Do You Have the RIGHT LinkedIn Connections For Your Search?

There has been a lot of discussion over the last few years in and around the who, how, when, and why you should connect with on LinkedIn. Whether you have 300 connections or 30,000 it’s always a good idea to take stock of who you  ’know’ and grow and enhance your network strategically.

The way shown below is a bit more time-consuming than using the network statistics tool that LinkedIn has BUT it is far more accurate. As an example, in my network statistics area, LinkedIn shows that my connections in Nashville make up on 4% of my network when in reality Nashvillians makes up more than 50%.

To really get an accurate sense of where you stand do the following:

1. Determine what ‘type’ of people should be in your network.

I am big into connecting with anyone, anytime, any place  but think there are a few types of people who you need to have in place to make your network ‘work’ -

• people in your function / industry (and / or the one you are targeting)
• people in your geographic area (and / or the area you are targeting)
• people you have worked with / went to school with

and if you are in job-search mode -

• people at companies you are trying to target as places you would like to work
• recruiters who work in your geographic / functional area

In my case here is what I specifically strive for:

• I recruit IT professionals for a living so having a strong IT network is important
• I live in Nashville, TN and having a strong local network is high on my list
• My job can be classified into a few different areas – staffing, recruiting, and HR so having  connections in those areas is important
• Right now I am working on positions in Seattle, Salt Lake City, and San Dimas, California (Orange County area) so it is to my advantage to know people in those geographical areas

2. Go to http://www.linkedin.com/search and you will find the following screen (you can also hit the Advanced button next to the search bar):

3. Now go to Relationship, select 1st Connections, and hit Search.

4. Analyze your network (just make sure that you are looking at your first level connections only). 

You can look at your network in any number of ways and get a good feel for who you are connected with.

5. Check to see where you are at in comparison to your ideal.

Again going back to my ideal lets check in and see how I am doing.

• IT professionals (1341 connections who identify themselves in that space)
• Nashvillians (3091 connections who live in Middle Tennessee)
• Staffing, recruiting, and HR (1128 connections in those functions)
• Seattle (77), Salt Lake City (32), and Orange County, California area (69)

Is my network perfect? absolutely not. Am I working on it? You better believe it.

It’s important to remember that a strong network on LinkedIn is an ever changing animal that takes time, patience, and persistance to get it just right but it can pay off with huge results!

Hope your network is in better shape than mine! 

Until next time – good hunting and good luck!

Avoid Looking Like A Hack On LinkedIn (+ A Recipe For Success)

Over the last few years LinkedIn has really become a ‘go-to’ resource for networking for many, many people. During that time some have mastered its use while others are doing good just to login.

From a recruiters perspective it’s an absolute goldmine and there are a few sure-fire ways to make sure you look like a good candidate and not a ’hack’.

Never tell someone that LinkedIn is a job-board or that your afraid your boss will see that you are on ‘there’. This is rule numero uno. If you tell people that you do not have a profile on LinkedIn because you don’t like job-boards or that your boss could possibly find out there you will never grasp the concept of online networking and should probably spend the next five minutes reading another article.

Learn how to use LinkedIn without having to ask someone. If you have to ask five different people how to input a job into LinkedIn you are probably starting off on the wrong foot. Go to Google and Youtube and type in ‘using linkedin’ and then ‘using linkedin for job-search’ and run the search. You will be amazed how much information is out there.

Make sure your profile is 100% complete. That’s a picture (of you, not you and your family), a summary, three jobs, education, and three recommendations (and yes, the people who recommend you have to be on LinkedIn as well).

Create a vanity URL. LinkedIn gives you the option of customizing your public profile URL to www.linkedin.com/in/ANYTHINGYOUWANT - all you have to do is view your profile and you will see the edit button to customize it on the top third of the screen next to ‘Public Profile’.

Get to 500+ connections. No matter what type of job you are in you look like you have more credibility and are more likeable if you get to the point where you are connected to a bunch of people.

Install AND USE some of the applications that LinkedIn offers. From WordPress to Slideshare there is an app for just about you could want to do. Make your profile more interesting and worth looking at with a few of them.

Join AND PARTICIPATE IN Groups. There are 450,000+ groups on LinkedIn that you can join (LinkedIn allows you to join 50 and then an additional 50 subgroups) AND PARTICIPATE IN. It’s great that you are a part of a group but until you join in and start discussions you are nothing better than a wall flower.

Answer questions. People ask questions all of the time about every imaginable topic and you should try your best to answer them (and look good in answering them). Recruiters do look at answers to see who experts are in the areas in which they are recruiting.

DON’T Advertise That You Are Unemployed. Surveys show that many employers favor ‘passive’ employees and even many more prefer engaging a recruiter to find those candidates happily employed. If the first thing someone sees advertised on your profile is that you are between gigs (ie in the headline, in a network update, etc) you could put yourself at a disadvantage.

Now that we have gotten past looking like a ‘hack’ on LinkedIn here are a few thoughts for some ingredients for success.

Use Keywords. The easiest way to get found on LinkedIn is to use a good mix of keywords are ‘in vogue’ in your functional area and industry. The best way to find those keywords? Check out our earlier post to learn.

Three new connections, three old connections, one discussion, one answer. If you are really wanting to use LinkedIn in an effective way a simple formula to follow is to add three new TARGETED connections, message three current connections, start or comment on one discussion and answer one question EVERY DAY. You can do that in no more than thirty minutes per day and ensure that you are maximizing your LinkedIn profile.

Add your LinkedIn vanity URL to your email signature. Self-explanatory – allow people to find you on LinkedIn and view your professional experience.

Say something interesting. Again, self-explanatory. The more INTERESTING things you say in your status updates the more people are going to want to see what you are all about.

In closing, Rome was not built-in a day and neither is a great LinkedIn network. If you spend a few minutes everyday within a short period you can go from LinkedIn ‘Joe’ to LinkedIn ‘Pro’.

If we have not connected on LinkedIn as of yet I would enjoy the opportunity to do so. You can find my profile at www.linkedin.com/in/mattleblanc.

Until next time – good hunting and good luck!