If you have a profile on LinkedIn®, you are already aware of the strength in what I find to be the most powerful social media tool available for career search. LinkedIn networks over 40 million professionals with more than half of these professionals living outside of the United States. The number professionals joining LinkedIn on a daily basis is phenomenal!

Searching for a job online is a tedious and daunting task .The truth is, your chances are always better when you have a connection. This is where LinkedIn excels because it can help you create these connections online. Using the Job search tools on LinkedIn is very intuitive. Simply click the “jobs” tab at the top to get the ball rolling. If you could use a little “how to” help, here is the link to the LinkedIn job searching tutorial which I find very helpful http://learn.linkedin.com/training_source/jobseek/Job%20Seeking_demo.htm.

Ok, so now you know how to do a basic job search on LinkedIn. Now, let me show you a few secrets below on how to use Groups on LinkedIn to really give your job search a shot of adrenaline. I have known several professionals who have found a job through LinkedIn Groups. Through my interaction in groups, I have often been approached by recruiters. Here is how you can get the same attention.

1. FIND A GROUP – Target the type of career you are seeking and search groups for people whose connections can get you networking with the right people. Start by clicking Search Groups in the drop down search section on the top right of LinkedIn and enter a keyword. For example, if you are an accounting professional enter the word accounting in the groups search 938 groups pop up. Let’s assume you are an accounting professional who wants to work in Dallas, TX. Add the keyword Dallas to this search and it narrows to 5 groups. You can then easily read the descriptions of the group and make sure to check the number of group members because if there are only a few people in the group it won’t give you a great opportunity to build your network. Once you find a group that looks like a good target click “Join this group. “ Some groups will accept your request immediately and some will check your profile to make sure you are a good match.

2. JOIN A GROUP – Repeat the process above with groups that may expose you to your targeted prospects. Consider joining groups with your special interests, your education and you may even find that specific companies you are interested in working for, have groups. Send requests to join all of these groups. You are limited to joining 50 groups total but to start it is probably a good idea to limit it to 10 or 20 groups, at the most, to make sure you have the time to participate in each group and bring value to your group members.

3. EXCLUSIVE JOB LISTINGS – Once you have been accepted into a LinkedIn Group, take some time to explore it. The first place you will want to click is the tab labeled “Jobs”. This is where jobs that pertain to the specialties of the groups are posted, free of charge, by job members. Guess what? Because these job listings are free, this may be the only place this job is listed and you already know it is specific to the interests of the group! You can also post under jobs within a group that you are looking for a position in. Make sure to keep this listing short and post your experience and talents in a catchy fashion.

4. DIRECT CONNECT – In LinkedIn you can usually only directly contact people who are in your network but when you join a group you have the ability to communicate directly with almost all members of that group unless they have stipulated that group members not be able to contact them which people rarely do. Use this opportunity to reach out to the people you want to meet, explain what help you would like and always explain what you can do for them.

5. GET NOTICED – To really get noticed on groups, you need to offer value to your group members. This means commenting on discussions with valuable information and posting your own discussions and news articles of interest. I advise posting or commenting in each group about once a week to keep your visibility up without being overzealous and make sure to read the guidelines to posting on each group usually posted at the top of the discussion section.

6. GET WORK WHILE SEARCHING FOR A JOB – Yet another benefit to being a participant in the LinkedIn community is that you will often find someone, within a group, looking for extra help or offering temporary contractual employment for an individual with specific knowledge in the discussions area. Make certain to peruse discussions for this and comment to respond or reply privately. Sometimes these temporary contractual positions can turn into full time gigs!

These tips will increase your chances of attaining a good job fit in a quicker fashion and I would love to hear about your experience!