LinkedIn works as both a professional network and a job-search tool: some applications are submitted on the platform, while others take you to an employer’s website. A profile can help showcase experience, save roles and create alerts; you can also browse and apply for some vacancies as a guest. Before treating a message as an opportunity, check who posted the job and where its link leads.
To open an account, go to LinkedIn.com and select Join now. LinkedIn’s official guide asks for your real first and last name, email address and password, or lets you sign up with Google or Apple; additional steps may follow. Use an email address you control and complete the profile accurately: roles, dates, education, skills and a short introduction. Do not create multiple personal profiles. A clear profile helps a recruiter understand your experience, but it cannot guarantee interviews or offers.
In the Jobs tab, search by role, skill or phrase and add a location; then adjust filters and turn on an alert for new listings. LinkedIn distinguishes Easy Apply, which lets you submit inside the platform, from Apply, which may take you to a company or third-party website. If you enable Open to Work, choose who can see it: all members, people using Recruiter, or only you. LinkedIn says it takes steps to hide the signal from recruiters at your current company, but it cannot guarantee complete privacy.
Before sharing documents, verify the company page, the recruiter’s email and the vacancy on the employer’s official careers site. A verification badge is a helpful signal, not an absolute guarantee. LinkedIn lists requests for money or passwords, checks (cheques) followed by refund requests, pressure to move immediately to WhatsApp or Telegram, and offers that sound too good to be true as warning signs. Do not send bank details, your Social Security number or identity documents before a legitimate offer and confirmation of who is asking for them.
If a listing looks fake, LinkedIn lets you open it, select the More menu and choose Report this job; you can also report profiles and company pages. The FTC warns that scammers impersonate well-known companies and circulate offers through text messages and legitimate platforms. A request for payment to obtain a job is not a normal hiring step. Stop the exchange, verify the employer through a phone number on its official website, and report the attempt to LinkedIn and the FTC. Do not treat a stream of online praise as proof that a vacancy is genuine; cross-check it through an official channel.
Confirm each step on the official website and keep a record of your applications.
Sources & references
Sources for the information and reporting discussed in this guide.
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Official website ↗
Primary source
LinkedIn Help · Accessed October 5, 2026
Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.
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Official website ↗
Primary source
LinkedIn Help · Accessed October 5, 2026
Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.
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Official website ↗
Primary source
LinkedIn Help · Accessed October 5, 2026
Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.
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Official website ↗
Primary source
LinkedIn Help · Accessed October 5, 2026
Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.
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Official website ↗
Primary source
LinkedIn Help · Accessed October 5, 2026
Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.
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Official website ↗
Primary source
Federal Trade Commission · Accessed October 5, 2026
Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.
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Official website ↗
Primary source
Federal Trade Commission · Accessed October 5, 2026
Primary source for identity, concept, menu, and contact details.