How To Use LinkedIn To Get A (Software Development) Job
I’ve written this guide based on my own experiences as a contract software developer but the lessons apply for any tech job and probably aren’t limited to tech.
I’ve been contracting as a front end developer for the past 10 years and I’d guess that I’ve not sought out a new role in at least 5 years.
Work tends to find me. I’m not saying that to brag, the market is seriously good right now and developers are in demand…particularly those with a bit of experience under their belt.
That being said, I try to stay on top of marketing myself and ensure that I stay on the radar of people who can offer work to me. Specifically, hiring managers and recruitment agents.
Do you want to have a guess at where those people like to hang out online?
How To Get A Job On LinkedIn
LinkedIn isn’t anything special by itself. It’s not got a great range of features, the design is pretty conservative and hasn’t changed all that much over the years.
However, it’s largely ad-free and the people who post on there tend to post about work. Specifically, there’s an awful lot of information about hiring managers and recruiters who have active roles they are trying to fill.
There are two ways of using LinkedIn to find a job. You can find a job that has been advertised on the platform or you can find a job that has been shared by an individual on the platform.
Finding Jobs On LinkedIn
While not my preferred method of finding a job, the ‘jobs’ section on LinkedIn is pretty good and I will have a scan through here from time-to-time.
You can see here that I’ve search for a highly specific search term “javascript developer outside IR35 in Manchester”. I’d experiment with the specificity of my search term to find a happy medium and ensure that I wasn’t missing a load of roles that I could do but wasn’t seeing loads of stuff that I needn’t bother applying for.
How To Apply For A Job on LinkedIn
See something you like? It’s usually just a case of hitting that big blue ‘easy apply’ button but occasionally you might instead be routed through to an application site.
Take note of the number of competing applicants. Some of these will be rubbish, I assure you, but if there are hundreds of other applicants the hiring manager/recruiter will be inundated and it’s not going to be easy for you to stand out from the crowd this way, even if you are a total rock star.
How To Set Job Alerts on LinkedIn
Setting up job alerts is pretty straightforward. Just hit the button for a particular search term that works for you and you’ll be notified each time new jobs that fit your search criteria are added
You can turn these alerts off form the jobs section homepage
How I Use LinkedIn To Find Software Development Jobs
I neglected LinkedIn for years, preferring instead to have a Serbian VA bulk-apply for jobs aggregated in a bunch of Indeed searches.
Don’t do that.
When I finally embraced LinkedIn, it didn’t take long for me to see it’s value.
The value of your LinkedIn profile is in your network.
LinkedIn makes it possible for you to connect with people who can put you into a job that you really want to do.
These people are likely going to be hiring managers (in the case of companies that do in-house recruitment) or recruitment agents (companies that outsource their recruiting).
I’ve spent years building up my network by connecting to people I used to work with, would like to work with or currently work with. As I’ve changed jobs, that network has grown larger and largely.
Additionally, I’ve been approached by recruiters who want to offer roles to me. I’ve connected with them.
Now, if I go into LinkedIn on any given day, I’ll typically have one or two decent job offers in my inbox. If I’m not interested, I’ll still share them and will often tag people I think might be interested in my repost.
Recruiters love this and it’s built up a lot of good will for me over the years
It’s also kept me on the radars of a bunch of different people who could put me into work in the future and rightly or wrongly I’m now perceived as someone who is reasonably well-connected in the Manchester tech community.
In short, I don’t really need to look for work right now as it has been finding me over the past few years.
How You Can Use LinkedIn To Find Software Development Jobs
If you’re just starting out, you might want to take a look at my post about how to find entry level software development jobs and then read up on how to build a great LinkedIn profile for finding development work.
If you’re not already active on LinkedIn, I encourage you to start today. If you already do have a profile I encourage you to start posting more regularly and forming connections with people that might prove useful down the line.
To often, people find themselves suddenly scrambling for work and will dust off their CV and start chasing recruiters when they need something.
I prefer to play the long game and plant seeds for the future. I’m constantly relationships that I might never need but could, one day, prove to be invaluable.
