Networking, job boards, a clean resume, interview prep – the professional job searching recipe is complex but by no means complete without LinkedIn. If you are on LinkedIn with a 100% finished profile and an extensive network of professional contacts, you’re good, right? Maybe not.

Don’t forget to take advantage of all LinkedIn has to offer you as a job seeker, including these three key features:

1. Be an Open Candidate.

This feature allows you to privately signal recruiters that you’re looking for a new opportunity and filter the specifics of your job search without it being public knowledge (nope, your boss won’t see this).

How do you do this? Head to the Jobs tab at the top of the page and click “Update Preferences.” Once there, you can customize each field to fit the needs of your search. Don’t forgot to slide the “Let recruiters know you’re open” area to “on.” This will allow your profile to stand out to hiring managers and recruiters using the LinkedIn Recruiter tool, increasing your chances of being found for the right gig!

2. Keep up with Companies.

When researching your next opportunity, don’t stop at a company’s website. Social media is a great way to scope out their mission, people and culture.

Here’s what you might find:

• Overview
  Some of this you may see on the company website, but some you may not. What you want to pay attention to here is the company updates. If they felt news was important enough to share with their LinkedIn followers, you’ll want to know about it, too.

• Jobs
  You may not see all the company’s openings here, but you’ll see their hottest ones. These have the potential to change on a weekly basis. This section also gives you an idea of the employee demographics that make up the organization.

• What We Do
  This is the good stuff. Here’s where you can see what the company is up to. News, photos, employee spotlights and featured content are great ways to get a look inside company culture. Not to mention finding the right people to connect with inside the organization.

3. Scope out Salary Data.

One of the major components in your decision to take an offer is salary. While money doesn’t buy happiness, we all want to know if our compensation is aligned with the market. You can get an idea of what someone with a similar job title is making with LinkedIn’s Salary search.

LinkedIn’s data is based on salary information privately submitted to the platform. Tip! If you privately submit your information, you’ll have more detailed insight to various facts that impact pay scale. Notice the emphasis on private – LinkedIn can’t stress enough – your data will never be shared publicly.

LinkedIn is robust! When you’re all-in with your job search, it’s the perfect time to take advantage of everything the tool has to offer. Another way to set you apart from the competition!

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