One of the most important factors to being successful on Twitter – probably THE most important consideration – is finding a great cohort of tweeps to follow. Having a community of colleagues and interesting people to track [Read more…] about LinkedIn helps you find friends on Twitter
Do you follow companies on LinkedIn?
You may already know that LinkedIn is one of the most popular (I might dare to say THE most important) site to optimize if you want to make it easier for employers to find YOU. But, did you know that LinkedIn now has a feature that encourages users to follow companies? Sound a little too much like Facebook’s offer to allow you to “like” a company or business?
Read my post at Job-Hunt.org to learn about the feature and how you can use it to propel your search.
How to write your LinkedIn profile
I’ve written about using Facebook for your job hunt this week, but clearly LinkedIn is an obvious place for professional networking and connecting. While your resume typically will be a formal document that doesn’t include the words I, me or my, LinkedIn is a place where you can tell a story.
In the “Summary” section, you can describe yourself and highlight something you have to offer that is unique. There is no need to be overly formal – write something that will draw the reader in!
My colleague Barbara Safani inspired me to write about this today with her tweets from the Career Directors International conference during Louise Kursmark’s presentation. Follow the hashtag #CDI09 on Twitter for lots of great insights from the speakers and participants in Orlando this week!
Here’s a sample of Barbara’s tweets to whet your appetite:
Feel free to share success stories, questions and thoughts about LinkedIn in the comments section!
While you’re at it, be sure to become a fan of Keppie Careers on Facebook…I’d be thrilled to have you as part of the community!
If you need help mobilizing your networks and your job search plans, learn more about how I can help you!
Use an email address you "own" when you sign up for LinkedIn
A friend recently contacted me to ask for help for one of his clients. His dilemma? The client had created a LinkedIn profile, but he didn’t remember the password AND he had used a work email address only to set up the profile. Unfortunately, he was no longer at the job and did not have access to the email account that LinkedIn would use to send him a reset password!
While LinkedIn customer service might be able to help, it is a good reminder to everyone – DON’T use an email address that you won’t always have access to when you sign up for social networks. Instead, set up a Gmail or other “take with you” account as the primary address and add your current work mails as additionals. That way, you’ll never be locked out of your OWN profile!
Need more advice to help you move your job search forward? I can help!
The other side of the hiring desk, pt. 7: How a recruiter uses LinkedIn
Today, another interview with my friend and colleague Stephanie A. Lloyd, a Talent Strategies Consultant and Owner of Calibre Search Group in Atlanta, Georgia. She is a National Careers + Workplace Columnist for Examiner.com and also blogs at Radiant Verocity. You can also follow Stephanie on Twitter.
How important is it to be on LinkedIn and can you tell us how a recruiter uses LinkedIn to source candidates?
If you’re not on LinkedIn, create a profile *now.* I suggest a robust profile – the more the better. Recruiters and hiring managers use LinkedIn all the time to find candidates, doing key word searches. Many times these are based on job responsibilities, so if you have your title but don’t fill in what you did in each job you may not show up in the results. For the most part I copied and pasted my resume in to my LinkedIn profile.
The next thing you should do is search and select several groups to join. These should relate to your job function and/or industry. Jobs can now be posted free in groups, and if you’re a member you’ll have access to the listings. Recruiters join industry groups in order to have access to members. Remember, your goal is to be found!
Finally, recruiters and hiring managers are looking to see how many recommendations you have, and how genuine they are. Carefully select several people you have worked for and with in the past, and ask them to write a recommendation for you. A word of caution – if your recommendations are all reciprocal that can be a red flag (“I’ll write one for you if you’ll write one for me.”) Instead, write several (genuine) recommendations for other people you’ve worked with in the past and pay it forward.
Do you need help with your search? Follow this link to learn how I can help propel your job hunt!
In Atlanta? GA is expecting 10.1% unemployment. Get ahead of the game so you will be prepared to search for your next opportunity with local job search interventions: http://youneedajob.org/