LinkedIn Job Hack: Finding Hidden Opportunities Beyond the Job Board

Example Posts

Here's a sample post featuring recent job listings.

I often get messages from people seeking job opportunities, asking for a job. While I personally don't have job openings or engage in hiring, I regularly find real job postings from Hiring Managers and Software Engineers actively recruiting on LinkedIn. Wondering how I discovered these opportunities? I'm excited to share the secret.

Background

Learned during my role as a Software Engineering Manager at WhatsApp, to meet our hiring goal of 100 engineers in 18 months for a new office in London, I was regularly sharing job postings to our teams on my personal LinkedIn page. It's a common practice among hiring managers, recruiters, founders, and leaders – a collaborative effort to broaden the company's reach, regardless of its size.

How to Find Hidden Jobs

LinkedIn Search Technique:‍

• ‍Type "hiring software engineer" in the search bar.
• Click on "posts".
• Sort by "latest."

‍Filter by People, Not Companies:

• Unfortunately, there is no filter for this. Look through the posts and look for individuals rather than companies.
• How do you know?
  1. Look at the profile photo. Companies have logos whereas people have their faces in the photos.
  2. Read the name. As in the example post, the post is from "Dustin", not "Oracle."

Why This Approach?

• Avoid "fake" job listings.
• Personal posts often indicate urgency and genuine priority.
• Sorting by "latest" ensures the job is currently open.

Networking After Finding a Job

1. Apply Directly:

• Use the provided link or email for a direct application.

2. Connect with the Poster:

• Send a connection invitation with a message to the person who posted the job.

3. Sample Connection Message:

• "Hi [Poster's Name],
  I'm [Your Name], and I just applied for the [Job Role] position at [Company]. Excited about the opportunity and looking forward to learning more. Let's connect!"

Write Engaging Messages with ChatGPT:

1. Personalizing Connection Message:

• Sample Prompt: "Write a unique and engaging connection message based on this profile I provide. [Copy & paste poster's profile]"

2. Finding Mutual Interests

• Sample Prompt: "Find mutual interests or connections between my profile and [Poster's Name]'s profile and highlight them in the connection message. [Copy & paste your profile and poster's profile]"

3. With Mutual Connections:

• Sample Prompt: "Craft a connection message for [Poster's Name]. We both have [name of a person] as a mutual connection." [Copy & paste poster's profile]"

Final thoughts

By proactively engaging with hiring managers and recruiters through this approach, you gain a competitive edge in your job search.

Note: To make it easier to copy & paste the profile, consider downloading the poster's profile into a PDF.