Welcome to the busiest season of the year: schedules are filled with holiday shopping, end-of-year planning, get-togethers, winter weather prep, and so much more. It can be difficult to keep on top of your job search when the rest of life is so busy. My best advice is to create a simple, consistent job search schedule and stick to it. To get you started, here’s a sample schedule to help you master LinkedIn in just 15 minutes per day.
Monday
Start your week with a five-minute scan of the feed on your LinkedIn homepage. Your network may be sharing interesting articles and you may come across valuable insights from your chosen LinkedIn Today channels or the Influencers you follow. If you see an article that interests you, quickly skim it and click “like” to acknowledge the person who posted it.
Spend the next 10 minutes searching for jobs that are posted on LinkedIn. A recent study by Bright.com reported that Monday is the best day to look for a job, so don’t procrastinate! Many jobs allow you to apply using your LinkedIn profile, so you can quickly submit your application. If you’re a Job Seeker Premium subscriber, don’t forget to click “feature my application” so you can appear at the top of the list of job applicants for jobs where applications are collected on LinkedIn.
Tuesday
Scroll through your feed again for the first five minutes. This time, comment on the status updates of a few of your connections. Even a simple “Congratulations!” on a job change can nurture your relationships and help you stay top of mind, which may prompt others to review your profile and even recommend an opportunity they hear about.
Spend the next five minutes visiting your favorite LinkedIn Groups. Post some thoughts on a Featured Discussion or do a search on your area of interest and comment on a discussion related to that topic. To get the biggest return on your time investment, you can post a discussion yourself. Asking a simple, professionally relevant question generally attracts the most comments, such as “What is your favorite all-time marketing book?” or “What tech trends are you predicting for 2014?”
Take the last five minutes of your Tuesday to make sure your LinkedIn Inbox is clear. Respond to messages and connection requests to show people who reach out to you that you are eager to build and nurture your professional relationships.
Wednesday
Start today in your home feed for five minutes, and focus this time on sharing your own status update. What’s on your mind today? Was there an article you read that you found particularly valuable? Share that and add a sentence or two of commentary with your own expert opinion. People are more likely to comment on your update if they feel they are talking to a person and not to an article.
In your next 10 minutes, spend time expanding your network by using LinkedIn’s Alumni tool. Finding classmates and connections from your alma mater can be a great way to get your foot in the door at a company of interest. You can search by specific company, industry, job function and even your college major. If you find someone who could be a great contact, reach out directly with an InMail or connection request. Here’s an example of what to say in your outreach.
Hi Kevin,
I am a fellow UNC alum and came across your profile on LinkedIn. I admire your career in the healthcare tech space and was hoping you might be willing to network with a fellow engineer. After five years in the corporate sector, I’m hoping to transition to a start-up as you did. Would you be willing to connect so I can follow your success and perhaps pose a question or two? And, of course, please let me know anything I can do to support you.
Thank you,
Lindsey
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Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
