When you’ve decided to start giving back and helping to develop the next generation of professionals in your industry, it’s natural to look to colleges and universities for online teaching positions where you can start teaching right away. Using LinkedIn to find online teaching positions is a great way to network with current faculty and administrators at colleges, universities, and training organizations. Other social media platforms are helpful, but LinkedIn is where people need to know your career goals and how your goals will benefit their students.
Building a LinkedIn profile is one of the most important steps in any job search. Even if you have a full-time career and just want to teach one or two classes online, you should build your LinkedIn profile accordingly.
LinkedIn is an online professional networking site that lets you connect with employers, recruiters, and other professionals in your industry. You can use it as a way to showcase and tell the story of your career, or even just to stay up-to-date on what’s happening in your field.
Also note that your students will connect with you on LinkedIn as you start teaching. This is a great opportunity to build your network and share more about careers in your industry.
Create a LinkedIn profile that complements your resume and highlights your existing training and education experience.
Your profile is where you can showcase and tell your career story. Creating a unique experience with every social media platform you join is important, so don’t force yourself to write a profile that outlines your work experience and education. Write about achievements and unique job skills to make sure you stand out.
You should also showcase any previous experience that you already have with any training in your industry. While you may not have any previous classroom or online teaching experience, it’s likely that you have some sort of experience training others in your place of employment, tutoring, mentoring others, or volunteer experiences.
Have you given a training session at your place of employment on a new software that was rolled out? Highlight how you helped put together the outline for the training session, what the expected outcomes were, and how you helped individual participants achieve the desired goal of the training session.
Have you delivered a workshop for Seniors on using the Internet, email, or social media? Highlight how you organized the event, helped the participants feel confident with their use of technology, and what types of hands-on activities you had them do.
Are you the go-to person in your family for any tech-related questions? Highlight your patience working with people newer to technology and the fact that your personality is approachable, and people feel comfortable asking you questions.
Make sure you’re active on the site.
It’s best to be active in the LinkedIn community when using Linkedin to find online teaching positions. You should update your status, share new blog posts, and answer questions on discussion threads. All of these contribute to gaining exposure and making connections with potential employers. Be sure to set up notifications for comments and messages so you’re notified when potential employers contact you.
Connect with recruiters, faculty, and administrators at schools, colleges, and universities.
Connect with people who work at the schools where you’d like to work. You should also connect with people at schools where you’ve never considered working before. The education world is small, and while one school may not have an opportunity for you, someone may think of you based on your LinkedIn connection. If you’ve been posting and sharing information, that keeps you in their minds!
Many schools outsource recruiting, so recruiters may not be employed at your particular school. It’s helpful to do a little research online to find out what recruiting agencies that particular educational institution uses and then connect with those individuals.
Search for higher education administrators and faculty on LinkedIn and connect with them.
This can be a great way to land an interview or job. Instead of sending your resume directly to the company, you contact someone who works there. He or she is likelier to notice you and maybe even recommend you for the job.
LinkedIn’s messaging system lets you contact a recruiter or hiring manager directly through the site. The message will be sent to the recruiter or hiring manager’s inbox, just like an email.
Reply to messages quickly.
When you’re looking for an online teaching job, recruiters will reach out to you with potential opportunities for positions that may be harder to fill. IT, Cybersecurity, Software Development, and other technical courses are often difficult to fill with a qualified online instructor, so recruiters are very proactive in reaching out to qualified individuals like you. Be sure to check your messages regularly and respond as soon as possible. If a recruiter finds you on LinkedIn, he or she wants to know that you are actively looking for work.
You can also view the recruitment ads companies post on LinkedIn to see if they have an opening that suits your skills. Recruiters use these ads to find or fill job openings, so you can also use them to look for leads.
Follow educational institutions and other companies to stay up-to-date on what’s happening in the future of the workforce.
By keeping up to date on what’s happening with the future of the workforce, you will see where there are some major gaps in the workforce. You will be able to speak well to the current needs and how important your particular skill set is for students to learn.
Following companies and educational institutions you are interested in working for allows you to see some jobs and positions they are hiring for. Colleges and universities frequently post their openings before the beginning of each academic term. Private institutions that offer IT training are often hiring year-round. This is a great way to know if you might fit into one of their openings.
Share content from others in your industry for visibility.
You may want to share content from others in your specialty. This is a great way to get your name out there and in front of hiring managers. You can also use the “Reply” option under one of their posts or articles and follow up with your insight on the matter. People will see you as someone who contributes in this area of interest and will want to connect with you.
Reach out to people you know in your field.
This is a great way to keep your network intact while also helping to expand it. Reach out to the people you know, especially those connected to the educational institutions where you’re interested in teaching online. If they aren’t a recruiter or HR professional at a school that interests you, ask them if they would be willing to make an introduction.
Share your recent accomplishments with people in your field
You can share what’s been going on in your career by posting updates about a promotion or accomplishment. This is another great way to use LinkedIn to find online teaching positions and show hiring managers at educational institutions that you are dependable and driven. It also shows that you are dedicated to your discipline and interested in helping educate others about important topics in your field.
