Depending on where you live in the world, LinkedIn is the professional social network. It’s pretty much all business; whether that means building business, building a name for yourself or finding a job. Some say that’s boring, but I don’t think building your career is boring at all. In fact LinkedIn is sexy. Finding your path is awesome and fulfilling. LinkedIn has been a tremendous asset to my career. Here are somethings I’ve learnt along the way.
- Make sure your profile is 100% complete. It’s is really what’s going to sell you and that’s where you want to spend most of your time. Use each category that LinkedIn provides — add in websites, Twitter accounts, email addresses, apps like Amazon and Slideshare, etc. In other words, you want a profile that showcases who you are. (Hint: When filling out the Websites sections, use descriptions. Instead the standard My Website, write your blog’s URL. I write FabriceCalando.com.)
- Spend some extra time writing out your Summary. Think of this as your cover letter. You want this text to be interesting and punchy, but clearly indicates who you are and what you can do. Remember, recruiters, managers and VPs will be reading your profile to see if you’re a good fit so really write it with a “what I can do for you” frame of mind. And don’t be afraid to write quite a bit, but remember that if you do, use plenty of bullets and paragraphs to make it easy to read. Also think about what people in your industry are searching for (in other words, think SEO). Use keywords that people will actually search for. (Hint: A lot of us really dislike writing about ourselves. Consider using a professional CV writer to get you started. You can tweak what he or she writes. That’s what I did to get started.)
- The Experience section is just as important. Don’t assume we know your company and what you did there. Different companies have different titles, large companies have many different departments and smaller companies are just not well known. Tell us what you did and who your company is — what they do, what you’ve accomplished and what you’ve learnt. Thinking SEO is important here too. (Hint: write down the names of clients or suppliers you’ve worked with, people search for company names.)
- The Education section will really be important to you depending on the amount of experience you have and how important schooling is in your field. If you’re starting your career, I would add as much detail as I can in here. What you studied, what’s the university or college, what activities you were involved in, etc. And don’t forget to think SEO. (Hint: Add in speakers you’ve heard or prominent teachers you’ve had as well as companies you may have visited. For example, I was part of the McGill Marketing Club and we did a trip to New York to visit TBWA\Chiat\Day, The New York Yankees and Maxim Magazine. Add those in.)
- Rince, lather and repeat. Review your profile regularly (not just when you want to change jobs) to see what you can add, change and optimize. (Hint: Keeping it fresh makes sure you always have great keywords, but LinkedIn also sends notices when members change their profiles, so you’ll easily stay top-of-mind with your followers.)
- Getting known and getting to know people is what networking is all about. Once your profile is up-to-par, start connecting with people. The more connections you have the more “finable” you are. LinkedIn is all about degrees of separation — so the more people you are connected to, the more chance there are that people are within 3 degrees of separation. Use your email address to find people in your contact list that are on LinkedIn. Browse for recruiters, managers, directors and VPs in your field. Search for employees at companies you would like to work at or people you studied with. Follow companies from their corporate page so you’ll get notices when there are job openings. (Hint: How you connect with people is up to you, but here’s how I do it. If I know people at least a little bit, I just send a connection request. If I don’t, I write a note explaining why I’m sending a connection request.)
- The other part of getting known is participation in Groups and on Answers. Groups allow you to start and participate in discussions. Take some time to find the right Groups. You want Groups with active discussions and have a decent amount of members (500 at least). Don’t overstretch yourself — pick one or two Groups and be as active as you can there so that people really start knowing your name. The more you’re in one place, the better. I recommend picking one large group and a more niche one (The large one will allow you to put yourself in front of a large amount of people and the niche one will get a specific set of people to know you). Answers are a place where people ask and answer questions. Look for categories that interest you — finance, marketing, HR, etc. — ask and answer away. Groups and Answers work best with consistence so schedule some time in your week and jump in regularly. (Hint: For your niche Groups, consider finding a local or industry HR/Recruitment Group and participate there. Most members are recruiters that look for candidates on a regular basis.)
- Use the Jobs tab. LinkedIn will recommend jobs that could be a good fit for you, make sure you get daily alerts if you’re really looking. Also do custom searches for titles and companies you would like to hold and work at. Get those sent to your inbox. (Hint: When you see something, apply quickly. I’ve heard from recruiters that LinkedIn does a good job of filtering out the good profiles from the not so good. Applying quickly will keep you at the top of the list for a little while.)
- Get a paid account. I’ve already reviewed the usefulness of a Premium Job Seeker Account. In short, once you’ve worked your profile and connected with people, yes it’s definitely worth it. (Hint: I can’t tell you why exactly, but when I had access to it, I was getting contacted left, right and center.)
- Be helpful. I spend a lot of time referring people I know to jobs and opportunities that might work for them. For example, when I get those emails about jobs I might be interested in…I browse through them and forward some along. Or if I know people at companies that are actively looking for new employees, I’ll share jobs with my connections. (Hint: What goes around comes around…remember that).
- If you’re a Twitter user, consider adding the Tweets application on LinkedIn. What that does is basically turn your LinkedIn account into a Twitter client. You can follow your LinkedIn connections that are also on Twitter, you can read their Tweets directly from LinkedIn, you can see your Twitter lists within LinkedIn. But the best feature — by far — is that you can create a private Twitter list of all your LinkedIn connections that are also on Twitter. So when you go back to Hootsuite, TweetDeck, Seesmic or whatever Twitter client you use, you’ll have a list of your LinkedIn connections. You can keep an eye on what they’re Tweeting and you can interact with them directly on Twitter. (Hint: This is a lesser known feature and if you’re connected to Directors, Managers and Recruiters in your field, it gives you another way to get known.)
- Read Guy Kawasaki’s take on the matter.
LinkedIn is a powerful job-find tool. Not every industry is a heavy user so your mileage may vary, but don’t ignore it.
Any more advice to share? What’s worked for you?
(Photo credit: photologue_np)
Pingback: Social media networking tips for finding new CIO positions - CIO Symmetry
Pingback: A gift for the holidays | FabriceCalando.com
Pingback: Using Facebook to find a job | FabriceCalando.com