Job Search on LinkedIn: The 1 Tip You Need to Know!

tl;dr

If you’re a serious job seeker trying to use LinkedIn to land a job, you should connect with professionals working at your target company.

And the best way to do this is through LinkedIn!

In this post I’m going to first share with you (1) WHERE to find the people most likely to help you on LinkedIn and after you’ve found them, (2) WHAT to say in your connection request.

Let’s get started!

Watch it in action

Find Active LinkedIn Professionals

The easiest way to do this is to first run a blank search by clicking into the search bar and pressing enter, select “Posts” > All Filters > Author Company > Add your target companies > Show Results and now you have a list of everyone who’s active on LinkedIn.

Simple enough right? Here comes the hard part.

Then you want to scan through the posts and identify authors who fall into one of these 3 categories:

1. Those with a “Recruiter” in their job title
2. Those with a “I’m hiring" cover image in their profile picture
3. Those who just started a new role at that company recently

Ready for the hardest part?

Leave a thoughtful comment on 5 posts everyday for the next two weeks and I guarantee you will see meaningful progress towards landing a role at one of your target companies!

Why Online Applications Don't Work

As Austin Belcak of Cultivated Culture has said many times:

You Can't Do The Same Thing As Everybody Else And Expect Different Results”

Meaning: if something is easy for you to do, it's just as easy for everyone else to do as well.

So, to expand on that first tip, an oversimplified reason you want to leave comments on those posts is so that your profile stays top-of-mind.

Recruiters and hiring managers from the same company are usually connected with each other on LinkedIn and the more you comment, the higher the chance you will appear on all their radars.

Of course, not all comments are created equal and the amount of effort you put into those comments conveys how serious you are as a candidate.

For example, 95% of the comments like: “I just started a new job” posts are some form of “Congratulations!”

So, if you leave a question politely asking them to share 1 tip or learning that contributed to their success, you’re going to stand out.

Benefits of Commenting on LinkedIn

Specifically, 3 things will happen after you post your comment:

1. The author replies and tells you the one thing that helped them land an offer
2. Recruiters from that company, who might even be tagged in the post, will see your thoughtful comment and check out your profile
3. This opens up the door for you to send a follow up connection request in a very natural way

Are you going to get replies to all of your comments? Of course not!

Think about it like tinder or bumble, you swipe right on 100 people, 10 of them match with you, of which 5 actually reply to your cheesy pick up lines, and 2 end up going out on a date with you because they felt bad...

Okay so those numbers were oddly specific and you might think it’s from my personal experience, I’m obviously way more successful than that 😏

But you get my point: Out of 100 comments, you will get responses, you will expand your network and you will land coffee chats. And that will get you much farther than blindly applying online.

And if you’re thinking to yourself, how am I ever going to keep track of all these new connections?

Don’t worry, you can check out how I Built a Personal CRM on Notion (template included)!

What to Say in LinkedIn Connection Requests

Now that you’ve identified these helpful individuals, you’re going to want to send connection requests that get accepted.

I would recommend a modified version of Austin Belcak’s 3-step formula for LinkedIn connection requests:

• Step 1 - Lead with positivity
• Step 2 - Show them you know them
• Step 3 - Ask a genuine question

#1 Lead With Positivity

Lead with positivity is just like it sounds, open your connection request on a positive note, and bonus points if you can make it about them. For example:

Congrats on starting a new blog, thanks for sharing your experiences with others.

Or even something simple like:

Hope you’re having a great start to the week.

This can put a smile on the other person’s face!

#2 Show Them You Know Them

Here is where the magic happens, and it’s also where you get to choose to go with 1 of 3 types of connection angles, listed in order of difficulty, these are:

1. Talk about their career path
2. Make an observation on a piece of content they’ve shared or created
3. Offer some sort of value

While it’s no surprise that you need to research your contact to perform step 2 correctly, it’s easier than you think.

• Their career path? It’s right there on their LinkedIn profile
• Do they produce some sort of content? Their activities section will show you recent posts they’ve shared or commented on

What about adding value?

• See if they’re active on other social media and check out what they’ve been posting on those platforms
• A friend of mine saw a VP post about renovating her house on Instagram and literally messaged her with paint product recommendations

#3 Ask a Genuine Question

In my opinion, this works because asking a genuine question by default makes it seem like you’re seeking guidance from your contact. This builds them up, makes them feel good, and shows that you’ve given this topic some serious thought.

LinkedIn Connection Request Examples

To provide a proof point showing this 3-step structure works, I’m going to share an example that worked on me recently.

I receive quite a few connection requests, and the ones that get through are ones like these:

Of course, this specific example may not be relevant for you, so I highly recommend checking out Austin’s full article where he provides more than 10 examples of LinkedIn connection requests.

Ready to do more with LinkedIn?

Check out my LinkedIn Tips & Tricks playlist!