How to Use the LinkedIn JobsInsider

By Joel Elad

Because more and more people are using LinkedIn to get the inside track on their job searches, the folks at LinkedIn developed the JobsInsider tool that works with the major job search engines by scanning a job listing for the employer’s name and then providing a summary of statistics of employees who work at that company and how they’re connected to a given LinkedIn user.

LinkedIn has incorporated the JobsInsider tool into its browser toolbars, making it an automatic benefit. After all, you can’t search a job site like Monster.com without a Web browser, right? The toolbars are designed to augment a web search with LinkedIn information, and so is JobsInsider, which makes it a logical addition to the toolbar.

Your job search is a job unto itself, so any tool that can help you do your “job” is definitely an asset. JobsInsider helps expand your regular job search by giving you the insight of your LinkedIn network and job database to make you a better and more effective job applicant.

Some of the benefits of the JobsInsider tool are as follows.

It’s automatic: After you install the browser toolbar, the JobsInsider tool activates itself automatically anytime you use your Web browser to navigate to any major job site, like Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com, HotJobs, craigslist, SimplyHired, Dice, or Vault.
It’s informative: You get several pieces of valuable information that update automatically depending on the job listing you’re seeing.

You see how many people work at the target company who are in your extended network, how many people are friends of your connections (which means they’re second-degree connections), and how many people live in your region, (like the San Francisco Bay area or the Greater San Diego area). Clicking any of those links opens a window to LinkedIn with a search result showing you their profile summaries.
It’s free: No monthly cost, no registration cost, no setup fee. Regardless of the status of your LinkedIn account, this tool is free to install and use.
It saves you time: As you search for a job, instead of stopping your search from a job site to go to LinkedIn to find a contact or more information, you can access that information concurrently through new panes or windows opening.

If you’re interested in using JobsInsider, you need to download one of the LinkedIn Browser toolbars and install it on your computer because JobsInsider is available only as part of a Browser toolbar.

After you install the toolbar, whenever you go to one of the main job search sites (like Monster.com, or CareerBuilder.com) a side pane or new window opens, where you can basically start a LinkedIn job search.

For example, suppose that you’re on Monster.com looking for a project manager position. After you start a search and come up with a results, you see the JobsInsider function come up.

More importantly, however, when you click an individual job posting, you see the JobsInsider pane fill in with information on who you know at the hiring company and how many people you’re connected to who can help.

If you can’t easily identify the employer from the job listing, or if the company’s name is withheld or confidential, no information shows up in the JobsInsider pane.