Tips on using LinkedIn

1. The Tool you cannot do without in today’s extremely difficult job market! Are you LinkedIn? Prepared by Matt Cicco for:

8. Groups

10. Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn to Find a Job ( Before trying these tips, make sure you’ve filled out your profile and added at least twenty connections ) 1.) Get the word out. Tell your network that you’re looking for a new position. Utilize your “status updates” which you can use to let your network know about your current status. 2.) Get LinkedIn recommendations from your colleagues. A strong recommendation from your manager highlights your strengths and shows that you were a valued employee. If you were a manager yourself, recommendations from your employees can also highlight leadership qualities. 3.) Find out where people with your backgrounds are working. Find companies that employ people like you by doing an advanced search for people in your area who have your skills.

11. Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn to Find a Job (cont.) 4.) Find out where people at a company came from. LinkedIn “Company Profiles” show the career path of people before they began work there. This is very useful data to figure out what a company is looking for in new hires. 5.) Find out where people from a company go next. LinkedIn’s “Company Profiles” also tell you where people go after leaving the company. You can use this to track where people go after leaving your company as well as employees of other companies in your sector. This feature also enables you to figure out which companies to avoid. 6.) Check if a company is still hiring. Company pages on LinkedIn include a section called “New Hires” that lists people who have recently joined the company. You can ask these new hires how they got their new job as well as examine their backgrounds to surmise what made them attractive to the new employer. **You can also perform your own “due diligence” on a company this way as well**

13. Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn to Find a Job (cont.) 9.) Find out the “secret” job requirements. Job listings rarely spell out entirely or exactly what a hiring manager is really seeking. Find a connection at the company who can get the inside scoop on what really matters for the job. You can do this by searching for the company name; the results will show you who in your network connects you to the company. If you don’t have an inside connection, look at profiles of the people who work at the company to get an idea of their backgrounds and important skills. 10.) Build your network before you need it. As a last tip, no matter how the economy or your career is doing, having a strong network is a good form of job security. Don’t wait until times are tough to nurture your network. The key to networking (or “schmoozing”), is not who you know—it’s who knows of you. Second, great schmoozers are not thinking “What can this person do for me?” To the contrary, they are thinking, “What can I do for this person?

14. The Art of “Schmoozing” “It's not what you know or who you know, but who knows you.” It's much easier to make a sale, build partnerships, create joint ventures--you name it--with people that you already know than with people you just met. The key is to establish a relationship before you need it.

15. The Art of “Schmoozing” (cont.) 1.) Understand the goal. The goal is “Discovering what you can do for someone else.” Herein lies eighty percent of the battle: great schmoozers want to know what they can do for you, not just what you can do for them. 2.) Get out. You can't do it alone from your office, on the phone, or via a computer. You may hate them, but force yourself to go to tradeshows, conventions, and seminars. It's unlikely that you'll be getting great leads or closing a big order with someone you only meet online. It is a proven fact that face to face interaction produces far greater results. 3.) Ask good questions, then shut up! The mark of a good conversationalist is not that you can talk a lot. The mark is that you can get others to talk a lot. We have all heard that it is far more important to be a good listener, not a good talker. Ask open ended questions like, “What do you do?” “Where are you from?” “What brings you to this event?” Establish a “common bond.” Then listen. Ironically, you'll be remembered as an interesting person.

16. The Art of “Schmoozing” (cont.) 4.) Unveil your passions. Only talking about business is boring. Good schmoozers unveil their passions after they get to know you. Great schmoozers lead off with their passions. Your passions make you an interesting person--you'll stick out because you're the only person not talking about intricate, “industry only” topics. 5.) Read voraciously. And not just the EE Times , PC Magazine , and the Wall Street Journal . You need a broad base of knowledge so that you can access a vast array of information during conversations. You need to at least be educated enough so that you can talk about a variety of topics. 6.) Follow up. Think of how many business cards you have given out over the course of your career. (And if it is not hundreds, then we need to talk!) The one startling fact is that hardly anyone ever follows up! It doesn’t make much sense to ask for a business card if you’re not going to follow up. And do it within twenty-four hours--just a short email will do: “Nice to meet you. I hope we can do something together. Hope your blog is doing well. I loved your watch, we have the same kind of dogs, etc… Include at least one thing to show the recipient that she isn't getting a “canned” email.

17. The Art of “Schmoozing” (cont.) 7.) Make it easy to get in touch. Many people who want to be great schmoozers, ironically, don't make it easy to get in touch with them. They don't carry business cards, or their business cards don't have phone numbers and email addresses. Even if they provide this information, it's in grey six-point type. For those of us with not so great eyesight, you need to use a twelve-point font. 8.) Give favors. One of my great pleasures in life is helping other people; I believe in Karma. And God is keeping track of the good that you do, and is particularly pleased when you give favors without the expectation of return from the recipient. Ironically, it always pays back. And of course, I strongly believe in returning favors for people who have helped you. 9.) Ask for the return of favors. Good schmoozers give favors. Good schmoozers also return favors. However, great schmoozers ask for the return of favors. You may find this puzzling: Isn't it better to keep someone indebted to you? The answer is no, and this is because keeping someone indebted to you puts undue pressure on your relationship. Any decent person feels guilty and indebted. By asking for, and receiving, a return favor, you clear the decks, relieve the pressure, and set up for a whole new round of give and take. After a few rounds of give and take, you're best friends, and you have mastered the art of schmoozing.

19. Social media monitoring service Reppler recently surveyed more than 300 hiring professionals to determine when and how job recruiters are screening job candidates on different social networks. The study found that more than 90% of recruiters and hiring managers have visited a potential candidate’s profile on a social network as part of the screening process. And a whopping 69% of recruiters have rejected a candidate based on content found on his or her social networking profiles — an almost equal proportion of recruiters (68%), though, have hired a candidate based on his or her presence on those networks!! Do Employers Use Social Media?

20. Do Employers Use Social Media?

21. Do Employers Use Social Media?

22. Do Employers Use Social Media?

23. Do Employers Use Social Media?

24. Thank you! Questions? Next: “Live” help with volunteered profiles!