You've Been Linked

LinkedIn. A website that most people thought was reserved for the working man or woman. Now, it has become one of the most used tools to finding a job.

LinkedIn can be seen almost as a professional Facebook. Information about yourself, like activities you are involved in, places of employment and education are included. However, there are no "favorites" categories, places to upload photos or a wall. In fact, the only way to contact a person on LinkedIn is to request that you be added to their network.

The beauty of LinkedIn is that it is totally free. There are, however, some limitations. For example, you cannot InMail, or contact via message, a person unless you have an upgraded account. LinkedIn allows you to connect to past employers or work colleagues, reconnect with classmates and build a professional online community. A member can import their resume or build job descriptions on their profile, request recommendations from past employers and even upload a picture.

There are different levels of connections. A "first" connection means that you and another person are directly linked. After you link with people, the website will automatically recommend people you may know. A third party in this situation (for example, my friend has a friend and I want to link them), would be referenced as a "second" level connection. You can either link directly to that person or have a middle man introduce you. Lastly, a person whom you don't know or have no ties to would be categorized as a "third" level connection.

But what I find most attractive about LinkedIn is that you are able to look at a person's professional progression. For example, if you are interested in fashion merchandising and you know a person-who knows a person-who has a cousin who worked for Barney's, you can look them up on LinkedIn and (depending on their privacy settings) see their work history. I find it to be incredibly helpful to see where a person started and the different jobs they took in order to get to where they are today.

Another fantastic component of LinkedIn? Interview research! Now we all know the importance of researching both the company and the person interviewing you for a prospective job. Unfortunately, sometimes Google only gets you so far and you are left wondering about how long this person has worked for Company A, where they went to school and what their major was. LinkedIn is the perfect place to find useful information so that you may get a read on the person you are speaking or meeting with.

Like Facebook, a LinkedIn member can join groups. Now these groups are far from the "If this group reaches 1,000 people Jon Smith will shave a lightning bolt into his head!". No, they are quite the opposite. Professional associations, intern networks and companies all have groups that a person can join on LinkedIn. They can notify you about all kinds of information, from job postings, to apartment openings, to an alumni association bar night. In an age where so much is reliant on the internet, LinkedIn has found the ability to perfectly fuse professional and social outreach and networking.

And of course, LinkedIn wouldn't be this amazing without a job listing section. Employers can post job listings on LinkedIn and while it may not be as comprehensive as a site like Monster.com or Indeed.com, it is another resource to add to your list.

There was a misnomer that only people who are established in the work force needed a LinkedIn account. I can assure you, nothing could be less true. As part of our work training, each Career Assistant was required to create a LinkedIn account and become familiar with the website. At first, I "linked" my family, my past bosses and a few of my friends who had already created accounts. I steadily received notifications from people I went to school with, friends who had graduated and old acquaintences that I had lost touch with. Now, more than ever, finding a job is heavily reliant on not what you know, but who you know and what you do with it. LinkedIn is simply another way to put feelers out and make connections that could benefit you in the long run.

Now, I understand that people won't spend their time 'stalking' someone's LinkedIn account nor will they think to log into it when wasting time. But if utilized correctly, LinkedIn can serve as a positive supplement to a person's job search and professional path.

On that note, Link away.

It's not about what you know, but who you know

It has become extremely evident that finding a job in today's economy is somewhat reliant on people you know. When I first started college, I thought that networking was cheating--it was as if I wasn't smart enough or qualified enough to get a job or internship on my own. But what I failed to realize is that networking serves as a step up and an endorsement. To have someone call on your behalf isn't cheating the system, it's playing the system. Today, simply submitting a resume and cover letter isn't going to cut it. It isn't about what you know anymore, but rather who you know. So break out the iCal or the Outlook and start downloading V-cards. Trust me, you are going to want as many as possible.

I have a hard time writing about myself on this blog, but I feel the only way to drive this point home is to in fact, write about my own experiences networking. My dad, in all of his professional glory, has racked up a substantial number of business friends and associates. With his help (and first round of e-mails) many of his friends offered to speak to me on the phone and send out my resume. I expected the worst--many places weren't looking to hire someone just out of college or there weren't any openings to begin with. But the fact that my name and resume were circulating was a giant leap in the right direction.

My dad always tells me that people who are successful in their jobs probably got help along the way and many of those people are willing to pay it forward. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness, nor is it an indicator that you are incapable of finding a job on your own. It just means that you are exhausting all possible options and nothing bad can come of reaching out. Take it from me---I was the queen of "I am doing this on my own". So I applied for an internship, told my Dad (who told his business associate who incidentally worked for this person) and less than 24 hours later, I was offered an internship. Now--I am aware that most people have to go through rounds of interviews, and I just got lucky. But instead of being excited, I felt guilty, like they hired me because they felt obligated. I soon realized that there was no obligation to hire me, that I landed the internship on my own merit, but her phone call only made sure that my resume was given a deeper and better look.

The moral of the story is not to be afraid to reach out. Contacting someone, even if just for an informational interview, is more proactive and sometimes more effective than blindly sending applications. Networking is an effective job search tool and it should be utilized, just like a finely crafted resume and cover letter.

Don't be afraid to cast your line---chances are, something will bite.

Speed Dating

Who would have thought that "dating" could lead to a job?

In the February 23rd edition of the Miami Herald, there was an article about Speed Dating---but not the romantic, "5-minutes with a person" kind. Rather, this was job speed dating, providing people with a chance to sit down with potential employers and pitch their skills. Here contact information is traded and small talk made before moving onto the next recruiter.

This kind of approach requires out of the box thinking. Instead of simply looking on-line and submitting resume after resume, job seekers can proactively pursue jobs and meet company representatives face to face. Job seekers were identified by blue name tags, employers by red name tags. And while the ratio of the unemployed to the employer was uneven, it gave people a chance to connect to companies they would not have previously considered and provided networking contacts.

It has become increasingly apparent that finding a job in this economy requres one to consider the unconventional, be it in a field they previously hadn't considered or in the way they acquire information. It also shows that networking is a crucial tool in finding a job. Even if being put in contact with a person doesn't result in a job, it can have incredible benefits. Networking can lead to informational interviews about a specific sector or a "day in the life of..." and it can also lead to the name of a person or company that is hiring. But what this article also shows is that this competative market is not just flooded with recent college graduates, but professionals who have been laid off from work with decades of experience. The key to being sucessful in your job search requires diligence, imagination and creativeness, all while being assertive and actively pursuing new (and perhaps unique) opportunities.

The real message of this post is not to ignore or scoff at any opportunity to put your name and resume out there. Upload your resume into the Resume Book! Connect with alumni on LinkedIn or through the Muhlenberg Career Network! And if you are brave enough, sign up for a career speed dating night.

Happy job hunting---or in this case, dating.

For the full article, click here: http://http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/02/23/1494580/job-seekers-speed-date-to-find.html