Mary Jeanne Vincent, Career Talk: LinkedIn strategies for advancing your job search
LinkedIn continues to be the largest professional network. It is considered among the best job-search websites in the world. Many people use LinkedIn as a source of job opportunities but fail to appreciate the ways that it can enhance their job search.
If you are creating or updating your LinkedIn profile, one of the first things to do is personalize you LinkedIn url. When you create an account LinkedIn creates a rather unwieldy url link that includes your name with a series of letters and numbers after it. The purpose is to give you a way to directly link others to your profile. What many account holders don’t realize is that their url can be personalized. Savvy job seekers take advantage of this feature. Once you personalize your url, I recommend including it in your email signature and as a link on your resume. Your job is to make it easy for others to see your professional accomplishments.
I am a big fan of standing on the shoulders of those who have gone before you. Learning what others do well or poorly can be a shortcut to success. That is certainly true with LinkedIn.
An important element to showing up in relevant searches is having an effective headline. Your headline should include key words that describe your expertise and likely job titles. If you are not sure what terms/job titles might apply, view the profiles of others in your field. There you should find ideas for complementary job titles and applicable language to use in your headline.
When reviewing profiles check out the skill lists. Sometimes we take for granted or miss essential job skills. Checking the skills that others have highlighted can help you remember the skills you missed. While it is not necessary to list 100 skills, I recommend listing 25 at a minimum. Always list the most highly prized skills at the top since potential hiring managers may not bother to look further if they don’t immediately see what they are looking for. Be sure to tie specific skills to each position.
The most successful candidates use LinkedIn to connect with others at their target companies. I encourage my clients to locate and connect with potential colleagues at their favorite companies before they see the job of their dreams listed there. The LinkedIn search feature makes this easy to do.
Once you find people of interest write a personal note asking to connect. Perhaps you belong to the same professional association or previously worked at the same company, if so, mention this. If not, be honest. You can start with: “We don’t know each other; however, we attended the same university, or have a mutual interest in … I am interested in learning more about XYZ company.” Do not ask about a job. At a later date you can mention a particular job posting and inquire if their company offers an employee referral bonus. If so, that person may be interested in helping you connect with the hiring manager.
Finally, follow companies of interest and recruiters who post jobs of interest, this is an easy way to stay in the loop about potential jobs.
Mary Jeanne Vincent, career expert and strategist, has a coaching practice in Monterey. She may be reached at 831-657-9151, mjv@careercoachmjv.com, or www.careercoachmonterey.com
