Add more oomph to your job search!
[Ed. note: This belongs to our series of posts featuring tips for recent grads from LinkedIn users. Robin Raskin is the founder of Living in Digital Times. Through a partnership with the Consumer Electronics Association, she develops conferences and exhibits showcasing technology. She is the author of A Parents’ Guide to College Life and is the former editor of PC Magazine and Family PC]
Posting an intelligent professional networking profile so that people can find you is a great first step in the job hunt, but, honestly, nobody’s really looking for you. Even if they were, the odds of them finding you versus other qualified candidates with profiles is like the old needle in the haystack. You’ll have to use your professional networking wits to seek out and attract potential employers.
Here’s how to put more oomph in your job search.
Think of your profile as your marketing piece: This is no time to be shy. Use the same action-oriented words that you’d use in a resume. Include hotlinks to direct searches to places you’ve worked, papers you’ve written, roles in the school play anything that makes you look like a do-er.
Search for school alumni: Even if you don’t know them personally, there’s a blood bond between alumni that can run pretty deep. They’re likely to answer and often point you in the right direction.
Search profiles of people in companies you want to work for: Look up Sprint or Verizon on LinkedIn, for example. You might find a hometown or a mutual friend connection.
Reach out to HR directors: They’re online because they want you to find them. Be upfront and let them know that you’re looking for a job, not a friend.
Blog your passion: I knew a graduate who wanted to design environmentally friendly food packaging but wasn’t getting much response. He began a blog that revealed his packaging philosophy. It attracted his employer.
Answer other bloggers’ posts: Most corporations are blogging now. So, for example, if you want a job at Intel read some of the Intel blogs and express your opinion or ask a question. Those who make themselves known get hired.
Add the phone book and Craig’s List to your list: Nothing like local resources when you‘re job hunting.
The big idea is to go beyond simply putting up a billboard and hoping people come to look. Concentrate on making your profile the beginning , not the end, of your search.