Unlock the Power of LinkedIn to Find Your Dream Job

Are you looking for a job? If so, you should consider leveraging the power of LinkedIn. This professional social network is the go-to platform for recruiters and hiring managers, with 92% of them using it to research candidates. In fact, 87% of recruiters consider LinkedIn to be the most effective method of selecting candidates during the hiring process. If you want to make sure your profile appears at the top of their list, you need to understand how they use LinkedIn to rank potential candidates and how you can optimize your profile accordingly.

Keywords have the greatest impact on LinkedIn's search ranking when they appear in the title of a profile or job, but they can also be included in job descriptions and in the LinkedIn profile summary. To help job seekers get hired as quickly as possible, LinkedIn analyzed a group of more than 4,000 “job superapplicants” who saw a job at a particular company and then joined that company within three months. From this analysis, they identified several key tips that can help you find a job faster on LinkedIn. First, create a custom URL for your profile.

This looks better when included in a resume and helps your LinkedIn profile to have more weight in external search results. You should also consider updating your status and connecting with people and companies outside business hours on LinkedIn. Statistics show that only 8.33 percent of Americans use LinkedIn during work hours compared to other social media sites, such as Facebook (with nearly 30 percent of people using it during work hours). You can also use Jobscan's LinkedIn Optimization tool to scan your profile and analyze it against three or more job descriptions you provide.

This adds a level of keyword personalization that doesn't appear in general tips and best practices. Finally, don't forget to leverage your contacts who already work where you want to work. The three LinkedIn experts who spoke to Business Insider said that the most successful way to find a job on LinkedIn is through a recommendation from one of your contacts.