LinkedIn is a global social network that helps specialists and employers find each other. You can use this online service to promote your skills, find useful connections, and ultimately get a job offer in a dream company. Just follow the steps below.
Step 1. Complete your LinkedIn profile
Fill out all fields in your LinkedIn profile in English. It’s not enough to provide basic information about your education, recent work experience, and relevant skills. Write a compact headline highlighting your current or desired position and your value for potential employers (e. g. “Data Analyst — Helping eCommerce Companies Increase Sales”). And create an attention-grabbing summary (100 to 300 words) containing job-related keywords and essential information about your work experience.
Also, toggle on the “Let your recruiters know you’re open” tool and don’t forget to change your status to “Actively applying”.
Note that LinkedIn members with a profile picture are 14 times more likely to receive page views, while those who post skills are 13 times more likely to have profile views compared to those who don’t.
No need to worry if your experience is not enough to fill out all the fields. If you have no certificates, take an online course and get a certificate. If you have no volunteering experience, visit an animal shelter. Don’t be a dull person. Be an open-minded professional with a wide range of interests.
Step 2. Enumerate your projects
Create a list of projects directly related to your specialization. Specify what you’ve achieved and how it helped your customers or employers. While you’re looking for a job, take as many interesting projects as you can and use technologies that are needed by your prospective employer.
Step 3. Request recommendations
Ask your former and current colleagues, employers, and customers to write a review in your LinkedIn profile. Let them write in English or make their reviews translated into English before they post their references. A candidate with a ton of reviews from real people is good as gold in the eyes of recruiters.
Note that giving recommendations increases your chances of receiving recommendations.
Step 4. Upgrade to a premium account
You can use the LinkedIn Premium account for free for one month. You’ll be able to find out whether a hiring manager has viewed your profile, send more InMail messages (messages to any LinkedIn user, no connection necessary), get additional information on salaries and posted jobs, and use tools that will help you stand out to recruiters.
Step 5. Create a list of companies
Make a list of companies you’re interested in and follow them on LinkedIn. This way, you’ll stay informed about new job openings and corporate news. (Don’t forget to turn on job alerts!)
Note that over 70% of professionals are hired by companies where they have personal connections. So if you already have connections in the companies of interest, get a referral by asking those connections to make an introduction to someone they’re connected to within the organization. It will help you build your professional network and raise the chances to get a job offer.
If you don’t have such connections, you can acquire them by browsing LinkedIn professional groups.
Step 6. Connect with headhunters
Go to the Advanced People Search, select the country, region, and city where you’re planning to relocate, and search for people who hire IT workers. Their positions may be the following:
- HR manager
- Human Resources manager
- HR specialist
- Recruiter
- Recruiting manager
- Hiring manager
- Talent acquisition manager
- Personnel manager
Add the persons you found to the list of your connections, with a short personal note describing your goal, e. g. “Hi Michelle, I see that you work in San Francisco. I’m planning to move there in June and am currently looking for a Python developer position. I would love to connect”.
Some experts recommend having at least 50 LinkedIn connections. And some go further by arguing that a perfect figure is 500 connections. One thing is certain: the more contacts you have, the closer you’re getting to obtain a job offer.
You can repeat this step for 2–4 neighboring cities or other locations of interest to expand the geography of your search. Then, wait for HR managers to reply and send you job vacancies.
Step 7. Select job vacancies
Select the most interesting job vacancies among the offered ones and start discussing the details with corresponding recruiters or hiring managers. After the first contact on LinkedIn, you’ll continue to communicate through emails, Skype, and other communication tools.
If you’re interested in the offered job and the HR manager added you to their pool of candidates, you become involved in the recruitment process.