How Freelancers Can Use LinkedIn to Land A Job

Do you know that LinkedIn is one of the most profitable social media platforms for freelancers today?

So, to the real question, are you really familiar with LinkedIn? Do you know what LinkedIn is? Do you have a space on LinkedIn? If you do, do you utilize it or are you under-utilizing it? Well, all these questions and many others are questions a Freelancer should be ready to answer positively but sometimes, that may not be so because according to reports, LinkedIn has been discovered to be one of the most underutilized platforms.

According to Nicole Williams, LinkedIn’s Connections Director, she attributed the underutilization to the fact that “a lot of people don’t realize how helpful it is in your day-to-day career development.”

So, what then is LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is a social media platform built for professionals like Freelancers and more for the opportunity of connecting with a vast number of people for business, career advancements, employment opportunities and above all, networking.

So, why should a Freelancer have a LinkedIn Account?

First, by definition of what LinkedIn is and does, no Freelancer should be found nonexistent on LinkedIn while he/she is very much existent on other social media platforms. Apart from that, a Freelancer is likely to get more jobs on LinkedIn than other platforms if well utilized.

How then, can Freelancers use LinkedIn to land a Job?

1. By signing up for one: I bet you’re wondering, “should this even make the list?” Well, yea, it should! The first step to enjoying the job opportunities and packages that comes with LinkedIn is signing up for one. Some Freelancers do not have a LinkedIn account and it shouldn’t be. Therefore, if you are a Freelancer without a LinkedIn account, you should sign up for one today.

2. Updating and Getting the Bio profile right: One of the very factors that influence landing a job via LinkedIn is getting the bio profile right. It’s okay to put “Freelancer” on your bio and every other thing that you do that makes who you are on the bio with precision. It is very important to be precise in the bio. Also, parts of what makes the bio a complete profile is uploading a presentable picture of you that shows the important part; your face and also, there are LinkedIn guides to follow in updating and completing your profile. Be thorough and specific in filling your work experiences, positions held and more.

3. Summary: This also is very important in increasing your chances. Here, you’ll describe yourself, your interests, engagements, career goals, skills, aspirations and more. Try not to make it bland in the description.

4. Recommendations and Skill Endorsements: Skill Endorsements is a very good leverage in landing a job on LinkedIn. When you have people endorse your skills (maybe writing, drawing, multilingual, etc.), it shines a light on you and get prospective recruiters to pay attention to you and probably give you a trial. It means, the more credible you look, the more prospects you have and the more people will want to give you a shot. You can also ask for recommendations from past colleagues or employers and sometimes, people do it without asking. For instance, I woke up one day and I discovered a couple of people with whom I am connected endorsed some of my listed skills and it felt really cool and that was the first time I realized there was something like that. Above all, don’t fill it up with skills. I think it’s possible to have 30 skills listed on your page but I think six or twelve is fine; too much can complicate your opportunities.

5. Upload/List Accomplishments – This is also very important. You can highlight or upload your accomplishments. As a Freelancer, you probably have a published book or a feature that happens to be a big deal, or maybe you are into photography, makeup, you can upload your great works and more. It is an amazing opportunity to seize.

6. Connect right – Yeah, this is very basic. Don’t just connect, connect right. Add and send request to people in the same line as your career goal depicts. Don’t just accept or send request, let your motivation be value inclined.

7. Enable the career interest option on LinkedIn – Here, you turn on the career interest button. It’s how you let recruiters know you are available for employment. Most importantly, you also get to specify the places you are convinced you are available to work – UK, Ghana, Nigeria and more (within and outside your country).

8. Share your works. Post Updates – maximize the updates section. Post stuff; motivational stuff and more if you are a writer, especially on new weekdays; Mondays or Fridays (inception of weekend). If you have a blog, share your posts on your LinkedIn page. Share your blog url, etc.

9. Be active – this is very key. Do not run a dormant account. Make it a conscious effort to at least check your page once or twice a week, view your messages, send messages, celebrate people’s work anniversary, throw likes and comments around. It goes a long way.

10. Lastly, write to people; reach out – Yes, there is no harm in reaching out to some of your connections online and then, offline. You can reach out to some of your connections and let them know your intentions to work for their organization or probably ask for referrals, not in an entitled manner but in a polite way and a little bit of ego-stroking.

I hope following all the aforementioned points help you in landing a very god job/freelance deal on LinkedIn as you take each one of them into cognizance.