September 23, 2021
LinkedIn has more than 1,000 job openings right now, and you don’t have to be a career expert to apply for one, according to the company’s Director of Inclusion Loni Olazaba, who spoke to Forbes recently.
The job-search platform is looking to hire for a variety of talent, from technical sourcers to member-engagement consultants.
About 89% of LinkedIn employees would recommend the company to a friend, and the company ranked No. 13 on the 2021 best places to work by employee choice, according to job-rating platform Glassdoor. In July, LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky announced the company would forgo its “one-size-fits-all” work model and make most positions remote or hybrid.
LinkedIn’s Olazaba told Forbes that the company is focused on hiring people managers, also known as engineering leaders. “LinkedIn’s culture is our unique differentiator,” Olazaba said. “It’s what sets us apart and defines who we are and shapes what we aspire to be.”
Olazaba shared how anyone can land a role at the job-search platform. To start with, most candidates will have to go through four fundamental steps:
- Applying for the position,
- Passing a phone screening with a recruiter,
- A first interview with a hiring manager to go over technical skills, and
- One or two (previously) on-site interviews, which are now conducted remotely.
While the LinkedIn interview process typically takes three to four weeks, Olazaba said the hot job market has in some cases shortened it to two. Over the course of these two to four weeks, candidates will go through multiple phone screenings and—a process that has been made entirely remote because of the ongoing pandemic, but the process still will vary based on the job for which the applicant has applied. Some teams add components to this process, including skills tests or case studies, Olazaba said.
“It is important to us that we respond to the timing without compromising the quality of our evaluation process so we approach each situation accordingly,” she said.
Job seekers should be familiar with LinkedIn and the company culture before beginning the hiring process. One way for job seekers to show familiarity with the platform is taking LinkedIn’s skills assessments or learning courses, Olazaba said.
LinkedIn skills assessments are short quizzes that test users’ knowledge of certain desirable skills in the technical, business, and design fields. If users pass the assessment, they receive a badge on their LinkedIn profile that is visible to other users and employers. LinkedIn learning courses also provide certification upon completion and can be used to teach new skills or refresh old ones, Olazaba told Forbes.
“In addition to hard skills, it’s important to showcase your soft skills like communication and leadership during the interview process as well,” she said.
Applicants to LinkedIn should be familiar with the company’s five pillars that define its culture and six values that drive its work, and be able to demonstrate their ability to match these principles, Olazaba said. The five pillars are transformation, integrity, collaboration, humor, and results. The six values are members first; relationships matter; be open, honest, and constructive; inspire excellence; take intelligent risks; act like an owner of the LinkedIn community; and embody diversity, inclusion, and belonging.
LinkedIn values collaboration and humor, she said, so candidates should be open and candid during the recruitment process.
“Each role at LinkedIn has a different skill set needed,” she said, “so take a look at job descriptions to see what role fits best with your current skills.”
Research contact: @LinkedIn
