Discovering Part-Time Jobs Abroad through LinkedIn: A Guide

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I am a career consultant and recruiter: I help people build their careers and find work, and companies – select employees.

My regular clients are two large American companies. And every month I receive several offers for cooperation from organizations all over the world. Clients find me on LinkedIn – a social network for business contacts.

I will explain how to use LinkedIn effectively, how to identify clients to avoid, and how to create a profile that encourages clients to contact you and propose collaborations.

How does LinkedIn work?

How to fill out a LinkedIn profile and find clients. Instructions for the social network.

LinkedIn is an international social network like Facebook. But there is a difference: it is intended only for job search and recruitment, exchanging experience and establishing business connections.”

In May 2020, there were already more than 690 million users from 200 countries registered on this social network. It includes representatives of all major foreign companies: CEOs, owners, middle managers, and ordinary employees. Many of them are looking for people to solve various tasks. If you are a professional in your field and know English, finding a foreign job on LinkedIn will not be difficult.

“LinkedIn” is similar to other social networks: the user has a personal page, a news feed and contacts with whom they can chat.

Registration on LinkedIn is free, but there are paid plans that offer additional features. For example, a premium job seeker profile allows you to access advanced analytics for your personal page views, get career advice, and write directly to recruiters – on the free plan, you must first add them as friends. Such a premium profile costs $29.99 per month, with the first 30 days free. I tried using the paid plan, but realized that these options were not necessary for me: I can find extra work without them.

*This is my profile on LinkedIn – this is how potential employers and clients see me*

“This is the main page of LinkedIn: a standard interface for social networks. In the center is the news feed, and at the top, there is a control panel with a search bar. If you click on the My Network tab, you will go to the list of business contacts, and on the Jobs tab, you can search for job vacancies.

There are several ways to find the right people and expand your business network on LinkedIn:

During registration, the website will ask for access to your email. If you allow it, it will find your acquaintances, friends, and colleagues among the users.
Using the recommendation system: it suggests making friends with people who, in its opinion, will be interesting and useful to you. Typically, these are former and current colleagues, professionals with similar positions and skill sets, people who graduated from your university.
Through a search bar and a set of filters.

Clients and employers use the search system. They search for people by keywords: for example, by profession, certificate name or specialized program that the performer should be able to work with. Therefore, it is important to indicate all your skills and abilities in the profile so that you can be found.

For example, the recruiter wants to headhunt a Moscow-based business analyst from Novartis. He enters “business analyst” in the search, location Moscow, Russian Federation and company Novartis. The system analyzes user profiles and displays a list where the most suitable candidates are at the top.

At the top of the list will be people who fully meet the search criteria. If there are several such candidates, the system will distribute them according to a number of features.

Common communication circle with a recruiter

First come the recruiter’s friends – this is the first circle of communication, then friends of friends – the second circle, followed by people from the third circle and, finally, everyone else.

Expand your business network. The more friends you have on LinkedIn, the closer you are to a potential client or employer. LinkedIn begins to effectively work when you accumulate more than 500 contacts in the first circle.

Information in the profile

The more detailed you fill out your profile, the higher you will be in the search results. Don’t hesitate to take the time to add information about yourself: it’s important. I will tell you later how to correctly fill out your profile.

Confirmed skills

You indicate the skills that you consider important in your profile yourself. Other users can confirm that you can actually do what you wrote by clicking on the plus sign next to the skill. Of the two profiles that are approximately equal, the one with more confirmed skills will be higher.

A skill is worthless without confirmation. Don’t hesitate to ask people from your contact list to evaluate your skills and don’t ignore their similar requests.

For example, a recruiter wants to hire a business analyst from “Novartis”. The girl who currently holds the desired position is at the top of the search results. However, her colleagues who no longer hold the requested position are ranked second and third. The label “2nd” indicates that this person belongs to the second degree of connection: they have a mutual friend with the recruiter.

Here are my three main skills. Career guidance has been confirmed by 55 people, career development by 48 people, and coaching by 46 people. Skills with fewer ratings are listed below and broken down into groups: industry knowledge, interpersonal skills, and languages.

How I joined LinkedIn and how much I earned there

I registered on LinkedIn in 2007 when I worked for a large recruitment agency. I selected personnel for various companies through Russian websites like “HeadHunter” and “Superjob”.

Often, clients wanted to hire professionals from specific organizations or specialists with a very narrow profile. Such people, as a rule, were not looking for work on job sites. I had to find out their names and surnames through difficult means, guess their email addresses, and use spy methods to connect with them on their work phone.

When I learned about “LinkedIn”, I was very surprised: it turns out that it’s possible to quickly “reach out” to many highly skilled professionals and managers without all these tricks. I found people on “LinkedIn” who were hunted by almost all employers and easily filled complex vacancies.

In 2009, I left the staffing agency and got a job as a career consultant at another company: I started teaching people how to find a job. I updated my profile on LinkedIn with the new position and shared my experience. At the time, I didn’t even think about part-time jobs abroad, but an employee from the American company REA found my profile and offered me to become their representative in Russia.

REA clients are international companies that relocate their employees from one country to another. This is called relocation. REA consultants provide psychological comfort for the employee during the move and help their family adapt to their new location. I helped find jobs for foreign spouses who were relocating to Russia. On average, I earned $1000 for each relocation, which was a good addition to my main income. I worked with REA for 7 years and earned $10,000 during that time.

At the same time, I decided to position myself as an IT recruiter. I redesigned my profile on LinkedIn, specified the key words and marked in the settings that I was open to offers. This field is in demand: I started receiving regular requests for cooperation from foreign companies that were looking for developers, web analysts, designers and internet marketers. I received compensation for my services: several months’ salary for the specialist found.

In 2017, I moved from Russia to Slovenia. Cooperation with REA had to be discontinued: it was essential for them to have a consultant living in Russia. In 2019, the international company Randstad RiseSmart found me on LinkedIn and offered to become their representative in Slovenia. This organization helps its clients – other companies – to employ their employees when they are laid off. This help is called outplacement. I agreed, we signed a contract and we are still cooperating.

In 2020, an American company approached me with a project on labor legislation analytics and personnel recruitment processes in Slovenia. I had to verify their data and make corrections if necessary. I managed to do it in an hour and earned $50. Now I work with the same company on a more complex and expensive analytical project.

These types of collaboration offers regularly come to me on LinkedIn. In this case, the company director offers remote work as a freelance recruiter. We talked a little on messenger, but didn’t agree on the payment.

*And this is an email from Deniz – my future boss at REA. All communication is in English, so it’s worth brushing up on the language if you don’t know it well.*

Sometimes long-term cooperation starts with small and quick tasks. So even if you are focused on finding permanent clients, it is not worth refusing any one-time offers.

Thanks to LinkedIn, I have already received $25,000 from foreign clients – and I continue to work with them. This is a nice addition to my income. Moreover, I do not agree to everything, but only choose interesting offers.

How to find clients on LinkedIn

There are two strategies for finding clients: passive and active. With an active strategy, it is necessary to constantly monitor job vacancies and respond to them. Or act smarter: find the right people in the right companies and write them “cold” letters offering your services.

How to find remote job vacancies on “LinkedIn”:

Go to the Jobs section: on the main panel, click on the portfolio icon.
In the “Location” field, instead of the name of the country or city, write Remote to see only remote job options.
Select the necessary vacancies by keywords. For example, if you are a graphic designer, type graphic designer in the search bar.
If you need to fine-tune your search, use filters. For example, to select only temporary jobs, apply the temporary filter.

But an active strategy is difficult because a lot of time and effort is spent on searching for job vacancies, responding, sending out letters and resumes. I prefer a passive strategy: becoming more visible to clients so that they can find me and offer me work themselves. To do this, I only need to spend time setting up my profile once. Then I can focus on other tasks, and job offers will come in the background mode.

Here is what an effectively configured profile provides:

You are more often found by keywords.
You appear in the top search results.
The website recommends your profile to other people.

All of this significantly increases the chances that potential customers and employers will notice you themselves. I may not log in to LinkedIn for weeks, but I still regularly receive offers. I’ll tell you how to achieve this.

There are over 10 million job openings on LinkedIn. To choose the ones that interest you, use filters. For example, to find options for remote part-time work as a recruiter, I typed “recruiter” in the search bar and instead of city and country, I specified “remote.” Then I went to the “All filters” menu and selected the “temporary” filter.

How to correctly set up a profile on LinkedIn

Fill out your profile in English – it is the main language of the website. A user’s profile consists of many elements, but I will focus on the most important ones: the headline, summary, skills, and job search block. If you format them correctly, you can become much more visible to clients.

Headline

This is the main part of the profile, along with the name and photo. This line is visible in search results and recommendations. A potential client will read it and decide whether to visit your profile.

The title length should not exceed 120 characters. On mobile devices and in search results, not all text is displayed, so make sure the most important information comes first. A successful title answers the question of who you are and how you can help.

Think carefully about what you want to be associated with by the client. I believe that the headline should convey your unique career advantage. Finding it is not an easy task.

When I was deciding what to write in the headline, I studied the profiles of career consultants from Russia, the USA and Europe with similar experience. Then I started to think about what sets me apart from them. Thus the headline “Russian career coach with American expertise working from Slovenia” was born. With it, I emphasize my knowledge of at least three job markets – Russian, American and Slovenian – and position myself as a career coach.

Formulations are very important: one unfortunate word can make a headline ineffective. For example, in the Russian language, the word “coach” is discredited by a large number of amateurs. Therefore, if I am looking for clients in Russia, I call myself a consultant.

Right under the photo, name, and surname is the headline. A bit lower is the summary block. It works like this: the employer looks at your photo, then reads the headline. If they are interested in you, they will also study the summary.

If the headline is too long and doesn’t fit in the window, the system will cut it off. This can make it unclear who the person is and what they have to offer. Advice: write brief headlines and place the most important information at the beginning.

Sarah wrote in the headline that she is the founder and CEO of SPANX. I don’t know what this company does, so I can’t quickly decide if Sarah is interesting to me. I advise you to only indicate the name of the company in the headline if everyone knows about it.

Here is a better title, although it’s too long, so “LinkedIn” shortened it. It’s immediately clear how this person can be useful: he helps you get a good job. There’s also a unique advantage: you won’t have to send your resume to every employer and apply for vacancies. Perhaps Austin has direct access to recruiters or knows some trick.

Summary – About.

This block can be very large – up to 2600 characters, so LinkedIn hides its main part under the “see more” link. If you view the profile from a computer, the first 270-320 characters are visible. And in the mobile version of the site, you can only see a snippet of 20-25 characters.

In the summary, you can show creativity, display an individual style, tell your story, and mention personal details.

I divide the summary block into three parts:

Professional value proposition – it is also called an elevator pitch. It is a short answer to the request to tell about yourself, which explains your usefulness and uniqueness to the client.

Specific achievements: no more than five.

Call to action.

The summary should be filled with keywords that are characteristic of your professional field. To create a strong summary, I recommend studying the profiles of other specialists – your competitors. Enter keywords in the search that you should be searched and found under. Look at the profiles that are at the top of the search: they are mostly correctly filled out, so they should be the ones to focus on.

Here’s how I created my summary. At the beginning of the section, I listed five keywords that clients will use to find me. They accurately reflect my specialization and correspond to Western terminology: career coaching, resume creation, career transitions, LinkedIn trainer, and outplacement. It’s important to use precisely the terms used in the professional environment, rather than their synonyms. I therefore checked the phrasing in job postings and what other experts write in their summaries.

Then I briefly told my story: what I did before and what I’m doing now. The story should match the client’s requests: if you’re looking for a part-time job in web design, there’s no need to boast about your culinary talents. For example, I told them that I’ve been working in the field of personnel selection and career coaching for 12 years. And that I’ve successfully built my own career, which means I can help others.

In the next paragraph I listed my professional achievements. This is not to boast, but to demonstrate my knowledge with specific examples and show where I can be useful. I presented everything as a list with bullet points to make it easier to perceive the information.

At the end of the summary, I wrote a call to action: “Contact me if you want to change your life for the better.”

There are several typical mistakes that I have seen in other people. It is not worth describing in too much detail and in a continuous text all the work experience and job duties. Few people will bother to wade through a monolithic block of text to understand how good you are.

Another extreme is the lack of specificity. This is when a person writes general words that do not emphasize their individuality and do not provide useful information. For example: “I am a professional with extensive experience, responsible and attentive to details. I am looking for new opportunities to apply my skills.” This can be written about anyone, and it is unlikely that a potential client will read it and think, “Wow, a professional, and with skills too. That’s who I was looking for!” The only thing worse than this is to not write anything at all in the summary.

*This is my summary: it is simple and clear. All information is divided into blocks, with many numbers and specifics. To make the text easier to understand, I use lists and icons.*

Skills & Endorsements.

You can list up to 50 skills: those that receive more confirmations will be ranked higher in your profile. Only list what is important for your profession: there’s no point in mentioning creativity if you’re applying for a position as a regular financial analyst.

Skill names should match the standard phrasing used in LinkedIn. When adding a new skill and starting to type a word, such as management, the system suggests choosing from existing options: project management, sales management, time management. It is worth listening to the recommendations and not trying to be too original. Of course, you can write something like extraordinary management, but no one will search for you with such an exotic wording.

I recommend not inventing skills, but taking them from real job postings. When a recruiter posts a job on LinkedIn, they list what knowledge and skills are needed for the job. This is convenient: the system starts offering people who meet the requirements.

Act like this:

Go to the Jobs section and search for vacancies that interest you.
Look at the skills that, according to recruiters’ opinions, candidates should possess.
Add to your profile the skills you have.
Ask people from your contact list to confirm your skills.

You can also study the profiles of professionals in your field and see what skills they have chosen. And then do the same. But don’t try to cheat: if you don’t know how to do something, don’t list that skill. In the end, the deception will be exposed, and your reputation will suffer.

When you open a job posting, the site automatically matches your skills with the employer’s requirements. Here, I looked at a job posting for a sales department manager. It turns out I’m a pretty good match: 7 out of the 11 skills match.

Job search block

Not all LinkedIn users are looking for a job or part-time work. Out of two roughly equal candidates, the client will write to the one who is actively searching. To encourage people to communicate, let them know that you are open to new proposals. You can write about this in a special block that comes right after the headline. When I did this, I started receiving even more offers.

Some recruiters even set a filter to only view those who are actively seeking employment. If you do not fill out this section, you may simply not be seen.

*If you want to show that you’re open to opportunities, list the positions you’re interested in in a separate block. To do this, click on the Get started link.*

When you click on the link ‘Get started’, a window will open where you need to specify what type of job you are interested in. It’s better not to invent new professions, but to use standard formulations. They will appear as suggestions when you start typing a word. Here you can also specify where you are looking for work geographically, and the format of collaboration: remote work, volunteering, full-time or part-time.

This is what a profile of a person actively looking for a job looks like. Below the headline is a separate block with information about preferred job positions. However, there is a problem: only profile visitors can see this block. That’s why Lyubov additionally wrote in the headline that she is looking for a job. This is justified: the headline is displayed in recommendations and search results.

Study statistics

On LinkedIn, you can see how many people visited your page and read your posts, as well as how many times your profile appeared in search results. This information is located in the Your Dashboard section, which comes after the About and Featured sections.

My advice: track how changes in your profile affect your visit statistics, rather than blindly editing it.

For example, if your profile does not appear in search results, it means that you have chosen the wrong keywords or distributed them incorrectly between your headline and summary. If customers find you but do not click on your profile, there may be problems with your headline. Reread it and think about whether it is clear to the customer who you are and what services you provide.

On the panel, you can see how many people viewed your profile and read your posts, how often you appeared in other members’ searches. The higher these numbers, the more chances you have to get a new project.

The system shows statistics for the last 90 days in the form of a graph: this is more visual. Under the graph, you can see the people who were interested in you. Go to their profiles: they may be your future clients.

How to communicate with clients

To confidently communicate with international clients, one must be able to write and speak in English. If you are not aiming to be a writer, journalist, or editor, then it is not necessary to know the language perfectly.

From my experience, foreigners are understanding when it comes to a conversation partner constructing sentences awkwardly or using simplified vocabulary. For the client, the most important thing is for the performer to solve the task given, not their classic British pronunciation. The exception would be if the task directly involves it, such as when searching for a speaker.

How my communication with a potential client takes place

First, we communicate via LinkedIn chat. If he suggests communicating through email, I agree. However, messaging does not replace a live conversation. When I understand that I am generally interested in the project, I offer to schedule a call to discuss the task in more detail.

Compatibility with the client is important to me. It’s hard to figure out who the person is in front of me and whether we’ll work comfortably through correspondence. But during live communication, I can assess whether we understand each other with half a word, whether the conversation flows smoothly or not, whether the interlocutor is pleasant to me or causes fear, irritation, or boredom.

And it’s also more convenient to discuss details, ask questions, explain how I will solve the problem and what to expect in the end over the phone. You immediately understand the reaction of the interlocutor: where he hesitated, lost his train of thought, avoided answering, what he liked, and what caused concern.

Note that sometimes it is not the client who writes to you, but the recruiter who was tasked with finding a performer. It is important to understand whom you are talking to and who makes the final decision on hiring. And if you need to talk to a recruiter first, then you should not pay attention to compatibility with him. Most likely, you are talking to this person for the last or penultimate time in life: he no longer has anything to do with further work.

There are clients who do not provide any information about the project but immediately suggest a phone call. They claim to have a confidential offer and will only disclose it over the phone. I don’t like people who withhold information and create unnecessary intrigue. That’s why I try to weed out such clients right away.

Now I will tell you how to find clients who will not deceive you.

How to choose clients

On LinkedIn, you can come across dubious offers, network marketing, and inappropriate employers.

For example, I discussed all the terms of work with one client in writing. He drafted a contract and sent it to me for signature. It’s good that I read the document carefully: for some reason, the amount of the fee was reduced and penalties appeared in it. Apparently, the calculation was based on the fact that I would not notice the changes and sign it anyway. I declined cooperation: if the customer is dishonest from the outset, it will only get worse.

I try to verify all potential clients before agreeing to work with them. Especially when the offer looks too good to be true: there must be some catch.”

I gather information about the company through Google and the special website Glassdoor, where employees write detailed reviews about employers. Then I study the interviewee’s profile: I need to make sure it’s a real person, not a fake account for spamming. I check if we have common friends, if the person writes posts and comments, and if other people recommend them. When there are several places of work in the profile with specified positions and responsibilities, it inspires confidence. If there is no activity, photos, and recommendations, and there is only one job in the profile without details, then it is a bot or a fraudster.

Once I received a friend request from the Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov. Out of curiosity, I accepted the invitation, but a few days later the profile of the new friend was deleted. Apparently, someone was using a bot to collect personal data of curious people like me.

There is a problem with short and inexpensive projects, such as a data audit for $50. In this case, it makes no sense to check the client: it will take more time than the work itself. Then I decide whether to take the risk or not. If the task is interesting to me and I have free time, I agree, despite the risk of not getting paid.

Here are the signs that tell me it’s better not to deal with the client.

Absence of specifics

My main rule: when discussing terms, try to get specific as quickly as possible.

If the customer is content with general phrases, cannot clearly formulate what he wants and how exactly he proposes to cooperate, it is better to look for another one.

How to distinguish a problematic customer from a normal one

Problematic – writes with general phrases	Normal – writes specifically
Hello! I am a successful entrepreneur from the Czech Republic. For the past 5 years, I have been developing businesses in the education industry. Thanks to my experience, I have created a powerful network of IT companies. And now, I am looking for talented specialists who want to join our team.	Hello! We are looking for a Java developer – hourly pay. If you are interested in this offer, please write to me. Here is a video about our company.

This is a collaboration offer that I received from an entrepreneur from the Netherlands. There are many general phrases such as “successful activity in the field of European IT education” and “strategic partnership”. There is no specific information: it is unclear what needs to be done and how much I will be paid. They promise to answer all questions in a personal meeting.

And this is a letter from the RiseSmart recruiter – Suzanne. Here, on the contrary, there is a lot of specific information: it is clear that the company is looking for a career coach and resume writer with hourly pay. In the very first message, Suzanne provided a link with a description of what they do, what kind of people they are looking for, and how the work is structured.

A bunch of conditions to get the money

I was contacted several times by small recruiting companies from Belgium, Germany, and Austria. They claimed to be hiring employees for international corporations willing to pay €5000 for a single candidate. All they required of me was to find and supply them with specialists, and they would take care of everything else.

After more specific communication, it turned out that I will receive the money only when my candidate passes the probationary period. And there are a bunch of nuances and penalty sanctions that I risk getting into debt. Moreover, it is impossible to influence employment and track the fate of my candidate: you have to trust the customer’s word.

If the payment of the reward depends not only on you but also on a multitude of external factors that must coincide, it is not a job, but a lottery. I do not recommend agreeing to such offers.

The job requires minimal qualifications

Clarify the requirements for the performer: if it’s just the ability to use a computer, stable internet access, and general things like “attention to detail” and “responsibility”, then most likely the job will be low-paid.

When reading a job posting, pay attention to the Seniority Level line in the description: this is where the client indicates what professional level they are looking for in a candidate. If it says Entry level – this is the most basic job that doesn’t require any particular skills. It’s paid very poorly: to earn at least $500 per month, you’ll have to work day and night. Moreover, there may be many additional requirements listed in the job description. But if it’s indicated that this is an entry-level job, then the pay will be like for a beginner.

A job opening from the company Appen: you need to help train artificial intelligence systems. There are many requirements, but in fact, this is an entry-level job – look at the Seniority level line. My friend worked at this company. In 2018, they offered $3-5 per hour, but to earn this money, you had to meet many conditions, such as working a certain number of hours and not making a single mistake.

How to make a deal with a client

The foreign client will probably offer their standard contract: it remains to enter their information and carefully read it to avoid surprises.

But if the client doesn’t have a contract template, there’s nothing to be afraid of: don’t hesitate to compose the documents yourself. Here’s what I do:

I came across various versions of contracts in Russian online and used them to create a draft of my own contract. After reviewing the content, I eliminated any unnecessary items and included the relevant ones. Following this, I translated the document into English and sent it to the client for approval.

If you regularly provide different services to a client, it’s better to split everything into two documents: a contract and a request for a specific task. For example, I am looking for employees for a client. The general conditions of cooperation are outlined in the contract, and the requirements for a specific vacancy and payment details are in the personnel recruitment request. After the work is completed, I compile a report of the services provided and send an invoice.

I think that in terms of documents abroad, everything is simpler than in Russia. For example, many foreign companies do not use a seal, but only a signature of the manager. It is even possible to do without an act of completed work: payment of the invoice confirms that the customer has accepted the work and is satisfied with it.

To feel more confident, you can consult with a lawyer. I turn to him if the amount of the deal exceeds $1000. This is my psychological limit when potential losses due to mistakes in concluding a contract greatly exceed the cost of consultation. So far, clients have not deceived me, I have not sued anyone, so this tactic works.

Signing a contract now is easier than before. In 2010, I would print out documents, sign them, scan them, and send the file to the customer. Now technology has advanced: in 2019, I signed a contract with an American company using an electronic signature.

The client sent me a PDF contract file with embedded Adobe Sign technology. I entered the date, first and last name, and then drew a signature with the mouse. The system then confirmed that the contract was signed and sent copies of the document to both me and the client via email. The email also included a detailed history of the document showing who created, viewed, and signed it and when. An electronic contract has the same legal force as one printed on paper, signed with a pen, and stamped.

How to find international part-time jobs on LinkedIn

Figure out what services you will offer and to whom.
Find your unique career advantage: what sets you apart from competitors.
Assess whether your English language skills are sufficient to communicate on work-related issues. If not, it is worth improving your language skills: it will come in handy.
Fill out your LinkedIn profile in detail: pay special attention to the headline, summary, and skill list. When filling out, use keywords: clients will find you through them.
Increase the number of contacts in the first circle to at least 500 people.
Do not hesitate to indicate in your profile that you are open to new offers.
Study statistics and adjust your profile if necessary.
Choose clients who clearly explain what they need.
Pay attention to compatibility: if it’s uncomfortable to communicate with a person, then it will be difficult to work with them.
Read contracts carefully and discuss all unclear points before signing documents, not after.

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