sourcing toolkit
TRANSCRIPT
Blake Cai modified based on “LinkedIn Blackbelt” by Michael Marlatt
1. How to Create & Brand Your Identity
2. Building Your LinkedIn Network
3. Mastering the Search Process A. Rules of Engagement
B. Sourcing in Stealth Mode
C. Types of Searches
4. Mastering the Contacting ProcessA. Contacting 2nd and 3rd level candidates
B. Sourcing in Stealth Mode
5. Managing your LinkedIn Activities
Tip #1: To begin, start by creating a LI profile that is “100% complete”.1. Provide your current employer
2. Include the last two former employers – (Allows you to further expand your network)
3. Provide your education information (university, degrees, fraternities, sororities, etc.)
4. Create a profile summary – (Summarize who you are, what you do, sell yourself, etc.)
5. Your Specialties – (This can include your key skills, interests, groups, professional associations, certifications, etc.)
6. Obtain THREE recommendations – (Seek endorsements from trusted contacts, former managers, colleagues, etc. This endorsements will be listed on your profile.)
Include all your potential email addresses to avoid setting up duplicate accounts.
LinkedIn cannot merge multiple profiles. To delete an extra profile, contact customer service.
›
Tip #2: Create and market your personal and corporate identity 1. Branding yourself helps to build credibility within the LinkedIn community and also helps others develop trust
and get to know you better.
2. In the “Summary” of your profile, this is where you want to let others know who you are, where you are and what you have, etc..
3. Use LinkedIn applications to create a dynamic outlook for your personal and corporate image.
4. Join and participate in applicable LinkedIn groups, discussion forums, LinkedIn blogs, etc.
5. Consider establishing a VANITY URL, using your name, skill, or company information.
Examples: www.linkedin.com/in/INSERT_NAME, ….www.linkedin.com/in/michaelmarlatt,
› www.linkedin.com/in/.net_recruiter, …..www.linkedin.com/in/microsoft-recruiter
Tip #1: A profile that is 100% complete should contain the following:
1. Your current position
2. Two past positions
3. Your education
4. Your profile summary
5. Your specialties
6. At least three recommendations
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2
3
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(Edit Vanity URL here)
Include corporate Email address and title into display name which enables other to find and get connected with you more easily
Tip #2: Create and market your personal and corporate identity
• The “Summary” section is a great place to provide other users (potential
candidates) a bit of insight into what business you are supporting, what kind of opportunities you can offer, contact information, etc.
Did you know….. At the bottom of your profile in
the, in the “Interests” field, you can apply a very
simple Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
technique that will drive others to you? 1. Simply include a list of relevant keywords that best
describe your primary interests, or, how you would like to be known. Listing unique keywords increases the probability of others finding you!
2. The listed keywords also become searchable hyperlinks that you can easily click and search!
Provide three web links of your blog, company website etc.
Join and participate in applicable LinkedIn groupswhich will display in additional information.
LinkedIn Applications: Now with the Web 2.0 technology, LinkedIn released several features which enable users to share blogs, presentations, documents,
reading list, polls etc. . We are able to provide a more dynamic outlook for personal as well as corporate image. Click LinkedIn applications to add features and operate them in your Edit Profile page.
Getting started
1. Developing your network on LinkedIn should be viewed as a continual process.
2. Start with building strategic connections with members who possess skills within the domain(s) you
support (i.e., ASP.Net, SQL Server, Data Mining, etc.)
3. Invite current colleagues, as well as former work associates. (Be careful when connecting to a Microsoft
employee who does not know you, not everyone is open networker)
4. Click on the +Add Connections icon at the top of your profile to begin inviting contacts from your
Outlook, Yahoo!, Google, MSN, and/or AOL address books. (The system will automatically identify those
who are already LinkedIn users)
Want to immediately boost your network strength?
1. For the greatest success in quickly growing your network, link to open-networkers and/or super-
connectors who possess 500+ connections.
2. To further expand your LinkedIn network, consider joining groups such as Microsoft Alumni, Microsoft
Employees, The LinkedIn Lions Forum, LinkedInnovators, MyLinkedInPowerForum, and LinkedHR,
OpenNetworkers, The Open Link Network-(for Premium Account Users Only).
3. For a list of LinkedIn Networking Groups by geography, visit MyLink Wiki.
NOTE: Remember to always cultivate contacts with discretion. For questions and
clarification regarding LinkedIn’s general policies, click here
Did you know…. You can immediately boost your connection strength by sending an invite to RON BATES, as well as to ALL of the TOP 10 LinkedIn Super-Connectors? Super-connectors are very receptive to new connections and are likely to accept your invite. Visit: Topllinked.com
Click on the +Add Connections icon at the top of your profile to begin inviting contacts from your Outlook, Yahoo!, Google, MSN, and/or AOL address books.
(The system will automatically identify those who are already LinkedIn users)
Those who are already LinkedIn users have a blue in icon.
Did you know….. The benefit of LinkedIn is growing
with the number of your direct connections.1. LinkedIn Outlook Toolbar enables you to build
network quickly and easily using Outlook, but the performance of outlook such as runtime might be affected. Download at LinkedIn Outlook Toolbar
2. Download LinkedIn Brower Toolbar, using IE to manage your connections and search candidates.
Also encourage candidates and colleagues who are not yet LinkedIn users to have a try and let them know the benefits
of using it. As the number of their network grow, you will also benefit from that.
But make sure to insert a personalized message to prevent the image of junk mail.
A. Rules of Engagement:
1. Know Your Target….
Be mindful that not all users want to be contacted.
View the “contact settings” at the bottom of each profile to understand the user’s preferences. If they do not list interests such as career opportunities, job inquiries, etc… you run the risk of being listed as an unwanted spammer. (But occasionally even some one who list the above interests might block you.)
2. LinkedIn’s policy - “FIVE strikes and you’re out!”….
LinkedIn users may respond to an invite using one of the following options: Accept Invitation, I don’t know this person, or Decide later (Archive it). Thus, design a personalized introduction message is very important.
If you have contacted a LI user without their email address and receive five “unfavorable” responses, your account will be placed on restriction status.
You can check who gives “unfavorable” report or accepts your invitation by clicking Contacts/Connections on your profile page and view outstanding sent invitations.
To reinstate an account that has been placed on restriction status, you need to write an email to [email protected] and explain you understand their policies but the restriction is made by mistake. The customer will reply normally within 24-48 hours and remove the restriction.
3. Remember the 10 Rules of Netiquette….
For a refresher, visit Netiquette by Virginia Shea
Find out who “accepted” and who gives “unfavorable” reports
Doesn’t know are those who give you unfavorable reports, your account will be restricted when you receive five. But the setting will be back to zero after account reinstating.
Sent are those who haven’t decided yet, they are either archived your message or haven’t seen it.
Bounced means the registered Email address does not exist any longer.
Did you know….. LinkedIn will
automatically send reminder to
users who didn’t reply
“invitation” message.
B. Sourcing in Stealth Mode:
Edit your “Profile Views” setting to prevents others from knowing that you have viewed their profile. This will help maintain confidentiality during your searches
How do I do this?
1. Click on the “Account & Settings” located at the top of your profile
2. Scroll down to “Privacy Settings”
3. Click on “Profile Views”
4. Select “Don’t show users that I’ve viewed their profile”.
See the following pages for screen shots and details….
Sourcing in Stealth Mode:Step 1: Go to “Account & Settings” at the top of your LinkedIn profile.
Step 2: Scroll down to “Privacy Settings”Step 3: Select “Profile Views”Step 4: Select “Don’t show users that I’ve viewed their profile”
C. Types of Searches
Executing the Search
On the “PEOPLE” tab, you can search by Keyword, Name, or Reference.
The most common searches on LinkedIn include: Keyword, Title & Company.
Narrow your search results by combining any or all of the following:
Boolean Search - Example Boolean string: (“software engineer” OR programmer OR
“Development Engineer”) AND ASP.Net
Title or Company only searches – (hp OR ibm OR Intel OR Autodesk)
Industry – (i.e., Computer Software, Computer Networking, etc.)
Country Search – (Sort by named country of preference, note Hong Kong and Taiwan are not under China in LinkedIn)
Save the Search
Save your search using IE toolbar.
Tip#1: Each search box in Advanced Search supports Boolean search string with the words “AND” “OR” “NOT”.
Tip#2: LinkedIn enables search title and company by “Current & past”, “Current only” OR “Past only”. Thus we could also trace the activities of ex-microsoft by search “microsoft”, “Past only”.
Tip#3: Narrow target industries to return results within target the industry.
Did you know… search results will vary based on the total connections within your network. Do not use any keyword to search people when you just start to use LinkedIn. Having
industries select is enough to generate results. Search will become more useful when you have more top Linkers in the target industry. It’s important to become a 500+. Do not send InMail to people only if you are Premium user, also ask to be connected.
Save your LinkedIn searchStep 1: Go to IE tool bar and click “Add to Favorites”
Step 2: Click “New Folder” and create one for different searches Step 3: Create a name for your search and click “Add”
A. Contact 2nd and 3rd level candidates
How to contact 2nd level candidate Send InMail.
Add to your network.
Get introduced through a connection.
How to contact 3nd level candidate Send InMail
Add to your network
Get introduced through a connection.
Cold call Call directly into candidate’s company and ask to be forward. (Not encouraged)
Online research to find company Email address
How to contact 2nd level candidate:Send InMail Suggest to send InMail only when the candidate does not accept your invitation for connecting and
could not be reached through 1st level introduction. FREE users are not able to send InMail.
Add to your network You don’t need to enter an Email address for 1st time connecting invitation, but does not
work in the following cases.
Those who set invitation filtering
Those who already declined your invitation
Get introduced through a connection You can do it either through the feature on LI or send Email to your 1st
degree directly and request for the contact info.
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3
Remember: You and your target might have lots of connections in common, select one whom you know well , ever cooperated with or is a active networker to forward the introduction. AVOID send invitation to your target’s current colleague!
How to contact 3nd level candidate:1. Send InMail
2. Add to your network
3. Get introduced through a connection Note that using introduction is less effective for 3nd level compared with 2nd
level. Your invitation needs to go through two connections to reach your final target
4. Cold call Call directly into candidate’s company and ask to be forward. (Not encouraged)
5. Online research to find company Email address
Step 1: Get nameFirst name: YujingLast name:Qiu
Step 2: Get company name:Pixelworks
Go to http://groups.google.com and type author:@ followed by the email domain of the company (usually same as website)
In this case, it’s author:@pixelworks.com(no spaces in this string!)
Each of these is a post to a newsgroup – the part of the Internet filled with discussion lists on every topic imaginable
Click subject line of any post dated within past year (posts without a year are from the current calendar year)
Click subject link with any recent newsgroup post (dates are displayed)
Click the “view profile”
link beside the name of
the author
This brings up a challenge prompt in order to display (“unlock”) the full email address.
This is used to prevent spammers from automatically gathering email addresses.
But all you need to do is type the letters appearing in the graphic, then click OK
Now we see the email is [email protected],
which means Yujing Qiu is [email protected],
and now you know everyone else’s email at
Pixelworks, too!
(Note: this rule does not apply to every company,
for example, Microsoft.)
B. Message Template Design
Create your own message templates in Word or in Notepad. This reduces the amount of time you spend dealing with requests. All you have to do is copy and paste and spend time wisely customizing your responses not writing them over and over from scratch.
You are also using your own language style and your contacts will become familiar with it... assuming they don’t already.
Here’s some ideas on templates you should have:
› A different kind of “invitation to join networks” for each:
Candidates
Clients, Customers, business partners
Friends, casual acquaintances
Peers and/or Co-workers
Alumni (college, employer, etc.)
› Standard “requests to forward” responses for:
Forwarding a reconnection request
Passing along a typical request from a trusted connection
Acting like the Gatekeeper approving a “second degree” request
Politely saying “No I can’t help you but here are some other ideas”
Saying no because of a “Conflict of interest”
Rejecting an inappropriate request
Dear XXX,
I am from Microsoft and have 1500+ 1st degree connections of R&D professionals in IT industry. Would appreciate your acceptance of this invitation and become part of my growing professional network. I would be honored to offer help on network sharing, reference offering, business partnership as well as inquiry on career opportunities within Microsoft.
I do respect that you might not want to connect with someone unfamiliar and has a different view towards open networking. However, if you do not wish to connect, please select "Archive" rather than "Doesn't Know", as it’s beneficial to those who are willing to be connected.
Best Regards
Blake Cai
Staffing Consultant, Microsoft
Who you are.What you want.
If your connections go beyond 500, it’s important to let others know. Usually people are willing to get connected to “super connector” although they don’t know you.
What you can offer.
Show the others your generosity and willingness to help. People are more glad to connect to someone who are helpful. But you should keep that promise.
“Archive” instead of “Doesn’t know”
Super important! 99% of the people are not mean enough to give you a negative report although they do not want to connect with you. Of course, there are always 1% who are really mean…
Set your LinkedIn primary
address as your company
Email address so that you could
manage your LinkedIn
activities on your Outlook.
Create rule as with “specific words in the subject “=LinkedIn move the messages to the specific folder.
Then all Emails from LinkedIn will automatically be saved to LinkedIn folder.