Supercharge Your Job Search With Linkedin

Supercharge your Job Search with Linkedin
Jason Matyas
Social Media Consultant

Overview
What is Linkedin and why does it matter?
Your profile
Your connections
Recommendations
Linkedin Groups
Linkedin Answers
Linkedin Jobs
Using Linkedin with other tools and activities
Supercharge your Job Search

What is Linkedin?
The premier social network for business
Connects the dots of your professional relationships
Provides a venue to market your skills and experience
Gives opportunities to help others
Makes you visible to others
Gives you awareness of opportunities

Why does Linkedin matter?
Today’s job market is tough
For employees:
One of hundreds applying to each position
Often don’t hear back from employers
For employers:
Have to review hundreds of applications
Don’t have time to give personal replies
Linkedin helps you find opportunities and be found by those who are looking

Your Linkedin Profile
More than a resume, it’s a commercial for you
Market yourself and build your brand
Tell people your skills in detail
No significant space constraints like resumes
Get recommendations from coworkers
List your education in detail
List your professional associations
Everything should show your uniqueness
All of this becomes searchable, which means people can find you

Your Linkedin Profile

Creating your Linkedin Profile
Use a good picture – be visually likable
Write a good Professional Headline
Seen when your name is displayed on other pages
This is your brand – make it count
Only list websites for organizations are you currently work at or that display your professional expertise (updated blog, etc.)
Customize your profile page with your name

Summary block
Your sales pitch (or elevator pitch)
Your brand statement (what makes you unique)
Your promise to future employers
Use the summary as your ad for your ideal job
Use keywords – determine them up front, then work them into your statements
Specialties block
Don’t overdo keywords – distribute across summary
Be sure to include functional keywords (clerical, MS Office, etc.)

Experience block
Use your resume as a baseline
Add extra pertinent detail that was excluded from resume to save space
Use data and metrics - $ made/saved for company, time saved, etc.
Education block
Include relevant education
Include descriptions, honors received, activities

Click on Edit My Profile, then Edit for section you want

Recommendations
Recommendations are very important
Give additional perspectives on your history
Lets others praise you
The more you have, the better – some recruiters use # of recommendations as a filtering criteria
Saves time and effort for an employer checking references – can reach out to your contacts that have recommended you directly

How you are Seen
On your home page, notice:
Professional Headline
Status Update
These same elements appear to others on:
Their home page
In Linkedin Groups
In Linkedin Answers

How you are Seen
On others’ Home Pages
Your status update here
Shows up to others here & they can interact with you

Your Linkedin Connections
Your connections are the primary determining factor in how visible you are to others
The more people that know you’re job searching, the more people that can help you
Your ability to search for inside information is limited by your connections
Increasing your number of 1st level connections grows your 2nd and 3rd level connections geometrically

Connecting with others

Use your email contacts or invite people individually

Customize your invitations to solidify the reason to connect

Finding people you know
Search People first (top right of page)
Advanced search can narrow criteria

Specify radius to search

Connect to people from their profile
Click “Add <name> to your network”

Connect from a profile
Colleague & classmate ask for Company or School you were at together
Groups & Associations are Linkedin Groups
Other requires email

Introductions
Using one of your connections to be introduced to someone
Usually only do for 2nd level connections
Can connect to the 2nd level connection in order to get to a 3rd level connection
Always think and communicate helping & win-win

Introductions
Right sidebar shows:
Within a person’s profile, click “Get introduced…”

Connection strategies
Connect to everyone you’ve worked with before
Connect to people in the same career field
Use Linkedin Groups to connect to people
Utilize Introductions when needed or beneficial
Participate in Linkedin Answers – these offer wider visibility outside of Group discussions

Linkedin Groups
Way to connect to people that share similar:
Professions
Areas of expertise
Organizational affiliation
Alumni affiliation
Areas of interest
Limited to membership in only 50 groups
The more the better, but they only really benefit you if you actively use them

Linkedin Groups

Linkedin Groups
You can easily access the discussions and people you are following

Linkedin Groups – Home page
Section Tabs
Follow

Linkedin Groups

Linkedin Groups
Use Linkedin Groups to:
Find people with similar interests
Research people in your career field and see where they’re working & where they have worked
Connect to people that you can help and that can help you
Start and engage in discussions
Submit news items for discussion
Demonstrate your subject matter expertise – your discussion entries show up on others’ home pages as new activity

Linkedin Answers
If you think of social networking as a big cocktail party, Linkedin Answers are just the conversations happening at the party
A way to engage in conversation with people interested in similar issues
A way to find people to connect to
A way to demonstrate your expertise
Your answers show up in your profile sidebar and on others’ home pages as new activity
This increases your visibility, increases your connections, and increases your ability to engage with the right people

Linkedin Answers

Linkedin Jobs

Linkedin Jobs
Use Advanced Job Search to filter for various criteria

Linkedin Jobs

Linkedin Jobs
Jobs insider shows you inside connections and source of connections

SimplyHired integration
SimplyHired search queries allow you to cross-check your Linkedin network for contacts at the company listed (click on the blue “in” icon)
You can then follow up with a message or invitation request to connect to a key insider

Using Linkedin with other tools & activities
Participate in job fairs and networking events
Linkedin is just an electronic extension of human interaction
The best way to connect with people online is after meeting them in person
Consider making business cards that include your Linkedin profile address and invite connections
Talk with fellow job seekers as well as companies & recruiters – they could be the vital link you need

Using Linkedin with other tools & activities
Research companies and jobs on Linkedin after finding job postings
Look for company profile
Look for current and past employees
Connect with them and ask them questions
See what companies past employees left for

You job search takes time and effort
Spend several hours a day researching
Include LinkedIn as part of your strategy
Important activities on LinkedIn
Send at least a few connection requests every day
New connections show up as new activity on others’ home pages
Submit articles, links, and discussion entries often
Include your LinkedIn profile address and email in your signature (can create an email address just for use on Linkedin)
Ask and answer questions
Demonstrate your communication skills
Join recruiting and job search Groups
Research companies and important people using Linkedin search tools

You have to find a job that fits you
You have to market yourself to employers
You have to understand the company & people
You have to connect to people to get help
Linkedin can help you do all of these

Supercharge your Job Search with Linkedin
Jason Matyas
Social Media Consultant
Questions?

Questions?
About MSI Education Services
MSI Education Services is a computer software training organization that specializes in office productivity applications, such as Microsoft Office and QuickBooks. We are an approved vocational training provider for New Jersey – ask us about training grants that you may qualify for. See:
http://www.msiservices.com/index.php/education/
About Jason Matyas
Jason is an entrepreneur and social media consultant that focuses on leveraging the latest web and software technologies to drive business results through optimization and automation. Connect with Jason on Linkedin.

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Supercharge Your Job Search With Linkedin

by Jason Matyas on Sep 30, 2009

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