LinkedIn rolls out new job search features to make it easier to find relevant opportunities

LinkedIn is rolling out new tools that are designed to help people find relevant job opportunities, the company announced on Wednesday. A new “Job Collections” feature will allow users to expand their job options by exploring collections of relevant jobs across a variety of industries and companies that they may have been unaware of. Plus, the platform is launching a new “Preferences” page that makes it easier to select and manage your preferences.

In a blog post, LinkedIn noted that job applications are up an average of 16% per person per job, and that competition is heating up. The platform’s new Job Collections feature aims to make it easier for people to find opportunities that are a fit for them. To get started with Job Collections, you have to visit the Jobs tab on LinkedIn. From there, you have to look for “Explore with Job Collections.” Next, you can click on any of the collections that align with your interests. For example, you can look at jobs that offer remote work or good parental leave.

You also can look at industry-specific collections, such as food & beverage, healthcare, media, pro sports and more. If you’re someone who has always worked in large companies but want to try something new, you can choose to look at job opportunities at startups and small businesses.

As for the new preferences page, LinkedIn says users can now manage their preferences in one place in order to ensure the best possible chances for an ideal job match. The new preferences page can be located at the top of the Jobs tab on mobile and on the left rail on desktop. Once you set your preferences, LinkedIn will highlight them in green on every job details page so you can quickly determine if it aligns with your ideals.

The preferences you can set include employment type (full-time, part-time, contract, etc.) and location type (remote, hybrid, on-site). Plus, you can set a minimum pay preference in you’re in the United States. LinkedIn plans to add more preferences to the page in the future.

LinkedIn is also introducing a new “I’m Interested” button that allows you to privately express interest in working for a company without having to apply for a specific role. You can do so even if there aren’t any open roles at the company. After you have signaled your interest, recruiters at the company may look at your profile when looking for candidates. LinkedIn recommends expressing your interest for your top 10-20 companies.

Today’s announcements come as LinkedIn is beginning to roll out a new AI-powered LinkedIn Premium experience that is designed to help people quickly assess if a job opening is a good fit for them. The tool can also help users identify the best way to position themselves for any job, while also learning more about the company and industry.

LinkedIn is rolling out these new tools as a new wave of layoffs have hit the tech industry. Last week, Google laid off over 1,000 employees across its Google Assistant division and the team that manages Pixel, Nest and Fitbit hardware. Also last week, Audible laid off 5% of its workforce, Discord laid off 17% of its staff and Amazon laid off “several hundreds” of employees at Prime Video and MGM Studios.

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