Are You LinkedIn?
It goes without saying that the past few years have been tough on the job market.
The US has been crippled with startling unemployment rates and even though there has been some progress recently, unemployed Americans still see themselves as having a huge mountain of uncertainty to overcome.
In a time where unemployment rates are high, profit margins and popularity for sites like Monster.
com, and CareerBuilder.
com are even higher.
What does this mean for jobless hopefuls? Nothing good.
Higher traffic to job sites like Monster and CareerBuilder means stiffer competition for an already fragile job market, which makes even getting an interview with a company off one of those a miracle in itself.
I graduated coming into statistically the worst job market in decades.
The fact that there were people with years of experience competing for entry-level jobs just to have some sort of income made the thought of finding a decent job within my major almost impossible.
I quickly realized that no one on job websites were getting my resume and my father brought my attention to LinkedIn.
com.
LinkedIn is a brilliant and innovative concept that merges business professionals together through social networking (think Facebook without the countless pictures of binge-drinking.
) LinkedIn gives a prime tutorial on THE most important tool for getting a job in today's modern culture: networking.
The best analogy about networking I could come up with is: "it's like dating.
" Say you're single, and you're looking to meet a girl/guy...
You can go to bars and where there are tons of potential people to talk to and try to meet an absolute stranger, or you can have a trusted friend introduce you to a person they think you would get along great with.
I think it's obvious which answer makes more sense, and it's no different in networking.
You can spend all your time crafting cover-letters and tweaking resumes for job sites, or you can ask people you know to see if there is a potential opportunity with a company or friend they know that is looking to hire...
LinkedIn does this only in a digital setting.
When you join LinkedIn you are able to add your friends by uploading your email contacts, this gives you a core network.
While looking online for jobs you think you are qualified for you can note the company then look up their profile on LinkedIn and see if there is anyone you know that is connected in some way, now you have a potential "in" that you may have never known to be true that will give you a leg up on the competition.
LinkedIn even allows companies to post open job opportunities as well, and when you apply that company is now able to look at your profile as a more in-depth resume, so it's a win-win for both employer and employee hopeful.
Tomorrow I have to give a speech to my old Alma mater about life after graduation and what to expect on the outside.
I remember being in these kids' shoes not too long ago and thinking of the monumental stress of having to both find a job and flourish in it.
And whether or not it's what they want to hear, the best message I can deliver to them is "it's not necessarily what you know, but who you know.
" And LinkedIn simplifies the "who you know" part.
LinkedIn is an innovative website that has multiple purposes, I still use it today for business purposes.
It gives myself and my company a way to interact with other companies to help drive up mutual business and from a marketing point of view, a company profile is a fantastic source of SEO exposure.
Google any major company and you will notice that their LinkedIn account is typically within the top five results, which otherwise can get pretty pricey.
The US has been crippled with startling unemployment rates and even though there has been some progress recently, unemployed Americans still see themselves as having a huge mountain of uncertainty to overcome.
In a time where unemployment rates are high, profit margins and popularity for sites like Monster.
com, and CareerBuilder.
com are even higher.
What does this mean for jobless hopefuls? Nothing good.
Higher traffic to job sites like Monster and CareerBuilder means stiffer competition for an already fragile job market, which makes even getting an interview with a company off one of those a miracle in itself.
I graduated coming into statistically the worst job market in decades.
The fact that there were people with years of experience competing for entry-level jobs just to have some sort of income made the thought of finding a decent job within my major almost impossible.
I quickly realized that no one on job websites were getting my resume and my father brought my attention to LinkedIn.
com.
LinkedIn is a brilliant and innovative concept that merges business professionals together through social networking (think Facebook without the countless pictures of binge-drinking.
) LinkedIn gives a prime tutorial on THE most important tool for getting a job in today's modern culture: networking.
The best analogy about networking I could come up with is: "it's like dating.
" Say you're single, and you're looking to meet a girl/guy...
You can go to bars and where there are tons of potential people to talk to and try to meet an absolute stranger, or you can have a trusted friend introduce you to a person they think you would get along great with.
I think it's obvious which answer makes more sense, and it's no different in networking.
You can spend all your time crafting cover-letters and tweaking resumes for job sites, or you can ask people you know to see if there is a potential opportunity with a company or friend they know that is looking to hire...
LinkedIn does this only in a digital setting.
When you join LinkedIn you are able to add your friends by uploading your email contacts, this gives you a core network.
While looking online for jobs you think you are qualified for you can note the company then look up their profile on LinkedIn and see if there is anyone you know that is connected in some way, now you have a potential "in" that you may have never known to be true that will give you a leg up on the competition.
LinkedIn even allows companies to post open job opportunities as well, and when you apply that company is now able to look at your profile as a more in-depth resume, so it's a win-win for both employer and employee hopeful.
Tomorrow I have to give a speech to my old Alma mater about life after graduation and what to expect on the outside.
I remember being in these kids' shoes not too long ago and thinking of the monumental stress of having to both find a job and flourish in it.
And whether or not it's what they want to hear, the best message I can deliver to them is "it's not necessarily what you know, but who you know.
" And LinkedIn simplifies the "who you know" part.
LinkedIn is an innovative website that has multiple purposes, I still use it today for business purposes.
It gives myself and my company a way to interact with other companies to help drive up mutual business and from a marketing point of view, a company profile is a fantastic source of SEO exposure.
Google any major company and you will notice that their LinkedIn account is typically within the top five results, which otherwise can get pretty pricey.
