Many candidates use LinkedIn like a job board: they click "Apply" and wait. The ones who get interviews use it differently. Here is a six-step method, mostly free, followed by what Premium changes.
1. A profile that answers the recruiter's question
A recruiter wonders: "Can this person do the job?". Your profile should answer in ten seconds.
- Your headline says what you do and what you are looking for: "Financial controller, 5 years in manufacturing, open to roles in Manchester".
- Your About section fits in a few lines: your field, two results with numbers, the kind of role you want.
- Each role shows an outcome, not just tasks: "Cut the monthly close from 8 to 5 days".
- Your skills use the words from the job ads you want. Recruiters search with those words.
2. Say that you are looking
The "Open to work" setting tells recruiters which roles and locations interest you. You choose who sees it: all members, with a badge on your photo, or recruiters only. If you are currently employed, the second option is the discreet one.
3. Precise job alerts
A broad search returns hundreds of irrelevant jobs. Save two or three precise searches instead (title, location, remote, experience level) with a daily alert. Applying in the first few days after a job is posted matters: that is often when the recruiter reviews applications.
4. Apply less, but better
Ten tailored applications beat fifty sent in bulk. For each job you really want, adjust your CV to the three or four main requirements of the ad. When the job links to the company's own site, take the time to fill in the form: it is often read more closely than a quick Easy Apply.
5. Write to a person, not just an application form
After applying, find the person who is hiring: the team manager, the recruiter named on the job post, or an alum from your university at the company. A four-line message is enough: the role, why you, a simple question. That message is often the difference between an application that gets read and one lost in the pile.
6. Be visible without posting every day
There is no need to become a content creator. Leaving useful comments on posts by people in your field, and sharing a project or a success now and then, is enough to put your name in front of the right people.
What Premium changes
Everything above is free. Premium Career speeds up steps 4 and 5:
- Top Choice applications: three times a month, you tell the recruiter a role is one of your first choices.
- How you compare with other applicants, on many job posts, to decide where to apply and what to highlight.
- 5 InMails a month to write to people outside your network, with the credit back if they reply within 90 days.
- Who viewed your profile over 90 days, so you know when to follow up.
- AI-assisted interview preparation and access to LinkedIn Learning.
A pace you can keep up
A job search often takes several months. A simple routine helps: 30 minutes a day for alerts, two tailored applications and two messages each working day, one follow-up a week for applications without a reply. Track everything in a spreadsheet: role, date, person contacted, answer. After a few weeks you will see what works.