How to get your dream job abroad with a LinkedIn profile

LinkedIn is one of the largest professional networks. Thousands of businesses search for new recruits from this network. We will show you how you can set up a professional profile, stand out of the clutter and make yourself visible to companies. This will very likely increase your chance of finding your dream job abroad.

Start by gathering all your information including experiences of work, certificates and recommendations. Once you have everything in order, upload a professional photo of yourself. Keep in mind that you will be somewhat judged on your appearance, so do your best to look professional, tidy and formal. Also try and relate your photo according to the job you are searching for.

*Tip: Only your head and shoulders should be in the photo.

Make sure you update your profile frequently including the most recent skills acquired, jobs done and experience. A lot of times, recruiters just scan your profile so it is important that you communicate clearly your career intentions, why they should choose you and what you are looking for. Use keywords that would make it easy for the recruiters to find you. The summary should consist of your future goals and your experience in brief. Almost in all the industries, languages are a plus, so if you have any, make sure they are visible.

*Tip: See other professional LinkedIn profiles to have an idea what yours should look like.

Join groups that share the same interests, such as expat groups and welcome centres in the country you desire. Choose wisely as the number of groups joined is limited. Most of the time they share job vacancies in the country/area. Apart from that other people on LinkedIn can be valuable contacts and you will have the opportunity to get in contact with them. The next step is to follow the companies you would be interested to work with. They usually also post vacancies and updates about their companies.

Once you got your profile up to date and running, reach out to the companies and people you worked with before. Get recommended by them and in return they will be highlighted as a trustworthy voice. This should be relatively easy to do since it is a Win-Win situation.

*Tip: Help people by recommending them and tell them to recommend you back!

The next step is to get endorsed. Move the skills most appropriate for the job you are looking for on top of your news feed. This will help your job applications.One you are all set up, make sure you stay active and up to date. Get in contact with other people, comment on other people’s links, submit articles and promote your work/self.