By Dr. Sarah Hildebrand

Searching for jobs can be a time-consuming process. One way to save time is to set “job alerts” on popular job search engines and let the jobs come to you. Instead of manually searching for jobs each day, you will be automatically notified when a job of interest is posted.

One great place to set job alerts is on LinkedIn. Although job alerts may be set on other websites like Indeed, Glassdoor, or even Google, LinkedIn is an especially good place to look for jobs because it is also the world’s largest professional networking site. While it is easy to submit applications via any of these job search engines, you will greatly increase your chances of receiving an interview if you take the time to contact the person who posted the job or other connections you might have to the company such as previous coworkers, classmates, or alumni of the schools you’ve attended. LinkedIn is the only site that provides information on who these people are, as well as a way for you to contact them.

Setting job alerts on LinkedIn is also quick and easy to do in just a few steps:

Step 1: Log in to your LinkedIn account.

Step 2: From your homepage, search for a job title, company of interest, or skill in the search bar at the top of the screen. You may also want to narrow your location to the New York City Metropolitan area in the location search bar.

Step 3: This initial search will provide you with many different types of results related to your search term—not only jobs, but also events, people, groups, and more. To narrow your search to job postings, click on the “Jobs” filter just beneath the search bar.

Step 4: You will now be presented with a list of job ads related to your search. To set a job alert, toggle the “Job Alert” switch from off to on. The switch is located at the top of the list of job postings, just beneath the list of filters. Congratulations—your job alert is set!

Once you’ve set your job alert, you can specify how often you’d like to be alerted (daily or weekly), as well as if you’d like to be notified by email, LinkedIn notification, or both. You can also delete a job alert if it’s no longer relevant to you.

You can manage your job alerts by selecting the “Jobs” tab at the top of your LinkedIn page to the right of the search bar and then selecting “Job Alerts” from the left-hand menu. From the “Job Alerts” page, you can also toggle on LinkedIn’s “Job Recommendations.” In addition to notifying you of the jobs you’ve set alerts for, LinkedIn will now also recommend other jobs for you based on your alerts, activity on LinkedIn, and profile. This can help you find out about jobs and companies that you might not know about otherwise.

You can set as many job alerts as you like for different position titles, companies of interest, or even for particular skills you’d like to use in your future job. Don’t forget to narrow your job alerts based on location. Best of luck with your search!