I read a great article on msn about the do's and don't's of connecting with a future employer on LinkedIn. Here is a link to the article.
The article talked about getting the most out of using LinkedIn, and how to use it to your advantage in the job market. I feel like LinkedIn is the professional version of Facebook. Facebook helps in so many areas of our lives now, we should LinkedIn to help us as well, not hurt us.
The article outlined some helpful tips for using LinkedIn. I think the best two tips they gave, and their top two were to 1. Don't be shy 2. Don't be needy.
I think the point of don't be shy is very important, because if you are on LinkedIn and do not take advantage of your connections than being on the site is pointless. Use your connections to your advantage; don’t be afraid to ask for a favor, or to network yourself into a company you are interested in. There is also something to be said about not being needy. People do not want to feel responsible for you getting hired or not, especially if you do not know the person very well, or if you recently met them, so not being too pushy is important too.
I also liked that the article talked about looking for the hiring manager. This seems like it could be very beneficial. Knowing someone’s email to be able to contact him or her directly can give you a competitive advantage. The article says that it is ok to contact the hiring manager directly. This could be a great for writing a cover letter because you will be able to addresses the letter to someone, and not use generic terms for addressing them, which could make you come off as unprepared or not professional. Especially in today’s economy it is so important to make yourself stand out from the competition, and getting in good with a hiring manager via LinkedIn could be your ticket in the door.
Personally I think LinkedIn is a wonderful concept and is under utilized but hopefully is something that will become more used, since it is such a useful tool. After reading this article I feel more seasoned on the proper ways to use LinkedIn and how to hopefully make no mistakes when job searching on the site. I have had a LinkedIn account since this summer but only recently polished it so I would feel comfortable with future employers browsing my page. (Which I hope some are!)
What do you all think? Have you ever used LinkedIn to contact an employer, search for a possible job, or to just check out a company?
These are two great points; two things I continue to think about! I like this especially: "don’t be afraid to ask for a favor, or to network yourself into a company you are interested in." So far I haven't started looking for a job on LinkedIn, but when asking for connections with previous employers or asking for recommendations I am sometimes hesitant. The most they could do is say no. My problem is I don't want to seem to pushy, because if I connect with someone and the next second ask for a recommendation it might appear I'm just "using them." However, I think that's kind of what networking is about--using each other.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you of having the fear of being too pushy, especially if you do not know the person very well. It is encouraging read an article that tells you it is ok to reach out to people on sites like LinkedIn. I like how you stated, "using each other" in referring to networking, because in essence that’s what it is!
ReplyDeleteI have honestly just started my linkedin account. i have yet to see how it benefits me as far as jobs go, but i intend to keep my linkedin updated and when i get tired of the job i have, or know of a specific job i would like to have, i will try to use linkedin to my advantage.
ReplyDeletei agree with both do not be shy or needy. we must be ourselves (to an extent) and we need the companies we pursue to understand how we can benefit them. of course we need a job, but we need to explain why the job needs us and linkedin creates another opportunity for us to do so.