How To Use LinkedIn’s Career Explorer Tool To Succeed in Your Career Path
LinkedIn has a tool that not many people know about that can help people find the right connections and jobs to move up in their chosen career path. It’s called the LinkedIn Career Explorer. After some time using the program myself I thought it would be nice to develop a “how to” guide for others who may want to use it.
What is Career Explorer?
Career Explorer is a tool that allows you to;
- Discover the career path to your ultimate destination
- Guide you to the right people to start making connections with
- Show you career openings in the field you are looking at
The tool works exceptionally well for those just starting their career or are still early in it. If you are a high level executive, there may still be some applications to this, but you would take some discovery on your part.
The way to get to LinkedIn’s career management tool is through this link. www.linkedin.com/careerexplorer
When you get there the screen will look similar to the one below.
As you can see, this interface automatically signs into your LinkedIn profile and works below the surface of the whole LinkedIn system. In the middle you will see different prompts to help the tool map out a career path. Down below you will see the steps along the path to get there.
Step 1: Map Your Education and Industry
The first thing the Career Explorer will want you to do is to tell them what kind of education background you have and the industry you would like to work in. They do this to make it applicable to everyone from college grads to those who are already in the industry but would like to find the next best steps and connections.
For this demonstration I’m going to make a Public Relations Career Path. I put in a marketing bachelor’s degree expecting to work in Public Relations and Communications.
Step 2: Choose the Next Position You Are Seeking
LinkedIn will automatically suggest some popular titles that typically describe someone coming from that degree. This is helpful if you don’t know what titles you should be exploring for your career path or if you want to have a general idea of what is typical for that point of experience and education.
If none of the paths listed by LinkedIn fit, you can search for a different title you have in mind. LinkedIn has a great database of career positions.
For our purposes I’m going to pick Marketing Assistant.
Step 3: Continue picking additional positions for the remaining steps on the path.
For this demonstration I picked Marketing Coordinator, Brand Manager, and Senior Brand Manager.
Step 4: Take a Tour of Your Career Management Dashboard
The top half looks like the image above. On the left you will see some of the top job openings that are available in the position you listed, along with the connections you may have with people in those companies. If you don’t like the jobs that show up there, don’t worry. I’ll show you how to refine it to your preferences.
Another cool thing about the tool is the top bar. If you take a look at it, you will see the typical salary the position receives but if you hover over it you will see a full drop down of rich content on that position.
You will see the education, time in position, forecast, salary range, and people that have similar connections that you can reach out to who are already in that job or a similar one. This is really helpful to know who to reach out to, since building relationships with those people will give you a better chance of getting into that career. Who better to seek out as a mentor than someone who has successfully landed a career in the path you are seeking?
If you continue scrolling down you will see the next half. On the left is a map that shows the age distribution and geographical location for the first position you listed. So if I’m 25 years old and looking for a job as a Marketing Assistant, the midwest, Utah, and Nevada are probably the least likely to have suitable jobs.
On the right are some recommended readings for the industry you are looking into. Although you can probably do your own search to find good books, the ones they recommend are a good start.
Step 5: Customize the Job Search
If you look at the middle of the top section again, you’ll notice a big yellow button that says, search for jobs. If you click on it you will be able to further customize the job search in LinkedIn. For my purposes I wanted to find something close to Phoenix. I change the zip code and how many miles to search within. Now the choices are much more customized for what I’d be interested in.
As you can see, TriStar is hiring and the position fits the skill set really well.
Step 6: Take advantage of what LinkedIn offers
This tool is only designed to get you started-you still have to put in some considerable effort of your own to make the progress you’d like.
However, the Career Explorer will definitely help you;
- Discover the career path to your ultimate destination
- Guide you to the right people to start making connections with
- Show you career openings in the field you are looking at
I’d recommend the following next steps.
- If you are a current job seeker, be sure to play around with the job tool in LinkedIn. If LinkedIn doesn’t list any jobs that would be a fit then use the position titles you discovered to search online through other job portals.
- Start making a list of connections you’d like to make that can help you move up further in your career path based on the suggestions the Career Explorer provided. Start with anyone you may already be linked to. If none of those work, I’d suggest looking for the connections that have a 2 next to them; meaning they know someone you know. Find out who they know and contact that person you know to learn about the connection you are trying to make. Then find a way you can provide some value for the new connection and see if your friend or acquaintance can introduce you.
- Provide something helpful for the new connection in your introduction and ask politely if they’d mind giving you some advice in finding a career in their field. Most people are flattered to share more about what they do.
- Get more experience. As you continue to build connections and look for jobs, think of ways you can gain experience in that field. One excellent tool even beginners can use is blogs. Do some research in your field and start sharing advice, how to’s, best lists, etc. This is something you can do even if you currently don’t have the chance to do a lot of work in the field you are trying to get into.
How About You?
Let me know what you think of this tutorial and if you have any other career management questions or how to’s you’d like to see. Share in the comments below.
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