How to Job Hunt on LinkedIn Without Giving Yourself Away

by Nicholas Pell

When you're keeping your eyes peeled for a new job, it's always best to exercise discretion: You don't want to get passed over for that promotion you've been wanting or a lucrative raise just because your boss discovered that you're eyeing greener pastures.

Enter LinkedIn, the social network for professionals that many people use to find their next career move in life. If you'll be using the site to help with your search, use these tips to ensure your public activity on LinkedIn doesn't give your job hunt away. (Hint: Pretty much all of the below suggestions can be accessed in your personal account under the "Settings" option.)

Hide Your LinkedIn Connections

When you're out there networking and looking for new opportunities, you might want to hide your LinkedIn connections. If you connect with headhunters or people who work at competing companies, you probably don't want your other LinkedIn connections to see that.

Hide Your LinkedIn Feed

The feed is a job-hunter's nightmare. You're effectively broadcasting everything that you do -- adding current and past work details, following companies, adding new connections -- to your entire network … including your manager, coworkers and others. Turn activity broadcasts off, and no one will see those details.

Sever Social Media Ties

All the LinkedIn security in the world isn't going to help you if you have the site connected to Facebook and Twitter. Make sure that you have LinkedIn disconnected from all other social media platforms while job hunting so you don't inadvertently publicize your LinkedIn activity onto all of your social media feeds.

Customize Your LinkedIn Public Information

One of the benefits of LinkedIn is that it allows for broad customization of what you share and what you don't. Spend a little time tinkering around with this tool. This is something that you should be doing anyway, but it holds special relevance when you're thinking of leaving your current job.

Turn Off LinkedIn Group Notifications

One of the best ways to look for a new job on LinkedIn is through groups. These are often dedicated to specific industries, so they really allow you to target new contacts. Unfortunately, they might also send out notifications to everyone when you join. The good news is that you can opt out.

In all online areas of your life, but especially on LinkedIn groups, it's important to be careful with what you share. Consider anything you post in a group to be public information, because you don't know what other group members will do with your posts.

Available on Amazon.com: Job Searching with Social Media For Dummies

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How to Job Hunt on LinkedIn Without Giving Yourself Away - Jobs & Career Advice