7 Top Ways to Use LinkedIn for Your MBA Job Search

Linkedin currently is used by more than 175 million professionals to meet people in their industry and to network. While Linkedin is a great resource if used in this way, remember that the Website also can be used very effectively to help you in your MBA job search. If you follow the seven top ways below, you definitely can use Linkedin in your MBA job search:

#1 Use Your Network Ruthlessly

One of the best things about Linkedin, obviously, is that you have a network of business professionals that can be easily expanded. When you are starting your MBA job search, you should inform your network that you are seeking a new position. The more people who know you are looking for a job after MBA school, the more likely that you are going to find something up your alley. Note that Linkedin now has status updates so that you can inform your network that you are looking for work.

#2 Get Linkedin Recommendations

One of the absolute best ways to use Linkedin in any job search is to obtain recommendations for managers and supervisors from your previous employment. These recommendations can highlight your major strengths and show that you were a highly valued employee. This can be quite useful if you have been out of circulation for a while because you were in MBA school.

#3 Check Where People Like You Are Working

Linkedin can be used to do advanced searches to check where people are working who have your type of skills and educational background. For instance, if you are an MBA graduate in New Jersey, you can do an advanced search in your zip codes with keywords that highlight your business skills. You can then see which employers hire people just like you.

#4 See Where People At a Company Go

The company profiles section inform you on where employees go after they leave  your company, as well as the workers at other companies in your industry. You also can use this feature to see which companies you might want to avoid in your MBA job search.

#5 See If A Firm Is Hiring

The company page in Linkedin has a New Hires section that shows the people who joined the company in recent days. You can actually contact some of the people and see how many of them were able to land a job. If you do not have the courage to do that, you can at least look at their backgrounds and see what it was that made them attractive to the employer.

#6 Find the Hiring Manager

The job search engine lets you search for any sort of job. When you look at the search results, take note of the people who you are no more than two ‘degrees’ from. This means that you know someone who knows someone who posted that MBA job! You really cannot do a lot better than that. You can ask that person to give you an introduction to the hiring manager. Doing that really increases your odds of getting that crucial first interview.

#7 Discover Those Secret Job Requirements!

Most MBA job listings are not always going to tell you exactly what the hiring manager is looking for. See if you can score a Linkedin connection at the firm who can get you the ‘inside scoop’ of what they really are looking for in that job. You can try this by searching the company name. The results will show who in your network is affiliated with that company. If you lack an inside connection, take a look at the profiles of those who work there to get a concept of their skills and backgrounds.

Of course, there are many other ways you can use Linkedin to find your first MBA job, but these seven are a great place to start.