Job hunting on LinkedIn: what I told The Media Mentor podcast
I recently joined David Spencer on his podcast, The Media Mentor (Season 2, Episode 9: Making LinkedIn Work For You), for a chat about using LinkedIn to find work. David's audience is mostly people in PR, media, press and broadcast, but the advice holds true whatever sector you're in. If you'd rather listen than read, here’s the episode.
Here's the conversation distilled into the takeaways and actions that matter most if you're job hunting right now.
1. Think networking room, not broadcast platform
LinkedIn changed enormously once Microsoft bought it in 2016, shifting from a place to park your CV to a genuine networking space. The businesses and individuals who do well there treat it like a room full of people, not a stage. If you walk into that room and think about who you'd like to meet and what you'd say to them, LinkedIn starts to make a lot more sense.
Try this: before you write anything, picture the actual room. Who's in it? What would you say to them face to face? Write that.
2. Be active daily, don't post daily
There's a real difference between the two. Posting every single day rarely helps: it doesn't give your last post time to find its audience before you've buried it under a new one. Being active daily, through comments, follows and reactions, keeps you visible to the algorithm and to people, without the burnout of constant content creation.
Try this: aim for a couple of proper posts a week, and top up with five minutes of commenting and engaging on the days in between.
3. Comments are content
This one's underrated. A thoughtful or timely comment can get you real reach and visibility, often more than people expect, and it lets you show your personality and knowledge without having to write a full post. It's also the natural, low-pressure way to start warming up a relationship with someone before you ever think about messaging them directly.
Try this: pick three people or organisations you'd love to work with and leave one genuinely useful comment on their posts this week.
4. Write like a human, especially now
With AI tools everywhere, generic, over-polished posts stand out for the wrong reasons. People (and increasingly, LinkedIn's own systems) recognise the tell-tale patterns of AI-generated writing quickly. If you're applying for anything that involves writing, your posts and comments are effectively a live writing sample. Authenticity isn't just a nice-to-have here, it's proof of capability.
Try this: read your draft back out loud. If it doesn't sound like something you'd actually say, rewrite it until it does.
5. Tell the story, don't post the rant
The posts that genuinely land aren't the polished "top tips" posts, they're the honest, personal ones. If you're experiencing ghosting after interviews, or the process is knocking your confidence, that's worth writing about, but framed as a real experience rather than a vent. People connect with stories, not complaints.
Try this: next time the job hunt gets frustrating, write about how it's actually affected you, not just what annoyed you about it.
6. Know the difference between connecting and following
Don't accept every connection request going. A bigger network isn't automatically a better one. Following someone lets you listen and get a feel for them first; connecting is a two-way street where you're both seeing and engaging with each other's content. Use follow as the low-commitment first step, and connect once there's a genuine reason to.
Try this: before accepting a connection request, check for mutuals and a genuine reason to connect, not just a follow that jumped straight to a request.
7. Do the housekeeping before anything else
Your profile is doing a job before you've said a word. Start with your photo: is it recognisable, current, and appropriate for the room you're trying to be in. Then your headline, where the first 40 characters carry the most weight, so make them count. Your About section is where you get to say more: enough to help the right people reach out, and gently steer away the ones who aren't a fit.
Try this: spend twenty minutes this week reviewing just those three things: photo, headline, about section.
A couple of other things worth knowing: give your posts time to breathe rather than resetting the algorithm daily, and Premium isn't essential for everyone. It depends on whether the free version already covers what you need, or whether the extra data and functionality genuinely earns its keep for your search.
My 10 LinkedIn Tips series of short, snackable, blogs
If you'd like one-to-one help putting any of this into practice, a Super Sixty session is an hour dedicated entirely to your LinkedIn presence and strategy.
David Spencer -
The Media Mentor
The Media Mentor podcast explores how to create effective media CVs, cover letters and have successful job interviews. David looks at changing sectors, how to maximise an internship, the world of media freelancing and everything else that makes up the tough world of job applications and career progression.
David interviews other experts on recruitment but also from media and journalism as well as clients he has helped.
Connect with David on LinkedIn
