LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 740 million members. It’s a great place to establish your professional brand, connect with other professionals, find job opportunities, and more. One helpful LinkedIn feature is the ability to customize your job search preferences. This allows you to specify the types of roles, companies, locations, and other criteria for positions you’d like to be notified about or actively pursue on the platform.
Changing your LinkedIn job search preferences is simple and a great way to improve your chances of finding relevant openings. Here are some common questions about tweaking your job search settings and how to get it done:
How do I get to my job search preferences on LinkedIn?
Your job search preferences are part of your LinkedIn account settings. To access them, follow these steps:
1. Click on the ‘Jobs’ icon in the top navigation bar. This will take you to the Jobs homepage.
2. Next to the search bar, click on the ‘Preferences’ link. This will open up your job preferences page.
3. Here you can view and edit all your search preferences for positions you’d like to find on LinkedIn.
What job search preferences can I customize on LinkedIn?
There are several different preferences you can adjust:
– Job titles – Specify job titles you want to see openings for e.g. “Software Engineer,” “Product Manager,” etc.
– Companies – Select specific companies to be notified about openings for.
– Locations – List the cities, states, or countries you’re interested in.
– Remote – Toggle remote work options on or off.
– Job type – Choose full-time, part-time, contract, etc.
– Experience level – Select entry-level, intermediate, director, executive, etc.
– Date posted – Set a timeframe for position posting dates.
– Easy apply filter – Only see jobs with LinkedIn’s easy one-click apply option.
– Recommended for you – Toggle on/off algorithmic recommendations from LinkedIn.
So in summary, you have a lot of filters at your disposal to narrow down opportunities matching your career interests and preferences.
How do I add or remove job titles I’m interested in?
To add or remove job titles:
1. Go to your Job Search Preferences.
2. Under “Job title” click on “Edit”.
3. This will open a pop-up window. Type in any job titles you want to add to your preferences. As you type, suggested job titles will also appear.
4. To remove any existing titles, click on the “x” next to them.
5. Once done updating the job titles, click “Save” at the bottom of the window.
You can enter as many relevant job titles as you want. Try to include alternate titles or variations of roles you’d be interested in. For example, if you’re interested in software engineering roles, you could add titles like “Software Engineer,” “Front End Developer,” “Back End Developer,” “Full Stack Engineer,” etc. The more titles you add, the more potential job matches you’ll unlock.
How do I specify companies I want to work for?
To choose specific companies:
1. Navigate to the Job Search Preferences page.
2. Under “Company,” click “Edit.”
3. Start typing the name of a company you want to follow. As you type, suggested companies will pop up.
4. Click on the company to add it. This will add it to the “Companies you follow” list.
5. Repeat this process to follow additional companies. You can follow as many as you want.
6. To unfollow a company, click the “x” next to its name.
7. Click “Save” when done editing the companies list.
Following companies is an easy way to stay up-to-date on new openings and get notified when relevant ones are posted. Focus on companies you’re most interested in or would be a great fit for.
How do I update the locations I want to find jobs in?
To change the locations for your job search:
1. Go to the Job Search Preferences page.
2. Under “Location,” click “Edit.”
3. This will open a map interface. You can search for and select cities here in a few ways:
– Search for a city name and select it when it pops up.
– Click on the map to drop a pin in a desired location.
– Click and drag to draw a shape around an area on the map.
4. After selecting your target locations, click “Save.”
5. You can also toggle the “Remote” button on this page to include or exclude remote job options.
When customizing locations, stick to geographic areas you are able and willing to work in. The more flexible you are, the more opportunities you’ll uncover. If you’re open to relocating or remote work, be sure to indicate those preferences.
How do I adjust the job type filter?
The job type filter allows you to specify what kinds of employment arrangements you’re interested in. To configure it:
1. Access the Job Search Preferences page.
2. Under “Job type”, click “Edit.”
3. Check the boxes next to all the job types you want to see, such as:
– Full-time
– Part-time
– Contract
– Temporary
– Internship
– Commission
– Volunteer
4. Click “Save” when finished.
This filter is useful for narrowing down opportunities by employment type. For example, if you’re only seeking full-time permanent roles in your next move, you would ensure just the “Full-time” option is checked.
How do I change the experience level filter?
The experience level filter allows targeting entry-level, intermediate, or executive openings. Here’s how to configure it:
1. Go to the Job Search Preferences page.
2. Under “Experience level” click “Edit.”
3. Check the boxes for the experience levels you want, such as:
– Internship (typically for students/new grads)
– Entry level
– Associate
– Mid-Senior level
– Director
– Executive
4. Click “Save” when done.
Use this filter to focus on jobs requiring the level of experience you have. For example recent graduates may want “Internship” and “Entry level” options checked. More experienced professionals would check higher tiers like “Mid-Senior level” or “Executive”.
How do I filter by date posted?
To filter opportunities by how recently they were listed:
1. Navigate to the Job Search Preferences page.
2. Under “Date posted,” click “Edit.”
3. Select your desired date range, such as:
– Past 24 hours
– Past week
– Past month
– Past year
4. Click “Save” when finished.
The date posted filter is useful for seeing the latest openings first. Try setting it to “Past 24 hours” or “Past week” to view opportunities as soon as they are listed on LinkedIn.
Should I enable the Easy Apply filter?
The Easy Apply filter will only show job postings that allow you to apply with one click on LinkedIn using your profile information. To enable it:
1. Go to the Job Search Preferences page.
2. Under “Apply with your LinkedIn profile” toggle the button to the right to turn on Easy Apply filtering.
The advantage of only seeing Easy Apply jobs is they provide a quicker, simpler application process. You can apply very rapidly without needing to go through lengthy application forms. The downside is that you may miss openings that don’t have Easy Apply but are still relevant. So it’s a trade-off – fewer opportunities surfaced but much simpler applying. Consider your priorities and needs when deciding whether to toggle this filter on or not.
How does the “Recommended for you” option work?
The “Recommended for you” option uses LinkedIn’s algorithm and AI to automatically suggest job opportunities they think will be a good match. To enable it:
1. Go to the Job Search Preferences page.
2. Under “Recommended for you” toggle the button to the right to turn this feature on.
When enabled, LinkedIn’s artificial intelligence will analyze your profile, experience, skills, education and other data to predict jobs you may be interested in. This can surface some hidden gem opportunities you may have otherwise missed. However, you may also end up with some less relevant recommendations. It can be beneficial to have this enabled in addition to your customized filters for maximum exposure to potential openings.
Can I save different job search preferences?
Yes, LinkedIn allows you to create and save different “Job Alerts” based on various search preference combinations. To do this:
1. After configuring your filters, click “Save” followed by “Create a Job Alert” at the top.
2. Give the alert a name e.g “Software Engineering Opportunities in Seattle”.
3. Choose the alert frequency – daily or weekly.
4. Select how you want to be notified – via email or LinkedIn notifications.
5. Click “Save” to finish creating the alert.
6. You can now go in and create additional alerts using other filter combinations.
Creating multiple job alerts allows having your search running in the background tailored to different positions or locations you’re interested in. You’ll get periodic notifications when new openings match your personalized criteria.
How often are new jobs posted to LinkedIn?
LinkedIn gets an extremely high volume of job postings. On average:
– 20,000+ new job listings are added per day
– 500,000+ new jobs are listed per month
– 6 million+ jobs are posted annually
So there is a constant stream of new opportunities across all industries and career levels being added. This makes visiting LinkedIn regularly very worthwhile to catch positions shortly after they are listed. Typically job posting activity is highest midweek and there is a spike around the start of business hours. But new openings can be added 24/7 so check at various times for new postings.
| Day of Week | Average Number of New Job Postings |
|---|---|
| Monday | 65,000 |
| Tuesday | 75,000 |
| Wednesday | 70,000 |
| Thursday | 65,000 |
| Friday | 55,000 |
| Saturday | 35,000 |
| Sunday | 45,000 |
As shown in the table above, Tuesdays and Wednesdays tend to see the most job posting activity on LinkedIn. Setting your alerts and checking for new openings frequently will ensure you catch the most relevant jobs soon after they are listed.
What tips do experts recommend for finding jobs on LinkedIn?
Here are some top tips from LinkedIn experts for effectively using the platform to uncover promising opportunities:
– Keep your profile updated – Recruiters often search LinkedIn first when sourcing candidates. A complete, detailed profile will get you noticed.
– Customize your job search alerts – Take advantage of all LinkedIn’s filters and preferences to pinpoint ideal roles.
– Utilize advanced search operators – You can use operators like “title:” and “company:” to search job postings more precisely.
– Follow companies you’re interested in – Get notified when they post jobs and see company updates in your feed.
– Build your network – Connecting with more professionals in your industry helps surface unlisted opportunities.
– Join relevant LinkedIn Groups – Participate in Groups for your occupation, industry, interests etc. Great for sharing advice.
– Research hiring managers – Identifying and connecting with the person who will actually make hiring decisions can be very beneficial.
– Watch LinkedIn Learning videos – Their free courses can help you brush up on skills and beef up your knowledge. Looks great on your profile too.
– Turn on Open Candidates – Enables recruiters to know you’re open to new job possibilities and simplifies being contacted.
Conclusion
Customizing your LinkedIn job search preferences and alerts is crucial to surface the best opportunities aligned with your career goals. Take the time to fully optimize your settings around job titles, companies, locations and other filters. Also be sure to regularly check for newly posted jobs. Following these tips will give you a significant edge in discovering your next ideal role on LinkedIn’s massive jobs platform.
