how to find a job using linkedin

F O L L O W T H E S E T H R E E P H A S E S T O G E T Y O U R S E L F O F F T H E C O U C H A N D I N T O T H E

W O R K P L A C E !

B Y : K I M B E R L Y H U N L E Y

How To Find a Job Using LinkedIn

Phase 1 : Understand What LinkedIn Is, & How It Will Be The Ultimate Tool in Your Job Search.

What is LinkedIn?

“LinkedIn is a fast-growing professional networking site that allows members to create business contacts, search for jobs, and find potential clients. Individuals have the ability to create their own professional profile that can be viewed by others in their network, and also view the profiles of their own contacts. “

Users can then invite other users to join their list of connections. Connections range from direct connections, 2nd degree connections, and 3rd degree connections. From their network, one can learn and search for jobs, business opportunities, and connect with the people that can get them there.

Source: CrunchBase

LinkedIn Profile

This is what my personal LinkedIn profile looks

like. By including current and past positions,

education background, and links to other social networking cites you are on, your LinkedIn profile page will act as an digital

resume that allows recruiters and companies seeking new employees

to find you.

Why Use LinkedIn?

According to research by Harris Interactive, 2,667 HR professionals found that 45% of them use social networking sites to research possible job candidates.

Also, that an additional 11% plan on implementing social media screening.

This study was done in 2009. With how fast social media is moving, imagine how big that percentage is today!

Source: CMS WIRE

Why Use LinkedIn?

Jim Stroud, HR Representative of The Recruiter’s Lounge:

“LinkedIn is a tool recruiters cannot ignore. Recruiters who do not want to be bogged down with resumes turn to LinkedIn to find quality

candidates and their peers… LinkedIn is becoming the next „Monster‟ with more and

more recruiters turning to it”

Source: Mashable “How to Get the Most Out of LinkedIn”

Why Use LinkedIn?

Daily traffic of people per day in a 6 month

range. Globally= Max of 5.7 Million

Source: CrunchBase

Why Use LinkedIn?

Number of visits to LinkedIn per month. In March 2010, reached almost to 80 million!

Source: CrunchBase

Why Use LinkedIn?

J.T. O’Donnell, nationally syndicated career strategist, and corporate trainer and founder of Careerealism.com has three main reasons why she would help a stranger on LinkedIn get a job.

1. In her mind, she is not dealing with a stranger.

She believes because only 7% of communication skills (through words and writing style) are used through LinkedIn, that it is amazing she still can have professional and enjoyable dialogs with new contacts.

Source: Mashable “She’s the BEST Employee I’ve NEVER Met”

Why Use LinkedIn?

2. Networking online is easy and efficient.

It took O’Donnell three minutes to learn

that she was two contacts away from the HR Director she had aspired to meet to refer a friend to. Also, within another 5 minutes, she could send an e-mail recommending her friend to the director.

3. Being helpful is good for your business-of-one.

O’Donnell believes that helping others is

thoughtful and much needed. She believes that it boosts ones own credibility as a professional, and the return will be greater for the person who does the referring.

Source: Mashable “She’s the BEST Employee I’ve NEVER Met”

“ I N T O D A Y ‟ S W O R L D , T H E S E A R C H F O R C A N D I D A T E S S O O F T E N S T A R T S O N

L I N K E D I N . T H E S A D P A R T I S , I T O F T E N E N D S T H E R E T O O ”

- B R A D R E M I L L A R D , F O U N D E R O F I M P A C T H I R I N G S O L U T I O N S

Phase 2: Create a LinkedIn Account That Will Blow The

Competition Out of The Water!

Source: IMPACT Hiring Solutions Career Blog

Don’t let your profile fall short! Follow these next slides to complete your

LinkedIn profile!

Creating a LinkedIn Account

1. Go to http://www.linkedin.com/ to view the LinkedIn homepage.

2.Fill out the information in the “Join LinkedIn Today” box.

3. Click “Join Now”

4. Click on the “Edit Profile” tab to start adding your current and past positions, your education background, recommendations, and websites such as a blog or personal website.

*Importing your current resume will

automatically fill out some of this information for you!

5. The number of connections will increase as more people join your network.6. You can even link your Twitter to your LinkedIn page!

http://www.linkedin.com/

6 Things to Follow When Building a LinkedIn Profile

1. Complete your profile 100% According to Lewis Howes, author of

the LinkedIn book, “A profile that is only 55% complete, without recommendations and an updated work history may not make a solid first impression when people find you through search.”

This also includes: *A Photo

*Executive Summary & Skill Set*Education

*3 Recent Positions*3 Recommendations from

Connections

Source: Mashable “13 Essential Tips for Landing a Job on LinkedIn”


2. Create a call to action

After people learn about you through reading your profile, tell them what to do next.

Within your summary include: who you are, who your services can help, how you can help them, and how they should get in contact with you or what they should do next. You can accomplish this by including the best way to get in contact with you.

3. Connect with EVERYONE!

When looking for a job, you never know who will be the one to say they are looking for someone just like you! Make sure you include a personalized message stating why you are connecting with them. You also could include a reminder of how you know one another.

Source: Found Through Twitter “7 Ways To Market Yourself On LinkedIn”Mashable “13 Essential Tips for Landing a Job on LinkedIn”

Finding Contacts to Join your Network

After you have set up your profile page, you are now ready to add contacts to your network. Finding contacts can be done in many ways.

A. You can go to “Contacts” and click on “Add Connections”and search for people that you already know by using their email address.

Finding Contacts

B. By clicking on “People You May Know,” you can then find contacts through a work position, what school they attended, or invite someone you know is already LinkedIn to connect with you.


4. Join and create a group

Groups are helpful because they not only have built-in job boards, but new jobs are added regularly. You are able to send messages to most within your group without having to upgrade to a premium account. This is great because you can contact people who you are not directly connected to.

Starting your own group is a vast idea because you are able to lead a community of people you want to market yourself to. This makes you look great because your name comes up as the group leader, and you are generating a larger presence within those in the same workforce.

Source: Found on Twitter “7 Ways To Market Yourself On LinkedIn”


5. Answer Questions

This is a great way to show what you know to get people to notice you. By answering questions you are helping others while you are opening yourself up to more job opportunities.

On your top header with the site options, click on “More” and then scroll down to “Answers”


6. Stay active Don’t be the person that signs up for a social networking site and never

returns. By looking at someone’s LinkedIn profile, one can tell how much effort they have put into making contacts and promoting themselves. LinkedIn has the similar function that Facebook has that notifies all your connections of your actions within their home page.

Source: Mashable “13 Essential Tips for Landing a Job on LinkedIn”

“The more people see your picture, read your name, and check out the compelling content you are delivering, the more likely they are to

think of you when a position opens up. Stay active, and the opportunities will be much more abundant than if you don‟t

participate at all”

Creating a Profile That is Appealing to All Audiences

When looking for a job, your digital resume content and activities need to appeal to 4 different audience groups:

Existing and/or older connections

New connections or fellow group members

Recruiters/hiring managers who have your name and are doing research to specifically learn more about you

Social network recruiters who are sourcing candidates on LinkedIn

Existing and/or Older Connections

Connections that you have had for a while.

Include:

Mix of Friends

Family

College Alumni

Past Co-Workers

Questions to Consider:

Is it clear from your profile info & activities that you are in the market for a new job?

Is it clear from your profile what field you are interested in entering?

What type of job you are interested in?

Source: J2BMarketing “LinkedIn Profile Writing For A Four Dimensional, Job Search Audience”

New Connections Or Fellow Group Members

New Connections Include:

People you have recently met through networking.

People you have met through the interviewing process.

People you have simply spoken to for 10 or so minutes, and exchanged business information.

People you have participated in LinkedIn groups with.

Questions to Consider: Are your accomplishments,

skills, and area of expertise clear?

Do you have a picture linked with your profile so it is new connections can “put a name with a face?”


Recruiters/Hiring Managers

Recruiters have received your resume, and now they want to find out

more about you!


Do your profile and resume information match?

Do you really stand out above other candidates?

Does your information make them want to call you for an interview or pass you by for another candidate?


Social Network Recruiters Sourcing Candidates

They can find you through:

LinkedIn Talent Advantage

The Advanced People Search Function

Automatic search alerts that notify them when new candidates meet their requirements.

Scan the answers section looking for users who answered industry questions appropriately.


Does your name come up in search results?

Have you changed your privacy settings so there are “limited search results view?”

Does your profile info impress recruiters and define you from other candidates?

Common Branding Mistakes To Avoid

The Laundry List Filling up your profile with a list of industry keywords.

Ex: Instead of: Email marketing Use: “Email Marketing pro, with ability to increase email open rates

through use of creative keywords and subject lines.”

Using Tired Words and Phrases Phrases used so often, they loose their meaning.

Ex: “thought leader” Use: “A sought after thought leader in international marketing,

who’s spoken at 10 different conferences in 2009.”

Scary Gobbledygook Interesting words- maybe big words, but combined they say very

little to readers. Use: Simple words that are not unrecognizable.

Source: J2BMarketing “5 LinkedIn Profile Branding Mistakes To Avoid”

N O W T H A T Y O U U N D E R S T A N D L I N K E D I N , U S E T H E P R O F I L E Y O U C R E A T E D T O

M A R K E T Y O U R S E L F F O R T H A T D E S I R E D J O B .

Phase 3: Find That Job!

Tip: Before completing the

final phase, make at lest 20

connections!

5 Tips To Find a Job on LinkedIn

1. Spread the Word

1. Make it known throughout your network that you are looking for a new position. Try adding it within your “status updates” section on your profile. (see example below)

1. “The more people who know you’re looking, the more likely you’ll find a job”

Source: BlogGuyKawasaki.com

5 Tips To Find a Job on LinkedIn

2. Find out where people with your background are currently working

2. Try doing an advanced search for people within your area with the same work skills.


5 Tips To Find a Job On LinkedIn

3. Check which company is hiring.

3. On company pages on LinkedIn, there is a section called “New Hires” that shows who has recently joined a company. Try contacting them about how they got their new job.

3. Tip: Try observing their backgrounds to see what possibly attracted their new employer.


5 Tips To Find a Job Using LinkedIn

4. Find the hiring manager or HR person.

4. After searching for the kind of job you are interested in on LinkedIn, pay special attention to those who are no more than 2 degrees away from you. It means that you know someone who knows the person who posted the job!

4. “Power tip: two degrees is about the limit for getting to hiring managers”

4. After connecting with someone within the company you wish to work for, see if they will directly give your resume to the HR department. More attention is paid to resumes handed in by coworkers.


5 Tips To Find a Job Using LinkedIn

5. Find the “secret job requirements”

5. Try finding a connection within the company that can get the scoop on what really is put into consideration when filling your desired position.

5. Tip: by doing a company search, the results will show you who in your network connects you to the company.


For Example: After doing a search for Noble, LinkedIn tells me that I have no 1st or 2nd degree connections.

Helpful Tools

Check who has viewed your profile

You can monitor the number of times people have viewed your profile, and how many times you‟ve come up in search results.

Go to your home page and this will be displayed in the right hand column.


Helpful Tools

Join the IMPACT Hiring Solutions Job Search Networking Group.

There are 5,905 members in the group that focus on job search issues.

Source: IMPACT Hiring Solutions Career Blog

You can receive helpful tips from real professionalsthat can help you in your job search!

What Are You Waiting For?

Sign up for a LinkedIn account today! Who knows

who your first connection will be!

References

Howes, L. (2010, November 4). 7 Ways To Market Yourself On LinkedIn. Retrieved November 7, 2010, from http://www.lewishowes.com/linkedin/marketing-yourself-on-linkedin/

Howes, L. (2010, May 19). 13 Essential Tips for Landing a Job on LinkedIn. Retrieved November 7, 2010, from Mashable/Business.

Kawasaki, G. (2009, February 2). Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn to Find a Job. In How to Change the World; A practical blog for impractical people. Retrieved November 7, 2010, from http://blog.guykawasaki.com

LinkedIn. (2009, May 9). In CrunchBase. Retrieved November 7, 2010, from CrunchBase.

O'Donnell, J. T. (2009, January 15). She's the BEST Employee I've NEVER Met. Retrieved November 7, 2010, from Mashable.

Peacock, M. (2009, August 21). Employers Use Facebook More Than LinkedIn for HR Screening. In CMS WIRE. Retrieved November 7, 2010, from CMS WIRE.

Remillard, B. (2010, March 22). How Recruiters Search Using LinkedIn & What We Look For. In Career Blog. Retrieved November 7, 2010, from http://www.impacthiringsolutions.com/careerblog/

Reynolds, M. (2009, October 10). 5 LinkedIn Profile Branding Mistakes To Avoid. In J2B Marketing. Retrieved November 7, 2010, from http://j2bmarketing.com

Reynolds, M. (2009, November 2). LinkedIn Profile Writing For A Four Dimensional, Job Search Audience. In J2B Marketing. Retrieved November 7, 2010, from http://j2bmarketing.com

Wallace, B. (2008, November 2). How to Get the Most Out of LinkedIn. In Mashable. Retrieved November 7, 2010, from Mashable.

http://www.lewishowes.com/linkedin/marketing-yourself-on-linkedin/







http://blog.guykawasaki.com/

http://www.impacthiringsolutions.com/careerblog/

http://j2bmarketing.com/

http://j2bmarketing.com/

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