What’s one way job seekers can use LinkedIn effectively without direct messaging? Please share an example of a LinkedIn strategy that yields results.

We see so many talented professionals who believe they need to constantly send direct messages to get noticed on LinkedIn, but we find the most effective approach is often more subtle. A fantastic strategy that yields incredible results without any direct outreach involves making your profile do the work for you. It all starts with the "Open to Work" feature. The real magic happens when you activate it and select the option to be visible only to recruiters. This acts as a discreet signal, letting our team and other recruiters know you are receptive to new opportunities without broadcasting it to your entire network or current employer. The data backs this up. According to LinkedIn research, candidates who use this hidden setting receive 40% more messages from recruiters. To make this signal truly powerful, however, it must be paired with a thoroughly optimized profile. We always advise candidates to ensure their profile is at least 90% complete. This includes filling out your job preferences, target locations, and role specifications in detail, as this is the data recruiters use to filter searches. For example, we recently saw a job seeker implement this exact strategy. After turning on the private "Open to Work" feature, they meticulously updated their profile. They optimized their headline to include key job titles they were targeting and carefully sprinkled relevant skills and industry keywords throughout their summary and experience sections. Over the following weeks, their profile activity soared. They received multiple unsolicited messages from top employers whose opportunities were a perfect match for their skills and career goals, all without initiating a single conversation. In addition to this foundational step, we encourage active participation on the platform. Engaging with content by leaving insightful comments on industry related posts or sharing relevant articles further elevates your visibility. This consistent activity signals to the algorithm that you are an active expert in your field, making your profile more likely to appear in our searches. This combined strategy transforms your profile from a static resume into a dynamic tool that attracts opportunities, allowing you to be discovered rather than having to constantly hunt.

One of the most effective ways to use LinkedIn without ever sending a DM? Flip the job search strategy on its head. Most people wait for a job posting to appear, then throw their hat into the ring alongside hundreds of others. The problem? Nearly 40% of the time, that job is already filled, in the process of being filled, or it was never really "open" in the first place. Instead of chasing job postings, start with a Target Company Strategy. Focus on organizations that truly align with you, their mission, vision, products, leadership, and growth potential. That's where real opportunity lives. Here's a proven strategy: >> Follow the company page and engage with their posts, articles, and videos. React, share, and, most importantly, leave thoughtful comments that add value. >> Connect with employees in relevant departments, follow their content, and continue to show up in the conversation. >> Over time, you'll be noticed, not as "just another applicant," but as someone already invested in the brand. This is how you tap into the hidden job market. Opportunities often spark before the job is ever posted, and this strategy puts you in the right place at the right time. Don't just wait for jobs. Show up where the opportunities are being created.

The 24-Hour LinkedIn Job Hunt Rule: Why Speed Beats Perfect in Today's Job Market Here's the uncomfortable truth about today's job market: if you're not applying to LinkedIn jobs within 24 hours of posting, you will often be invisible to recruiters—no matter how qualified you are. When a desirable position goes live, recruiters often receive 200+ applications within the first 24 hours. Several recruiters have confided to me that they stop reviewing applications once they a qualified pool appliants, and this often happens within 24 hours. Why sift through an additional 500 resumes when they already have 200 highly qualified candidates? To capitalize on this reality, create hyper-specific LinkedIn job alerts (like "Marketing Manager" AND "SaaS" AND "growth stage" instead of just job titles), enable mobile push notifications, and build a rapid application toolkit with customizable resume versions and cover letter templates. This system will empower you to submit quality applications within a two-hour window of receiving alerts. Adapting to the fundamental change in today's hiring speed is crucial. Your experience will differentiate you in interviews, but you first need to get into that initial pool of candidates being considered. Perfect applications mean nothing if they're never seen.

A simple but often overlooked way to get more out of LinkedIn is by joining a few active groups in your industry and participating in the conversations. Groups are smaller, curated communities where the right people are already gathering. They are the best places to be to get noticed and hear about opportunities, without blasting cold messages to strangers. The reason this works is because visibility builds over time. When you show up consistently, whether that's commenting, sharing your perspective, or asking thoughtful questions, you stop being yet another job seeker. Instead of chasing or forcing connections, you become someone others recognize and want to connect with. To make it practical, choose two or three groups that are clearly active (you'll see fresh posts and real discussions), then spend 10-15 minutes a few times a week adding value. Stick with it for a month, and you'll likely see more profile views, new connections, and likely new job opportunities rolling in, all without direct messaging.

By far, one of the strongest strategies a person can use is doing a COMPANY search to find jobs, instead of a regular search through job filters. LinkedIn is a very robust platform that offers a great amount of information and at times it may be difficult to know what to do with it. When you are searching for companies, first, you will get to see the businesses in your industry where you may have first degree connections and fellow alumni. If you are applying to work at a company that has had success in the past with employees from your school, this could work in your favor. After all, "Alumni 4 Life!". More so, if you're applying to work at a company where you have first degree connections, these folks may be able to offer you advice prior to any interview, and more so serve as an internal advocate during your hiring process. Company searches also give job seekers insights into what job markets are very active in an industry and location. Finally, this type of search also allows for the job seeker to pick the company they want to work for, instead of sorting through the usual "slot machine" of job search results, hoping that something was posted with your qualifications.

I've noticed quite many viral posts on LinkedIn shared by people who recently lost their jobs. Such posts would collect thousands of likes, comments, and reposts. The idea is to proactively write a heartbreaking post about how you lost your job, what financial responsibilities you have, describe what you are qualified to do, and genuinely ask your network to share your post with their network. You'd be amazed at how responsive people are. Not only do they actively engage with the post, but they also tag recruiters, HR representatives, or entire companies that might be interested in a similar role. But don't stop there. Create an "Unemployed Diary" where you would share your progress, wins, and losses. That way, you naturally create an awareness of your situation on the most relevant platform for job seekers and build a new network of useful communications.

Your LinkedIn profile must be keyword-optimized if you want to be found on the platform. Imagine you were a recruiter or headhunter looking to fill an open role. What keywords would you type in the search bar to find a candidate? Now review your profile and ensure those terms are integrated throughout. This isn't just about keyword stuffing. These words need to be strategically woven into your headline, summary, and experience section. You want prospective employers to find your profile, then be intrigued enough to contact you.

Though this strategy may take some time, one way job seekers can use LinkedIn effectively, without direct messaging, is by appealing to the hiring decision-maker or an 'influencer' of the decision-maker (not to be confused with a social media influencer) through a curated content strategy. This would begin with the job seeker posting curated content regularly that is relevant to the hiring decision-maker/influencer of their prospective role. So, what is curated content? In basic terms, curated content refers to external content, such as blogs, articles, and social media posts, that are reposted for a relevant audience. However, it's not simply reposting this content for the sake of reposting. The job seeker has to provide a relevant perspective of their opinion or insights on the content they are posting. This strategy should begin before connecting with the decision-maker/influencer they're targeting on LinkedIn. This would increase the level of engagement on the job seeker's post, making it more likely to appear on the feed of the decision-maker/influencer once the LinkedIn connection is made. Now, how does the job seeker find the right decision-maker/influencer to connect with? Well, without being in the company or having direct insight into the company's structure, it will take some guessing and trial and error. However, by performing thorough research through their prospective company's LinkedIn page, website, and social media pages, the job seeker stands a good chance of finding who they're looking for or the influencer who can get them to the decision-maker. From there, the job seeker should send a LinkedIn connection and monitor engagement on their curated content posts. Suppose the decision-maker/influencer engages with the job seeker's curated content (like, comment, share, or even reaching out first). In that case, the opportunity arises to begin a casual conversation. If contact is made and the connection is properly nurtured, this could lead to a great relationship and eventually a job.

Job seekers looking to utilize LinkedIn effectively should consider updating their description to include "LION" which stands for LinkedIn Open Networker. Then search for LION, and start connecting with other 'LION's'. Doing this is especially beneficial for LinkedIn users that don't have many connections because other LIONs generally have established lots of connections, and will help bring a lower connected profile closer to other professionals on the overall LinkedIn network. After establishing connection with lots of LIONs a user can then start to send connection requests to their target audience with closer connection to that audience, which will result in a higher likelihood of connections being accepted. Having an active profile is also very important, which means posting unique articles/content which is valuable within the ideal/targeted niche. After connections are accepted by a user's ideal audience rather than using direct messages it can be equally as effective to engage on profiles, such as endorsing, commenting, liking, sharing other users posts.

Comments can be a huge way of interacting with people to build name recognition and credibility. If you're seeking employment with a given company, asking great questions, adding helpful content and context to answers and even tagging (use this sparingly) people who might find a specific post beneficial can be useful. Further? LinkedIn newsletters have a great distribution and can be a low friction way of further engaging your network: if you're not using that to position yourself as a thought leader in your domain, that's a missed opportunity, especially if you're looking for work. Comment on current events, give your perspective on technologies and opportunities and generally let your voice be heard.

Your LinkedIn profile is one of the most important digital assets for your professional personal brand. The most powerful strategy is to start actively managing it to become optimally findable. Recruiters and opportunities will find a strong personal brand. You need to engineer your brand's narrative so that LinkedIn's algorithm understands exactly who you are, what your skillsets are, and why you are the best option. Here's the strategy: Define your target role and engineer your entire profile to rank for it. Your headline becomes your brand's elevator pitch (e.g., "Senior Product Manager | Building User-Centric FinTech Solutions"). Your "About" section tells your personal brand story, and your "Experience" provides the quantifiable achievements that prove your brand's promise. By doing this, you'll be found by relevant people looking to hire: it's the difference between being a candidate in a pile and being the expert solution they were searching for all along.

In a world where everyone is expected to think strategically, personal branding and the ability to put yourself out there have become more vital than ever, yet most people continue to put these to the sidelines- only about 1 percent of LinkedIn's 260 million monthly users post content (https://kinsta.com/blog/linkedin-statistics/). It's no longer enough to be great at your job. People need to be seen doing great work. The proliferation of AI means that verifying the originality and ownership of work is more difficult than ever. That's where social validation and networking come in. Individuals need to document and share their work online (via LinkedIn, building portfolios, leveraging thought leadership opportunities). Treat your work persona like a product — what's your niche, what customers do you serve, and what impact do you make? Based on these reflections, build community and visibility around your professional work, not just resumes to hand to HR via DM. Those who don't adapt risk falling behind — not because they're not talented, but because they're not known.

Having a fully optimized LinkedIn profile is the best way for job seekers to maximize their job search efforts. 90% of recruiters use LinkedIn to find talent, so it's important to build your profile in a way that makes it easy for them to find you. I recently had a client who was a Fortune 500 VP and was looking to pivot into a CMO role. Often, these roles aren't posted: executive recruiters search LinkedIn to find great candidates. We optimized his profile so that when recruiters were looking for CMOs, they would come upon his profile (even though he had never held the CMO position). We did that by sharing that he was currently reporting to and advising the CMO and highlighting CMO-type results and impacts Think of it like an SEO-search: recruiters are searching based on certain terms and titles. By optimizing your profile, you're going to make sure that you are speaking their language by including the titles, terms, and keywords that they are looking for in your profile.

It's always easier to stick with a job search plan when you've set things up to work in your favor, so make it as easy for yourself as possible. A good way to stay on top of job opportunities is to set up LinkedIn job alerts and have them sent to your email. These alerts delivered straight to your inbox mean that jobs will find you. I recommend checking them once a day, ideally in the morning, so you can see what's fresh before the applicant pool gets too crowded. If you spot a listing that looks promising but don't have time to apply right away, hit "Save" so it's stored in your My Jobs tab. You can come back and send a thoughtful application later that day or at the end of the week when you're ready. It's important to stay consistent. If you make it a daily habit to look through your job alerts and commit to applying within 24 to 48 hours of seeing a role you like, you'll give yourself a much better chance of being seen. It also helps to tweak your alert settings so you're not overwhelmed. You can filter by location, seniority, company, and even specific keywords. We encouraged one of our clients, a UX designer, to create two sets of alerts: one focused on researcher roles at larger, established tech companies, which she preferred for their stability and resources, and another for product design roles at smaller startups that were hiring remotely. Splitting her search this way gave her a clear view of both her "ideal" roles and the more flexible opportunities she was open to considering. When an alert flagged an opening at a company she liked, we suggested that she engage with one of their product team's recent posts on LinkedIn, in addition to applying. That extra step helped her stand out from other applicants, and the company hired her on a contracting basis. If you're a job seeker, don't forget that having a structured approach paired with strategic follow-through can make the job search process less overwhelming and more effective.

Write an effective LinkedIn summary Your LinkedIn summary (aka "About" section) is a great opportunity to tell recruiters who you are and why they would want to hire you. It's also one of the most heavily weighted sections in terms of search visibility. It's a good idea to keep the summary clear, concise, and keyword-rich. In a short paragraph, explain who you are and what you do, ideally in first person to create a conversational tone and connection with the reader. You can also include highlights like awards or achievements, either within the summary or in bullet points underneath. Here's a ready-to-use summary formula: Who you are + what you do professionally + who/what you support (with your knowledge and expertise) + professional highlights + #hashtags For example, a Software Engineer could use this summary template: "About I am a senior Platform Engineer with 5 years of robust experience in VoIP technologies, including platforms enabling video calls with both audio and video streams. I am familiar with designing, building, testing, deploying and maintaining APIs, cloud applications and SIP proxies, as well as writing code, handling triages and escalations, and reacting to critical alerts. Cheerful, dynamic and super focused, I take pride in guiding talented teams in tackling pioneering engineering projects. #WebBasedSystems #SaaSApplications #DistributedSystems #CloudPlatforms #Agile #TeamLeadership #ProjectManagement #BackendDevelopment #CrossFunctionalCollaboration"

LinkedIn is at its best when we use it as a conversation starter rather than a megaphone. As a user of the platform at Raise3D, I've seen fellow educators get recognition for using our 3D printers for STEM projects in the classroom. The discovery and reach they have achieved was solely from their own periodic posts and thoughtful comments, and did not come from any targeted or direct outreach. When I posted about a behind-the-scenes experience with a prototyping trial that went wrong because an AI-based tool did not save as much time as I had hoped, and that also highlighted the gaps in the decision-making ability of the machine compared to an engineer's analysis, I got engagement with other designers and educators about the nuances of trade-offs between time and dependability. Job seekers can do the same. Share an example of how your critical thinking solved a problem. Or better yet, share the kind of learning experience one might have when a tool did not live up to its promise. Human beings are more attracted to stories with real-world practical applications and human foibles, and this is often how your own opportunities will start to arise. The trust you build from others knowing your perspective is much more valuable than any impersonal message. Ultimately, being seen for your ideas is the power of the platform.

People actively looking for jobs tend to overlook one of LinkedIn's most powerful tools: content engagement. All you need to build visibility is to contribute to conversations that matter and are relevant to your profile when cold messaging is not an option. I mean, you could directly message a hiring manager, but why not engage with their company's posts first? You can share comments highlighting your own experience, add on-point replies, or even repost content and make it your own by adding your perspective on the matter. At Textmagic, we've seen how this creates familiarity and positions a job seeker as someone who adds value, not just another candidate looking for a role. When you constantly engage with companies, you start building credibility and trust. In time, decision-makers might feel you're the right fit for a new opening and will be far more likely to initiate a conversation leading in that direction. This is more along the lines of inbound networking. Instead of knocking on endless doors, you make yourself seen and discoverable by taking part in relevant conversations. Opportunities will then knock on YOUR door, and you decide what the right fit is.

Commenting and engaging! I found a role on my LinkedIn feed that was posted by the hiring manager at a small company. I applied to the role, commented on the hiring managers post by shouting out my qualifications for the position and she reached out to me for an interview within 12 hours. Engaging is one of the easier ways to stand out in the job search and it can also make it easier to send connection requests without a note. If you comment and engage with someone's content, then send a connection request, people are much more likely to accept since they've seen you on their feed.

Focus on LinkedIn as a visibility tool rather than a networking platform. Job seekers who complete every section - headline, summary, work experience, skills - become instantly searchable when recruiters hunt for candidates. Keywords from actual job postings matter more than most people think as that's exactly what we use to filter through hundreds of profiles. Take someone targeting corporate finance roles. They update their headline to "Corporate Finance Analyst | FP&A | Budgeting & Forecasting | Open to Opportunities" and immediately signal relevance. Basically, include specific skills and terminology from current job listings into their summary and experience sections. This positions them at the top of search results when I'm looking for that exact profile. From my experience, consistent keyword alignment with real job descriptions produces results far more effectively than random networking messages or vague profile updates. And when someone's profile matches what I'm searching for, I reach out to them without them having to send a single cold message.

If I were actively looking for a job, I'd skip the cold DMs altogether and build pull. Go on LinkedIn. Target about 10 or 15 companies, browse their posts, then provide real fixes for the problems they mention. You can elaborate on those fixes in a longer document or publish a carousel highlighting your suggestions. Mention which metrics you'd track and even run an experiment of your own. A one-pager where you propose a step-by-step plan stands out from generic comments like "I'm interested in this position, etc." You can include SMS in your mix: Instead of 'message me,' end with a low-friction, opt-in hand-raise: 'Want the plan + template? Text "PLAN" to my business number and receive the entire package. This strategy is perfect for follow-ups and setting the tone for prospective business relationships. People are paying attention, especially on LinkedIn. If you already "have their ear", demonstrating value is the next clear step. Once you've done that, classical outreach becomes unnecessary. They got a taste of what you bring to the table, so now the choice is up to them. Hired or not, you've just started building a solid network for future professional endeavors. The right opportunity will follow.