TIPS FOR USING LINKEDIN
Did you know that 8.5 million experienced professionals use LinkedIn around the world representing more than 130 industries? Members use this site to sell their product or service, find a job, form a partnership or make connections with other people. People with more than 20 connections are 34 more times likely to be approached with a job opportunity than people less than five connections! LinkedIn is also a great source of groups where members of common fields can post questions or receive updates regarding their industries.
LinkedIn is a very common tool used by recruiters for sourcing talent and head hunting so this alone is great motivation to be utilizing this site if you are seeking change and new challenges in your career. Did you know that you can use the techniques of sourcing on LinkedIn to find your next job? LinkedIn can be a great starting point to find people you may want to meet for an informational interview as a step towards your new career.
Getting Started On LinkedIn
1. Create your profile but make sure you complete it 100 percent. This includes a picture of yourself, hopefully a current one! Your profile will consist of your education, past work history, current work history and a brief bio about yourself. Some profiles include blogs, books that have been recently read and groups.
2. Join Groups. There are dozens of industry specific groups that may be of interest to you. Groups allow you to network with new people from your industry or industries.
3. Make connections with members. Find your co-workers from the past and present or business contacts like former clients. The more connections you make, the better the network you build. Connections should know you personally or have done business with you in the past.
4. Get recommended. LinkedIn allows you to recommend your connections as well as allow your connections to recommend you. These informal references are a great testimonial to the work you can accomplish.
Job Hunting Using LinkedIn
1. Use your status line to announce your job searching intentions with statements like “Open to Opportunities” Keep your status lines professional at all times. Unlike Facebook, we probably should not know about your weekend. Be aware if you link an account from Twitter to LinkedIn, that status update will populate to LinkedIn. I once told my business contacts about the great chicken soup I made on the weekend!
2. Use your recommendations as informal references when job searching. Future employers will perform a Google search of your name and your LinkedIn profile will appear. Future recruiters or human resource professionals will look for your profile and review your information.
3. Use LinkedIn to research companies that you may want your next role in. Search for company employees by performing a company name search. Review their profile to learn about their background, education etc.
4. Using the advance search feature on LinkedIn, you can search for jobs by clicking on the Jobs tab at the top of your profile.
5. Use LinkedIn to research companies like a head hunter! Using the search function type in key words for a position like “Sales Manager” and the city you live in. A list of LinkedIn members will appear. Research the appropriate profiles for former employment and current employment. It is from this information you now have company names where you may be interested in cold calling your resume. Do not cold call your resume to the person’s profile you were just examining. You will need to call the company and determine the name of the best person to submit your information to for that potential interview.
Special Notes on Social Networking
Please be aware that every profile you create on the internet can be viewed publicly unless you ensure proper security measures are in place. Perform a Google search of your name to see what you find. While profiles like Facebook or Twitter are your own personal expression, companies may not feel that your form of personal expression is for them and may not hire you. Our world is an open network, which allows for little privacy. Taking the extra measures to ensure that you keep your personal social profiles confidential may make the difference between being hired or not.
