The Power of LinkedIn

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again and again “Searching for a job is a fulltime job”
In order to branch out you must work with social media websites. Don’t just rely on the typical avenues such as Workopolis, trade publications, CraigsList, networking family and friends Etc... These days, you need to use all the tools that are available to you, and one that many people don’t use to its fullest, is LinkedIn. But of course make sure you always connect yourself with a star recruiter.
Here is a link to one such “Star Recruiter” http://ca.linkedin.com/in/sydohayon
LinkedIn has tens of millions of members and has a market segment in almost every industry. This is not your typical social media site, but a site dedicated to business relationships. Executives are from all walks of the corporate ladder, from Fortune 500 companies, medium sized companies and of course small companies. The smaller companies may not have the budget or the setup to facilitate a HR Department or internal recruitment person or team. So LinkedIn may be one of the ways they reach out to people.
In the next 10 bullets I will try to share with you why I think LinkedIn can and should be used as an extension to your existing efforts in finding a job.
Reach out and tell someone: Tell your LinkedIn network that you’re looking.  The reach of LinkedIn is huge... Don’t miss out on the networking ability of LinkedIn and make sure that your profile states clearly that you are looking for a new role. The more people you tell that you are looking the better... you never know who will end up on your profile – recruiters, hiring managers, Etc...  LinkedIn has a “status updates” tool that dispatches your status to your network... so if you change your status to read that you are looking for work, everyone in your network will / should know.
Get LinkedIn recommendations: Ask for recommendations from anyone that will give you one... recommendations are your LinkedIn references.  A positive recommendation from your “report to” manager or a person that reported to you will highlight to your strengths and hopefully showcase that you were a valued employee. Recommendations from people that reported to you will also showcase your leadership qualities.
Source people with your specific skill or background: Find companies that employ people like you. Use the “advanced search” and look for people who have your skills. Look at their career path. See the companies they worked for in the past. These could be companies that need people just like you.
LinkedIn “Company Profiles” These company profiles show career paths of people that work there. This can be useful to figure out what companies are looking for in their new hires.  LinkedIn’s “Company Profiles” can also tell you where people go after they leave the company.
Check if a company is hiring: “Jobs” pages on LinkedIn can provide you with a list of Jobs for companies that you have just searched.
Get “Connected” to the hiring manager: LinkedIn’s job search engine allows you to search for the kind of job you want and more so shows you the person that has posted the job. Connect with this person. Another way to find companies that you have ties to is by looking at the “Companies in Your Network” section on LinkedIn’s Job Search page.
Connect with the HR person through “Get introduced through a connection.” The best way to get connected to someone is to ask someone (in your network) to “introduce you” to that person. If you have a solid “connection” with someone that can introduce you, let them help you get connected.
Find out the hidden job requirements: Job listings will provide you with the details of the skills required for that role but will rarely provide exactly what a hiring manager is looking for. Source a connection at the company who can get the information you need to see what really matters to that company or hiring manager.
Build your network: As a final tip, make sure you have a strong network. Don’t wait until you are looking for a job to start the process of finding a job. The key is to have a network and keep it strong. It’s not always who you know, but sometimes who knows YOU. Network gurus always seem to have the next job lined up before they are even start looking. Recruiters such as me have a database filled with people that I would call if and when a client is looking for a specific skill. It’s never a search from scratch. I always know (when speaking to a client about their needs) exactly who I could call to see if that person would be available, skilled enough or in the salary range my client is looking to pay. Just as importantly is what won’t work. So be honest when talking to people. If it’s NOT what you want... it will NOT work. Being honest with yourself is just as important.
Complete your Profile: Before trying these tips, make sure you’ve filled out your profile, look for the progress bar that lets you know what percentage your profile is at – if it’s not at 100% you are not ready. Then add at least twenty connections to your profile before you start any of the steps outlined above.
Best of luck and remember I am always looking for the next Super Star!!! I am an open networker and will connect with anyone that asks. http://ca.linkedin.com/in/sydohayon