Using LinkedIn to Find a Job
- 3. Take a step back! First, define your goals: โข Where do you want to go with your career? โข What do you expect from a new job? โข What kind of function or role do you want? โข What kind of organization do you want to work for? โข Which industry appeals to you? โข Where do you want to work? Then ask yourself: Who are the people in the best position to help me reach my goals? Sarah Barbee @Sarah_Barbee www.sarahbarbee.com
- 4. Setting Yourself Apart Professional Headline Describe yourself as the job you want or how you can help, not your title. Sarah Barbee @Sarah_Barbee www.sarahbarbee.com
- 5. Setting Yourself Apart Instead of: Sarah Barbee, Marketing Assistant/IT Specialist for the Lumberton Visitors Bureau Try: Marketing Specialist and Everyday Problem Solver in Lumberton, NC Instead of: President of Office Computer Concepts, LLC Try: Building the Tools that Make Your Business Life Easier! www.linkedin-makeover.com Sarah Barbee @Sarah_Barbee www.sarahbarbee.com
- 6. Setting Yourself Apart Professional Headshot Would you hire the person as they appear in their headshot?
- 7. Setting Yourself Apart Profile Summary โ Always First Person โข Why should people care about you? โข What do you bring to the workplace that is different than anyone else? โข What are you passionate about? โข What was something you did in your past that you were proud about that's related to the career or industry you are interested in? Look at what professionals are saying and build off of that. Sarah Barbee @Sarah_Barbee www.sarahbarbee.com
- 8. Connections Groups The company you keep says a lot about you. โข Builds network, helps connect to people, builds visibility โข Alumni, University, Former employer, Professional groups โข Job seeker groups in your field, trade leads and referrals. Help more than you receive. โข Find industry specific groups and start and add to discussions. Sarah Barbee @Sarah_Barbee www.sarahbarbee.com
- 9. Connections Recommendations, Give and Get some! โข Three are required for getting 100% of your profile completed โข Get one for each job, school, and/or volunteer position โข Only ask people who you would want to write one for and ask if its okay if they be edited Sarah Barbee @Sarah_Barbee www.sarahbarbee.com
- 10. Connections Build Infrastructure and Create Personal Social Branding Campaigns โข Connect your Social Media - Twitter โข Whatever you are doing - Should be doing to set a professional image โข Use #in hashtag for professional and appropriate tweets and updates โข LinkedIn settings: share only tweets that contain #in or #li Sarah Barbee @Sarah_Barbee www.sarahbarbee.com
- 12. Connections Always Be Connecting When you meet people off-line: connect with them on LinkedIn โข say thank you and have a brief conversation about safe, mutually relevant topics Get to know your 1st degree connections. โข Let them know you are looking, what you are looking for, and who you would like to get in front of. Sarah Barbee @Sarah_Barbee www.sarahbarbee.com
- 13. Connections Always Be Connecting 2nd degree connections are where the action is. Ask for an introduction to 2nd, through 1st. Things to do with your introduction: โข Ask for a job. โข Ask for advice. โข Ask for a referral that might be able to help Sarah Barbee @Sarah_Barbee www.sarahbarbee.com
- 14. Searching Always be Searching Find every company you would like to work for and follow it, and keep up to date on what they are doing. โ who are the 1st and 2nd connections Search by industry โ who are the 1st and 2nd connections Search for subject matter experts in jobs, fields, or companies you intro want. Ask them to help, provide feedback, etc. Sarah Barbee @Sarah_Barbee www.sarahbarbee.com
- 15. Searching Use it to prepare for interviews Find the person who is interviewing you, who are their connections Find the company interviewing you, their competitors, vendors, leadership, who in the organization is already connected to you Sarah Barbee @Sarah_Barbee www.sarahbarbee.com
- 16. Wanna know a secret? Sarah Barbee @Sarah_Barbee www.sarahbarbee.com
- 17. HR Professionals and Talent Recruiters use LinkedIn all the time. Sarah Barbee @Sarah_Barbee www.sarahbarbee.com
- 18. Why HR Professionals Use LinkedIn โข They use LinkedIn because budgets are tight โข Monster and CareerBuilder serve a purpose, but you have to pay to post positions and look at resumes โข Not as easy to gauge quality like LinkedIn where you see recommendations and connections โข Helps them do the same thing a job seeker wants to do: Research companies, similar industry and position types, group discussion and former colleagues Sarah Barbee @Sarah_Barbee www.sarahbarbee.com
- 19. Why HR Professionals Use LinkedIn Advice from HR professionals: โข This is a professional forum to network with not only recruiters but others in your field. Keep it professional. โข Recommendations - make sure to have at least 3-5 โข Photo - A must have. It makes you more marketable and gives people a sense of who they are dealing with. A professional picture is preferred. โข Groups - Target groups that interest you and are in your field. Signup for the updates so you can learn more about what is going on around you and stay up to date with industry trends. Sarah Barbee @Sarah_Barbee www.sarahbarbee.com
- 20. Why HR Professionals Use LinkedIn Advice continued: โข Give details - Do not just list the title of your company and the years you worked there. Give details on what you did in the role. Results make you stand out, and apart from the crowd โข Recruiters want to see results. Quantify them. โI worked on a collaborative team at Chilis to find new ways to increase sales. The results being that we were # 1 in the chain for the Summer of 2010.โ โข All things being equal, the better you show results, the more you are likely to get an interview. Sarah Barbee @Sarah_Barbee www.sarahbarbee.com
- 21. Why HR Professionals Use LinkedIn Advice continued: โข Include info on any related work and internships. โIf they can get the hiring managers they interned for to give recommendations that is valuable.โ โข LinkedIn introductions via first degree connections: โI will read those resumes out of a sense of duty to the person doing the recommending when they may not otherwise get my attention. โ Sarah Barbee @Sarah_Barbee www.sarahbarbee.com
- 22. In Conclusion Update your profile regularly. Every time you update your whole network will be notified and youโll get exposure. Keep doing this regularly when you get a job. Help more than you receive. The next person you help may help you in the future. Sarah Barbee @Sarah_Barbee www.sarahbarbee.com
- 23. Thanks for watching! Questions? Sarah Barbee @Sarah_Barbee www.sarahbarbee.com