How to Find a Job With LinkedIn

Sign into LinkedIn. At your News Feed page or any LinkedIn page, click on the icon for Jobs on the top toolbar.

LinkedIn's Jobs page displays job openings that may interest you based on the occupations and titles you listed in your profile. To narrow or expand the list of job suggestions, click on the Update career interests link.

At the Career interests page, you can toggle the switch to "Let recruiters know you're open," to new opportunities. Activating this feature allows recruiters to contact you directly.

LinkedIn says it tries not to show your current company that you're seeking a new job but can't guarantee your privacy. So, if you don't want to tip off your current employer, you may want to leave this option turned off.

Next, you can type a note to recruiters to tell them what type of job you're seeking. Then click on the Add title link to add job titles you would consider. As you type the title, LinkedIn serves up a list that matches the first few characters; you can select titles from that or add your own.

Next, you can add a location where you wish to work. Again, start typing the name of a city or other location, and LinkedIn shows a list of matches. Click on the location you want to add. Then click on the check boxes for the types of jobs you're open to, such as full-time, part-time, and freelance. Next, click on the link to "Show company preferences."

Click Add industry if you want to limit your search to specific industries. Type the name of an industry, and click on any appropriate match that LinkedIn offers. You can then select the size of the company you'd like to work for based on the minimum and maximum number of employees. Your choices are automatically saved.

When you're done, click on your browser's back button to return to the Jobs page. Now you can scroll down the list to see if any positions interest you.

You can also run your own job search. Scroll to the top of the Jobs page. Type a job title, company name, or other keyword in the first field, and LinkedIn conjures up a list of items that match your keyword. Click on the item that best matches yours. If you wish, you can type a city, state, ZIP code, or country in the second field, or leave that field blank to conduct a worldwide search. Then click on the Search button.

LinkedIn responds with a list of job openings that match your search. You can narrow the list by using any of the filters available at the top of the screen. These criteria can help you filter by location, company, date posted, experience level, industry, and job function, and selecting a specific option. As you select an option, the list of job openings refreshes itself to match your criteria.

If you're satisfied with your search parameters, you can save this search and be notified of any jobs that match your interests. Scroll to the top of the page and toggle the Job alert switch.

A Create search alert window pops up asking how frequently you wish to receive notifications (daily or weekly) and whether you want to receive them via email, via mobile and desktop notification, or both. Make your choices and then click on Save.

Now, let's say there's a job that interests you. Click on its title. The job opening appears in full so you can read the description. Click on Save to save the job to a list of saved jobs that LinkedIn creates for you. The job will either let you apply for it through LinkedIn or through the employer's website. If it offers the LinkedIn route, click on the Easy Apply button to apply for the job.

You then can then submit a form on LinkedIn with your name and phone number and an option include your resume. Click on the Submit application button.

If instead, the job requires that you apply through the company, click on the button to "Apply on company website" and follow the process from there.

To view your saved jobs, click on the Jobs icon at the top toolbar to return to the Jobs page. Then click on the link that says Track my jobs. Your saved jobs list appears. You can then apply to any of your saved jobs.

LinkedIn offers a couple more tricks for job hunters. At the Jobs page, click on the link for LinkedIn Salary. Here you can discover your earnings potential by searching for particular job titles and locations and seeing what types of salaries that job warrants. At the LinkedIn Salary page, type and select a specific title and then type and select a location. Click on the Search button.

In response, LinkedIn shows you the median salary for that job and that location. Click on the Submit your salary button if you wish to add your own salary to LinkedIn's data. Follow the prompts and fill in the requested data. This data will not be posted on your profile or shared with recruiters, according to LinkedIn, and you can delete it from your account at any time.

You can also search for jobs on the go. LinkedIn previously offered a separate mobile app called LinkedIn Job Search, but recently rolled its functionality into the main LinkedIn app (iOS, Android).