I was helping a close friend look for a new job the other day and came across a pretty interesting LinkedIn feature that matches a job posting with people in your network. LinkedIn will even show you second-degree connections - people connected to people you are connected with - that already work at the company you are researching, further improving your chances of landing an awesome job.

I'm going to outline the step-by-step process I used to ultimately match my friend with a position. And, to make things a bit more challenging, I will search for a job outside of my current field (software development). Let's go with Marketing Analyst.

Using your network to find a new job on LinkedIn in 7 easy steps

1. Go to linkedin.com and select Jobs from the dropdown list next to the search box.
2. Search for anything that closely resembles the job you want. LinkedIn will do its best to bring in all of the jobs you might be interested in, even if they aren't an exact word-match.

1. Scan the list of jobs and pick one out that looks interesting.
2. View the people in your network that already have jobs where you are looking.
3. Click "View" to learn more about the position.
4. If you're a good fit, apply!
5. Reach out to your network to get an inside track. Here's a sample message that I would type if I were looking to make a move.

I hope this helps you in your quest to find your next job. While you are hanging out on LinkedIn, feel free to connect with me.