Organizing a Job Hunt with Social Media Tools, Part Three: LinkedIn

By Alicia Wells, a public relations professional

This is the final installment of a three-part series on organizing a job hunt with social media tools. It can be said that looking for a job is a full-time job in itself. Searching the job boards, sending out resumes and networking can take up a lot of time and quickly overcome the job hunter. Social media tools are a great way to supplement a job search and grow one’s network, but even just maintaining these resources can become a burden. Instead of letting them get the best of you, this series will provide tips for organizing a job hunt with social media tools.

Most people are familiar with LinkedIn as a tool to grow their professional network and search its job board. But this is another tool that can either be completely ineffective or quickly get overwhelming if not used the right way. The following are a few tips for organizing your activities on this social network and making the most of it as a job search tool.

The first, and possibly most important step, is to make sure your profile reads like a resume and is clean, organized and free of typos. This will be the first impression people get of you, and you want it to be a good one. Fill in as many details as you can about your experience and expertise and make sure to proofread everything you write. LinkedIn will automatically organize your experience chronologically, making it easy for potential employers to get a sense of your background. You can also link to your own professional blog or website for those who would like to learn more about you.

A relatively new feature, LinkedIn now allows you to follow specific company profiles and keep track of developments such as company growth or job opportunities. This is an excellent way to organize a directory of companies that you’re interested in working for and stay on top of what’s going on within them. There are millions of company profiles on LinkedIn, but even just choosing ten key targets to follow will help you streamline and get a leg up in your job search.

You can also join industry relevant and alumni groups to start forming new connections. You can choose to receive updates via email from these groups as they happen, daily or weekly, depending on how frequently you’d like them. Groups are a great way to stay on top of trends and opinions within your industry, and also join conversations with professionals that you may not already have a connection to.

Whether you’ve already developed a network on LinkedIn or are just getting started, these few tips should help you to keep your activities on the site organized and effective.

Alicia Wells is a public relations professional and helps hire soon-to-be and recent graduates for a mid-sized PR agency. She writes a blog about entry-level PR and job hunting, and can be found on Twitter and LinkedIn.