Guerrilla Marking for Job Hunters 2.0 - Jay Conrad Levinson [96]
There are things I look for on your profile that tell me whether you are just playing around, or that you see value in this awesome tool. Is your picture there? Did you claim a “vanity URL”? These are very easy and quick to do, and makes it look more “on purpose.” Additionally, I’ll look to see how many contacts you have (three is not enough), how many recommendations you have, and what relationships the recommenders have with you, and whether you participate in Answers. None of these are deal-breakers, but I’m going to know you take networking and professional development seriously.
When we talk about finding on LinkedIn, think about finding 2 different things: network contacts and information. The most basic search you should do is with the search box at the top of every page. If you want to get into Acme Widget, Inc., do a search for “Acme Widget.” You may find current or past employees, as well as possibly partners, vendors, or customers (depending on what people have put in their profiles). Any of these professionals could be network contacts for you, to help you learn more about the company and issues.
LinkedIn’s original value proposition is that you can tap into your contacts’ connections. Think about it—the value you get from using LinkedIn is not that you can track your professional connections, rather, that you can find out who they know. You should ask, “Who do you know.” LinkedIn automates that step of the process for you.
Jason Alba is CEO of JibberJobber.com and author of “I’m on LinkedIn—Now What???” and “I’m on Facebook—Now What???” Reach Jason at www.linkedin.com/in/jasonalba/.
■ MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH THE POWER OF NETWORKING
Mark J. Haluska is the executive director of Real Time Network, www.rtnetwork.net, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He and I first met online at RECNET, an international online forum for recruiters and headhunters.
Mark and I have worked as colleagues for 9 years now. I think we initially clicked because of our similar military backgrounds and because Mark has an offbeat sardonic sense of humor not unlike my own. He has a real ability to cut to the chase. In fact, we first got to know each other by trading barbs on recruiting for the first 2 years over the Internet.
Mark was one of the first headhunters to read my initial book, Career Guide for the High-Tech Professional: Where the Jobs Are Now and How to Land Them (Franklin Lakes, NJ: Career Press, 2004), and he was pretty blunt. He liked the book all right, but he thought it had wider appeal than just the technology industry. When I was approached to write this book, I asked Mark if he would mind proofing some of the chapters. I wanted another industry insider to review the material to ensure my strategies and tactics were state-of-the-moment, accurate, and coming across correctly.
Well, let me tell you, face-to-face we’ve become great friends, and the working relationship has been outstanding. Not only has Mark read every word in the book, he has challenged my assumptions and encouraged me every step of the way. You would think our desks were right next to each other. We are colleagues in every sense of the word. We talk on a regular basis and e-mail each other daily about more than just the book and headhunting. That is the real power of networking.
Kevin Donlin, my partner in the Guerrilla Job Search Boot Camp project, found me online after reading my book and a few of my articles. He just called me up for a chat. I talked to him, as I had talked to so many other people who had read the first edition of Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters and wanted to “partner” with me, and I casually said, “The next time you’re in town call.” Given the chance to follow through on a big idea, most people will do nothing. Not Kevin. That was the only opening he needed. He called me back a few days later to tell me he was going to be traveling through Montreal on his way back to Minneapolis and he was “wondering if that was very far