This article was originally share on LinedkIn on Feb 2, 2020 by founder Tanja Gittens

In the last five (5) years, I have secured three (3) jobs and moved to three (3) different countries all via LinkedIn and have also been contacted by several recruiters for opportunities which never materialised for different reasons. 

I was introduced to LinkedIn in 2010 by a former recruiter and friend who is no longer with us. He was adamant that  LinkedIn was going to be the way forward with regards to recruiting and social networking. So, I decided to give it a try. At the time, you could only connect with persons you knew, as you had to have the individual’s email address in order to send them a request. Needless to say it, was very difficult to have meaningful networking.

Utilising LinkedIn for career purposes

Fast forward a few years, and you could actually add persons you didn’t know as long as they were within your network. That was when the real networking began. Around summer 2014 while I was self-employed, I attended a conference in Las Vegas with Sage (the accounting systems company). I met some great contacts, had some revelations and left feeling refreshed and renewed. It was at that time that I really started to use LinkedIn seriously. I had devised a plan to grow my network to 500 meaningful contacts within the next three (3) months. With the key word being meaningful, at the time I had approximately 250 contacts of random persons. Not only did I accomplish that but in September of that year I started an assignment in St Lucia that came exclusively from LinkedIn.

My experience with LinkedIn opportunities are mostly in the hospitality sector and I would say, recruiters in that sector are a bit more aggressive. Maybe it’s because they mostly work remotely and LinkedIn has become a staple for them. I will also state, I have no experience securing jobs from applying for vacancies directly. (Update – I did secure a full-time expat position in 2024 from a direct vacancy).

Tips for securing a job on LinkedIn

Basic Profile

You do not need to be over the top to be noticed, but here are some basic profile requirements that need to be met. Not only for your profile to be spotted by a recruiter, but also for the algorithm to assist with your search. You will know when you have a decent profile as LinkedIn will tell you if you are considered “all-star”.

Basic Profile Requirements:

• Professional photo – Should show your face clearly on a solid colour background. Should not be a photo of you in a non-professional setting or a selfie unless it reflects your type of business.
• Headline – Utilise that space to capture immediate attention. Avoid using your job title. Persons should be able to determine who you are without opening your profile and that space allows that. It should be interesting enough to encourage them to view more.
• Create a summary – Can be the same one you use on your resume, but be unique. Stay clear of copy and paste statements such as “with a demonstrated history”. This is where you will want to sell yourself, make certain it is readable, 20 lines adjoining each other is a bit too much for the eyes to read in one go. Use spaces and punctuations to make it more readable.
• Experience & Education – Fill in these categories, ensure the dates are correct and matches your resume. Give a brief idea of what your role entailed. No need to recreate your resume or job description but if a recruiter see just a title, chances are they will move on. If you choose to, you can also upload your resume, but that is not necessary.

Network

LinkedIn is not a numbers game. Having more connections does not earn you any points in the search for an opportunity, it’s the substance of the connection. Bear in mind, social networking sites work on algorithms. If you are adding connections just for the sake of having numbers, you are doing yourself a disservice, as you are confusing the algorithm. Your opportunities may also be buried by top users as you are not seeing all the post from all your connections.

Seek out persons in your field, they are the ones who will lead you to the recruiters in your sector. Add recruiters that are active and post jobs regularly. Follow the companies they work for. Recruiters also repost other recruiters postings often, and will guide you to others or their colleagues. Therefore, you do not need to add all from a particular company. 

Like or repost jobs you see in your sector even if it’s not in your area of field. Give something to your network and the network will give it back to you.

Interact with the persons you add, send them a short note to say hi without a request. Do not add persons just to immediately spam them with a request for help. Do remember this is a professional site and chances are you do not know the connection personally, be respectful. 

Engage

Put in some effort, as recruiters always say, looking for a job is a full-time job and chances are, you already have a full-time job. Just scrolling or lurking as I call it, will not help your effort. 

Be consistent in your search, utilise the tools offered to assist you, check the insights, get an idea who is searching your profile and the companies they work for. You do not need a premium profile to do that. 

Search your own profile, If you are seeking a Financial Controller position, search that title that in the particular country, to determine if your profile comes up. If it does not, then your profile is not optimised properly, and chances are recruiters will not find you. Recruiters will often search by job titles, sticking to generic titles will help your search.

Most importantly, follow directions, if a recruiter post a job and ask that you send your resume or queries via email, do not jump in the comment section saying add me, or check my profile. Recruiters are extremely busy and have lots of resumes to look at. It also shows you are not capable of following basic instructions, and may not be the best candidate for the job.

Summary

These tips are all based on getting noticed by recruiters but can be adjusted to help a new business as well. If you are going to apply for job posted through LinkedIn, ensure your resume has been optimised, as it is likely an algorithm will be screening the initial applications. If you are not using keywords you will not make it out of phase 1.

How to ask for and secure a raise https://livingloudonabudget.com/how-to-ask-for-a-raise-at-my-job/

Book a discovery call to discuss how we can help you with your life transition https://calendly.com/tanja-livingloud/30min?month=2025-10