First things first. I am not a Linkedin expert. I have spent a number of hours researching certain aspects of Linkedin, but for the average user, most of what I’ve learnt will be a waste of time passing on.
There are some simple ways with a little bit of time and effort to get yourself noticed by potential hiring managers and recruiters specialising in your field.
1. Use the search box to look up a job title of the person you feel is most likely to hire you. I don’t actually like the word ‘hire’ as it’s very american, but with so many americanisms being used, it will probably strike a chord with many.
Let’s say that your career is in Sales. Go to the search bar and enter keywords, such as “Sales Director” or “Sales Manager” etc. In the column on the left, you can drill down into industry relevance and location. Your search results should have provided a list of people serving your industry and people who hold the correct titles.
Once you have a list of these people in view, click on each profile and use your back tab, or similar to return to the big list. View as many people as you can from the list. The reason for doing so, is to be noticed by them. When the person you have viewed looks at their own “Who’s viewed my profile” option, they will see you. They might be interested in making contact or at least, if they are hiring, they might consider getting in touch. Either way, you are on your first step to knocking on a door. Start as high up in the rankings as you would like. Managing Directors, Heads of Dept, CEO’s and titles of who is likely to hire you.
2. Join Groups that are relevant to your discipline or business. When you become a member of these groups, comment on the articles. This gives you fresh exposure all the time. Also, by being a group member you are more likely to see other people who share your interests. They too can see you comment and engage with you.
3. Follow companies that are of interest, companies that you wouldn’t mind working for. When they announce messages or articles, you will see their updates and you should comment on the content. This will give you another degree of exposure.
4. Search out as many people as you can that you may have worked with previously, or friends. One thing is almost certain; People work in circles. What I mean is that a lot of friendships start at work. It’s logical therefore to see other contacts who are in the same business as friends of others. Confused? Using the example of facebook, you’ll probably find several people on the friends list, who work in the same type of business. Look them up too. You can flip between facebook and Linkedin to get the desired result.
5. Go for a company search; Type in the search bar the company you wish to target. Let’s say it’s a major plc with 10,000 + employees. Just type in the search “blogs and co” and you’ll find most of the people that have worked for them or currently work for them. Do as before, click on the profiles of those people whom might be in a position to employ you. Don’t ask to connect. Let them decide whether they wish to invite you to connect.
6. Make sure that your linkedin profile is full. Add each company and a summary of what you did at that company. Include abbreviations to ensure that recruiters will find the most relevant results. FMCG is a good example or if you work in other specialised sectors use the key abbreviations; RICS NHBC etc
7. Add education information and upload your CV if you wish.
8. Use a good photograph. Something professional, giving the right impression. Don’t use logo’s or anything that doesn’t resemble you, as linkedin may remove your entire profile for breaking the rules.
Good luck.
19 Sep2015
8 Job Searching Tips for getting noticed on Linkedin
First things first. I am not a Linkedin expert. I have spent a number of hours researching certain aspects of Linkedin, but for the average user, most of what I’ve learnt will be a waste of time passing on.
There are some simple ways with a little bit of time and effort to get yourself noticed by potential hiring managers and recruiters specialising in your field.
1. Use the search box to look up a job title of the person you feel is most likely to hire you. I don’t actually like the word ‘hire’ as it’s very american, but with so many americanisms being used, it will probably strike a chord with many.
Let’s say that your career is in Sales. Go to the search bar and enter keywords, such as “Sales Director” or “Sales Manager” etc. In the column on the left, you can drill down into industry relevance and location. Your search results should have provided a list of people serving your industry and people who hold the correct titles.
Once you have a list of these people in view, click on each profile and use your back tab, or similar to return to the big list. View as many people as you can from the list. The reason for doing so, is to be noticed by them. When the person you have viewed looks at their own “Who’s viewed my profile” option, they will see you. They might be interested in making contact or at least, if they are hiring, they might consider getting in touch. Either way, you are on your first step to knocking on a door. Start as high up in the rankings as you would like. Managing Directors, Heads of Dept, CEO’s and titles of who is likely to hire you.
2. Join Groups that are relevant to your discipline or business. When you become a member of these groups, comment on the articles. This gives you fresh exposure all the time. Also, by being a group member you are more likely to see other people who share your interests. They too can see you comment and engage with you.
3. Follow companies that are of interest, companies that you wouldn’t mind working for. When they announce messages or articles, you will see their updates and you should comment on the content. This will give you another degree of exposure.
4. Search out as many people as you can that you may have worked with previously, or friends. One thing is almost certain; People work in circles. What I mean is that a lot of friendships start at work. It’s logical therefore to see other contacts who are in the same business as friends of others. Confused? Using the example of facebook, you’ll probably find several people on the friends list, who work in the same type of business. Look them up too. You can flip between facebook and Linkedin to get the desired result.
5. Go for a company search; Type in the search bar the company you wish to target. Let’s say it’s a major plc with 10,000 + employees. Just type in the search “blogs and co” and you’ll find most of the people that have worked for them or currently work for them. Do as before, click on the profiles of those people whom might be in a position to employ you. Don’t ask to connect. Let them decide whether they wish to invite you to connect.
6. Make sure that your linkedin profile is full. Add each company and a summary of what you did at that company. Include abbreviations to ensure that recruiters will find the most relevant results. FMCG is a good example or if you work in other specialised sectors use the key abbreviations; RICS NHBC etc
7. Add education information and upload your CV if you wish.
8. Use a good photograph. Something professional, giving the right impression. Don’t use logo’s or anything that doesn’t resemble you, as linkedin may remove your entire profile for breaking the rules.
Good luck.
he phone rings.. “Hi, it’s Harry the happy headhunter calling, I wanted to …” without further ado, you are cornered by this person who hasn’t asked whether it’s convenient to speak and who launches himself into selling mode about a great job he’s working on. What do you say? How do you deal with these amateurs?
Your morning gets busier and you’re checking your email. You have messages via Linkedin from recruiters, you have messages being sent via text or voicemail, you are under attack !
You hear about the same job from 3 or 4 recruiters offering to present you to their client. Each recruiter describes the job in a slightly different way, but we all know it’s likely to be the same job regurgitated to meet their needs.
Why are you being approached when you’re not looking for a new job? Certainly not at 8.30 in the morning !
Calls and emails continue to flood-in for the whole day and even through the week. It’s ridiculous.
Someone walks into your office doing a similar job role and asks whether you’ve had Harry the happy headhunter on the phone as they too are being annoyed..
Is any of this sounding remotely familiar? If so, you are suffering from Recruiter overload. I’ve seen people registered with Linkedin who state within their profile; “I’m not looking for a new job!” It must be a serious problem.
Linkedin is a wonderful idea of connecting the business world, but I wish recruitment companies would spend time training their people about how to engage with people in a professional way. It makes my job 50 times more difficult, as I am automatically classified as the same annoying recruiter type.
Linkedin can be a very powerful business tool. Most people only scratch the surface, whilst the seasoned search professionals will know how to dig deep into the back-office system and get the information they need.
Usually, recruiters at a lower level of experience will almost certainly not know how to “forensic search” and probably don’t have the time to build profiles properly or to build relationships either.
It must be a nightmare being employed, having to deal with unprofessionalism. On the flip-side, linkedin members also have problems being targeted for dating purposes. Glamourous people all over the world are being asked whether they would like to date or go for lunch/drinks etc.
Linkedin really should monitor this behavior and deal with the offenders.
My other big concern is the way Linkedin could quite easily become another Facebook. You could argue that if Linkedin did become another facebook, they would have achieved great success. I always try to encourage ‘business’ use with Linkedin and keep the lighter side of life with other social networks.
How do you deal with unsolicited approaches from recruitment companies without seeming to be rude? I would always acknowledge the approach with a polite “no thank you” or “let’s speak after hours”. If the recruiter is serious about speaking with you, they will find the time after hours to make contact. When you engage with a recruiter, watch out for the obvious “I don’t know what I’m doing, but I’ll make it sound as though I do” routine. Recruiters have a habit of trying to uncover whether you will move from your current role for something else more exciting or rewarding. Be careful, because they also have an agenda to back-fill your own job. If they get you on the hook, then they could easily start searching for candidates to fill your role. It’s a horrible business and trust is vital. In fact , trust and confidentiality are the two things that become the most important elements of dealing with recruiters, yet in so many cases, neither play a part.
Linkedin allows recruiters to search in detail for specific skills, locations, companies – both current or past, titles, geographic radius etc. With such power, calls from recruiters should be well researched, not hit and miss. I often get asked questions about Linkedin and here are some of the most common;
A recruiter has looked at my profile, what should I do? Nothing. Wait for them to initiate contact via the inmail system.
A recruiter has sent a connection request, should I accept it. No. Not unless you trust them with all of your connections and personal details.
My inbox at work is full of Linkedin requests and emails. How do I minimise disruption? Create a free email account with someone like gmail and use it specifically for Linkedin. At least you will only see things when you login and it won’t affect any other personal email accounts.
I’m searching for a job. How do I get maximum attention with Linkedin? Connect with as many recruiters operating in your niche as you wish. Look at profiles of people who might be responsible for hiring you at some stage. When they look at the option of “who’s viewed my profile” you will appear and they will be interested to see who you are. Automatically, if they are considering hiring, you’re on their radar. Connect to as many people as possible that work in your sector. On the drop down menu, look for groups. Join as many groups in your niche as possible. You’re allowed to join 50 groups. Make sure you follow current relevant topics and either, ‘like’ or comment on posts. This gives you visibility and a chance to engage in a dialogue with others.
There are many more ideas to help, so if you’ve covered all of these and want to learn more, go to youtube and search for ‘linkedin improve my profile’ or something of that nature. There’s bound to be loads of videos to view.
Make Linkedin work for you. See it as a way to improve your life, not frustrate it.
There’s something happening in the workplace, which is frustrating the life out of personnel within the housebuilding industry. I can’t speak of other industries, but I would imagine it’s a similar picture.
Just recently, I’ve been speaking with several ‘unknowns’. To classify an ‘unknown’ is someone that I tap on the shoulder, having never spoken before and introduce myself in a professional way. Usually, the approach is made either via email and phone or some other means, Linkedin, Facebook etc.
I have a job on my hands, literally, in having to very quickly differentiate from other recruitment companies and ‘headhunters’. Within a few moments, it’s plainly obvious to the person I’m speaking with, but initially, I’ve been placed in the same annoying unprofessional, unethical, disingenuous category of the other recruiters.
Sometimes the responses are quite rude. It didn’t occur to me that these unknowns are being approached by lots of companies all the time, being bombarded with opportunities (most of which are the same job being marketed by every recruiter on the planet) and hassled to the point of frustration beyond belief.
Thankfully, I quickly demonstrate why I’m different and in the true sense of the word ‘Headhunter’, explain the key differences, not only in my ability as a Headhunter, but also my background, reputation and model of working which is unique to housebuilding.
Let me explain the differences to those whom are unfamiliar with terms such as Contingency and Retained. I work on a retained basis for all assignments. This means that I partner with my clients to find the best people as quickly as possible for any given role. I’m paid in advance, or should I say, part of my fee is paid in advance when I’m about to commence a search.
I explore the market and carefully consider the best people to select and interview for my clients.
The process is fairly straightforward. Once I have identified a potential candidate, I will arrange to meet, usually out of hours and near the candidate’s home location to make life easier for them.
I spend between 2 and 3 hours meeting each candidate in the search and build lasting relationships, based upon ethical practice, knowledge and trust.
Once I have a shortlist from all of my meetings, I discuss the shortlist with my client and present a maximum of three candidates, sometimes fewer, depending upon suitability.
Because I work exclusively with all clients, you won’t hear about the same job from anyone else, plus my confidentiality is the best in the business. I help, advise, manage and mentor people for all sorts of roles and create a profile of who you are why you should or shouldn’t fit into a particular company. This is possible from a deep understanding of all clients and target companies. Target companies are not clients. They are companies I choose to keep as targets for approaching on behalf of my clients.
Contingency recruitment is very different. To summarise; Some recruiters who work on a contingency basis, whether they have instructions from the employer or not, will do their best to attract anyone and everyone remotely suitable or in some cases, unsuitable, for a fee. They will pester, annoy, frustrate, send CV’s speculatively and (often without your knowledge) to an employer. Once they have you on the hook, they’ll start trying to back-fill your own job, but lining up people to take over when you leave. No wonder people are sick of recruiters. Read my other blog called Dirty Rotten Recruiters.
I had a call late one evening last week from a contact. For obvious reasons, I can’t go into any detail because of confidentiality. I do however want to share the emotion and content of the call in order to help others who might find themselves in a similar situation one day.
After establishing that all wasn’t great for my contact, I listened carefully to his immediate problem, frustrations and dis-belief.
