If you’ve already read our Refactor Talent blog, “Finding Your Dream Job While Employed: Know Your What, Where, Why,” you now know what culture fit, company size, and work environment you want in your next role, and you are ready to job search!

Starting a search to find your dream job on LinkedIn and use your network! 6 people are hired on LinkedIn every second with 75% of workers who recently changed jobs having used LinkedIn to research their job and career options. Here’s what Refactor Talent’s Lead Sourcer, Caitlin Currier, suggests for targeting your dream job on LinkedIn:

1. Search on LinkedIn for Open Jobs

• Use the search bar and select the Jobs tab to search for open positions.
• Select your search location and other requirements.
• Search by Job Title – If you’re a Java engineer with Spring technology experience looking for jobs in Atlanta, you could use the search query ((“engineer”) OR(“developer”)) AND(“Java”) AND(“Spring”) to narrow down your search results under “Jobs”. Replace “Engineer” and “Developer” with the job titles that match your skills and experience such as DevOps, Network Administrator, Project Manager, Product Owner, etc.
• Don’t know about Boolean searches? Use ChatGPT to help build a Boolean Search to use within LinkedIn’s search bar.
• Search by Skills – Replace “Java” and “Spring” in the above search query with your languages or tools of expertise.
• Search with the basics or your must-haves, and try not to be too specific as this may narrow your results and prevent you from seeing other job titles that are also a potential fit.

Refactor Talent Pro Tip: Toggle with different filters to target a particular job level, industry, or company size and further refine your search.

2. Target Specific Companies

• If there are companies you want to target, likely you know a bit about their reputation, mission, values, and/or work environment, but start by researching to make sure they’re a fit for you.
• Put together a list of companies with values similar to your own.

Refactor Talent Pro Tip: Look at reviews on websites like Glassdoor to get an idea of what it’s like to work there.

3. Visit the company’s LinkedIn page and select Jobs

• Targeting specific companies can help ensure your next role will align with your own values and goals for a job that you love.
• With values and goals that align with the company, you’ll also be more likely to stand out to recruiters and hiring managers.
• Leverage you LinkedIn Network
• Reach out to your network of connections, let them know that you’re looking for a new opportunity, and ask if they know of any open positions that would be a good fit.
• Ask for recommendations of recruiters to work with too. If someone you trust has had a great experience with someone, set up a discovery call and see what support the recruiter and their company can give you in your search

Refactor Talent Pro Tip: Our company mission is Help One Person Everyday (HOPE). We set aside time daily to have these HOPE calls!