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LinkedIn co-founder: These tweaks will make your job application stand out

Erin Fuchs
·Deputy Managing Editor
·3 min read

The U.S. economy added 638,000 jobs last month, but the 6.9% unemployment rate remains far above pre-recession levels — meaning a lot of Americans are out there looking for jobs.

In a new interview with Yahoo Finance, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman shared three pieces of advice for job hunters seeking to stand out as millions of people apply for work online amid the coronavirus. First, they should provide professional references with links to their LinkedIn profiles. They should also consider creating a video explaining why they want the job. And of course, they should network, a piece of advice that’s not surprising coming from the co-founder of LinkedIn.

That second tip could be particularly beneficial during the coronavirus pandemic, when many remote workers have become accustomed to interacting with others via a video screen. “In this time of COVID, it is very useful, right?” Hoffman told Yahoo Finance’s editor-in-chief, Andy Serwer. “Because people are sitting watching screens all the time.”

“So record a little video about like, why you're interested in this job, you know who you are,” added Hoffman, a partner at venture capital firm Greylock Partners. “And here's my link to my LinkedIn profile or wherever you're, you're kind of storing your professional credentials. I think that's very helpful.”

Reid Hoffman, co-founder of Linkedin and venture capitalist, arrives at the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, U.S., July 9, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Reid Hoffman, co-founder of Linkedin and venture capitalist, arrives at the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, U.S., July 9, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Many workplace interactions do indeed happen over a screen these days. In April, a Gartner survey of 334 HR leaders found that 86% were conducting virtual interviews during the pandemic. And in September, a Robert Half survey of more than 2,800 senior managers showed that 75% had conducted remote interviews and onboarding sessions to hire during the pandemic.

It’s not just hiring that’s remote. Thirty-three percent of U.S. workers with jobs other than teachers were “always” working remotely as of mid-September, according to a Gallup survey of 2,730 adults. If job seekers can introduce themselves on a video, they can give prospective employers an idea of what they’ll be like on endless daily Zoom (ZM) calls or Google (GOOG, GOOGL) Meets.

Job hunting advice from ‘the king of connections’

Of course, the pandemic has not changed the importance of networking when it comes to searching for jobs. Back in 2016, LinkedIn posted the results of a survey of over 3,000 people showing that 85% had gotten their jobs through networking. With today’s high unemployment rate, networking may be even more important than ever.

“Always try to use your network so that people understand that you are, you know, hard working, you know, a collaborative [colleague] and other kinds of things, which are the attributes you generally only get through references or network,” Hoffman told Yahoo Finance.

Hoffman spoke to Serwer in an episode of “Influencers with Andy Serwer,” a weekly interview series with leaders in business, politics, and entertainment.

Hoffman, a member of the so-called PayPal (PYPL) mafia, helped start LinkedIn from his living room in 2002. Microsoft (MSFT) bought LinkedIn for $26.2 billion in 2016, and the company boasts that it’s the world’s biggest professional network with 722 million members.

It’s not a coincidence that somebody like Hoffman founded a massive social network for professionals. A New York Times profile of Hoffman back in 2011 called him “a king of connections,” and his current profile on Greylock notes that he “builds networks” to create iconic businesses.

Erin Fuchs is deputy managing editor at Yahoo Finance.

Read more:

Trump’s refusal to concede ‘hurts the economy’: LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman

Kohl’s made ‘unimaginable decisions’ to get through COVID-19 pandemic: Kohl’s CEO

Citi CEO Corbat: Negative interest rates create ‘strange’ bubbles

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