LinkedIN and other job fishing holes

[High_Order1]

This is part share, part question.


I have worked as a consultant outside of my primary career, and I've had at least one major career change. Now that I've completed my coursework, it's time to look again. Here are some of the things I do to look for work. Probably basic to all of you, but another thread inspired me to create this; maybe some of you could chime in with some tips / fishing holes?


- I pay attention and drive around. When I get home, I'll look the names I saw on the company signs up, and see if there is anything on their careers / jobs / employment page.

If there's not, but the jobs all sound decent and pay well, I'll set up a job alert that will ping me when they list new jobs. If they don't, I drag the padlock off of my firefox into a folder that peeks out above my browser. Once a week or so, I'll get in the browser and start popping shortcuts to see if there's anything I missed.

- I pay attention on local boards. Some places just don't advertise, but you'll catch people grousing about their job. Which makes me search the company out. Refer back to block one for further, lol

I use indeed.com a lot. But I also use the state job site (Which stinks), and clearancejobs, as well as usajobs.gov. I also look for state employment openings, county and city ones.

I have resumes that are tuned to the things I do. I have never had a general, boring resume. I make resumes and cover letters for others. 

I tell others this: A business card or a email to a manager is only enough to pique their interest and want to call you. A resume is enough to sort of flesh out your details, but leave them wanting more, and they can only get more from talking... to you!

If you give them everything they need up front, what reason do they have to call?

Before you start searching, MAKE CERTAIN you know where your birth certificate is. Where is your social security card? Do you have a driver's license? Is it expired? Men, do you have a draft card?

You may think this is pedantic, but I'm mentoring a buddy re-entering the wild after 30 years in the military. These are things that have popped up.


Question -

I've never had a linkedin account. Ever. But, I just built one because a couple places say that's where grownups do facebook-like stuff.  Now I have people telling me it's a waste of time and the jobs / job hunters on there are lame. What say you?

[burbuja0512]

Good advice/Idea!

Here is my share that includes some LinkedIn tips, which YES is essential. In my last two positions, we wouldn't even consider someone if we couldn't look them up on LinkedIn. It's just considered standard these days.

People who are using LinkedIn ONLY for job-hunting aren't getting the full value. You can't think of it as a magic wand that will be there for you when you want a job and disapears when you are done. Here are some key tips:

1) Do you have a Rolodex? Throw it away. Connect with someone on LinkedIn and you no longer have to keep their business card. You will automatically be updated when they move into a new job.

2) Connect with (almost) everyone. Who will be the special connection that lets you in on the next industry secret or is the gatekeeper for a new position? You don't know! I have met LinkedIn snobs who only connect with "important" people. I connect with everyone that is a legitimate person just looking for professional connections.

3) Meet someone new? Connect with them immediately even when you're not job hunting. When you're looking for a job is the worst time to desperately connect with people. Work on LinkedIn a little bit year-round and it will pay off.

4) Would you like to look like an industry expert? Write an article and post it. Do that a few more times and build up a bunch of articles. Use them in your mid-year review or in your consulting business. I practice what I preach. Here's one of mine: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/multicult...lobal-mba/

5) Regularly like other people's articles and share them. This boost their popularity and reinforces their expertise. Not to mention, if the article is good (don't like anything that isn't) then you will highlight how in touch you are!

Lastly for now, remember that LinkedIn is NOT a tool that is a one-time ticket to career super-success. You need to work a lot at first, then just maintain and decide your level of participation. Figure out your "persona" if you're posting or sharing (meaning make sure you're acting the same way you would in your office, avoiding politics, religion, or anything controversial) and remember that most people on LinkedIn have shared goals. You're mostly all there to see and be seen, and while you should always be respectful, don't be afraid to connect with people whose articles you like or those in groups. If you're really shy, you can join networking groups where you'll be guaranteed to connect with the members.


Hope that helps for now - I'll post more if something else comes to mind.

[Ideas]

LinkedIn has become more and more important. I would say it's stupid to not utilize it, unless the person is looking for only low paying jobs anyway. It seems a lot of people get recruited on there, from having the right keywords/experience in their profile. It makes the recruiter's job easier.

However, I think it can hurt an applicant if poorly utilized. Basically in the same way that a poorly written or incomplete resume could hurt someone. In that case, no LinkedIn profile might be preferable to one that was simply thrown together. I think that many people don't understand the importance of the profile. They think it is better to have one than none at all, but I don't agree. One thing that can look negative is if you have only a couple connections/endorsements. So unfortunately, someone should be ready to put in effort on that aspect of their profile.

The people who really have success on LinkedIn actively network on the site, instead of just making their profile nice.

[bjcheung77]

I don't use LinkedIn or anything remotely like that. I have not used recruiters, social media sites, or job boards. The only times I sent out resumes was for my first job. All other jobs (3 of them) were recommended to me through word of mouth or from current/past co-workers.

How are you targetting your potential employers? By email, fax, LinkedIn, online job boards? Those jobs are "advertised" and many people are vouching for each of those jobs. My suggestion is to go outside that network. Get your local white/yellow pages and find several companies, get your top 25 you want to work for.

Create a website, place only examples of work you've done, place a page of your resume and your CV. Have a short 30-second video about yourself and what you have done/worked as. Sell your "skill set", why they would want you, what you have done for others.

Go to those top 25 workplace websites and find the top 3 in the chain of command, email them directly (not like a generic email, or a spam email) or better yet - send snail mail to their attention, customize it for that IT specific job, have it one page long and ask 3 questions about how their business is and if they need your specific talents to bump up production/service.

Again, sell yourself to them, they need you because you can do X for them as you can check their website and see what they do. Most people don't know, companies are "hiring" but it's not advertised anywhere. They might have an opening for another general IT staff member and you might have knocked on the door at the right time.

It's a little investment with a big chance of ROI in finding that "almost dream job". Good luck, You should be able to find better jobs doing the same thing over and over. "You need to apply to jobs that not many people are applying for, or jobs that are just created out of the blue."

[cookderosa]

This is part share, part question.


I have worked as a consultant outside of my primary career, and I've had at least one major career change. Now that I've completed my coursework, it's time to look again. Here are some of the things I do to look for work. Probably basic to all of you, but another thread inspired me to create this; maybe some of you could chime in with some tips / fishing holes?


- I pay attention and drive around. When I get home, I'll look the names I saw on the company signs up, and see if there is anything on their careers / jobs / employment page.

If there's not, but the jobs all sound decent and pay well, I'll set up a job alert that will ping me when they list new jobs. If they don't, I drag the padlock off of my firefox into a folder that peeks out above my browser. Once a week or so, I'll get in the browser and start popping shortcuts to see if there's anything I missed.

- I pay attention on local boards. Some places just don't advertise, but you'll catch people grousing about their job. Which makes me search the company out. Refer back to block one for further, lol

I use indeed.com a lot. But I also use the state job site (Which stinks), and clearancejobs, as well as usajobs.gov. I also look for state employment openings, county and city ones.

I have resumes that are tuned to the things I do. I have never had a general, boring resume. I make resumes and cover letters for others. 

I tell others this: A business card or a email to a manager is only enough to pique their interest and want to call you. A resume is enough to sort of flesh out your details, but leave them wanting more, and they can only get more from talking... to you!

If you give them everything they need up front, what reason do they have to call?

Before you start searching, MAKE CERTAIN you know where your birth certificate is. Where is your social security card? Do you have a driver's license? Is it expired? Men, do you have a draft card?

You may think this is pedantic, but I'm mentoring a buddy re-entering the wild after 30 years in the military. These are things that have popped up.


Question -

I've never had a linkedin account. Ever. But, I just built one because a couple places say that's where grownups do facebook-like stuff.  Now I have people telling me it's a waste of time and the jobs / job hunters on there are lame. What say you?

Great suggestions!! I have a linkedin profile too - but also because I think I look too "slow" if I don't. Afterall, I only just recently changed my aol email to gmail (my kids told he it dated me significantly). I still put 2 spaces after a period, but I'm working on it.

Regarding keeping up to date: I interviewed with a big company for a job that was a perfect match for my skillset. This specific division operated in its own small facility, a staff of maybe 10, my role would be regional and I would have been a rockstar in this role. I had about a week before the interview, and scoured the internet to find out what I could about the company as well as the person I would be interviewing with - he would be my direct supervisor if I were hired. I found ZERO on this guy. Literally zero. And I looked HARD. In fact, I *thought* I found him in a high school alumni newsletter from the early 80's, but I couldn't be sure- but as for his professional existence - nothing. Nothing from college, nothing after college, nothing in the public records like marriages or even listed as a survivor in an obituary. His kids? None that I could find. (Wives and children are excellent doors into someone's social profile) In 2017 (when I interviewed) I found this to be a red flag and troubling. It's kinda the opposite problem we see with teens where they put EVERYTHING out there- I mean how can you be a Regional Vice President and not have a social presence?
Fast forward, the interview with this guy was a disaster- he and I would not have been a good work-match (sadly), but to bring this back on point- he was a tech dinosaur. Not that he was old (just a few years older than me), but he was probably the definition of "laggard" in the adopter bell curve. I think there is a skill to using the tools that the working /networking world are using -like LinkedIn, that are worth learning.

[burbuja0512]

One thing to add. Many corporations are using software that pretty much guarantees that your resume will get lost unless you play the stupid resume keyword game. (The resume keyword game involves ripping words directly out of the job posting and reusing them in your resume)

If you can get a hold of the recruiter or other contact from your target company, this helps get you past this artificial screen. No matter how you do it, if your resume isn't seen, then it's worthless. This is why I'm so pro-LinkedIn - it's just the easiest way for most of us to find a contact... or better yet, reach out to to someone you're already connected with on LinkedIn who happens to work for the company. (But who you would have forgotten if you hadn't connected with them!)

[Ideas]

I agree that not having LinkedIn dates you a bit, and more importantly, makes you look like you're not on top of tech, business, marketing! So it seems especially bad for any position where you're supposed to know those. It's also an opportunity where if your resume put you in a 'borderline' category, they can look up your LinkedIn and you might get an interview based on that. LinkedIn gives you more space than a resume.

I sound like I'm a huge LinkedIn fan. Not really, but I think it's necessary for most job seekers these days. Also if someone is not seeking a new position, one could fall into their lap if they keep their profile updated.

[burbuja0512]

I agree that not having LinkedIn dates you a bit, and more importantly, makes you look like you're not on top of tech, business, marketing! So it seems especially bad for any position where you're supposed to know those. It's also an opportunity where if your resume put you in a 'borderline' category, they can look up your LinkedIn and you might get an interview based on that. LinkedIn gives you more space than a resume.

I sound like I'm a huge LinkedIn fan. Not really, but I think it's necessary for most job seekers these days. Also if someone is not seeking a new position, one could fall into their lap if they keep their profile updated.

My hiring process at my prior companies was 

1) Get resume from HR, who had done a screening to pick top candidates.  For certain positions, I have requested to do my own screening, but only in a special case.
2) Review the resumes and weed out obvious mismatches
3) View candidates LinkedIn profiles to see how they stand out.   Is their profile up to date?  Is there volunteer work or something else that wasn't listed on their resume?  Additional scan for other red flags.  Not having a profile is an immediate trip to the circular file.   Other red flags would include a very sloppy or inappropriate (not professional) profile.  
4) Share resumes with other managers if applicable.   They would each have their own process and also viewed LinkedIn profiles
5) Call HR recruiter to schedule interviews with select candidates. 

Note that I am in international sales, so a professional profile is more important than in other fields, but since there are usually many more resumes than open positions, it is REALLY easy to just throw away the resume that doesn't have a solid LinkedIn profile attached to it.

[Ideas]

View candidates LinkedIn profiles to see how they stand out.   Is their profile up to date?  Is there volunteer work or something else that wasn't listed on their resume?  Additional scan for other red flags.  Not having a profile is an immediate trip to the circular file.   Other red flags would include a very sloppy or inappropriate (not professional) profile.  
4) Share resumes with other managers if applicable.   They would each have their own process and also viewed LinkedIn profiles

Great post. So multiple people may view the LinkedIn profile!

LinkedIn has space for more certificates, MOOCs, professional memberships, etc 

Some people don't have a professional photo, that's not really old, and they need to get one.

[DavidHume]

I'm not a huge LinkedIn fan, but I have one. Some of the jobs I've seen require a LinkedIn account to apply. I probably have a disproportionate number of connections with directors and executives, but that's because so few of the nurses and people lower level positions don't actively use their accounts. I did a search for TESU graduates in the area and reached out to them. There are quite a few that work as recruiters, so might be worth checking out for your region as well.