point, these photos might come across as less authentic and could make you seem less trustworthy.

Heavy Posting

Some ‘experts’ (namely “influencers” and “content creators”) say that posting on LinkedIn daily can enhance your attractivity as a candidate by increasing your visibility and engagement on the platform. Well, that may be true for them because they are optimizing their LinkedIn activity to attract viewers and potential customers, but not headhunters. So how do recruiters perceive such a strategy?

It really depends on your role, seniority, and the quality of content you post. Posting frequently isn’t a magic bullet—some of the generic stuff out there is actually a turn-off. That said, thoughtful posts can help you stand out – especially if managing social media is expected to be a part of your job (such as in sales, marketing, or HR). But someone else with a solid profile who doesn’t post much? They’re not losing out either. Smart visibility helps, but it’s not everything.

Using Automation Tools

Automation tools for LinkedIn can be incredibly powerful when used wisely. They save time, boost efficiency, and help you scale your efforts. For example, they can send connection requests to specific people based on their job, industry, or location, which helps you grow your network more effectively. These tools can also send personalized messages in bulk to recruiters and hiring managers to help you find job opportunities. Other tools can schedule posts for you, ensuring your profile is always active without requiring manual effort. Some tools even visit the profiles of your target audience automatically, potentially encouraging those people to visit your profile back and hence increasing your visibility.

However, using LinkedIn automation tools has some disadvantages and risks. LinkedIn does not allow the use of certain third-party tools (read more here), so using them can get your account restricted or banned. Automated messages might save time but may feel impersonal and do not help build true connections. These tools also cannot handle detailed or unique interactions well, making your communication seem less genuine. Automated posts lack the personal touch and authenticity and don’t really resonate with your audience.

So, if you decide to use automation tools, use them wisely and responsibly so that you don’t jeopardize your account.

Create Your Profile in Multiple Languages

LinkedIn has a feature many job seekers have no clue about: the ability to create your profile in multiple languages, seamlessly showing each visitor the version that matches their settings. When you add, say, an English and a German profile, a recruiter browsing in German sees your German version, while an English speaker sees your English one. This feature ensures you always speak the language of whoever is evaluating your credentials.

That matters because recruiters usually search in their native tongue. In Spain or Mexico, they may look for an “Ingeniero de Software” alongside a “Software Engineer,” so if your profile exists only in English, you simply won’t appear in some of the searches.

So why consider creating your LinkedIn profile in multiple languages in the first place? If you’re targeting roles in multinational companies or aiming for regional or global positions, having your profile in English alone may be entirely sufficient. However, if you’re open to local opportunities—whether in your home country or in other countries where you speak the language—adding versions of your profile in those languages can significantly expand your reach and unlock a broader range of job prospects.

To get started, click the “Me” icon on your LinkedIn homepage, choose “View Profile”, click the pen icon next to “Profile language” in the upper right corner, and then select “Add profile in another language”. Treat each language like a separate project rather than translating word for word.  A job title in English may not have a direct equivalent in German for example. Look up how other professionals title their roles, list their skills, certifications, and describe experience in that language, and use those exact phrases. Customizing your keywords for each language version enhances the strength of your profile and increases its visibility in recruiter searches.

While it does take extra effort, creating multilanguage profiles is one of the simplest investments you can make for opening doors to opportunities you might otherwise never see.

LinkedIn Don’ts

LinkedIn is a professional network, so keep it professional. Avoid posting about politics, natural disasters, pets, your sports accomplishments, deep cleavages and camel toes, clickbait, cheesy quotes, pointless fluff, complaints about your employer, or posts that show entitlement. These kinds of posts could make you look unprofessional and hurt your chances of getting hired.

Also, watch out for overused LinkedIn features that everyone is jumping on because the algorithm promotes them. Recruiters, who spend a lot of time on the platform, might find such posts annoying or boring. Keep it authentic and valuable instead.

Beware of Scam

Don’t forget that, like any platform, LinkedIn isn’t immune to scams. Check out this article by Jan Tegze on how to recognize LinkedIn scams before they cost you your hard-earned money.

Conclusion

LinkedIn is an incredibly powerful tool for job seekers and professionals in general. When using it to engage with others, keep in mind the wise words of a renowned 20th-century playwright Wilson Mizner, who in 1932 gave the following advice to a young rising movie star:

“Be kind to everyone on the way up; you’ll meet the same people on the way down.”

Good luck!

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Do you need my personal assistance? Simply send me your resume and a link to your LinkedIn profile at vaclav@getyourdreamjob.co and I will come back to you!

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