3 ways to leverage LinkedIn for your job search, according to a recruiter with 26 years of experience

Some career experts liken LinkedIn to a living, breathing CV, while others say they spend longer on a candidate’s LinkedIn profile than on their résumé.

LinkedIn’s job posts are the obvious first stop for those looking for a new role. But there are other ways you can leverage the platform in your next career move.

One strategy is to follow the companies you’d like to work for to stay in the loop about job openings, company news, and industry trends, Nick Shah told Business Insider. Shah is the founder of Peterson Technology Partners, a 26-year-old tech staffing agency based in Park Ridge, Illinois. A spokesperson said the company placed over 300 people in the past year and screens about 1,000 candidates monthly.

Shah shared three other ways candidates can optimize LinkedIn to stand out to hiring managers.

1. Treat your LinkedIn profile like a résumé

People are used to enhancing their résumés to stand out in employers’ keyword-searching software. Add those phrases to your LinkedIn profile too, because recruiters look for candidates by typing in industry-related keywords, Shah said.

“Candidates should include relevant keywords in the ‘About’ section and their last job experience position details,” he said. “No place is considered off-limits for keywords. If you can get a recruiter’s attention with the right skills mentioned in your LinkedIn profile and back it up with technical expertise, you are doing it right.”

He said that one of his recruiters found a security architect who, in his title, described his background in cloud security and artificial intelligence, and specified his certifications. In his skills section, he listed his focus within cybersecurity and his Microsoft Office and cloud proficiencies.

Shah said these keywords helped the recruiter spot that the candidate was a right fit for the client — and he’ll likely receive an offer soon.

2. Use it for healthy comparisons

LinkedIn is a library of professional profiles.

“To make your profile stand out and get noticed by recruiters, it can be helpful to compare it to profiles of people working at companies you admire,” Shah said.

By comparing their LinkedIn page to yours, you can find gaps in your own profile information and skills you might consider developing, Shah said. Keep a close eye on your work experiences section, which should include clear and succinct examples of your work, and result metrics.

3. Make yourself visible 

Regularly share content and engage with posts from your network. This engagement increases your chances of being spotted by recruiters and hiring managers, Shah said.

Candidates can post articles on the platform or contribute to the newer “collaborative article” tool, which allows users to share under a LinkedIn-created prompt.