| This article is a case study on my personal | | | | Note the word professional - it shouldn't include |
| experience with LinkedIn job hunting and how it | | | | drunken Facebook photos or inappropriate Twitter |
| landed me two unsolicited job offers within 2 weeks. | | | | tweets. This is the page that comes up when people |
| A co-worker of mine sent over an article describing | | | | want to know who you are. And why they should do |
| how Accenture (Fortune 100 consultancy I used to | | | | business with you. This....is THE standard and as the |
| work for) plans to hire 40% of it's new employees | | | | above article proves, will soon become synonymous |
| through social media platforms such as LinkedIn, | | | | with the word "career". If you aren't on there, I |
| Twitter, Blogs, etc. With our current economy, isn't it | | | | suggest you stop dilly-dallying and get serious about |
| time you stepped up to the plate and distanced | | | | your brand. People ARE searching for you - the |
| yourself from the crowd? | | | | question is, what are they going to find? Stills from |
| LinkedIn - Social Media (For "Grown-Ups") | | | | "American Pie"? Or recommendations from corporate |
| When it comes to the corporate world, LinkedIn is | | | | leadership? Your call. |
| the undisputed social media kingpin. Let's warp back in | | | | Two Job Offers in Two Weeks - Without Applying: |
| time - I remember first reading about LinkedIn in an | | | | 1. Came to realization I need a job. Fast. |
| issue of Entrepreneur Magazine back in the prehistoric | | | | 2. Updated LinkedIn Profile with job experience |
| year of 2006. I was blown away by the ingenuity of | | | | 3. Decided to copy-and-paste entire resume onto |
| the service. Their mantra? Relationships Matter. My | | | | LinkedIn Profile |
| reaction? Duh. So what? Well..as we've seen over the | | | | A days later I received an e-mail from a recruiting |
| explosion of Web 2.0, the most successful companies | | | | firm who read my LinkedIn profile (resume). She |
| are the ones that simply connect people to one | | | | wanted to speak to me about opportunities for her |
| another (hence the term "social media"). With | | | | client. This eventually led to a phone interview with |
| Facebook, MySpace, and other social networking | | | | recruiter, another phone interview with the client |
| sites already in place, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman | | | | hiring manager, an in-person interview with the client |
| had a spark of genius: | | | | hiring manager, and than an offer letter...all within the |
| "You Google other people, so don't you think they're | | | | span of 1 week. |
| Googling you? Part of a networked world is that | | | | As I was going through the first interview process, I |
| people will be looking you up, and when they do, you | | | | got another e-mail from somebody who also said |
| want to control what they find." | | | | they may have an opportunity for me. I got on the |
| Before we get into the actual specifics about | | | | phone with them for 30 minutes. They offered a |
| successful LinkedIn job hunting, let's talk about the | | | | position on their "virtual bench". This wasn't the most |
| basics of online branding and how it can mean the | | | | impressive job offer, but it was an opportunity |
| difference between being the laughingstock of the | | | | nonetheless. |
| recruiting class or being chosen to receive a job | | | | Long story short, I was recruited specifically from |
| offer. | | | | LinkedIn based off of my profile. I ended up taking |
| Build Your Online Brand | | | | another consulting job with a local firm I DID apply |
| Ok...so you've got Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc. | | | | for, but the experience really opened my eyes to |
| Doesn't matter. You NEED LinkedIn. It's absolutely | | | | the power of LinkedIn job hunting. |
| critical to your job search. Here's what you do: | | | | The next time you're in the market for a job, I'd |
| 1. Go to LinkedIn and sign up (it's FREE) | | | | recommend starting your job hunt with LinkedIn. |
| 2. Add a professional photo. | | | | That includes not only updating your profile with job |
| 3. Create a tagline - 1 sentence summary of what | | | | experience, but solicit recommendations from |
| you WANT to be known for | | | | previous managers/co-workers/colleagues to build |
| 4. List previous job experiences and add some bullet | | | | your credibility. Reach out to your LinkedIn network |
| points around what YOU did (copy-paste from your | | | | with a status update that says "Looking for |
| resume) | | | | opportunities in (insert target industry)". Send an |
| 5. Get recommendations from previous clients | | | | e-mail over to your 1st degree connections. Do it |
| employers/employees/colleagues | | | | right and it may be the last job hunting website you'll |
| 6. Pat yourself on the back. Congratulations - you've | | | | ever use. |
| just established a professional online brand! | | | | |