Do you have a job search survival kit?

This post belongs to a continuing LinkedIn Blog series on users who beat the odds in today’s economy, by winning jobs or closing business deals through relationships built on LinkedIn. Today’s story is from the New York Times, where one of our users Amy Baker describes 10 ways to help recently laid off friends, find a job:

1. I invite them to lunch.

2. I present them with a “job search survival kit.” This includes a notebook for writing their ideas/interview notes in and a Starbucks card for the networking they will do or simply for a treat.

3. The first piece of advice in the notebook is “Always accept a free lunch. You will do the same when you are in their shoes.” Most people don’t know how to be on the receiving end of generosity and forget it makes both sides feel good.

4. I tell them the first thing they should do is sign up for unemployment, and I explain how it works and what to do (many are not familiar with the system, but it was a godsend during my search) .

5. I make sure they are on LinkedIn, offer help with their résumé and offer to be a recommendation.

I would add a quick and easy tip -  use your LinkedIn Status update to broadcast to your network that your friend is looking for a job. Don't forget to add your friend's public profile URL in the update as well. Think of it as using your professional network to do good. Also, feel free to leverage the power of other social networks like Twitter to amplify the message at the same time.

The second, more obvious suggestion is to help your friend by volunteering a recommendation on LinkedIn. I'm seeing way more recommendations pop up on my network updates these days and it really surfaces some great candidates for job openings, particularly since it comes from my trusted network.

Read the remaining 5 tips from Amy Baker, in the New York Times, here. Have you helped a friend find a job? Leave a comment.