0 LinkedIn networking - vital for the job-search

LinkedIn -- Networking for the job-search

Dear McCrabby,

I just looked at your LinkedIn profile; you have a lot of information there.  Is it helpful?  Is it worth the time you took to build it?  Are recommendations really that important, or are people just recommending each other to get recommendations?  I have 84 connections now, but haven't spent much time on LinkedIn.  I heard that regular networking is better, so I've concentrated on that in my job-search.

What are your thoughts?

Networked in Newark

_________________________________

Dear Newark Networker,

LinkedIn IS networking.  McCrabby can't make that much clearer.  Yes, McCrabby has spent some time building his profile, cultivating his connections, building his brand and nurturing his relationships.  If you aren't doing that, you're missing out.

How does LinkedIn help in the job-search?  If it is not used correctly, it may not help at all.  In other words, common sense is necessary, like it is throughout the job-search, to ensure that the applicant isn't looked at as an applicant, but as a valued resource in other people's networks.

So, give some thought to LinkedIn, before utilizing it for the job-search process.  Following are  some common issues that can define your search or derail it.

1. It is important to build a network before asking for a job referral.   Build a LinkdedIn network with the idea that you and your network can offer value to one another.  Don't connect with someone on Tuesday and ask them to refer a job on Wednesday.  Build value in the relationship.   Get to know your network.  Find out how you can add value, and add it.


2.  Keep notes on networking relationships; "remember" important points and refer to them.  A network can be a lifeline to business, and to the opening of doors for referrals of other business, or for opportunities for other jobs.   Make sure your network knows you know they're important by remembering their important facts. 


3. Share with others;  Demonstrate expertise in your business area, or in some other area that provides value to your network.  Build your brand, your reputation, by becoming visible to others as an expert in some areas.  Provide value to your network that demonstrates your skills and your expertise.  Ask LinkedIn questions, and answer them, and post articles of interest, or write your own, and share.


4. Join pertinent groups; you get up to 50 for free, so find some groups that have interest for you, that you can offer expertise to, and that have some influencers in them.  


5. Listen more than you speak; or on LinkedIn, read more than you write.  Pick your spots of when to share your knowledge, and don't overdo it.  Watch what others say, comment on their thoughts, and thank them for their contributions.  Share important news, but only when it's important.  Watch trends in your network, and react to them if warranted.


6. Let others reach out to you.  If someone thanks you for the knowledge you have shared, ask them, tactfully, for a recommendation.  Reciprocate with your own recommendation if it's justified.  Be generous in praise, but only when it's justified.  Make sure the recommendations you receive fit your needs and that the ones you give are justified and well-constructed.  


7. Make your profile complete.  It may take an hour or two or it may take eight, to get your profile the way you want it, but get it right, and if you aren't well-versed in how, get some help.  If you have a website, don't use the "my website" label on your profile, but put the name in there; if you don't know how, ask...  If you don't have a recommendation, do something to earn one, or three, or six.    If you haven't installed BoxNet, to allow you to post files to your profile, install it (it takes two minutes).  There's more you can do -- go look at McCrabby's  profile and you'll see a blog, a resume, some marketing pieces for leasing, a powerpoint for workshops, tens of recommendations, a work history and education, and other information that McCrabby's network can review.  And, if you think prospective employers aren't checking you out there, you're kidding yourself.  It's a recruiting tool that is almost universally used.  Make use of it.  

So, Newark Networker, let's see that revised profile.  If you want some help, email McCrabby; he does a lot of that.

Good luck on your job search...   

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