How to find your dream job through LinkedIn

30% of Google searches are employment related and a grand total of 94% of employers are now using digital recruitment to find their dream job online, making LinkedIn more relevant than ever.

Social media platforms are leading the way in online recruitment, with 94% of employers using at least one platform to employ perspective staff. Unsurprisingly, the most popular social media platform is, of course, LinkedIn.

Founded in December 2002 and launched on May 5, 2003, LinkedIn has been built specifically for professional networking. In 2013, LinkedIn reported that they have a whooping 259 million users worldwide, making it a great way to connect to network internationally.

Designed to network academics, job industries and recruiters, LinkedIn is renowned for its ability to land you that job you’ve always wanted - from jobs in engineering, careers in arts and publishing to accountancy.

So how can you use LinkedIn to find your dream job?

Building a profile

Creating an individual and exciting profile is a sure fire way to help attain a job on LinkedIn. Including details of the careers and job sectors you are interested in, educational background and any relevant and intriguing hobbies is a great way of developing a form of CV through an online platform, and most importantly, can represent why employers should want to employ you.

The ability to show of your finesse and desire to get the job you are hunting for can also be displayed through images - from displaying past work related to the industry you seek to work in or even images from past working events that demonstrate your capabilities, images are a great way to boost LinkedIn profile hits.

Don’t be afraid to build up your recommendations; if a potential employer can’t take your word for it, then they can definitely listen to your past colleagues, employers and team members.

Want to further your reach? Then get writing. You have the option to produce interesting and relevant articles on the platform, so why not use your expertise in your field and combine it with your industry landscape and insight. Content is easily shared and could lead to exciting networking opportunities.

Connecting to others

Most importantly, and the purpose of the LinkedIn platform, is to connect to those in the industry that could end up introducing you to your potential new boss.When connecting to others using LinkedIn it is important to remain professional, as unlike other social networking platforms, LinkedIn is designed to be a business oriented networking service.

By searching for a LinkedIn profile designated to a specific job industry, you will be able to connect to all those who are also part of that job industry’s profile - a great feature of LinkedIn making it easy to connect to those within the same job sector with the same professional interests. You can also join groups created by companies, such as the BBC, Deloitte and Barclay Simpson, for all the latest recruitment news - finger on the pulse springs to mind.

Reaching out to employers

Unsurprisingly, many employers from companies and organisations great and small maintain profiles on LinkedIn. Reach out to those who will leading to your dream job, what’s the worst that could happen?

Choose carefully who you connect with, how you approach contacting them and what you say when you do contact them - stay polite, friendly and professional. But take risks, LinkedIn is considered the best way to connect to someone you otherwise would never have the chance to reach.

Landing your dream job

With the ability to research into job sectors through highly-developed pages, connect to others with similar interests and to reach out and connect to employers, LinkedIn is the 21st century opportunity to land your dream job - so what are you waiting for? Develop that fantastic profile right now and get connecting!