AndyMichelich's blog

Hello,

If you are in the market for a job, especially if you have at least several years of work experience, you should be taking advantage of the significant benefits LinkedIn can bring to your job search, including warm leads into companies or to people you are targeting, the possibility of creating new job leads through recruiters who frequently use the site or people who are impressed with comments you post on the site, and access to posted and unposted job openings. So how do you take advantage of LinkedIn if you’re a job seeker?

1. Create a Thoughtful Profile. According to LinkedIn, you are 40X more likely to receive opportunities if your profile is complete. A complete profile includes your current job and 2 previous jobs, your educational background, a profile summary, profile picture, your specialties and at least 3 recommendations. Your profile summary should highlight your passions, interests AND your personality. Your work experience should highlight the specific actions taken and the impact achieved. Many people make the mistake of writing their experience as a recitation of tasks; e.g. built models, created presentations. If you’ve created presentations, projects or have other work that showcases your talents, use an app like Slideshare or Box.net to include your work in your profile. Thoughtful (vs boilerplate) recommendations from colleagues who can speak to specific skills or your impact can help.LinkedIn has a simple tool that lets you solicit them for people you know. Once and only when your profile is complete, include a link to it in your email signature, on your resume, and even on your business card.