Social networking (using social media to interact and share information) isn’t just about finding posted jobs…it is about building relationships. Your job search requires you to do more than just apply for jobs online. Learning how to use social networking sites will help your long-term strategy – by creating new relationships to open doors now […]
The post Add Social Networking to Your Job Searching Portfolio appeared first on Career Sherpa.
The job search process is always evolving.
It's not about going to the job boards, finding the job opening you like, and then applying for it. That method will only have you waiting by the phone for a call that's likely not going to happen. Today's job seekers need to take a more proactive and interactive approach called professional networkingâand LinkedIn is a resource to help you do that.
Creating a strong LinkedIn profile will help you get in front of the right contacts (recruiters, hiring managers, professionals in the field, etc.) who can lead you to your next job opportunity. However, in order for that to happen, you need a LinkedIn profile that communicates and displays the right information.
Take a look at the LinkedIn profile checklist below to learn how to optimize and use your LinkedIn profile effectively.
1. Make Sure You Have An Appropriate Headline
The headline is what shows up for your LinkedIn profile when it comes up in search results. It's also what shows up when others look at you through their contacts' connections. By default, your LinkedIn headline reads your current job title and employer, but if you want to grab the attention of others it should say more than that. Think about keywords and highlighting your greatest skill sets.
2. Display Professionalism In Your Profile Photo
A LinkedIn profile that includes a headshot photo is more likely to be clicked on than a profile without a photo. In selecting your profile photo, go with a headshot that makes you look professional and approachable.
3. Personalize Your LinkedIn URL
Whether you choose to include your LinkedIn profile on your resume or in your email signature, personalize the URL. It'll come off as more professional and memorable. Example: www.linkedin.com/yourname or www.linkedin.com/yourname-professionalkeyword.
1. Offer Your Value Statement In The "About" (Summary) Section
The "About" section on your LinkedIn profile should summarize what you have to offer and how that translates to value for the potential employer. This is where you'll include your personal branding statement. It should also contain a list of your key skill sets. Never write in the third person on your LinkedIn profile unless you want to come off as pretentious.
2. Make Your Work Experience Keyword-Rich
In your "Experience" section on your LinkedIn profile, use bullet points to highlight accomplishments and quantify your work experience. Think about relevant keywords to include naturally in your writing. The more keyword-rich your profile is, the more likely it'll show up in search results. It's also important to make sure the information you include in your "Experience" section on your LinkedIn profile matches the information in the "Work History" section on your resume, so you don't confuse recruiters and hiring managers.
3. Get Endorsed For The Right Skills And Expertise
Review the "Skills and Expertise" section to prioritize what's important. When you do that, your contacts are more likely to endorse you for the right skills, which in turn shows recruiters and hiring managers you have what they are looking for. What you want to avoid is including skills and expertise that don't relate to the jobs you're applying for or your profession. That will simply dilute your overall message, including your personal brand.
1. Don't Let Your Education Give Away Your Age
Your education, which can include specialized training and certifications received, adds value to your qualifications. When listing the information, take caution with dates. It's not necessary to indicate when you received your degree from collegeâthat can give away your age in some cases. Also don't include anything that may be too dated. You want to show you hold current, relevant skills that are valuable to the profession, not irrelevant expertise.
2. Join Relevant Groups
LinkedIn offers a diverse selection of Groups that you can (and should) joinâprofessional associations, industry groups, alumni groups, etc. If they're relevant to your profession or skills needed for the job, share their badge on your profile. It helps hiring managers and recruiters see that you're connected and active in networks that are important. You can also benefit by taking things a step further with LinkedIn Groups, like participating in discussions and sharing interesting articles to get your name out there. Many hiring managers and recruiters will look at discussions in relevant groups to pull out potential candidates for job openings they have available.
3. Make Your Profile Public
LinkedIn profiles that are made public allow others to view your information whether you're connected with them or not. This option is best when you're a job seeker.
Every professionalânot just job seekersâshould learn how to optimize their LinkedIn profile. Follow the steps above to build a strong LinkedIn profile today for job search and career success!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
In a previous article, we gave you a detailed explanation of how LinkedIn has changed since it was built and why it is no longer a social network. Some people get to use it successfully as a social network, but overall it is now a social marketplace. Do you still need to be on it?
Yes.
But you also need to know what's going to replace LinkedIn as the social network for your career.
You now know that LinkedIn is the modern-day yellow pages. And as it gets bigger, it's only going to become more obvious that it's a social marketplace. That's why we need a social media 2.0.
We know we still need social networking, and now understand it's just not happening on platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook anymore. And, while we know the basics of how to network online, we also need some guidelinesâand a frameworkâto do it better.
That's where micronets come into play.
To improve networking, we need a way to bring a tribe of people together more consistently and effectively. People need to meet or communicate on a regular basis to get to know each other. That's the only way we can build a strong network and truly connect with one another.
This is why associations are such a big dealâthey form a tribe. The problem with brick-and-mortar associations, though, is that you must attend in person to get the value. The associations you join need to be in your local area, or if they aren't, you're going to spend lots of money to go to a national conference, which is not realistic for most professionals.
We live in a digital world, so we want that virtual experience. We want that virtual association, that virtual community. That's exactly what a micronet is.
J.T. knew the business she wanted to build for Work It DAILY over 10 years ago. She knew she wanted to build a micronet so she could drop the geographic and economic boundaries for people all over the world so everyone could get great, affordable, on-demand career coaching.
She also knew all people needed was to be part of a team where they were participating with others who wanted to help each other grow their careers and really become strong in their professions.
So for the last 10 years, we have been patiently waiting for the day when this amazing technology would finally hit. This year, that technology became available.
We've built Work It DAILY on a micronet platform. Our members are in there every day, chatting with one another, networking by industry, job type, or geographic location. We have an 87% engagement rate. They're attending events with one another. They're working with career coaches, one on one, getting their LinkedIn profiles and resumes reviewed.
Everything you've ever wanted from a social network is now possible due to the rise of micronets. It makes the time you spend on social media valuable. The power of a micronet is that it's a productive kind of social media.
Work It DAILY has built the micronet that picks up where LinkedIn left off. Don't get us wrongâwe love LinkedIn. We have an entire set of video tutorials that teach people how to optimize their LinkedIn profiles and get the most mileage out of them.
But there's no way you can network on LinkedIn like you can on a micronet. With Work It DAILY's micronet, you can use the platform to network with like-minded professionals, growing and taking control of your career. If that doesn't sound like a positive experience, we don't know what is.
J.T. predicts there will be thousands of micronets launched over the next two years. There will be a micronet for everything. Anything that you want to do better in your life, anything you want to "work it daily" on in your life, there's going to be a micronet for that.
So, what's the key difference between micronets and social marketplaces like LinkedIn?
Micronets are pay-to-play.
With a micronet, you pay a small fee, just like an app. But that means no pesky ads. No businesses trying to sell you their products or services. No trolls. If you're paying to be a part of a platform like a micronet, people want to be there, and it shows.
We set up a FREE 7-day trial for our micronet so you can get into the community and understand it. And guess what? If you have any questions about the platform or micronets in general, you can message J.T. directly when you sign up.
So what are you waiting for? Sign up today, try it out, and see what a micronet can do for your career!
This article was originally published at an earlier date.
An increasing number of people have been reaching out to our career coaches and asking, "Is LinkedIn dying?"
This question isn't just coming from job seekers. Recruiters, professionals, and executives alike are frustrated with the platform, wondering if it's really as useful as it claims to be.
Networking is becoming more difficult. When professionals do manage to connect with someone and start a conversation, they'll likely never hear from their connection again after that initial conversation. Recruiters reach out to job seekers all the time, and no one responds.
LinkedIn used to work so well. What happened? What's the point of being on it at all?
You may think this is a sign that LinkedIn is dying. It's not.
LinkedIn is not dying. It's just changing.
In fact, LinkedIn would tell you it's not. Just looking at it based on user accounts, they now have over 930 million people on the platform. And that number is still growing. The so-called "death" we think we're witnessing with LinkedIn is actually just change. The way people have used it has changed dramatically. You cannot do what you used to be able to do on LinkedIn. LinkedIn has changed, and that's okay.
When LinkedIn first started out, it was a social network. The early adopters loved the platform and used it to its fullest potential. People would connect. They would start conversations. Being on LinkedIn was this amazing experience where people were actually developing relationships with people they never would have developed relationships with otherwise. It truly was a social network.
But that's when it was small.
Now, with mass adoption, the power of the social network has lost its luster. The majority of people on LinkedIn are not using the platform to its fullest potential. So, what does that do to the platform as a whole?
The truth is, LinkedIn is no longer a social network. With 930 million people, it's not a social network. It's a social marketplace.
Anytime something is free, like LinkedIn, you're the product. You're part of what they're selling. That's why LinkedIn is a social marketplace.
Think about it. How does LinkedIn make its money?
Recruiters pay a lot of money to access candidates. Salespeople and businesses pay a lot of money to put their information out in your feed to generate leads. All LinkedIn is today is a very sophisticated yellow pages. As a job seeker, you go there to find businesses, to find companies you want to work for. And when you're a job seeker, you're a business-of-one trying to sell your skills and your services to an employer. LinkedIn is just a place to find businesses, of all shapes and sizes, no matter if you're an actual company or a job candidate.
In the same vein, Facebook is the modern-day white pages. It's free, and what do you use Facebook for? To find people you may know.
LinkedIn is the modern-day yellow pages. Businesses used to pay a premium to advertise in the yellow pages to have a bigger presence. Fast forward to today, and that's all LinkedIn is.
So, you're the productâbut there's nothing wrong with that. We're lucky that we have LinkedIn. It's the sophisticated yellow pages that we need, which means every single one of us needs to be on it. We need to have our profiles optimized and we need to understand how it's used.
The networking thing, that's done. There's a reason very few people are connecting and building relationships on there, and it's because people have no skin in the game. The return on the investment is no longer there. Ultimately, it's just a place to put up the webpage for your business-of-one: your profile.
The good news is that you can now create events on LinkedIn. It's free, and it's going to encourage people to start talking to one another and that'll improve the social marketplace situation a little bit, but it's not 100% going to solve the problem.
So if LinkedIn isn't a social network anymore, what is? The platform that follows LinkedIn will completely change the networking game. It'll change the networking game like LinkedIn did so many years ago.
What we need is a new social network where we can connect with people again. LinkedIn doesn't accomplish this anymore because, again, it's not a social network. It's a social marketplace. The new social network for professionals will change the way we network in any career, in any industry, in any skill set, passion, or interest. And it's already here.
LinkedIn is not dying after all. It's just no longer a social network given its size. And yes, you can still reach out and connect with people but don't expect the world. Don't expect everyone to respond to you. Don't expect everyone to talk to you because that's not what it's built to do anymore.
Let's just be grateful that we have it because what it's creating for us in the future will really be something to smile about.
Want to know what comes after LinkedIn? Find out here!
This article was originally published at an earlier date.
Networking is vital to job search success. Networking can lead to referrals, identifying jobs that aren't yet posted, and securing informational interviews. They can also lead to future professional references.
These results can give you a competitive advantage and help you progress toward your career goal. Networking platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter are tools that can help you effectively expand your network. Here's how...
Online or offline, the goal of networking is to build relationships. Every social networking platform offers some means of connecting with new people. Interact with others and share posts that are thoughtful and relevant to your field. Engage your audience by seeking input and sharing your thoughts or review of industry-related topics.
Share these topics and post information on your own profile for your audience, but also get involved in groups on LinkedIn or chats on Twitter. There are thousands of chats and groups for a wide variety of industries, specialties, or job searching in general. Do some exploring and request to join the group or start following the Twitter chat.
In my experience, people are very receptive to newcomers on these interactive forums. These forums can be a great way to meet new people. After participating, you can begin to follow or request a connection with individual contributors. Depending on your location, there may be the possibility of meeting your connections in person. The social network is a platform to build these relationships and make that in-person connection.
Patience...patience...patience! All good things take time.
Maintain a positive attitude and be flexible. Those two skills can save you from many future career headaches. Not everyone will be willing to connect. Remember that networking is a two-way street. Prioritize your connections based on who has a job you'd love to do, or who works for one of your target employers, and focus your efforts strategically.
Always personalize connection messages to new people on sites like LinkedIn to let the potential contact know you're not arbitrarily clicking every "Connect" button in your suggested contacts. Keep connection messages brief and to the point. I'd recommend not going into personal detail this early on or putting potential connections on the spot; just invite them to be a connection or offer your email address as a point of contact.
You can say something as simple as, "Hi Jane, I've enjoyed following your contributions to XYZ Group and agreed with your review of the Acme Co article you posted. I am also a (insert job title here) and would like to connect with you. Please let me know if I can be of any help. Thanks."
A short and simple message with a personal reference and offer to help shows that you are trying to form a mutually beneficial relationship.
By building relationships you can become a resource on certain topics for your network. Gaining credibility takes time, but let the process happen naturally. Conduct research, search for best practices, gain more experience, and get in contact with people that share their experience.
This is where actively participating in Twitter chats or LinkedIn groups can help build your knowledge. Sharing ideas with others that are passionate about their field can keep you motivated and engaged in your line of work. After developing these relationships, opportunities can arise off-screen as wellâassisting in a volunteer effort that was coordinated online or attending a networking event, speaking event, or job club that was promoted online. Read the information about the events your network is posting and try to commit to going when your schedule permits.
A hiring manager may look you up on Google at some point in the job search process. If you actively network across platforms such as LinkedIn or Twitter, or attend events in person, your Google search results page may show these stories and profiles.
Any site you join for professional networking purposes should serve as a complement to your resume. That means whether you post blogs, tweets, or share information on LinkedIn, all your content should be professional and error-free. These can validate your candidacy and make you stand out among the competition.
As you start networking, you'll learn more about your field, gain skills, and build confidence. Build relationships and help others in your search. Use social networking for job search success and foster relationships that can help you discover your next opportunity.
Need more help with your job search?
We'd love it if you signed up for Work It Daily's Event Subscription! Get your career questions answered in our next live event!
This article was originally published at an earlier date.
If youâve never used an on the internet networking site, LinkedIn may seem to be a little daunting at first. Looking acquainted with other social mass media sites, youâll still would like to take the period to learn to navigate the way around LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is the worldâs biggest professional networking platform and something of the most important social media networks.
With over 830 million members in a lot more than 200 countries and even territories, youâll want in order to utilize this tool to be able to market yourself as the business-of-one.
Members use the internet site to network or retain in touch with fellow workers, co-workers, clients, friends, together with family. But it could do so much moreâbuild awareness of your brand name, enhance your profile, connect along with professionals, find job possibilities, etc.
This training will assist you:
Sign up for our CEO, J. To. O'Donnell, and Director to help train Development & Training, Christina Burgio, for this specific live event on Wed, August 31st at twelve pm ET.
CAN'T GO TO LIVE? Which okay. You will have access towards the recording and typically the workbook after the program!
Reddit goes by the slogan "the front page of the internet," and, in many ways, it's true as millions turn to the website on a daily basis to talk about events that unfold online and in real life. But there is one way to be even more active on Reddit: working at Reddit!
Reddit is growing quickly and has plenty of opportunities available for those looking for remote work positions.
Reddit is a social website where individuals with accounts can join networks of communities to talk about shared interests, hobbies, and passions, and comment on content and other relevant topics. Content on the site is either upvoted or downvoted, meaning the most interesting content rises to the top of each community.
Some of the most popular Reddit communities are built around breaking news, sports, movies, and TV fan theories, just to name a few categories.
Reddit was founded in 2005 and has 55M+ daily uses, 100K communities, and 50B+ monthly views.
@workitdaily Reply to @jbm1428 work from home hiring around the world! #jobopenings #hiringnow #hiring #workfromhome #newcareer #reddit #remote #whatsitlike
Reddit is hiring remote workers around the world and this could be a great opportunity for job seekers that are creative, enjoy bringing people together, and love problem-solving.
Reddit has career opportunities available in the following departments:
*Growth Alert: Reddit started 2021 with around 700 employees and company officials announced on the company blog in February 2021 that they planned to double their number of employees to around 1,400 after raising $250 million in new funding.
Incredible Fact: Reddit Is Evolving Its Workforce
As Reddit aims to grow its workforce, the experience of working at Reddit will likely be different for each employee.
Like most large companies, Reddit transformed to a remote workplace during the COVID-19 pandemic and realized that there's no going back now as employees demand this type of flexibility. While there are still some positions that will be tied to an office, most employees will have the option to work wherever they want.
"Reddit will be able to find and hire more amazing talent wherever they live, opening up more meaningful opportunities for diversity," the company states on its blog.
As a result of this shift, Reddit also committed to eliminating geographic compensation zones in the U.S., meaning that compensation will be tied to pay ranges of high-cost areas such as San Franciso and New York, regardless of where an employee lives in the U.S.
For those employees who do return to the office, they'll be greeted with casual and coffee-shop-style seating, private space for heads-down focusing, larger bookable resources and collaboration spaces for teams to strategically meet, and no fixed desks. Instead, there will be neighborhoods for teams to gather and bookable desks for employees working in the office, according to the company blog.
What Employees Have To Say About Reddit
Reddit has a culture score of 4.2/5 on employer review website Glassdoor, and company leadership received a 94% approval rate.
"The culture at Reddit is incredible. Even virtually! We learn from our mistakes and actually take action. Leadership is transparent and humble," one employee wrote in a Glassdoor review.
Popular benefits and perks at Reddit include:
Employee Resource Groups At Reddit
In an effort to create a culture and work environment that attracts different voices and enables them to be heard and flourish, Reddit is home to several employee resource groups (ERGs) that are helping the company work towards its goal of building belonging and community. These groups include:
There's so much more to learn about working at Reddit. To learn more, or to apply to a job, view Reddit's careers page.
