Recently, it has been said “In this economy” is the new “That’s what she said”… And for good reason. While jobs are being cut in every direction, business plans are being updated on a daily basis, and when who you know is what matters most, I’ve found that the best tool out there for finding work is LinkedIn.
When I first set up my account a few years ago, I didn’t really put much effort into learning what it could do, instead I just added a few of my previous jobs and called it a day. Recently, I’ve had the opportunity to examine the service more closely and what I found was a big time lead generator and networking tool. Below, I’ve listed a few ways in which you can use LinkedIn to help you find work in the tough economic climate we live in today.
Increase your visibility.
By adding connections, you increase the likelihood that people will see your profile first when they’re searching for someone to hire or do business with. In addition to appearing at the top of search results (which is a major plus if you’re one of the 52,000 product managers on LinkedIn), people would much rather work with people who their friends know and trust.
Improve your Google PageRank.
LinkedIn allows you to make your profile information available for search engines to index. Since LinkedIn profiles receive a fairly high PageRank in Google, this is a good way to influence what people see when they search for you.
To do this, create a public profile and select “Full View.” Also, instead of using the default URL, customize your public profile’s URL to be your actual name. To strengthen the visibility of this page in search engines, use this link in various places on the web> For example, when you comment in a blog, include a link to your profile in your signature.
Increase the relevancy of your job search.
Use LinkedIn’s advanced search to find people with educational and work experience like yours to see where they work. For example, a programmer would use search keywords such as “Ruby on Rails,” “C++,” “Python,” “Java,” and “evangelist” to find out where other programmers with these skills work.
Improve your connectability.
Most new users put only their current company in their profile. By doing so, they severely limit their ability to connect with people. You should fill out your profile like it’s an executive bio, so include past companies, education, affiliations, and activities.
You can also include a link to your profile as part of an email signature. The added benefit is that the link enables people to see all your credentials, which would be awkward if not downright strange, as an attachment.
No matter what situation you’re in right now, getting an account on LinkedIn is a must. Get in now to avoid missing out later!