How to stealth job search using LinkedIn

Miserably employed? Hey, I’ve been there. Here is how to stealthily take action to move to a better job using LinkedIn and other means.

1) Change your LinkedIn settings to “No” where it asks on your profile's most recent job entry, “Share with your network?” Turn the toggle switch to "No"..

2) Pump up your LinkedIn profile to match the jobs that you want, filling out every box that you can and improving your LinkedIn headline and job title entries so that you can be found for your ideal positions. This article explains how.

Best time to edit your profile? The weekend, when almost no one is paying attention. 

Call in the experts! WiserU can optimize your profile for you. Learn how then call 847-606-5160 or email Susan AT WiserU.com.

3) Disconnect from your boss and coworkers to ensure they don’t observe your job search machinations on LinkedIn. You can do so two ways. One is easy, but potentially dangerous. The other is harder, but risk-free.

The dangerous/easy way: 

• Visit a person’s profile and then click the triangle next to “Send a message” and then select “Remove connection”.  The dangerous aspect? The person may see that you visited his/her profile if they check the “Who viewed my profile” feature. 
• To avoid this problem, change your settings BEFORE you visit their profiles, by clicking the little picture of you in the upper right corner of any LinkedIn page and clicking Privacy and Settings & “Manage” and  then under Privacy Controls, click “Select what others see when you've viewed their profile”. 
• Choose “You will be totally anonymous”. 
• Keep the setting that way for at least 48 hours after you have removed connections. Note that you should change your setting to “Your name and headline” later so that LinkedIn won’t “punish” you by not allowing you to see who visits YOUR profile.

The risk-free/harder way:

• Click the Connections tab
• Sort your connections list by last name. 
• Hover over the entry of a person from whom you want to disconnect. 
• While hovering, look for the “More” link that appears. 
• Click the triangle to the right of the word “More”. 
• Click “Remove connection”.

Either way that you disconnect, your connections will not be notified; however, your name may appear in the person’s “People You May Know” box and they may invite you to connect again.

4) Update your resume to play up your current position and to align with your LinkedIn profile so that you will be ready should a recruiter reach out to you. Ask WiserU to craft your resume. 

5) Use LinkedIn to reach recruiters who specialize in your industry / field / location to alert them that that you are available and interested in opportunities. Find articles about how to enlist and equip recruiters to help you here.

6) Selectively notify people who can help you (and not hurt you) that you are job seeking. Either send them LinkedIn InMail messages (which are free to connections), or send them an email. Let them know what types of job titles that you seek and in which city. Include your phone number and email address to make sending you job leads easy. Remind them once a month that you continue to seek a new position.

7) Increase your involvement with networking circles, such as with a local Meetup or field / industry associations to meet hiring decision makers and influential people.  Have personal business cards printed through Vistaprint or other providers, that you can hand out at such events. Include the job titles/functions that you want and your contact information. Follow up with the people that you meet by inviting them to connect and then nurturing the connection on LinkedIn.

8) Apply for jobs on LinkedIn by clicking the Jobs tab and the following the prompts to apply for jobs near you. LinkedIn will reveal to you who you know at the hiring company so that you can enlist their help and will often let you know the name of the person who posted the position. 

Best of all, many jobs posted on LinkedIn are “Apply Now” jobs, which lets you apply for the jobs instantly using your LinkedIn profile, plus you can upload your resume and cover letter as one document. This quick apply feature on LinkedIn and many leading job sites is a real time saver for miserably employed people ... just make sure that your LinkedIn profile is a strong match for open positions before you apply. 

9) Add the LinkedIn Job Search app to your smart phone so that you can have job leads sent to you so that you can immediately apply. Learn more here. 

10) Strengthen your skills on your current company’s dime and then add your skills into your LinkedIn Skills and Expertise section and then retype them into your LinkedIn Summary (About) section. Endorse other people’s skills on LinkedIn and ask them to endorse your skills. The more endorsed skills that you have and the more relevant keywords in your Summary section (in general), the higher up in search results you will show up for the jobs that you want. 

You can pursue positions while miserably employed! Start stealth sleuthing for your next job! -- Kathy

Related Articles

• An exit strategy for the miserable employed
• 7 articles about enlisting recruiters in your job search

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