LinkedIn Experiment Part 5: The Recommendation Feature

How do you feel when you are recommended for something? Good? "Warm and Fuzzy" Inside?

How do you feel when you are searching for something important such as a doctor, dentist, or a babysitter? Frustrated? Hopefull?

Imagine this scenario:
You are walking down the street and a complete stranger walks up to you and says, "Hi, I'm a doctor, if you need me give me a call"

Now imagine this scenario:
You are chatting with a co-worker and you tell them that you need to find a doctor. One week later, you co-worker drops a sheet of paper on your desk with the number to a doctor and recommends you give them a call.

Which doctor would you call? Doctor "A" off of the street or doctor "B" referred by your co-worker?

Most would pick doctor "B".

What Does This Have To Do With LinkedIn?
Everything... Or at least a whole lot. LinkedIn has a feature built in that allows people to recommend you. I HIGHLY recommend you use this feature. Employers and staffing firms "Google" candidates and sometimes look for candidates before a position is even advertised. Your LinkedIn profile looks more credible when you have recommendations and increases the chances of you being considered for a job.

But Wait..... Don't Just Ask For Any Ol' Recommendation....
You are building an "online brand" remember? So your recommendations will be different. Think about 3 things you want to be known for. These are the areas you want to build your "case" for. So, you will want people that can provide recommendations to "back up" that you can "do the job" in the areas that you want to be known for. Therefore, when asking for a recommendation - be specific. For example, if you want to be known as the best researcher in the world, then ask people that you have performed research for to write a recommendation based on their experiences with you in the areas of research. This way, if a hiring manager is looking for a great researcher, they will see that someone (or several someones) recommended you highly in this area.

In the end, you increase your chances of finding a job because of this unique approach because it increases your credibility and your ability to “do the job” better than anyone else.

Tell me what you think. Did this post help you think of using LinkedIn in a different way? Chime in!

LinkedIn Experiment Part 4: Branding Yourself Online

What Would You Do If.....

What would you do if you saw a movie with Batman flying though the air - by means of shooting a spider web from his wrists?

What would you do if you saw Spiderman driving - but in the Bat Mobile?

Would it seem out of place? Out of character? Would you think that something is wrong? Of course!

The same applies to your "Online Brand".

Spiderman is consistent. We expect to see him climbing buildings and shooting webs from his wrists. Batman is consistent, we expect to see him with a big "bat cape", while driving the "Bat Mobile" across town.

The same approach applies to your postings on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.

When You Create A LinkedIn Profile....

If you create a LinkedIn account for professional reasons, then keep your chats and posts professional and specific to your industry. For example, if you are a legal student and you want to be known as the "go to person" for paralegal "stuff" then you will want to write about - anything related to being a paralegal. Your posts should pertain to things that concern the legal field and you should stay on top of the latest "crime fighting” and/or problem solving techniques that are relevant to being in the paralegal field. This is true for any field as well.

Your posts should not include to much personal information. In the beginning, when you are trying to build and establish your "Online Brand" your post should really focus on your industry. This is not a time to share personal areas and interests. As you build your "Online Brand", you can opt for an 80/20 rule. Eighty percent professional and "brand oriented" content and 20% personal notes and comments on personal interests.

Why?

You Want People To Get To Know You As A Professional...

Because you want people to get to know you as a professional. You want to establish yourself as an industry expert - or at least an enthusiast. You want credibility. This way, when hidden and upcoming job opportunities are available, people will think of the professionals that they know of and think of you - the really smart and professional industry person. Not, the person with "personal issue xyz."

Make sense? Feel free to share. What have you been doing to create and maintain your "Online Brand"?

LinkedIn Experiment Part 3: The Art Of Following Up

The LinkedIn Experiment continues this week with "The Art Of Following Up" and how it can effect your job search.

Not to long ago, I came across a job posting on one of my favorite sites (Twitter.com) for a part time legal assistant/secretary. Immediately I contacted the individual via phone to inquire about the position to see if this was a job opportunity that I could share with my Legal Studies and Paralegal students. Although the person I spoke with informed me that the position was no longer available, once this person learned that I worked for Kaplan University they were curious to know if there were any positions available because they themselves were interested in employment opportunities. So I recommended that we keep in touch via LinkedIn.com after confirming the person had a LinkedIn account. The person agreed and stated they would contact me soon.

This conversation took place over 2 weeks ago....

Lesson Learned: Following Up Is Important

The reason why this event is important to your job search is that you may encounter people in your job search that are willing to help you, but if you don't follow up, you miss out on opportunities.

In the example of the hiring manager that I spoke with, this person was looking for a teaching position within the university. Although open positions are posted on Kaplan University's website, employees do hear of available positions BEFORE they are posted. In this case, if this person had followed up they would be in a position to learn about unpublished or soon to be published opportunities.

Don't wait until you NEED a job, start building your network now. If you promise to follow up - do so. Performing this one simple task will increase your chances of finding a job. It transforms your job search because you place yourself in a position to learn about opportunities and increases the chances of people personally identifying your resume as opposed to your resume being "just another resume" in a pile of resumes.

LinkedIn Experiment Part 2

Welcome to the “LinkedIn Experiment!”

To uncover job opportunities and show how to expand a social network by utilizing LinkedIn (and a bit of Twitter), I will post my findings to this blog once and/or twice per week every week from January 2009 – April 2009. Those that are looking for a job, or looking to expand their professional contacts will find the “LinkedIn Experiment” useful, because I will provide information on my progress that you can use to help you find a job or expand your network of professional contacts.

Step 1: Join A Group!
On LinkedIn I’ve discovered an interesting feature on the left side of the screen called “Groups”. After clicking on this option, I noticed an opportunity to search for groups. Since I’m the Career Specialist for the School of Legal Studies, I decided to look up the word “paralegal” resulting in 43 items in the search results. So, I decided to join a few groups that were familiar to me such as
- Paralegal Gateway
- Paralegal Network
- The Paralegal Group

The instructions for joining a “Group” are easy. Just click “Join this group” option at the bottom, select a few options in the next screen and then hit the button called “Join this group.”

Now the waiting begins…. Group organizers can review your profile and decide if they want to approve your request to join. Some organizers quickly accept you, others leave you waiting.

Fortunately, I’ve been accepted to a few groups that I requested, so now I can look at their discussion boards to see what’s going on.

After scrolling through a few posts, I notice a job opening for a Litigation Paralegal Manager so I contact the person that posted the position….

Step 2: Found a Job Posting
I contacted the person that posted the job via e-mail. After a few e-mails, I asked for her phone number because there’s only so much that can be learned via e-mail and phone calls are more personal. A brief discussion reveals that
- The position is close to being filled, but…
- Another position is available for a HR Generalist

After providing me with the initial job description we agree she will follow up via e-mail with the remaining details. Since Kaplan University has a School of Business and an MBA program, we can still list the position on our school’s on-line job board.

LESSON LEARNED
Although the original job opportunity may not be available, it is still helpful to learn of other job opportunities coming up. Who knows? You may be able to help the hiring manager (and someone else at the same time) by referring someone. This increases the chances of you being remembered as a person that works with the hiring manager to help solve their problem instead of "job seeker xyz". Therefore, the next time a position opens up in an area that you are interested in, you are more likely to be considered.

Was this helpful? Let me know!!

The Linked In Experiment: Part One

Ever since Thad Greer, Owner of South Florida Management Search held his first seminar with Kaplan University last year called "How To Blog Your Way To A Job" I've become interested in the potential of blogs and social networking sites (Twitter, LinkedIn, and FaceBook). I STRONGLY feel that they can transform a job seekers job search and improve their chances for promotion by expanding their network.

Why is this important? Because statistically, 80% of available jobs are hidden. That's right - 80%! So, what about the jobs you see on sites like Monster.com and Careerbuilder.com? Or your local newspaper? Well, they are the 20% of advertised jobs. Don't take my word for it. There are countless articles on this factoid. One Google search of the term ""Hidden Job Market" and "80 percent"" yields over 800 websites attesting to this fact in Google's search results.

So, I've decided to "put my money where my mouth is" so to speak and start building an online profile. Not for me - but for you! As I discover opportunities, I'm going to post how I found them on this blog once per week. This way, you can follow in my footsteps and start building an online presence, start networking, and start finding hidden opportunities - for yourself!

My first stop - LinkedIn.

I'll post the first of my findings next week. In the meantime, let me know your thoughts. Have you used LinkedIn before? Would you like to know more about it? Do you know of any other sites I should try? Feel free to comment.

How to Make Your Profile Stand Out on Social Networking Sites

This isn't the same job search you conduced years ago. This isn't the same job search that you conducted a few months ago, a few days ago, or a few hours ago. Today is a new day in how to create an effective job search and if you don't know how to harness these new tools in the "new day" job search, you will be frustrated - VERY frustrated.

-Kirsten Grant

Most job seekers know about how important their resume is, but I will say it again. Customize your resume to EVERY job description. Make sure it contains key words that are used in the actual job description along with accomplishments - only relevant information counts.



Now that we have that out of the way, let's talk social networking sites. Social networking sites include sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. Although most people think of these sites as a great place to post pictures from personal pursuits, there is a whole sub-culture of serious job seekers that use these sites to find jobs and expand their professional network. Today's article helps you become one of those people:

Make Your On-Line Profile Stand Out With These 3 Tips:

Number One: Remember, It's NOT Personal

Your online profile should only contain professional information about yourself. Things you would want an employer to know that could help "sell" yourself and your experience, background, and potential. Remove information such as age, number of children, religious views, and family pictures.



Number Two: Pictures Are OK

On a resume, a picture is a no-no. On an online profile, it adds a dimension of personalizing your page. If you decide to upload a picture to your profile, make sure the picture is a professional one.



Number Three: Pick a "Niche" to Become an "Expert" In And Always Stay On Topic

Content is king! One of the keys to creating a professional online presence is to make sure that what you write about showcases your knowledge and/or passion on a specific topic. For example, if you wanted to become known as an expert in the legal field, then you wouldn't offer content on cake baking recipes.



So there you go, a great bit of information to help you make a great start. Have additional questions? Feel free to comment.

Another Great Job Board - GetaFreelancer.com

Recently, I had the pleasure of co-presenting a virtual career seminar with Kaplan University's Vice President of Operations (GREAT person to work with by the way) that addressed marketing yourself globally and how to find a job if you are interested in working overseas. My research turned up many international job boards and companies, but one more "landed in my lap" called www.GetaFreelancer.com.

What I like about the site is that not only does it offer legal jobs/legal opportunities, it has a wide range of industries covered. From information technology/tech jobs, training, and translation it appears this site offers a wide variety of jobs and ways to gain international experience.

Another feature is the "average bids" feature. This is a great way to get an idea of what a project pays.

Overall, I recommend job seekers utilize this site (especially if you are looking to get more experience under your belt or earn extra cash). Plus, it's one more innovative way to find employment opportunities - what could be better!