Underemployed and Looking For a Better Job

Q. I’m currently one of those who is underemployed. I’m considering looking for a better job and would like to know the best way to go about it while working?

I would start with your current employer. Situations like yours often happen when a candidate is in need of a job. That is generally why they accepted a lower position in the first place. So I believe some level of loyalty should be given to a company that helped you when you needed it. You might check to see if a position will open up as the economy continues to improve? Are they open to expanding your role in the company? Converting you from part-time to full-time? If you haven’t already, you might consider giving them this opportunity before throwing in the towel.

If you still decide it is best to move, then you will have to conduct a search. Many candidates search while working. Start by building or updating your LinkedIn profile, post your resume on the job boards, let people you trust know you are open to something different, attend networking meetings before or after work hours, check the Web sites of potential employers in your industry to see if they post open positions and when appropriate engage a recruiter and respond to ads. Most companies are willing to conduct interviews during off hours for those people working.  You basically have to get out and let people know you are open to referrals or find a position via job postings.

To download the free chapter on Conducting an Effective Phone Interview from our book “This Is NOT The Position I Accepted” CLICK HERE and then click on the Free Search Resources link.

How effective is your job search?  If you are not sure, download our free 8 Matrix Job Search Self-Assessment Scorecard. CLICK HERE and then click on the Free Search Resources link.

I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Brad Remillard

Should I Have a LinkedIn Profile?

Question: Is having a profile on LinkedIn critical for professionals? I have asked many of my colleagues with profiles and only one has ever been contacted via LinkedIn.

I get this question a lot. LinkedIn is simply one tool in your job search tool box. I think too many candidates think they can just put up a profile and the phone starts ringing. Nothing could be more incorrect. I do believe you should have a compelling profile on LinkedIn. I speak with many recruiters, human resource professionals and hiring managers and almost all are using LinkedIn in some way. During a job search you must cover all the bases as there is no way to know where the job lead will come from. LinkedIn increases your visibility. It is not much different that posting your resume on a job board. Doing that doesn’t guarantee you will get a call, but most still should do it. An effective job search has a lot of moving parts. LinkedIn is just one of those parts.

To download the free chapter on Conducting an Effective Phone Interview from our book “This Is NOT The Position I Accepted” CLICK HERE and then click on the Free Search Resources link.

How effective is your job search?  If you are not sure, download our free 8 Matrix Job Search Self-Assessment Scorecard. CLICK HERE and then click on the Free Search Resources link.

I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Brad Remillard

Are You Effectively Using LinkedIn in Your Job Search?

LinkedIn is the most effective online tool for professional networking. However, most executive and managerial job search candidates under utilize the power of LinkedIn for the their job search. In this radio program, Brad and Barry discuss the various elements of creating a powerful and effective strategy that incorporates LinkedIn as a key component of your job search. Can you be easily found by recruiters, HR professionals and hiring managers?

To download this radio show CLICK HERE.

Job Search Booster Shot – Is LinkedIn Working for You?

A lot of candidates have given up on LinkedIn.

I probably speak with 20-30 executive candidates a week who’ve been out of work over a year. When I ask about their thoughts of using LinkedIn to find a job – I can almost hear the frowns and sour expressions over the phone.

Have you given up?

Are you getting job leads and referrals through LinkedIn?

If you are getting an adequate level of job leads and referrals – STOP now – No need to read further.

If on the other hand – you’re not getting enough job leads and referrals, let’s discuss how you can give a “booster shot” to your use of LinkedIn as a powerful tool in your job search.

Before we delve deeper into this amazing tool – I would like to suggest you download our FREE LinkedIn Profile Self-Assessment. Thousands of candidates have taken the LinkedIn Profile Self-Assessment and have dramatically improved their chances of being identified in a search.

LinkedIn Job Search Metrics

Let’s define some metrics related to your LinkedIn activities. In surveys and informal research (speaking to thousands of executive candidates over the last 12-18 months), here are some average metrics:

• 25 new connections (relevant to your search) per week
• 30-40 searches weekly of which your profile was included in the search
• 15-20 direct views of your profile weekly off of searches
• 5-7 direct inquiries per week from recruiters, hiring managers, or HR staff.
• 2-3 phone interviews per week based on recruiters/HR finding your resume on LinkedIn.

if you could obtain these metrics for investing 10-12 hours per week on LinkedIn, would the investment be a good use of your time?

Let’s tackle the first element on the assessment – your complete work history. I’m probably sounding like a broken record – you’ve heard me say it over and over again – LinkedIn is one of the greatest tools ever created for Job Search.

The problem is like most tools – you’ve got to practice using it, you’ve got to have the skill to use it properly, and it takes time to truly master how it can help your job search.

Let’s step through line-by-line the various elements on our LinkedIn Profile Self-Assessment. Upon finishing this blog series, you’ll have the knowledge and skills to master LinkedIn to drive the type of job search metrics listed above.

LinkedIn Profile – Work History

Do you have your full work history described in detail under your profile? Does it match up with your resume. Many employers are now verifying that your LinkedIn Profile is consistent with your resume.

Have you benchmarked your career trajectory with other top talent in your industry – functional area? If you network with other people just like you – how do their profiles compare with your profile? Are there people within your functional area or industry that are considered top talent – what do their profiles look like?

When recruiters, hiring managers, or human resource staff are conducting searches on LinkedIn for people just like you – what words and phrases are they using? How would you find out? ASK THEM!

What is the most impressive element of your work history? What’s the one or two things a potential employer/recruiter might say “WOW” if they saw it on your profile? What gave you a “WOW” jolt when you looked at other comparable profiles? Do you highlight these “WOW” factors to stand out.

LinkedIn Profile – Job Lead Generation

Are you searching for everyone at your former companies that are either currently employed at that company or are alumni of the company? This is a group that would be more than willing to help you. You’re part of their village. You’re one of the clan. When learning of your alumni status, most people would go out of their way to help you. Are you searching their connections for leads/connections to potential hiring managers, recruiters, or HR staff?

Are you elaborating upon your background by creating blog posts, Slideshare presentations, and box.net documents? Have you added video and audio elements to your profile to expand upon your work history? Are you sharing this additional content. You should be thinking content marketing and distribution to grab the attention of potential hiring managers, recruiters and HR staff? Are any of your peers using  content to improve their exposure and visibility?

When you hear of an job opportunity, do you search your extensive network on LinkedIn to see if someone is connected that might help you. If you’ve focused your efforts on connecting with appropriate job search contacts, after a year I would think your network should be in the 1,500-2,000 contact range with a potential reach in the 250,000 contact range through 2nd level contacts.

LinkedIn Profile – Optimizing for Searches

The final step in leveraging your LinkedIn profile is to optimize it so that you can be “found high in the search results”. My partner, Brad Remillard, just completed a webinar on this topic. You can still buy the presentation and slide deck. It doesn’t do you any good if you come up in  a search results on page 14 or 15.

Is your profile embedded in the right places with the right keywords so that when hiring managers, recruiters, and HR staff are conducting searches – you pop up in the first few pages of search results. If you’re profile is not optimized for search on LinkedIn, you’re probably never going to be called or contacted since most individuals in the hiring profession will not bother to view search results 9 pages deep.

A quick and dirty method to determine if your profile is optimized for search is to look at the ratio between total searches done in which your profile appears compared to the total number of direct profile views. If this ratio is less than 50%, your profile is probably not effectively optimized.

In our next blog post, we’ll focus on how to properly convey your accomplishments and achievements in your LinkedIn Profile.

Barry Deutsch

P.S. Don’t forget to download the LinkedIn Profile Self-Assessment so that you can determine your starting point and what is needed to improve your profile so that you stand out to hiring managers, recruiters, and HR staff.

LinkedIn Profiles Are Worthless, If People Can’t Find You

I firmly believe that most LinkedIn profiles are worthless, even the really good ones. I even teach a webinar on building a compelling LinkedIn profile. This is not to say that profiles on LinkedIn are not important. They are definitely important. Most are just worthless not only because they leave out valuable information, but also because they are not optimized so you  show up during a LinkedIn search.

I know this because recently for a search I’m doing I spent hours using LinkedIn to search for potential candidates. Then I received a resume from a person and looked him up on LinkedIn. I couldn’t understand why I didn’t find him during my search process. He was on LinkedIn but his profile was poor and clearly not optimized for someone searching on LinkedIn.

• He lacked key words in  his profile.
• He didn’t have the right key words that people will search on.
• The information was not placed in the right locations on the profile.
• He had not done any research or even thought about optimizing his profile.
• His profile lacked or completely missed how LinkedIn prioritizes profiles results from a search.
• He wasn’t optimizing his connections and groups so as to leverage his profile for a person searching for his profile type.

As a result of these and other issues I missed him. This almost cost him a job lead, an interview and potentially a job.  He is still in the hiring process so don’t know whether or not he will get the job. Yet,  all this stuff is easy to fix.  It doesn’t require a lot of time, but it does require understanding how to optimize  your profile and how LinkedIn works when conducting a search for people.

Even a great profile that can’t be found is like having a great website that nobody visits. Not a lot of value.

Is  your profile optimized? If not think seriously about doing it. I would recommend doing two things.

1. First develop a great profile. Make it compelling, identify the key words, have it complete including your work history, groups, education, interests, specialties and contact information. This has to be done first so you can optimize it for a LinkedIn profile search. Plus when someone views your profile, you want them to call you.
2. Only after you complete and compelling profile is it time to optimize it. I say after because it is almost impossible to optimize your profile if it isn’t complete. Identify key words, include them in the right locations, test your profile by searching for yourself and ask others to search for you. What page do you show up on? Keep playing with it until you are at least on the first 5 pages. Change the words, move the locations, add more words, re-test and have others re-test. It may take a little time but it is worth it.

Taking a little extra time to optimize  your profile will pay off. I’m glad this person found me through his network, but I wonder how many other opportunities he might have missed because he wasn’t findable on LinkedIn. I believe this is one of the most overlooked aspects to LinkedIn. Candidates just assume they will put up a profile and people will come. Not true. You must bring them to you.

To help  you create a complete and compelling profile download our free 8 Point LinkedIn Profile Assessment. It will help  guide you with the first step. CLICK HERE to get  your free copy.

Check out our audio library. There are many recordings there about using LinkedIn and they are all free to download. CLICK HERE to review the audio files.

Join our LinkedIn Job Search Networking Group. Over 5400 members with active discussion, news and information to help you in your job search and your LinkedIn profile. CLICK HERE to join it is free on LinkedIn to join groups.

WARNING: Those and many other resources on our website are 100% free. I’m conducting a webinar on Thursday, July 21, on ADVANCED LINKEDIN – MAKING YOURSELF FINDABLE. This webinar will show you exactly how step-by-step to get your profile on page one when people are searching for you.This is not theoretical it will show exactly how to do it.  If you are interested in getting your profile on page one then CLICK HERE to learn more.

I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Brad Remillard

Mediocre Networking equals Failed Job Search

I just published a blog on our HIRE and RETAIN Top Talent Blog aimed at hiring executives and managers on the subject of networking.

You can read this blog posting on networking for Executives and Managers by CLICKING HERE.

Outrageous Claim ? Networking is Critical to a Career

In this blog posting, I made the outrageous claim that Networking can make or break a career. As I was writing the post which was focused on employed executives and managers, the issue struck me that most candidates take too long to conduct a job search because:

Networking Efforts are INADEQUATE OR INEFFECTIVE

The Fundamental Problem of Job Search

One of the services we provide for executive and managerial job search candidates is job search coaching. We also have a specific project for developingNetworking Strategic Plan.

The first thing we notice is a woefully inadequate network and ineffective methods to build, grow, sustain, nurture, develop, enhance the network. Its no wonder the most common complaints about networking is that for the time investment it doesnt yield enough job leads and referrals.

If I approached networking the way most candidates approach it in their job search, I would consider it random luck if I got a job lead or referral.

Weve touched on Networking in the past and the importance of it for your job search. In my article addressed to employed hiring executives and managers, I claim its one of the most important skills they can possess and one of the most important activities they must do on a daily basis.

In a job search ? it is not just one of the important things you should be doing ? JOB SEARCH NETWORKING is the most important thing you should be doing ? without exception.

Here are few articles where weve touched upon the importance of networking:

CLICK HERE to Read How Recruiters Search on LinkedIn and What We Look For

CLICK HERE to Learn How to Stand Out at a Networking Event

Im writing an article series on 101 Job Search Tactics. A large percentage of those tactics are going to be centered around effective networking. Ive already described some of the networking tactics job search candidates should be trying on LinkedIn. Here are links to a few of those blog postings:

CLICK HERE to Read – Cares What Your Status is On LinkedIn?

CLICK HERE to Read ? 101 Job Search Tactics to Find a Job Now

Questions for Candidates Who Dont Network?

Why are you not networking?

What dont you know about networking that you must learn?

What are top 10 books youve recently read on networking?

What workshops/seminars/webinars have you recently attended to improve your skills at networking?

What blogs are you reading that offer great tips on how to network in your job search?

Whats holding you back?

Shouldnt you be investing heavily in time (and funds) everything you can to learn how to become a master networker in your job search?

If 80% or more of all jobs are not posted, in the hidden job market, and can only be found through networking ? why are you only focusing on the 20% that are advertised on job boards?

Resources for Job Search Networking

Basing your job search on answering job board advertisements instead of concentrating on effective job search networking is like betting your savings on the crap tables. Only if random luck intervenes do you stand a chance of succeeding.

Here is a list of a few resources that might help you in networking:

CLICK HERE to join our LinkedIn Job Search Discussion Group ? many good conversations on how to network effectively

CLICK HERE to see our Job Search Workbook that contains our focused chapter on how to network

CLICK HERE to Learn about our services for Executive and Managerial Job Seekers including Job Coaching and Networking Strategic Planning.

CLICK HERE to download some of our archived FREE radio show broadcasts on the subject of Job Search Networking

CLICK HERE to download the FREE Job Search Plan Self-Assessment Scorecard to determine if your networking approach is effective

CLICK HERE to visit our Job Search FREE Resources Portal where we bring together the blog feeds from some of the very best bloggers on the Internet focused on Networking techniques.

Barry Deutsch

Establish Your Job Search Credibility on LinkedIn – Job Search Tactic #6

Did you know LinkedIn provides an instant credibility building tool for developing your personal brand?

Did you know that within just a few weeks you have an ability to rise to the top of recruiters, hr professionals, and hiring manager radar screens?

Combine the Question and Answer element of LinkedIn with the other recommendations we’ve made in this series of Job Search Tips on LinkedIn:

Everyone Cares What Your Status is on LinkedIn – CLICK HERE TO READ

Who Cares What Your Status is on LinkedIn – CLICK HERE TO READ

Don’t Be Like Groucho Marx on LinkedIn – CLICK HERE TO READ

The Instant Credibility Tool on LinkedIn

It’s called Questions and Answers.

You can find at the top of screen on the horizontal navigation menu. Click on “More” and then click on “Answers”.

Look at the questions being asked in a variety of categories where you have an expertise:

• Your job search
• Fund raising for your local soccer non-profit organization
• Industry trends
• Functional issues such as marketing or financial management
• Working with Recruiters
• Using LinkedIn

What expertise do you bring to the job search party?

Step 1: It’s Okay to be a Temporary LinkedIn Lurker

Pick a subject area in which you are most comfortable

Lurk a little to see what type of questions are asked and what type of answers are given. (I know – I know – I told you a few blog postings ago NOT to be a lurker on LinkedIn! Let’s suspend that request for a few minutes). Get a feel for the give and take of asking a question, getting responses, and responding to the responses.

This is what Social Media and Social Networking is all about. Here is the basic core element – engaging in discussion and conversation with others. Giving value back through your contributions and receiving value by taking the bits and pieces others offer.

This element of questions and answers is at a very basic level one of the most important aspects of networking. In the old days – you did this in-person or by phone.

LinkedIn gives you a platform of leverage which is extraordinary for the speed, efficiency, and exposure.

Step 2: Answer a few questions on LinkedIn

Observe, lurk, kibbutz, peek and then after playing LinkedIn Peeping Tom over 24-48 hours, post a few replies to questions you’re most comfortable answering.

Wait for a response – or perhaps someone else besides the original question poser will raise a question, challenge your idea, or build upon your recommendation.

Respond to the responder.

Engage in a conversation.

Pretend it’s a friendly dialogue.

Couple of Ground Rules – Both Negative and Positive

You might call this section – social etiquette on LinkedIn:

• Never put someone else down in public
• Never insult another poster
• Don’t try to dominate the conversation
• Don’t act arrogant or be a know-it-all
• Avoid sarcasm – it’s easy to misinterpret little jokes or having some fun at other’s expense
• Be positive
• Say Positive things
• Give praise frequently
• Recognize when someone has made a great contribution to the discussion – give them an on-line pat on the back. Everyone wants a little recognition when they do something great.

Step 3 – Pose Your Own Questions on LinkedIn

After you’re comfortable answering a few questions, try posting a few questions.

Be a little controversial.

Take a contrarian point of view.

Don’t hesitate to offer your opinion or ideas.

Be yourself.

Stimulate a discussion.

Tie your question to an area of your expertise.

Track your questions –  do certain questions generate a larger response?

Step 4 – Who’s behind the questions and answers?

After responding to a question, look at the profile of the poster. Is this someone you would like to connect with and get to know better? Send him/her an invite to connect on LinkedIn.

When people respond to your questions, check out their profiles. Should you be connecting to them also through an invitation.

Can you imagine how much leverage this is going to bring to your networking efforts? Visualize all those connections and their connections – WOW – it’s as if the old saying is coming true that “we’re all connected to Kevin Bacon through 6 levels of referrals.

We’ll get into how to leverage your network’s connections in a future post in this series.

Action Steps on LinkedIn

As soon as you finish reading this article, go straight to the questions and answers area on LinkedIn. Begin step 1.

Within 24-48 hours I expect to see you responding to questions and posting a few of your own.

Shoot a comment back on this blog post or drop me a note and let me know how this is working out for you.

Before you know it – you’ll have established your credibility. The recruiters, hr folks, and hiring managers lurking in the background will begin to see you, hear you, recognize you for for your expertise, knowledge, and radiating personal brand.

You’ll start getting inquiries, others will look forward to your comments, and you’ll start to generate a decent following of dedicated fans.

It’s so easy I’m practically dumbfounded that more managerial and executive job seekers don’t do this as part of their daily dozen on-line social media and networking activities.

Barry Deutsch

P.S.: I hope you didn’t miss the How to Find your Next Job on LinkedIn Webinar we conducted today.

Mark your calendar NOW for our next webinar on April 30th – Giving Your Job Search a Boost Through Social Media. Stay tuned for upcoming announcements of this program. Just like our Webinar on LinkedIn today, we expect to sell out quickly for this value-packed inexpensive Job Search Social Media Webinar.

How Recruiters Search Using LinkedIn & What We Look For

So much has been written on the importance of a complete and compelling LinkedIn profile.  I am currently working on two searches for which I am extensively using LinkedIn to source candidates. From what I have seen, one would think that LinkedIn is either a new or non-essential tool. Nothing could be further from the truth.

In the last two weeks, I have looked at well over three hundred profiles on LinkedIn. Only one thought comes to mind and I hope I speak for most recruiters (internal and external) when I say, “What a major disappointment!” or “Now I understand exactly why so many candidates are in transition so much longer than necessary.”

I firmly believe that most profiles are viewed, and then passed over time and time again. Most  LinkedIn members who are looking for a position don’t even know how many times someone has reviewed their profile and never contacted them simply because their profile completely, “SUCKS.”

Profile after profile indicated “open to being contacted for career opportunities,” but the profile wouldn’t even include the person’s name!

If that isn’t  ridiculous enough,  my favorite examples are the ones that state in the headline, “Unemployed or Actively Seeking a New Position.”  One would think that since this person took the time to announce to the world that they are in transition, that they would at least upload their resume. But “NO.”   OK,  surely they will at least complete their profile so people reviewing it will know what they do?  Nope, why let recruiters and others searching for candidates have this information?

Give me a break,  do they expect me to engage them based on their picture? Are recruiters supposed to just know this information via osmosis?

Here is how I search for candidates on LinkedIn. I hope this will help you as well as help recruiters help you.

1. I start out using the advanced search feature for people.
2. I want to throw a wide net.  My goal is to be inclusive at this point, rather than to exclude someone.
3. I usually start with just a few criteria. Generally, title, location (I use zip code and 50 mile radius), industry and function. That is it.
4. There are exceptions to this but this is the starting point.
5. I leave all other fields set to the  “All . . ” category in the drop down boxes. Meaning search all my groups, search in and out of my network, etc. I want a wide net.

Generally, hundreds of profiles appear. Now the search really begins, as does the frustration.

I begin scanning through the summaries of the profiles that appear. There is not a lot of information in the summary but enough to give the reader a good idea of whether it’s worth it to view the person’s full profile.

So often there is no need to even review a person’s profile. I can tell just from the summary that the information on the profile is either missing or completely worthless. For example, no picture, no name, no companies listed, vague titles, no contacts, background missing, no work history, etc. Yet, they want to be contacted for career opportunities.

Once I start looking at the profile, I usually decide in about 10-20 seconds if I should click out or read on.  So many profiles are so incomplete that I wonder why this person even took the time to post a profile. What exactly were they expecting when they posted this worthless profile?

I also look at the picture to see if it is professional or one that will embarrass me for referring the person if my client views it. That’s assuming there is a picture at all.

I then begin looking for the box checking stuff my client is requiring such as education, experience, current or past titles, years of experience, level, etc. You can read more about this in an article I wrote, “How Recruiters Read Resumes In 10 Seconds or Less.” Click here if you are interested.

I also look for recommendations and may read some. What are others saying about you? If nobody is willing to say anything good about you, it certainly isn’t a knock out, but I am curious about that.

I will also scroll down the profile summary and work history, and if a resume is uploaded I will review it. Rarely is a resume uploaded. Most of the time this is where it ends. The profile is so incomplete, the work history so brief, the description of work so worthless, that I can’t figure out what they were responsible for.  The profile has little or no company information, so I have no idea if their past companies were even in the right industry. Finally, the summary at the top is meaningless. Most don’t even include specialties.

I scroll to the very bottom and sure enough they want to be contacted regarding career opportunities. Some are even helpful at this point and will say, “Prefer to be contacted on my cell phone.” or  “Please use my personal email address.” Neither of which are included in the profile. Hey, I can’t make this stuff up.

GOODBYE. I have better things to do and a lot more people to consider.

This person probably just lost a great opportunity, or at the very least an opportunity to discuss a position. Even if they aren’t interested,  just knowing what is going on in their market is helpful. Just getting a feel for comparable compensation is a good data point for anyone to know.

The lunacy doesn’t end here. At least 50% of  these people are not working. Their work history will be 2007-2009.  What planet are they on? I’m sure they are frustrated, and complaining about how long they have been out of work and how bad the market is. This may be completely true, but they aren’t helping themselves with their profile.

If this search fails to produce viable candidates, I will go back and change the title or industry and try again. Not necessarily change the search, just some of the criteria. I’ll try to throw a wider net in a different part of LinkedIn’s membership.

Finally, I may eventually search by company name. If I know of a specific company that is right, I will search using the company name. That brings up all of the people that are currently working for this company or have in the past.

This is why your complete and compelling profile is so important on LinkedIn.  In today’s world, the search for candidates so often starts on LinkedIn. The sad part is, it also often ends there too.

Take away nothing else from this article but this one thing: In today’s market, companies (right or wrong) are looking for the kings and queens in their field, not the jack of all trades. If your profile doesn’t shout out loud and clear, “I’m an EXPERT,” you may be missing opportunities. Sadly, this happens and it is so easy to fix.

On March 26th we are having a webinar on how you can leverage LinkedIn to find your next job. We believe this is the most comprehensive webinar we have seen on this topic. We’ll have over 35 slides (we’ll give you all the slides) on how you can build a compelling and complete profile. We will show you step-by-step where the tools are and how you can use them to be the “EXPERT.” These slides and the audio recording of the webinar are included. If you want a profile that puts you in the top 10%, then you should CLICK HERE to learn more.

At a minimum you should download our 8-Level LinkedIn Self Assessment Profile. This tool is a great start towards building a great profile. CLICK HERE to get yours. It is 100% free.

Finally, if you are on LinkedIn, join our LinkedIn Job Search Networking Group. There are more than 4,800 members in the group. It is one of the fastest growing groups on LinkedIn that focuses on job search issues. CLICK HERE to join.

I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Brad Remillard

Everyone Cares What Your Status is on LinkedIn – Job Search Tactic #5

In our last blog post, we built the foundation for why it’s important to update your status on LinkedIn You can read the previous blog post, by CLICKING HERE.

Let’s take the conversation down from 40,000 ft. to ground level.

As a job seeker, how can you effectively use status updates on LinkedIn for your job search?

Let’s take your example as a management/executive job seeker:

You just responded to a job advertisement at XYZ company.Why not tell your network and ask if anyone knows someone at the company?

Amazing – 4 people in your network knew an executive at the company and would be happy to call on your behalf. Two were vendors, one was a former employee, and one was a key customer. In addition, two people raised their hands and shared with you that they used to work at XYZ company and know the executive in charge of hiring for this position.

You just received a phone call and the company would like you to interview for a position.

Amazing – 3 people in your network have interviewed with that executive before and all had the same type of interview- right down to the 15th question. Now you’re prepared for what may be asked.

You would like to connect with a particular Retained Executive Recruiter – you’ve tried, but you cannot break through the steel door protecting the inner sanctum.

Amazing – you post a status update that you are trying to connect with Barry Deutsch. Within 48 hours, 15 members of your network have responded – 4 executives have used Barry on a search, 7 executives have been placed in key roles by Barry, and 8 executives in your network are customers of IMPACT Hiring Solutions, having bought products and services in the past.

Within 24 hours, 19 people have raised their hands and offered to provide a strong, intimate, hot personal referral to Barry Deutsch that is guaranteed to not only have  Barry return the call – but he’ll probably proactively pick up the phone and call you!

This list is endless in the ways you can leverage your LinkedIn Status Updates to communicate and share with your network. Perhaps, most importantly you keep a top-of-the-mind presence with your entire network.

What could be easier – 30 seconds a day each day – and now your name – your brand –  is once again in front of your entire network.

I try to vary my status updates. I achieve freshness, interest, and variation through breaking my status updates down into 3 categories

1. Sharing something I did that is relevant to my network (by describing what I am doing professionally – not personally such as “Now I’m brushing my teeth” or “Grandma made a mean meatloaf tonight”.
2. Sharing something someone else in my network mentioned and I thought it was worthy of sharing with my entire network
3. Sharing a link to a great blog post, web page, tool, download, upcoming webinar – something that you felt might be useful to your network.

Remember – one of the basic fundamental elements of effective networking is helping your network – giving back. Status updates is a powerful tool to give back to your network and to be seen as “useful” and “helpful”. This is social networking  and social media 101.

Finally, once you’ve done this on LinkedIn, you can extend the same strategies to all the other social media and networking sites. Do you use Google Buzz/Reader to share information with your network? Are you on Facebook and continually updating your status? Twitter is the extreme example of status updating for your network. And there are many other sites.

If you’re not leveraging the real power of social media and networking through status updates – you’re working way too hard to sustain communication with your network.

What was the last status update you did on LinkedIn? When was it – 1 week ago, a month ago, 3 months?

Barry Deutsch

My partner, Brad Remillard, will be leading a powerful webinar on March 26th to teach you how to leverage all the LinkedIn tools  to find your next job through LinkedIn.

Are you leaving opportunities on the table because you don’t know how to effectively leverage the tools LinkedIn provides for job seekers?

CLICK HERE to sign up right now for this unique LinkedIn Job Search webinar.

(NO ONE else is teaching anything remotely like this webinar, which is crammed with so many valuable LinkedIn Job Search Action Items that you will not be able to write them down fast enough).

Your LinkedIn Profile May Be More Critical Than Your Resume In A Job Search

This is an important discussion that I believe will accelerate over the next few years, especially for professionals and those in managerial positions. However, I still believe that the discussion is very relevant for all others.

Right now this is the, “which came first the chicken or the egg” argument.

So what do recruiters, HR, and hiring managers screen with first? Your resume or your LinkedIn profile?

One side might argue the resume. The candidate emails the resume or replies to a job posting. The person screening reviews the resume and makes a decision to follow-up or not. So in this example the resume was the deciding factor.

The other side would argue that, more and more before companies incur the expense of posting an ad, they first go to LinkedIn. This is especially true for recruiters. They first go to LinkedIn, and if they can’t find a person on LinkedIn they will post an ad. So here LinkedIn is the most important.

As a retained executive recruiter and job search coach, I would take the position that both are important, but LinkedIn is rapidly passing up the resume, and is at least equal to it.

I take this position because so often, and it is increasing at an alarming rate, after the person screening your resume reads it, the next stop is LinkedIn. They want to see your profile. My partner, Barry Deutsch, and I are being told more and more by our clients that this is what they are doing. I just wrote an article about how one of my clients was considering hiring a person until they looked at their LinkedIn profile. BTW, this is becoming true not only for LinkedIn, but for all social networking sites including Facebook and Twitter.

People screening  your resume are becoming more savvy about LinkedIn. I’m not referring to recruiters. We have been using LinkedIn for years. With the explosive growth of LinkedIn due to the recession, companies are rapidly realizing the enormous value of LinkedIn. So much so, (call me crazy) but I believe that within the next few years, the need for resume databases on the job boards will become secondary to social media sites. After all, why would a person pay almost $10,000 to search a database of resumes when the information is free on LinkedIn and other sites? In a world of cost cutting, eliminating this cost just makes sense to me.

So what does this mean to the job seeker?

1) Make sure  you have a very complete and compelling LinkedIn Profile. A compelling and complete profile can literally change your search overnight. I have seen this happen with people I do job search coaching with. Unfortunately, only about 10% currently have a compelling and complete profile. That is why when you have one, you stand out.

I can’t stress this enough. 90% of most profiles on LinkedIn are at best fair and most are so incomplete they are worthless.  What a golden opportunity to position yourself as the “expert” in  your field. In today’s market, companies are searching for the expert. That can be you. LinkedIn has the tools for you to do this. Why so many don’t take advantage of these FREE tools is beyond me. If you know “WHY” please enlighten me.

2) Don’t forget Facebook, Google profiles, and Twitter. These are often overlooked. Why not have a Facebook page that focuses on you as a professional? Use it for your job search, rather than socially. There is an awful lot  you can do on Facebook to stand out.

3) Twitter is a great tool that builds awareness. It is easy to use and gives you  great exposure. Plus, you can link your tweets back to your LinkedIn status. Now you are killing two birds with one stone.

You have an outstanding opportunity right now (but the window is rapidly closing) to stand out on LinkedIn and be the “EXPERT.” So many people today have such poor profiles that you should take advantage of this by creating a great profile.

How often in your job search have you heard the phrase, “You must differentiate yourself.” Well, this is your opportunity to do so. Why would anyone leave this gaping hole in their resume?

You might qualify to receive a FREE LinkedIn profile assessment, valued at over $300. On March 26th we are having a webinar on how you can leverage LinkedIn to find your next job. We believe this is the most comprehensive webinar we have seen on this topic. We’ll have over 35 slides on how you can build a compelling and complete profile. We will show you step-by-step where the tools are and how you can use them to be the “EXPERT.” These slides and the webinar audio recording are included in the webinar. If you want a profile that puts  you in the top 10% then you should CLICK HERE to learn more.

At a minimum you should download our 8-Level LinkedIn Self Assessment Profile. This tool is a great start to building a great profile. CLICK HERE to get yours. It is 100% free.

Finally, if you are on LinkedIn, join our LinkedIn Job Search Networking Group. There are more than 4,800 members. It is one of the fastest growing groups on LinkedIn that focuses on job search issues. CLICK HERE to join.

I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Brad Remillard