Using LinkedIn to find a job (Part 2 - Etiquette)

As mentioned in previous posts, LinkedIn can be quite handy to determine information about a prospective company. You can use it to look at various things like the profiles of the staff of that company (are these the kind of people you’d want to work with), staff movements (i.e. does the company retain its staff successfully), skillsets of the staff and senior management etc. The company will also probably have its own profile page which may give some more information to supplement their website as to what they do. If all the information checks out and the company looks like a viable option for you, chances are they will have the contact details of someone who will help you through a recruitment process.

However, before making contact, there are a few useful etiquette tips that one should follow:

• First check whether the company has a careers portal or email address before trying to make contact via LinkedIn. LinkedIn should be a last resort, but most companies will have an easier and less intrusive way of reaching their HR/recruitment departments.
• Send personalised messages – be original and avoid using the templates provided.
• Send messages to people at the correct level – for example sending a “hire me” message to the CEO of a company with 20,000 staff members may not receive a response.

Other etiquette rules outside the scope of this discussion include:

• Don’t ask connections that you don’t know personally or professionally for recommendations – this is considered rude.
• Don’t use LinkedIn like other social platforms. Post only headlines that your connections would find useful or informative
• Remember that it is a professional network so you must act in this manner i.e. watch your language, don’t post abuse etc.