While our previous blog discussed how Facebook can be a Career Killer, LinkedIn is a most definitely a Career Maker. Or rather, it has the potential to be. Forbes.com recently quoted a Jobvite study from June 2010 stating that 73.3% of companies now look to social networking sites such as LinkedIn for recruiting rather than traditional job boards. In fact, eMarketer reports that 80% of companies who recruit via social media networking use LinkedIn for their recruiting.
LinkedIn has become the social media home for executives and professionals. In fact, Forbes reports that LinkedIn is most successful in assisting recruiters and companies to identify potential exective and management-level prospects rather than entry-level professionals who still would do better to turn to traditional job posting boards.
Your LinkedIn profile is your resume, your public profile to the world. Whether you like it or not, companies and recruiters could be looking at your profile, even as you read this article. What does your LinkedIn profile say about you?
No profile – Not Good. This says you are not interested in networking or career building. It also says that you are not ‘with it’. No one wants to hire or do business with a luddite.
Few connections (under 20) – this begs the question, are you really a person worth knowing?
20-100 connections – many users fit into this category. This says you are a person worth knowing, but you’re not a connector.
100-500 connections – You are a connector. This is where most executives and professionals should be at. An executive or professional like you should have enough visibility to know 100 people like yourself.
500+ connections - You’re a star networker. If you’re not in a sales or recruiting role already, perhaps you should consider it. You are a go to guy (or gal).
Having a Closed Network – This says you are afraid of your contacts knowing who you know. It means you are protective of your contacts. The only valid reason I see for having a closed network is if you are a lawyer – maybe. Otherwise, how open you are to others defines how open they will be to you.
Having an Open Network – says you are interested in making a difference to the people in your network, by allowing all of them to see each other. To gain from networking, you need to give before you get.
So take a minute and look at your LinkedIn profile with a critical eye. Who are you connected to? Are all your connections old high school pals? Fraternity buddies? Friends? Or are all your connections career related? Are your career connections only related to your previous jobs? Or do you have many important connections at many different companies? Seek out connections that will give your profile a more well-rounded feel.
How are you presenting yourself to the world? Will a recruiter be able to see your strengths at first glance? Are your posts and comments intelligent and worthwhile? Do you contribute in a positive way to the online community?
Allow opportunities to find you. Use your LinkedIn profile to market yourself to the world.
4 comments:
Excellent, blog....a terrific reminder about LinkedIn --like you, I am finding it to be really useful---I have also found that is good to keep updating it...including making sure you have an up-to-date picture.
http://www.kathycondons.blogspot.com
I agree with your posting and constantly remind people to have a great LinkedIn profile and keep it updated. When you change jobs, update your profile and your resume. LinkedIn has a lot of great apps, and you can use SlideShare to upload your resume so recruiters have a good document to download or forward.
I also read your Facebook post and agree there, too. Managing your online presence is important as employers do look for you.
Perhaps fittingly, I actually found this blog post via Neal Schaffer in a LinkedIn group!
I think that job seekers really need to be aware of the extent to which recruiters/hiring managers are pre-screening based on social media and LinkedIn & was gratified to see that idea mentioned early on.
You're absolutely correct, Samuel. Web 2.0 technology has forever changed how candidates market themselves and position themselves to be found. Unless you have a web portfolio that points to your own name url (i.e., CindyKraft.com), your profile on Linked In is your home on the web and everything should point back to your profile.
Grabbing your vanity URL on Linked In and anywhere else you appear helps to create density to your footprint and bring credibility to your reputation.
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