Looking for a new role? Check out your LinkedIn Feed

A lot of job seekers instinctively turn to job boards and start scrolling through opportunities. Click, apply, click, apply. Over and over. Job after job. And of course, this approach can yield some good results. I’ve certainly gotten interviews (and even job offers) from blind applications.

But if you only look at published listings, you’re missing out on a massive treasure trove of potential jobs. Your LinkedIn news feed is likely filled with shares and reposts about open jobs. I’ve noticed this happening especially frequently lately, in the wake of substantial layoffs in November/December. Some of these roles may parallel those on the job boards, but not always. Sometimes hiring managers find the perfect candidate through their networks before a job even gets posted formally. Recently, I’ve personally seen a hiring manager put out feelers, before a job description was even written.

If you’re seeing a job opportunity posted by someone in your network, that means you already have an “in.” You can reach out to the hiring manager directly if the poster is the one hiring, or if it is a repost of someone else’s job, ask your connection who posted about it to make an introduction for you to the hiring manager. That is a lot warmer of a lead than you get from “click, apply, click, apply repeat.” It even beats out referrals submitted formally through an applicant-tracking-system (ATS) - you immediately get seen by the hiring manager, instead of having to go through the recruiter first. So the recruiter isn’t selling you to the hiring team - it will happen the other way around. And as a recruiter myself, I can say with confidence that any profile a hiring manager is excited about will definitely have a decent shot in an interview process. The hiring manager will see to it.

So before you hit the job boards, spend some time scrolling on LinkedIn. You might spot a great opportunity!