Good afternoon. I’m taking this opportunity to tell you more about what LinkedIn is and how it can actually benefit you in your job search. Whether or not you are currently looking for a job.
You may or may not have heard of LinkedIn – possibly your email inbox has received one or two emails over the years from others inviting you into it. So we’ll go over the basics.
For a start, you can get your own profile for free at www.linkedin.com
LinkedIn, much like most forms of social networking, lets you set up your own page for others to identify with you over the internet. Unlike Facebook or Twitter, LinkedIn is a place where you are to present yourself professionally. Part of it acts like an online CV, telling others what your career has been like to date, your achievements, your jobs, and your education. Of course you can choose to only list whatever you like and feel is advantageous – as there is no obligation to disclose everything – nor does our team recommend to!
This week LinkedIn announced it has over 225 million members worldwide. While this may seem large, we estimate that less than 1% of these profiles are actually effective. Very few people are competing in that top space for an effective LinkedIn profile, or what it has to offer.
So what is an effective LinkedIn profile? Or more importantly, what can an effective LinkedIn profile do for you?
Very few people actually understand this, so if you’re reading up to this point – I’m about to uncover some secrets for you.
Firstly, LinkedIn will allow you to passively grow your career. If applying for jobs on Seek, TradeMe and on the back of your daily newspaper seem like the only options for improving your job search – you are only seeing about 12% of the whole picture. And even if you’re not looking for a new job at this very moment, can you truly say to yourself you are preparing yourself for when you want to take that next step in your career, and more importantly – your life?
We often hear the meme ‘it’s not what you know, but who you know in the job search’. I humbly respect this – people often make the decision to work with those they feel they are on the same wavelength as. If you’re applying for hours on end on job search websites, you almost a very limited opportunity to convey this. Yes, we firmly stand by that we write the best CVs in the country, but neither you nor I can really influence a recruiter as much as an in person connection can.
You’re probably asking how do I achieve this – or if you already know some great people in your professional life, how can you connect with more great people?
Having a profile on LinkedIn will allow you to establish who you are to the professional world. There first key to this is being joined into relevant groups. LinkedIn has tens of thousands of groups worldwide, ranging from beauty professionals to scuba dive instructors to corporate elites. Being part of these groups, you are able to see who else in your area part of the group is. You can read what is the latest insider info in the industry; who is upsizing, who is downsizing. Then you can target getting yourself noticed right in front of these respective people.
Do you think the best people really struggle when they apply for jobs? Generally not – they build contacts and get noticed beforehand.
It is likely you have hoped to been recognised in front of an industry leader for a long time. I still remember when I was working in my first corporate job and it meant the world to me to be even acknowledged for great work by my direct manager to the senior manager – or the ‘big boss’ so to speak.
You can change that in a few hours, literally.
Still reading? I’m about to drop another bomb shell. A sparkling one.
Have you ever thought about the reality of a recruiter’s life? An organisation seeks to hire a new person, whether it be an administration assistant or a school teacher or a CEO. They place an advertisement online, only to be bombarded with literally thousands of applications from people of all walks of life. Some are sincere, passionate about the role and have the ability to perform – but the vast majority scream desperation. Recruiters know that there are many people out there who need to survive or run from their current job to whatever lets them – and have to filter through plenty of candidates to get right down to the shortlisted top twenty.
Does this process come across as time-consuming to you, or as it does to me – more like insanity?
You bet.
And the secret is, recruiters are now taking a different approach.
What would it be like if recruiters could change the game completely?
What would it be like if they could find the people they really needed, without a tedious and massive application process?
What would it be like if they could through a touch of a button – get a list of everyone in our country who has the specific skills and experience they need?
They would save hundreds of hours, and probably get a much better person – wouldn’t they?
So can they?
Yes they can.
LinkedIn lets them.
Following on from the substantial success of recruiters in the USA, Canada, Switzerland and Germany for the better half of the last decade, New Zealand and Australian recruiters are now taking the trend by the horns.
Recruiters are able to perform a search of any specific skill set, experience level, job title, area, industry and so forth that they are after in a person to fill a new vacancy.
In my next article I will be revealing how they do this.
But for now it’s important to remember that recruiters now have a huge upper hand in the job search. They can filter through all the people, narrow them down, pin point the ones they love and contact them directly.
Head hunting? You bet.
So are you on this list?
Here’s a news flash – if you aren’t already on LinkedIn – you definitely aren’t.
And if you are on LinkedIn and you’ve never had your profile professionally written, I can almost be certain you aren’t ranking significantly on the list.
Think about the last time you used Google or your favourite search engine to find something.
Maybe where to buy shoes online, or where to buy have your next birthday party. Or even what’s the easiest route to get to a friend’s home. Or maybe even the phone number of a shop or a restaurant.
Did you look past the first page of the website searches? And if you did, did you really look past the second or third page?
I’m guessing the answer is no.
Websites and businesses use secret tactics to boost their ranking by re arranging content and using key phrases that boost their profile. Who could blame them? They need the income, the publicity, the attention. How else would they survive?
They don’t leave it up to chance.
Neither should you.
While recruiters are more forgiving and likely to look past the fifth page even on LinkedIn, if your page or profile can’t be picked up by their search methods – you will miss out.
So what are you doing about this?
You could sit around, do nothing and keep battling day after day on job search websites.
Or you could write your profile yourself and join 99% of the 225 million people already on LinkedIn. I mean sure, that’s a step in the right direction.
Or you can be serious about your life and join the 1%. The 1% of profiles, which are truly effective.
A professionally written profile will get you noticed; have the key features that employers look for and really attract attention as to who you are.
I hope you want to be noticed.
It’s your job search, it’s your career, and most of all it’s your life.
Make it happen.
Along with my team we are professional LinkedIn writers who are able to get this done for you. For what used to be only affordable to CEOs, we’ve made having LinkedIn profile affordable for our valued CV customers. And if you don’t already have a professionally written CV by us – it’s about time to start getting serious and take charge in your job search. Even if you are not currently looking for a new job, you will want all these connections in place for when the right moment comes. You can email me any time at lance@kingofcv.co.nz or call me personally on 021 158 3156 and talk about how we can make this happen for you.
I wish you the best, till next time.
Yours,
Lance
Written with Clark Valmont
