LinkedIn for Job Search

What can You Learn on LinkedIn?

February 24, 2017 By Marta Goertzen

LinkedIn has many learning and information tools just waiting for you to use them in your career or job search!

Today I was awarded a consulting gig about performance reviews. I am thrilled! I know a lot about performance management. It is practically my hobby. I LOVE the idea of holding people accountable to clear expectations. I get all tingly!!

But when creating a workshop or a presentation or a speaking gig, I need to dig deeper. I need to get perspectives that open my mind to new ideas that might help me put the ideas across to my audience in a clearer fashion that makes sense to my audience.

I need ideas.

LinkedIn is a never ending treasure trove of information!! I love it. There are so many ways you use LinkedIn to find the information that might make my presentation or workshop a total hit!! These are great places to find information (content) to share or comment on if you are trying to build your brand and get noticed.

So many contributors with so many ideas in one place! I can spend hours reading other people’s blogs with good ideas that I can incorporate into my presentation.
SlideShare. Is there already a PowerPoint out there that explains what I need to know or looks at my topic from a different direction?
LinkedIn Learning for training courses. Maybe someone has already developed a clever way to communicate the points I am trying to make.
LinkedIn Groups. Groups are still full of people with different ideas and unique approaches that I can talk to. Just ask a question and see what happens. Or search through questions already asked. Or find an expert who seems to be willing to share.
LinkedIn is chocked full of experts who are willing to talk about their experiences. Who do I know who will let me pick their brains?

This is the beauty of social media sharing. Whenever you want to know what other people think or need to get a different perspective, just check out LinkedIn. So many resources in one place!!

Don’t settle for a mediocre career that you don’t want! LinkedIn offers many ways to find the ideal job or career for you! Get your FREE copy of the LinkedIn Career Advancement Tips and find the perfect career today.

Share What You Know With LinkedIn

February 21, 2017 By Marta Goertzen

Are you hesitant or stumped on what to post on LinkedIn?

“Who wants to listen to little old me? What do I know that anyone else cares about?”

Doubts like that run rampant like mushrooms in the undergrowth. Doubts can be catchy. We can’t let that happen.

Everyone has a reason for being in their role. There is a reason the company pays you to do that job. You must know something or add some value. Perhaps you don’t realize you are sitting on a gold mine of information ripe for the sharing!

Social media is about sharing what you know with other people. Everyone has something to add, even you!

There are many reasons to share what you know. Sharing what you know establishes you as a “thought leader”, someone of substance who is worth listening to. Sharing comes back to you in abundance. Helping others for the sake of helping makes the world a better place. Sharing gives you an outlet for your thoughts and is a great way to learn. It is a way to participate in the virtual conversations swirling in the social media forest.

You don’t have to be a job seeker to share what you know. You just have to be a professional.

Sharing what you know is called “content” in social media world. Content comes from anywhere. From previous articles you’ve written or documentation of professional conversations. Someone asked me a question the other day. You can be sure that question will show up in something I write somewhere! It is just too good to keep to myself.

You can share your point of view about a topic in your field. Many people sharing their points of view is a great way to grapple with something controversial in your field. Eventually a new idea will emerge that will be the new solution. Maybe you have that idea in you right now?

Find interesting ideas to share in articles you read or listen to anywhere – newspapers, podcasts, tv shows, YouTube videos, Pinterest, Snap Chat, etc. Social media is filled with fascinating ideas just waiting to be shared to a wider audience.

When you share your own article on LinkedIn, the keywords included in the articles enhance your visibility and support your claim that you are good at what you do.

Here are some tips on how to get started sharing what you know:

Start reading online or in journals or in LinkedIn Groups or in LinkedIn Pulse – anything that strikes your fancy.
Share something interesting. Find something interesting and share it with your LinkedIn connections. That is a small start.
Make comments. When you get bolder you can share a comment. Start small with a compliment or a thank you. “Thanks for sharing, Jane” or “I completely agree, thanks for sharing”.
Ask a question in a Group then follow up on the responses with comments and thank-you’s.
Write an article. It doesn’t have to be big. It can be just a few words on a topic that is important to you in your profession or in your personal life. Post it in your update section on your LinkedIn profile.
Write a LinkedIn SlideShare. Is there anything interesting in your field that you can learn from? I bet you have information that can add to knowledge in the world. Prepare a simple SlideShare PPT to share with the world. Attach it to your profile so your thoughts enhance your reputation.

Be bold. Get out there and share what you know!

Don’t settle for a mediocre career that you don’t want! LinkedIn offers many ways to find the ideal job or career for you! Get your FREE copy of the “LinkedIn Career Advancement Tips” and find the perfect career today.

LinkedIn Changes “Relationship” Section

January 24, 2017 By Marta Goertzen

Did you know about this recent LinkedIn change?

Here is a riddle: How does a regular person utilize a CRM (customer relationship management system) to track job search and networking interactions without purchasing a formal program?

In the past, the answer I gave was to use the relationship and notes section of LinkedIn. I am a heavy LinkedIn participant so I spend time in LinkedIn. LinkedIn updated my contacts with my latest interaction. When I opened a profile I could see notes that would refresh my memory about when I met and last interacted with that person. I could add tags that would categorize people to make it easier to sort my contacts. It was great!

But things have changed. In October LinkedIn announced (or rather did not announce just snuck out word) that it was eliminating the Notes and Tags on LinkedIn profiles. There goes my free CRM!

LinkedIn is pretty subtle about these kinds of notices. I was not paying attention but a colleague, Joyce, noticed an alert in the Relationship section of a friend’s LinkedIn profile. I went to check myself. Sure enough, there was an alert in my LinkedIn as well. Probably in yours too.

You have until March 31, 2017 to download your notes and tags or you will lose all this information. This is the alert with the clickable link:

Notes and Tags on profile will be removed, but you can continue to access them. Learn more

Here’s the link to the explanation. The info is downloadable until the end of March.
https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/68887?lang=en

What do we do with the download of this information? I am not sure how useful a downloaded Excel file will be. At this point I plan to download the information on the off chance I can use it in a CRM in the future.

How are we to track our networking interactions now? LinkedIn says we can purchase the Sales Navigator subscription ($79.99 per month) or Recruiter Lite ($119.95 per month). Not acceptable. Either option is way too expensive compared to free. I guess that is LinkedIn’s prerogative. But it leaves me with a huge problem. Here are some options I am considering:

com recommends a software called Dux-Soup, a plug-in for the Chrome browser. You must be using Chrome, download the plug in and allow Dux-Soup to access your LinkedIn account. There is a cost ($14.99 per month).
I can download a LinkedIn contact into Outlook then use Outlook’s tags, notes and reminders like a grown-up to track conversations and remind myself when to follow-up.
Most places you keep an address book or calendar like Google and Apple offer simple CRM notes, tags and reminders. The trick is coordinating with LinkedIn.

This LinkedIn change benefits LinkedIn but leaves users a little bereft. What are you planning to do to replace LinkedIn’s notes and tags? How will you follow up on networking leads? Please share if you have a good idea!!

If you would like more tips on a successful job search, check out a replay video of our job search training – it is free and has tons of job search tips in it.

Quality and Quantity – the Secret to LinkedIn Connections

January 17, 2017 By Marta Goertzen

Do you review your LinkedIn connections?

I received a LinkedIn invitation from John in Chicago recently. As is my normal practice, I looked at his profile to understand his background and see what we have in common before accepting his invitation. I am also looking for something interesting in his background to start a conversation. I am interested in learning a little more about each person I connect with. I follow this same routine for people I know and people I do not yet know.

John’s background in logistics is good. He has worked at some high-quality companies and he has some consulting background. What really struck me was his recommendations. Wow. Very impressive.

John has recommendations from past CEOs and CEOs from the suppliers he works with. That is nothing to sneeze at. Right away John went up in my estimation.

Think about how you view LinkedIn profiles. Don’t you check out the skills and recommendations? I am interested in what other people say about someone. If other people who know an individual say nice things about his or her then I have a warm sense of confidence about that individual too. I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Good recommendations from a boss or a supplier, especially an executive, improve the quality of connections.

We need to consider quantity and quality when looking at profiles. As you work on your profile this week, consider how you can improve both the quantity and quality of your profile to make you more interesting and useful to others. Here are some tips:

Quantity: We need a high quantify of connections to leverage that “six degrees of separation” networking we need from LinkedIn.

Solicit invitations from everyone you meet so you can extend your reach and leverage connections.
Accept invitations from everyone who asks if that person makes sense. Review their profiles and ask questions to start a conversation to turn a connection into a networking opportunity.
Set goals to increase the number of connections each month. I set an annual goal. This year I want to increase my connections by 500 from 3309 to 3809. It is a worthy challenge. PS: I invite you to connect with me to help me reach my goal!!

Quality: Seek connections and endorsements from high quality individuals who can attest to your abilities.

Solicit recommendations from people you worked with who can testify to your character, behavior and results. Be prepared to offer a recommendation in return.
Solicit connections from former colleagues and bosses including high level executives you interact with.
Seek out connections from potential colleagues and bosses to build relationships for networking your next positions. See how you can be helpful.
Be sure the top ten skills in your “Skills” section represent the way you want people to think of you. These words and the associated endorsements represent your brand so choose wisely.

Take time to consider the quantity of your connections as well as the quality by seeking out connections who can help you, reflect well on you or you can learn from.

Check out how to use LinkedIn better with your connections and with your job search using my ebook “Effectively Using LinkedIn in your Job Search“.

Five Ways to Use LinkedIn Groups in Your Job Search

September 30, 2016 By Marta Goertzen

LinkedIn Groups are your networking key to the kingdom.

Until you have explored and joined groups you haven’t fully utilized the networking power of LinkedIn.com. Occasionally when I work with a candidate having trouble with his/her search, I find they have not fully explored groups.

Here are some reasons why groups can be useful in your search:

Expands contacts. LinkedIn protocol allows you to send an invitation to connect to people who are in groups with you. Being in groups allows you to connect with more people and allows other people in the group to connect with you
Interesting discussions. You can post questions or comment on questions other people post. This raises your visibility and lets people see how you think. Assuming you make a good impression, it makes you more desirable.
Jobs are posted in groups that might not be posted anywhere else. You can respond directly and perhaps get a leg up on the competition who might be looking at Monster. You might also become aware of companies hiring people in your field.
Increases your visibility. The more people who know you are looking for a new position, the more likely you can land that job. Recruiters use LinkedIn as their top choice to find candidates. They look in groups.
Offer more ways to search for people, companies, and jobs. LinkedIn’s search tools are very powerful, even if you do not purchase the expanded services. You can see who is looking at your profile and search for companies in your industry. You can talk to people who already work at those companies and get inside information on who to speak to in your field.

Consider joining groups related to your education (college alumni association, college interest groups, sorority or fraternity groups), your previous employment, special interest groups related to your job, groups related to your industry or the industry you want to work in, special interest groups related to some special characteristic about you (maybe your age, sex, race). Be careful about groups related to your religion or politics so you don’t inadvertently alienate potential employers.

LinkedIn groups are a must in every job search. How do you use LinkedIn groups?

If you would like more tips on a successful job search, check out a replay video of our job search training – it is free and has tons of job search tips in it.