Put Your LinkedIn Location to Work For You

Job Search, Resume and LinkedIn

Open up any popular job board. Go ahead. Do it now. I’ll wait.

Question: What are the 2 pieces of information they need from you?

Answer: Job title and Location

If this is how most people search for a job, then it’s also how most recruiters search for candidates: job title and location.

And most recruiters don’t want far-away candidates — these are people who they’ll have to relocate just to start a role. So they usually start searching for local talent.

Be “Local” No Matter Where You Are

The problem for you is that very often, you don’t live in the place where you eventually want to work.

So in order to get on a recruiter’s radar, all you need to do is change your location to the place where you want to be. (Tweet this thought.)

Is this ethical? Yes. First off, the “location” area in LinkedIn doesn’t say, “current location”; it just say “location.”

Second, if your number-one goal is to find meaningful work and the only way to get noticed by the right recruiters is to change your zip code, then do it. You’re not hurting anyone. You’re not lying. If a recruiter gets you on the phone, you should tell them, of course, that you might need a few days to arrange travel to meet them.

If you live where you want to work, then you’re basically removing yourself from consideration by leaving this part of your profile blank!

How can you use your LinkedIn location to your advantage? Share in the comments!

This post originally appeared on Career Enlightenment.

Image: Flickr

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