job seekers

How Critical is Linked In?

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That was one of the many great questions asked during one of my recent Netshare Ask-a-Coach calls. My response … so critical that it is part of every package I sell and we spend at least one coaching session around how to leverage the power of that Web 2.0 technology. While you are launching a proactive effort, Linked In is an ongoing, powerful, portable, 24/7 strategy.

In order to understand how important Linked In is to my clients’ career management strategy, I talk with recruiters. I have yet to talk with one who does not use Linked In as one of his or her primary tool to source passive candidates. In fact, “A Recruiters Guide to the Universe” ranks Linked In and Linked In Groups as the two primary ways to connect job seekers and recruiters. Networking accounts for 40-70% of all opportunities. Being active on Linked In is networking. 

So what’s “most important” about your Linked In profile. I’ve come up with 5 things:

Create a Powerful Branded Summary 

 

This is not your daddy’s boring bio either. This summary, limited by 2,000 characters, is your opportunity to showcase how you do what you do (your brand) that is different and unique from others who do the same or similar things.  

 

More is Better 

 

It is great to have your employers and job titles, past and present, listed as part of your profile. But that is not enough. In the world of key searches, more is better.  The amount of information online acts as a pre–qualifier and gives both you and a prospect a framework to begin establishing a relationship. 

 

Create your Vanity URL 

Linked In allows you to create vanity URLs, and it is a great way to increase your Google rankings … if you have also made your stellar profile available for public viewing … which I highly recommend.  

 

Join Groups 

 

The big fish, small pond analogy definitely applies here. Joining groups allows you to mingle with like–minded folks and gain access to their contact information … even if the person is not a 1st degree contact in your network. Be sure to set your contact information option to open, so others can contact you as well. 

And finally … 

Third party recommendations are extremely important on Linked In. These are very powerful endorsements that add credibility to the statements in your profile and employment history, and are critical to your positioning.

The “Spaghetti” Job Search Strategy

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There’s a lot of angst in the LinkedIn CFO group this morning. Not hearing back from recruiters these days is enough to send even the most stable senior finance executive to the edge of the cliff after a period of unemployment. The job search system is already flawed, and the Internet has exacerbated the breakdown … candidates send resumes to a big black hole and never hear back from anyone. If you haven’t read my article “Everybody Lies,” email me and I’ll be happy to send it your way. 

Anyway, the flawed search strategy that almost every job seeker uses is what I call the “spaghetti strategy.” They throw their resume into the black hole hoping it will stick to something. It doesn’t have to be the “right” thing, just, please, let it be “something.”  

When HR has posted a position or a recruiter has been hired to do a specific search, they are in “screen out” mode. If you don’t meet these specific requirements – every one of them – you’re out. And, short of a solid long-term relationship with a recruiter that might sway them, there is nothing you can do about it.

Playing the posted position game elicits this advice from some … “you must modify your resume for every position to which you apply.” That is because when you are throwing your resume into the black hole and hoping it will stick to something, it requires you to be “all things to all people.” You’re like a chameleon constantly changing colors depending on where you’re standing … or in this case, depending on what the job posting says. 

I believe there is a search strategy is that far more effective, much less anxiety-inducing, and focuses on what you want rather than anything that’s available. It is hard work AND it requires you to move away from the job boards and into a position of strength. 

You first need to identify your sweet spot. Business coach Deborah Gallant, in summarizing points from “What Would Google Do,” said this …

“Mass market are irrelevant, it’s all about niches: identifying what you do really well and doing it supremely well.”

The next step is figuring out who needs what you do really well and then how you can get on their radar screen. Whether that company has a position posted is irrelevant because if you can take away their current pain, having a conversation with you is always an option. It’s hard work, certainly more challenging than the spaghetti strategy, and generally much more effective! 

Over-promoted and Over His Head

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How would you like that headline to appear in the #1 slot in a Google search of your name? While this is a fictionalized story of a CFO turned CEO, could you find yourself the “victim” of digital dirt?

And here’s another potential career killer headline in Reuters … “Boston Provident fires CFO Levy for alleged theft.” Or this one, “Ex-Petters Co. CFO ‘Lied for a Living’.”

I know, I know. I can hear you now. Those are a big deal and I would never appear in such a headline. Thankfully, that is true for the majority of people. But what about the small stuff? Comments taken out of context in a conversation with a reporter, a statement you made on a controversial position in a Board meeting, an adversarial comment you left on a blog … again, used out of context, or an irritated comment you left on a public forum. 

If you aren’t checking your online identity, how do you know what’s being said about you? In today’s social media world, you are who Google says you are. 

The most recent stats I’ve heard were from an ERE personal branding seminar last week … 77% of executive recruiters use search engines to research applicants and 59% of hiring managers are influenced by your online identity. On an initial Google search by recruiters, could you be confused with someone with an unsavory reputation? What if one of these CFOs happens to share your name … do you also get to carry his baggage?

Testament to how critical a digital footprint is to one’s career is the article in the Wall Street Journal … “More Job Seekers Scramble to Erase Their Criminal Past.” Again, you might not have a criminal past but someone who shares your name may. And as the article states, digital dirt is nearly impossible to eradicate. That also applies to the “small stuff.”

Ideas … Investors … and Job Seekers

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What do they have in common? 

This morning’s post in the FP Executive blog by Jesse Shantz, was following up on a Fast Company article entitled “Made to Stick, Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die.” Shantz took the “ideas” argument and applied it to investors. In making that translation, he said a few things that should also resonate with job seekers …

–They really give perspective on the idea of finding the right message to get your point across to your audience.

Finding the right message means the message is not about you. It’s about the prospective company and how you can solve its pain, problem, situation, or challenge.

–They show how using numbers [responsibilities] that don't resonate with readers, fall on deaf ears.

As Senior Finance Executives … working with numbers is what you do. Every day. Yet, often when translated to your career marketing documents, those measurable impacts are missing. No one is hiring you for your years of experience or even your breadth of responsibilities. The right company WILL hire you for your record of contributions and ability to positively impact in a new position [value].

—Make it something that is tangible.

Ideas that you had (initiatives), you executed, and which delivered measurable bottom line and long-term impacts … that’s tangible. That’s value. And many times, your ability to clearly articulate your marketable value proposition will make you stand out from everyone else.