Job searches are tough. Remote job searches are even more tedious. When you start your remote job search, you probably have questions like:
- Which companies actually hire?
- What kind of jobs are out there?
- Where can I find legitimate leads?
- How do I know if something is a scam?
And that’s just in the beginning. Once you start your job search, more questions come up as you try to navigate the virtual hiring process.
The good news is, there are steps you can take to turn your job search from exhaustive to effortless thanks to LinkedIn. When you use LinkedIn the right way, your remote job search suddenly gets a lot easier (and actually kind of fun).
What’s So Great About LinkedIn?
It’s no secret that LinkedIn is a powerhouse platform for professionals. This networking site is responsible for 122 million interviews and 35.5 million job offers every year. Impressive, right?
It goes without saying, if you’re not on LinkedIn you’re missing out on connections that can lead to your next job.
But, figuring out LinkedIn isn’t exactly a walk in the park. In fact, it can be downright difficult to write a powerful LinkedIn profile that gets the right kind of attention.
Fortunately, LinkedIn has a few features that makes it easy for recruiters to know you’re in the market for a new job AND that you want to work remotely. First up is Open Candidate.
What Is Open Candidate?
Open Candidate is a relatively new feature on LinkedIn. Simply put, it’s a preference you can enable within your LinkedIn profile. When you turn on Open Candidate, you tell recruiters that you’re interested in new work opportunities and that you welcome the chance to speak with them.
What’s more, you can set Open Candidate preferences — one of which is remote work. Think of Open Candidate as your remote work bat signal that’ll send recruiters running your way. As a bonus, this feature is confidential. That is, your current connections or employer won’t know you’re actively seeking out new remote-friendly positions.
After you enable Open Candidate and set your preferences within it, you can use another small but powerful LinkedIn feature to make your job search easier – Job Alerts.
What Are Job Alerts on LinkedIn?
Job Alerts are exactly as they sound — emailed alerts from LinkedIn when jobs are posted that meet your preferences. In this case, job alerts can be created by location, keyword, job title, company or any other job search you conduct.
So, let’s say you perform a LinkedIn Job Search by location. In this case, you search for “remote” jobs. (As I write this, there are 32,182 active listings on LinkedIn of jobs that are remote-friendly.) Once you perform this search, you have the option of turning on Job Alerts for new jobs that are posted with a remote location. All you have to do is toggle the Job Alert switch on at the top of your screen (as seen below):
Easy, right? It is.
Remember, you can create job alerts directly from any searches you perform on the LinkedIn Jobs page. Once you do, new leads will come directly to you.
I highly recommend you create job alerts specifically for companies that are remote-friendly. Doing so will allow you to take advantage of the next lesser-known but effective trick to easily find new leads on LinkedIn.
Signal Your Interest To Recruiters At Companies You Created Job Alerts For
Once you’ve created job alerts for specific companies, you can let recruiters there know you’re interested in speaking with them.
All you need to do is head into your LinkedIn Settings, navigate to Job Seeking Preferences, and turn this feature on. That’s it.
After that, LinkedIn will share your interest to those companies you’ve created job alerts for.
A lot of recruiters like to contact candidates that have an interest in the company they work for. It indicates you’ve done your research on the company and like what you’ve learned. This signals to the recruiter that you’re likely a good fit for the company’s culture and will enjoy working there — two important factors for long-term employment!
Career Coach For LinkedIn Success
Remember, LinkedIn is a powerful tool for professional networking — when used correctly. Once you have your profile perfectly polished, you can use the little-known techniques discussed here to make it that much easier to find remote work.
But, if you’re feeling stuck and need an extra boost, I’m here to help. As a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC) and Forbes Coaches Council Member, I know what it takes to get your LinkedIn Profile in front of recruiters. I also specialize in remote work!
Let’s talk! How about a free 15-minute consultation? Grab a time that works best for you below:
I can’t wait to talk to you!
Happily,
Ashlee Anderson, CPCC
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