Tag Archives: Having a Plan

10 steps toward a successful LinkedIn strategy (Part 2)

3 Replies

One thing I emphasize in my LinkedIn workshops is the importance of being active on LinkedIn. My mantra is, “You can have the best profile in the world, but if you’re not active, it means nothing.” In part one of this two-part article, I listed five steps to make your LinkedIn strategy a success. The conclusion of the article addresses the remaining five steps.

Kid playing chess

6. Use the Companies feature to network. The Companies feature is one of LinkedIn’s best features, as it allows you to identify valuable people in various companies. Often LinkedIn is the only way job seekers can locate important people at their target companies.

Your goal is to connect with people at desired companies (do you have a company target list?) before a job is advertised, thereby penetrating the Hidden Job Market. Play your cards right and you can set the foundation, so when the job becomes public knowledge you’re already known by the company.

Another scenario is identifying people who work in your target companies who can provide you with additional information, or even deliver you resume to the hiring manager.

Similar to using the Companies feature to network with strategic people is Find Alumni, a feature that helps you connect with people you went to school with based on criteria, such as what they studied, where they live, where they work, etc. The benefit of connecting with your alumni is obvious; people want to help their own.

Read 6 interesting facts about your alumni on LinkedIn.

7. Use the Jobs feature. LinkedIn has made strides to make the Jobs feature a player in the job board arena. It’s not succeeding as well as LinkedIn has hoped—Indeed.com and others still draw many job seekers. But increasingly more companies are using LinkedIn to advertise their jobs.

What’s nice about Jobs is that you can apply directly to a company’s website, as well as use “Easy Apply,” which allows you to send your profile to companies trying to fill positions. As well, the poster of jobs might be listed, allowing you to send an Inmail to said person.

Before you select a job, you can see first degree connections or alumni who work for companies filling positions. This gives you the opportunity to contact said people for better networking opportunities.

Note: if you are a Career premium member, you have access to information basic members don’t. You can see who your competitors are, as well as the major skills you might lack for a particular position. LinkedIn provides you with the average salary of the job for which you’re applying.

8. Endorse your connections’ skills. I never thought I’d write this, but endorsements are here to stay. The argument against endorsement is that skills can be endorsed willy nilly, without people actually seeing a person perform said skills.

Certainly this happens, but my solution to making this more viable is outlined in an article in which I encourage LinkedIn users to rearrange their skills in order to give their connections an idea of which skills they should be endorsed.

One thing we can say about endorsements is that they encourage engagement between connections. If your goal is to accumulate endorsements, you’ll have to endorse people in your network. Do this only if you have a sense for the skills you’re endorsing. Otherwise you’re supporting the argument that endorsements are meaningless.

9. Ask for and write recommendations. Your strategy should include requesting recommendations from your former supervisors and, to some extent, your colleagues. If you find that your supervisors are slow in writing your recommendation, you may want to offer some guidance in terms of what you’d like included in your recommendation, or you may even want to write it yourself.

Write recommendations for your former employees; it’s a great way to brand yourself. This shows your authority, as well as what you value in a good employee. You don’t have to be asked to write the recommendation; simply write one and send it to your former employees. They’ll appreciate your generosity very much.

10. Follow up. Always follow up. Every networking pundit will tell you that following up with new connections can be the most important piece of networking, both after personal meetings and connecting with someone on LinkedIn. Obviously it’s difficult, if not impossible, to follow up with everyone in your LinkedIn network, particularly if you’re a LION.

Keep in constant contact with your connections by responding immediately to direct messages or even responding to their updates. There’s nothing worse than starting a relationship and then dropping it like a lead balloon.

Sometimes we loose sight of our strategy and our LinkedIn campaign becomes disorganized. At this time it’s important to reign it in and adhere to the components I’ve outlined in this two-part article.

Photo: Flickr, moradini2009 (mikeoradini.dotphoto.com)

If you enjoyed this post, please share it!

The single best advice for the job search and 9 steps to follow in one day

5 Replies

Sitting on a benchYou’re probably thinking this post is about networking. Nah, I’m actually tired of talking about networking. Or you might think this is about writing a résumé recruiters are dying to read. Nope. Maybe you think this post is about the 10 essential elements of your LinkedIn profile. Done topic.

So what is this advice for the job search?

In my career center orientation I tell my attendees that if they leave with any bit of advice from me, it’s to get out of the house. That’s it. Get out of the house. This isn’t earth shattering advice, but it’s probably the advice many people need to heed. (Read this post about getting out the house.)

I hear all too often that some jobseekers sleep in until 10:00 a.m. I haven’t done that since adolescence. I also hear they know every episode of General Hospital and have learned from Dr. Phil the 14 traits of a serial killer. Some tell me they’ve scoured the Internet for jobs and spend six hours a day blasting out their résumés, resulting in very few interviews.

So, you ask, where should I go? I wouldn’t be a giver of advice without providing some plan detailing what to do once you’re out of the house. Here is an example of one day, the start of your official job search.

1. Get up at 6:00 a.m. and drink your two cups of coffee. Take care of nature calling. Don your shorts, holey tee-shirt, and new sneakers. (You bought them as a condition of landing your next job.) Leave the house for your 30-minute walk, or jog. Start with baby steps.

2. Clean the dishes when  you get back from your walk, which you found invigorating both physically and mentally. Breakfast is optional. Leave the house at 8:00 a.m. But don’t forget the PB&J sandwich you made for lunch.

3. Arrive at your local library and set the timer on your watch for one hour. Sit in a comfortable chair and write your to-do list for the day. It will include the activities starting with step four.

After you’ve finished your list, grab the nearest computer and sign in to LinkedIn. Write the following update: “Today is the first day of my job search. I’m looking forward to achieving success. If you are with me, ‘Like’ this update.” You’ll receive “Likes” from your true connections and perhaps some, “I’ll let you know if I hear of anything.”

4. Drive to your nearest career center to attend a workshop on Résumé Writing. While listening to someone like me talk about writing a résumé even recruiters will love, quietly ask the person next to you what her occupation is.

“Accountant,”  you say. “I’m a marketing specialist from the financial industry. Would you like to grab coffee afterward and compare notes?” (I lied about not mentioning résumés and networking.)

5. After your brief chat at a coffee house around the corner, walk to a nearby park where you can score a bench. Eat the PB&J sandwich you made at home. Take in the scenery while you eat your sandwich slowly. Make yourself to sit for a complete half an hour before you’re off to your next location.

You are acutely aware that feelings of anxiety are not present, because you are being productive. Productivity, you find, is a good thing.

Oh, text your wife with the following message: “(Insert salutation. Honey works well.) My first day on the search is going very well. Feeling productive. I’ll cook tonight.”

6. At 1:30 p.m. drive to a church 20 minutes away where a networking group meets. (You learned about this group from your new connection from the workshop.) Because it’s your first session, you’ll be required to deliver your value statement. Apologize for not preparing one; but don’t worry, the kind folks will give you guidance.

Listen to the guest speaker speak on his Candidate Pet Peeves. Note that he dislikes it when people don’t look him in his eyes, among other irritants the speaker mentions. Most of what he says if obvious, but it’s good to be reminded of the obvious.

7. At 4:00 p.m. drive to your local Starbucks, purchase a Tall ice coffee with light ice and cream only, and grab a comfy chair next to an outlet. Plug in your computer and dial into a job board you prefer.

Note that there are 10 job posts for marketing specialist, three in the financial industry. Also note that there are 15 job posts for Accountants. This is great labor market information for you and your new connection for when you meet her at the career center for an interview workshop.

8. At 5:00 p.m. refer to your to-do list and congratulate yourself for meeting 80% of today’s objectives. You were a bit optimistic about what you could do. That’s okay, you can pick up where you left off tomorrow.

Text your wife and tell her you’re on your way home to cook pork tenderloin on the grill. Ask if you should pick up vegetables and perhaps a bottle of wine–it was a good day.

9. After dinner you can settle in for the night. When your wife asks you if tomorrow you will cut the lawn and paint the garage, apologize and tell her now that you’re in the job search you won’t have time to do chores like that. However, during the weekend you’ll do as many chores as she’d like.

Tomorrow is another day to get out of the house. Which activities you choose to do is up to you. Perhaps following up with people you’ve met at the career center, creating your company target list, spending a couple hours revising your résumé, attending another networking group….The possibilities are endless. The important thing is that you’re getting out of the house.