The more actively you’re networking and job-hunting, the more important it is that your profile be accurate and polished. So before you start diving deeper, take a moment to make sure your LinkedIn profile is as perfect, and as complete, as you can get it. Writing your summary is especially important. For more on how to create your profile, visit build your LinkedIn.

Like many platforms, LinkedIn will give you suggestions based on your existing info. So each time you add info, connections, keywords, skills, etc., you give them more to work with to serve up customized suggestions about jobs and contacts for you.

Remember to proofread again anytime you make edits!

Activating and building your network is key to creating professional opportunities, and in some ways that’s the whole point of LinkedIn. First, make sure you have worked on the steps in network & explore careers on LinkedIn.

Once you’ve done that, try these next steps:

• message existing connections you haven’t touched base within a while to let them know where things stand
• boost your visibility on LinkedIn by increasing your interaction with posts, checking in with your school(s) and alumni groups, etc.
• reach out to existing or new connections to request informational interviews
• ask for recommendations on LinkedIn. These are statements that your references can post directly onto LinkedIn; they work almost as regular reference letters
• look into LinkedIn’s career advice resource. To do that, go to your profile page and visit the Career Advice hub in the dashboard. From there, you can set preferences re: who you’d like advice from. (This is currently only visible to people with <10 years of professional experience.)

Near the top of your LinkedIn profile, there’s an Open to button. When you’re ready (and you feel like your profile’s ready, too), you can tap that button and choose finding a new job. Doing that will allow you to add some details about your job search:

• job titles you’re interested in
• where you’d like to work: on-site, remote, or hybrid; and your preferred geographic location(s) if on-site or hybrid
• whether you’re looking for a job right away or casually browsing
• whether you’re looking for full-time, contract, part-time, temporary, and/or internship work

Finally, you can choose who sees your “open to work” status—employment recruiters only, or everyone on LinkedIn. If you choose the latter, LinkedIn will ask if you want to add a frame to your profile pic showing that you’re open to work.

When you’re done, LinkedIn will also prompt you to set notifications about jobs. This is a good time to review your notification and privacy settings in general so you’re getting the right info.

At the top of the Jobs tab on LinkedIn, you’ll find a basic search for available positions. If you click the search button, you’ll see more advanced search options, including date posted, experience level, company, and more. Within each job posting, you’ll see options to save the posting and apply to the job.

It’s really easy to set alerts for any search you run on LinkedIn: you’ll see a toggle button where you can set job alerts on or off. You can also view all your job alerts and adjust your job alert settings by tapping the gear next to that button.

Meanwhile, that time you spent filling out your profile info will be paying off, because LinkedIn will be doing some searching for you. Keep an eye on their “jobs you may be interested in” suggestions.