The beginning and end to how you land a good job is simple: connections. Whether the company you’re going for is large or small, knowing someone there will give you a leg up on the competition. Even knowing someone who knows someone who knows someone can help a little, which is why sites like LinkedIn are becoming more and more important to finding jobs. Even better, the vast majority of people still don’t even think of using LinkedIn or don’t know how to do it. Read on to see how using it can help you stay ahead of the pack.
It’s a personalized search engine. Because the nature of LinkedIn is such that people post their employment information - past and present - once you join and connect with friends and acquaintances, you can see what companies they have connections to. Could you find the kind of job you want at any of these companies? Because now you’ve got a direct “in.”
Where are people like you? With LinkedIn, you can do an advanced search for people nearby that have the same skill set as you and see where they work. For example, if you’re a Photoshop expert in Cincinnati, Ohio, you can look at people’s profiles in your zip code who also have Photoshop experience and see where they work. You might discover employment opportunities you never knew existed.
Search for companies in your industry. Want to work in a specific industry? Search the company directory on LinkedIn for companies in your favorite industry that operate in your city. If you’re lucky, some of these companies will employ people in your network and you’ll already have a helpful connection. If not, however, there’s always the Company Profiles…
The beauty of Company Profiles. These very useful profiles show the career path of people before they started working at a company and where they move on to afterward. You might realize that you have a tangential connection if someone on the list has a shared work or educational history with you. A shared background - even if you never met the person - can be a powerful thing, and you should never underestimate the power of alumni assistance.
See the person who’s hiring. Another of LinkedIn’s amazing benefits is that if you have any connection to the person who posted the job - even a second or third degree “friendship” - it will tell you. Obviously there’s a limit to how far people will go for someone they don’t know, and the closer the connection the better, but it isn’t out of the question for someone to help out, say, a friend of a friend.
Get the inside scoop. A lot of job postings can be vague and frustrating, but if you happen to know someone - anyone - inside the company, they can be very helpful in letting you know more precisely what they’re looking for in that position. Even better, if you can’t get to the person who’s hiring directly, knowing someone in the company can help you get your resume to the right HR person.
