Why LinkedIn is High Octane Fuel for Job Searching
Kathy Robinson runs TurningPoint Career Consulting, working with mid- to executive-level job seekers who need help marketing their talents, finding interesting opportunities, and getting results in their job search. As a former HR executive, she’s seen the way that LinkedIn has changed the entire process of recruiting, for good. Read more success stories from our users here.As a career coach, LinkedIn has proven to be a killer app for job seekers whom I counsel, with its immediate access to contacts, groups, events, and thought leaders.
The first thing I ask clients do is optimize their profile, then connect to as many relevant connections as they can, even if they’ve only worked with a former colleague briefly but have a trusted relationship. Other tips? Participate in groups. Don’t just connect “to” people, but connect “with” people, letting them know what you’re looking for and turning a LinkedIn invitation into a longer conversation.
That’s the approach that worked for one of my clients Christine Midwood, a talented technology program director and product manager. In addition to networking with most of her real world professional connections on LinkedIn, and joining groups, she researched LinkedIn for company information and potential connections before applying for any jobs. She saw a dramatic difference in how many phone interviews or offers she got from traditional online boards (5% response rate) versus online and offline networking (31% response rate). During her search, she made a weekly goal of 3 meetings with her connections, to learn what might be happening in the job market. When she saw a job posting for what is now her current job, she looked up and connected to a former coworker through LinkedIn, who introduced her to the hiring manager. (connect with your former colleagues here)
As Christine found, LinkedIn’s power goes way beyond a profile and some contacts. For example, if you’re interested to know how people broke into a certain field? Look up their backgrounds on their profiles, and find out “how they did it”.
I can’t imagine the job search process for my clients today without the power of LinkedIn, can you? Share your experience in the comments below.
Have a LinkedIn experience you’d like to share with us? Submit your story here.
Tags: kathy-robinson, linkedin-jobs, linkedin-profile-optimization, linkedin-profiles, turning-point-career-consulting
trackback
http://blog.linkedin.com/2009/08/11/kathy-robinson-why-linked-in-is-high-octane-fuel-for-job-searching/trackback/
ppalme August 12th, 2009
Thanks a lot for your advise. One thing I always wanted to find out and could not was in which search results did my profile appear. I can see the people who come to my profile but I cannot see what keywords were used in linkedin to get to the search results my profile appeared in. Thank you.
J. Scott Alexander August 13th, 2009
Thank you for the great article to help newcomers to linkedln.
J. Scott Alexander
Dirk Frey August 14th, 2009
@ppalme- Good point. I’ve often wondered that as well. I’ve forwarded this on to our product team for consideration. Thanks!
Nigel Pollock August 14th, 2009
Great article, thanks for the tips. If there is some insight into the keywords question I would be most interested to learn more on this, as I’m sure all users would.
Marilyn August 16th, 2009
Hello. It would really be helpful if I could check my connections’ connections by city. For example, I would like to take any connection of mine and find out who they are connectd to in Chicago. Do you think there will ever be a way to do that?
Robin Eads August 17th, 2009
As a user of LinkedIn for more than a couple of years now, I find it difficult to participate in groups because of SPAM and lack of participation in a lot of them. I find the Q&A area to be more effective at networking and exchange of relevant information. Just my opinion, of course. :)
Dirk Frey August 18th, 2009
@Marilyn- I’m forwarding your comment on to the Product team for discussion and consideration in future releases.
Dirk Frey August 18th, 2009
@Robin- I’ve forwarded your comment on to our Groups team for review. Thanks for your honest feedback!
Trace Mayer August 18th, 2009
@Marilyn, that is a great idea.
This is an awesome article because I see way too much focus on the quantity of networking with all the social media but not much focus on the quality. With the # of friends on Facebook, followers on Twitter, etc. I think a lot of people miss the mark. It is all about the quality whether you want to find that next job or close the next round of financing.
Karen M Zoller August 19th, 2009
Great suggestions. Linked In is such a powerful tool and we are just learning how to maximize it particularly in job searches.
Fred Clough September 4th, 2009
I can think of no greater compliment than someone wanting “your opinion.” I routinely make use of the Expert Opinion (wanted) button when connecting with people. Who doesn’t want to give their opinion?
Steve Turner September 22nd, 2009
Hi Everybody,
I’m a relatively new user of Linked In. Can somebody provide me with practical steps of best connecting with 3rd level connections?
Thank you!
Steve
Dirk Frey September 29th, 2009
@ Steve- You might try out the Introductions feature. The “Get introduced through a connection” link is visible on the right side of the page when viewing that person’s Profile. The feature will walk you though the process in which you can select who of your contacts you would like to go through where you believe you may have the best chance of being introduced. We also have a feature called Answers (found across the top of your home page) that may be good avenue for this question. You can also search this feature for questions and discussions that may have already been asked and answered by other LinkedIn members. The final option I would offer would be using the InMail feature. Clicking on the ‘Send Inmail’ from that member’s Profile allows you to go straight to the source directly if you wanted. Premium account holders are provided a number of InMails each month (varies by subscription level) as part of their premium package.
Stan Radomski November 19th, 2009
LinkedIn is such a powerful tool – it’s just a shame people don’t realize what they’ve got at their fingertips. I use linkedin for personal networking and identifying leads for business. It’s a great tool!