Is LinkedIn Really a Job Board?

LinkedIn is the go-to social media network for most professionals. But, is it really a job board?

LinkedIn is a social media platform that most people use for professional reasons. This system is used by over 740M users globally in 2021 across 200 countries across the globe. LinkedIn seems to always be adding features and content and the way that people use it can really depend on why they are there in the first place. Most people think of this as the go-to place for their job search. But, is LinkedIn really a job board?

Who Actually Uses LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is used by a lot of people across the globe. Recent stats show that about 57% of the users are male and 43% are female. 37% of these users are adults between 30 - 49 years old. Half of all US college graduates use LinkedIn. Nearly 25% of all LinkedIn users are senior level influencers in their companies. There are over 160M users in the US. So, this means that LinkedIn can be a great way to reach professional people as candidates and as hiring managers.

LinkedIn Has a Job Board

LinkedIn has an area that is specifically dedicated to posting and applying to jobs. In fact, there are over 15M open jobs on LinkedIn on average at any time. This includes about 300k remote jobs in the US. Many of these jobs are posted by companies directly on LinkedIn. Others are received by the LinkedIn platform from other job boards like Indeed or ZipRecruiter.

In fact, LinkedIn is a job board aggregator. A job board aggregator means that it is a system where companies can publish jobs and then the job position advertisement can get pushed out across multiple (if not 1000s) of other job boards. LinkedIn mostly works as an aggregator as a receiver of jobs. You will find a number of jobs on LinkedIn in the US from other job boards like Indeed and Ziprecruiter. However, keep in mind that these systems do not typically pull down the jobs. So, if a job is live on LinkedIn, it may not be active.

The thing that LinkedIn jobs has that other job boards do not typically have is the ability to see your connections at the company that posted the job or even the person that posted the job. This is a great detail for anyone that is trying to leverage their network to get the coveted employee referral link or to get the inside track before applying to the job. Using the data features on LinkedIn jobs can save a ton of time in your job search if done correctly. And, most of this information is easy to find and leverage in your application and interviewing efforts.

LinkedIn Recruiter

The other big feature that LinkedIn has that most users do not have access to is LinkedIn recruiter. This module enables recruiters to post jobs, search profiles, and engage with passive and active candidates in their efforts to fill their open jobs. On this side of the system, there are tons of analytics about candidates. For example, it includes the activity of someone on the system so that the recruiter can make a smart decision about whether to use their inmail credits in contacting a candidate. These inmail credits are returned to the recruiter if you respond and they can then use it again when contacting additional candidates. Thus, the recruiter is incentivized to contact people that are active, or at least responsive on LinkedIn. Thus, you will want to make sure that you respond to these inmail queries whenever you get them. This can be as simple as "Thanks, but not interested" as this will help improve your performance on the system.

The other big area to be mindful of on LinkedIn recruiter is that the recruiter can set the skills required for jobs when posting it using the pre-sets for skills. Most recruiters will pick these options for drop-downs that already exist in the system when typing the skill. LinkedIn will analyze your fit for the job based on the presence of these skills on your LinkedIn profile. So, you will want to make sure that you fully leverage the skills feature on your profile to ensure that you consistently show up as qualified for the positions that you are applying to.

Thus, not only is LinkedIn a job board but there is more to it than the typical job board. People do not go to LinkedIn just for their job search needs. But, smart professionals will use it strategically in their job search to make the most of their efforts whenever possible. A strong job search strategy always starts with a strong message on your LinkedIn profile and in how you plan to use it in your search. Leverage all of the functionality on LinkedIn consistently to get in front of the right audience and your job search will move quickly.