Of all the social media sites out there, one of the best for finding work-at-home jobs, freelance work, or home business clients is LinkedIn. It’s not simply just a place to post your resume, but also a great place to search for jobs, network with potential employers and clients, and get referrals. Check out these great tips on finding your next work-at-home opportunity!
Nate Masterson
Maple Holistics
@mapleholistics
1) Keywords are key- If you’re looking exclusively for a WAH opportunity, make sure your job title reflects as much. Keyword optimization will put you at the top of any WAH listings. WAH recruiters usually search for keywords like remote, location-independent, virtual, and work at home. Either way, adding a keyword at the beginning of your job title may be exactly what you need to push your resume over the top.
2) Confidence is everything- The last thing you want to show on your LinkedIn profile are the words: “looking for a job” or heaven forbid, “unemployed”. Such words scream desperation and a lack of confidence, something no one wants from an employee. Instead, use words like seeking remote work, or available for remote work. Using vague language gives the impression that you are employed, and are just looking for more or better employment. You always want to appear as a hot commodity.
3) Stay active- Work from home carries with it a type of distrust that can be dispelled easily enough. Many employers are concerned about working with someone they’ve never met. Therefore, it’s important to establish an active digital personality. Write a blog on your LinkedIn page, it will go a long way humanizing your profile.
Maree Jones
I have successfully worked from home or remotely for four years. In that time I’ve found LinkedIn to be invaluable to my success. Here are a few tips on making the most of it:
1) If you work from home, remember to use LinkedIn as a networking tool. Don’t simply broadcast content, but interact with other people’s content as well. Send messages, comment or like post and introduce people you think would benefit from knowing one another. When working from home, networking opportunities are somewhat limited, but LinkedIn makes it easy to stay in touch.
2) Update your profile every few months. It’s amazing how many people don’t take advantage of all the information and insights LinkedIn will allow users to share through their profile. By ensuring all space is filled with valuable and relevant information about you, you’re optimizing your profile for search, so people can find you much easier.
3) Use the job search feature to find other work from home opportunities. On the job search page, there isn’t anywhere in the location box to search for remote jobs, but you can use words like remote, virtual and telecommute in the job title or description search. Set up alerts for these search terms and you’ll be able to receive the latest job listings in your area of interest, many of which are legitimate work-from-home opportunities.
Michelle Ngome
1) Provide details in your Work Experience section. Self-employed/business owners have a tendency to leave that section blank, but providing details informs people on the specific work that you do.
2) Include your contact information. Make it easy for people to contact you. LinkedIn is a starting point as people come across your profile through mutual friend. Make sure you add your website and primary email address for immediate contact.
3) After each project ask your client for a LinkedIn recommendation. This helps increase your profile status and visibility.
4) On the top right hand corner, it states Work, there is the ProFinder section. Click on the drop down arrow next to your name and select Are You a Pro? If you complete the form and are approved you are allowed to place your freelance services on LinkedIn. Members are able to view profiles and hire freelancers for specific projects.
Charu Babbar
1) Clearly define area of expertise: Throughout the course of career we acquire and build many skills, however it is important to identify top 3-5 of your skills and mention them in the headline of the profile. The skills can be a mix of your core skills plus whichever is in demand. For e.g. if you are a programmer you should mention the latest language along with other skills.
2) Brief Job Description: Not only job descriptions be brief, they should be current. Browse the job openings for your profile and identify the common requirements and highlight them. This makes it easy for the recruiter to assess if you match the job requirements.
3) Focus on results: Highlight your achievements from previous jobs. This helps establishing a professional image and also emphasizes that you understood your role very clearly.
Javed S. Khan
EMpression: A Marketing Services Company
@empressionmktg
1) Add a Professional Business Head Shot that represents your personal brand in a strong and effective manner.
2) Customize your personal url.
3) Customize the background – do not leave it to the default blue background. Add messaging with your background image (#hashtags, website, phone number as examples)
4) Present all your contact information – not just a few – Create a headline that highlights your why not just a title. To increase the number of characters to be used in the headline, revise it on your mobile device.
5) Write your summary as a story not a resume.
6) Request recommendations of your work (not endorsements). Aim to generate at least 2-3 recommendations a month.
Note From Leslie
Maximizing LinkedIn starts with creating a stellar profile. Don’t just list your experiences like a resume, but instead, focus on how you can help others. What benefit is there in hiring you?
Next, make connections with people in the industry you’d like to work. Begin to build relationships. Along with direct connections, participate in groups, where you can help others and show off your expertise.
Finally, use the job search option to find jobs and gigs to apply to.
Do you have tips for finding work-at-home jobs on Linkedin?
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