making more out of linkedin
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Like It or Not, LinkedIn Is a Numbers Game…If You Want to Play…And Sooner or Later, You Most Likely Do. But there are ways to make it more effective for you than just having it as a big Rolodex...TRANSCRIPT
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Making More Out of LinkedIn
LinkedIn Is a Numbers Game, After All…
Even If We Don’t Like to Admit It
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Yes, LinkedIn Is a Numbers Game…If You Want to Play…And Sooner or Later, You Most Likely Do
Now, it might pretend to be something else, and you may be using it for something else. BUT as soon as you want LinkedIn to do more for you than just be an extension of your resume compiling
your past career connections into one place (where you basically do nothing with them), then it becomes what all social media essentially becomes:
a numbers game nonetheless.
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“I am VERY cautious about whom I connect with on LinkedIn. I only connect with people I know.”
On the surface, it sounds like a good strategy. And it isn’t all that bad if you aren’t really looking to make a career move right now or in the foreseeable future. BUT as soon you enter into the realm of either active or passive job seeker, you will realize just how much of a numbers game LinkedIn really is.
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And the tune will begin to change
The more 1st level connections you have, the more 2nd level connections you generate (remember the 6-degrees of Kevin Bacon?). And the more 2nd level connections you generate, the more likelihood of having better access to key decision makers in your target job search area.
Not to mention, the better ranking you receive in LinkedIn search (the same is true for how many silly endorsements in a particular area you receive…did you even know you had a LinkedIn ranking? Sure you do, and it is basically numbers based.)
LinkedIn isn’t really about 1st level connections, you know, those people you “know.” Sure, that is great that you know 200 people, etc.
LinkedIn is really about 2nd level connections.
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It’s time to meet new people Now, LinkedIn likes to play coy with this because essentially the company is in business to make a profit (it is not a nonprofit service, after all). Although it says that it is protecting you from the dreaded spam, really, LinkedIn wants you to buy into its Premium services.
So, it entices you to network, lets you connect with your friends for free, and gives you access to groups.
BUT then it makes it difficult for you to expand your network to connect with others you don’t know unless you are given an introduction by one of your 1st level connections or pay for their InMail services (which LinkedIn claims everyone reads but very few do…trust me).
Like it or not, even on LinkedIn (or any social media), you have to get out there and meet people.
If face-to-face networking isn’t really you’re thing, then maybe social networking will be.
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Social media, LinkedIn in particular, has many great qualities. But you can’t lose site of the fact that the numbers do matter.
Think Quality AND Quantity.
For more on this, check out our post called “The Age-Old Social Media Quality vs. Quantity Debate”.
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Groups provide great networking opportunities
Groups are your one “free” way to meet and network with other professionals in the same industry or profession as you. So there is some value in paying attention to what is happening in these groups and to targeting individuals you would like to meet.
After all, LinkedIn gives you 3000 invites you can send out, so after “meeting” in the group, you can send someone an invite providing a reason for why you would like to connect with him or her.
If you are like me, you have joined some of the LinkedIn groups that were recommended to you (most likely by LinkedIn), but either you show up every once in a while or you never do. You’re just out there as a passive member because, well, who has time to read through every post of every group you belong to?
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Even better is that LinkedIn group members can send a private message to one another (provided a person has not shut off this feature) IF they are 2nd level connections or better.
So this means that you can send a message to people in your groups introducing yourself without being so presumptuous as to send an unsolicited invite.
Now, I wouldn’t go around sending a message to everyone or sending anything that sounds like the dreaded “spam,” but it is a good idea if you see someone who meets your target area for networking that you take the initiative of introducing yourself
through a message.
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Don’t let your connections sit in your wasteland, though.
How do you do that? Figure out ways to be a value-added resource to your network and provide that value to them. Again, without “spamming,” you want to reach out from time to time, touch base. Congratulate them on new jobs. Send them a link to a relevant article. Ask them how they are doing….
Exhausted yet?
Networking is tiring. And the bigger your network gets, the more tiring it can become. BUT if you are building a network that focuses in on your target market (do you know what it is?), then the bigger the better. And LinkedIn is happy to help you play the game.
Once you make these valuable new connections, now you have to decide what to do with them.
Otherwise, your profile is just going to sit there with no real engagement with your contacts and you aren’t really networking.
Sure, they can see your “feed” as it comes through each day, but they aren’t that vigilant (again, trust me). If you want an active network, then you have to wake up the sleeping giant, so to speak.
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So, it’s time to get out there and start building your LinkedIn empire. Let’s make LinkedIn more effective for you.
For more on this, check out our article “Building Your LinkedIn Network Empire”.
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The ITtechExec/NoddlePlace Story
Our followers on Twitter know us as @ITtechExec and @rezlady, but IRL (in real life), we are Stephen and Sheree Van Vreede.
In 2001, we launched No Stone Unturned, a resume (or résumé, for the purists among us) and career services firm. Thanks to Stephen's background in IT/telecom management for the supply chain/logistics industry and to Sheree's experience serving as an editor to the scientific/engineering community in the publishing world, we soon realized that we were best suited to serve the technical professional trying to maneuver through what has become a complex and exhausting job market.
Not only that, we noticed that other resume writers were avoiding technical clients, unsure of how best to position their specialized skills.
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The ITtechExec/NoddlePlace Story (Continued)
Therefore, it wasn't long before we began to work exclusively with IT and technical or “STEM” clientele, professionals who have devoted themselves to some of the most innovative and rewarding fields in today’s industries, from engineering to healthcare IT to scientific exploration to big data and cloud services to project/program management.
Then before we knew it, unemployment skyrocketed and the tech market began waging its war for sophisticated tech talent.
And on top of all that, social media recruiting exploded onto the scene, and the landscape became pretty messy, pretty fast. The traditional job search was still there but in a convoluted way, and there were so many more tools in the job search arsenal.
But most of all, it was obvious we could no longer just write a resume and send our clients on their way. They needed better preparation and lasting protections.
We knew then that we had to become a full-service career advancement and protection firm, not just another resume-writing firm.
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The ITtechExec/NoddlePlace Story (Continued)
As a result, under the No Stone Unturned umbrella, we now have ITtechExec, a technical resume and "career insurance and protection" service for executive-level IT/technical clients who want to protect what they've built, and NoddlePlace ("noddle" means "head"), a technical resume and "career advancement" service for emerging, mid-level technical candidates (5 to 10 years of experience) who want to advance it to where our ITtechExec clients are.
Listen. It is no coincidence that we have been featured in leading industry publications like CIO.com, TechRepublic, and Dice or have been asked to conduct training seminars on technical resume writing at the annual Career Thought Leaders (CTL) Conference or to facilitate the Northeastern U.S. region's “Brain Day” 2013 for CTL. It's because we are recognized across our industry by our peers as a leader in technical career advancement and protection. (That's why they refer their technical candidates to us, by the way!)
Protection and advancement both begin with preparation and continue with maintenance.
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The ITtechExec/NoddlePlace Story (Continued)
Whether you are an external job seeker looking for a new full-time role, a consultant going for the next contract, or an internal leader seeking promotion or just retention (such as during an acquisition), we have devised our project lifecycle approach that takes away the dread and confusion that often comes with these career moves and helps to build in the peace of mind that you are prepared for whatever comes. No one can predict for certain what the market will do, but you can build a career insurance and protection team to help you weather what comes and still advance to where you want to go.
From your tech/IT resume to your promotion/consulting portfolio to your recruiter engagement to your ongoing career advancement/management, we make each complicated step more certain.
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The ITtechExec/NoddlePlace Story (Continued)
In a world full of phony branding, we keep it real.
Each of us, whether we like the phrase "personal branding" or not, has one: who are we, personally, professionally, and so on, and the message that we project. In today's job market, we are now forced to think about our "communities" and our spheres of "influence," and how well we engage in those communities is becoming a key component in our careers. Honestly, for most of us, it sounds like a lot of blah, blah, blah, but basically it comes down to what the job search has always been about: meeting needs.
To do that, we start by building a personal brand message that lets employers see your distinct skills and background in an authentic, practical way. Then we carry that message into your technical or IT resume, LinkedIn profile, promotion portfolio, bio, and more.
From there, as a value-add, we market our clients out across our network of technical recruiters and we offer a recruiter matching service that takes specific parameters and identifies the best recruiters for you. It also launches a campaign to introduce you to those recruiters. It can save so much time and frustration trying to maneuver through the crazy world of recruiting. We are also able to do the same thing with potential employers.
Finally, we provide a career management protection subscription service that offers yearly updates of resume/LI profile, career strategy consulting, and other updates based on latest world of work market trends. It keeps our clients ready to move forward when the next time comes, which in our current market is, statistically speaking, every 3 to 4 years.
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The ITtechExec/NoddlePlace Story (Continued)
Listen. We know we're not for everybody. We remain exclusive for a reason.
Our clients are serious about their field and about managing their career within that field. They're ambitious, sure; but most importantly, they want to be free to focus on the work they love to do, and the last thing they want is to be in job search mode all the time.
BUT they recognize that we are in a market that rewards those who come prepared. And that a job search is tougher and tougher to navigate.
So they come to us get prepared, to design their resumes and portfolios and help them launch their search. Then they put the onus on us to keep their materials up to date and to keep them ready for the next opportunity when it comes along. It's peace of mind amidst an ever-changing landscape.
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The ITtechExec/NoddlePlace Story (Continued)
Your livelihood matters. So protecting careers protects families.
Therefore, our clients are more than just job seekers (active or passive); they are problem solvers who meet real needs. Our job is to help them showcase that across both traditional (resume) and social (Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) forms of media and to do so while building in the proper preparation and protection.
At ITtechExec and NoddlePlace, we understand wanting to protect your family. After all, we’re a family too! Now, we know we might look like just your average family (and we are!), but together with our specialized writing team, our clients experience a 5-fold rate of return (or better) on their investment with us and they know they are ready to weather whatever storm comes in the job market. How?
Well, our clients say it all...
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The ITtechExec/NoddlePlace Story (Continued)
We develop proven strategies: “[NoddlePlace] help[ed] me cohesively package my diverse work and skill set, which allowed me to show my value to potential employers and organizations.” Steven O. (Healthcare Ops Exec, Los Angeles)
We get results: “I finally had the luxury of choosing from 3 separate offers.” D. Gradin (GM, Los Angeles)
We attract the right recruiters to you: “I went from a contact or two every couple of weeks to more than a dozen contacts/phone interviews with recruiters this past week” Eric S. (Information Security Director, Denver, CO)
Not only that, we do it by keeping it real. And that is what makes it simple...we break it down to the strategies and methods that will work for YOU in your situation.
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The ITtechExec/NoddlePlace Story (Continued)
To learn more about us and all our swanky credentials, check out our sites ITtechExec and NoddlePlace or e-mail Stephen directly at [email protected] today. (You can find us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+, and just about everywhere else too [we have lots of "neat" pins on Pinterest!].
BUT even better than all of that...Come try us out and see. Take advantage of our Free Career Management Assessment.