Considering LinkedIn Premium? 5 Fantastic Reasons For Job Seekers To Join

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Technology has changed the job search dramatically over the past several years. Resumes can get lost in employers' applicant tracking systems (also known as ATS's – the databases recruiters use to post jobs and accept resumes), where you're competing with as many as 10,000 other applicants who have applied for the same job.

You need every advantage you can get to find and secure a job.

The bad news: Most of the really powerful tools in LinkedIn are reserved for paying customers, in the form of a Premium subscription.

The good news: If you're looking for a job, the tools and features offered under a LinkedIn Premium subscription is worth it – really worth it – if you know how to use them effectively.

Here are 5 fantastic reasons why it makes sense to pony up for a LinkedIn Premium subscription if you're looking to accelerate your job search.

REASON #1: ENHANCED SEARCH CAPABILITY
What This Is, and Why This Matters: There are more than 467 million user accounts in LinkedIn. That means one in every 17 people on planet earth has an account. And there's 128 million user accounts in the United States – one account for every 2.5 people in this country. Think of LinkedIn as a giant employer directory, and as a paying subscriber, you are given the ability to conduct detailed searches by keyword, geographic location, company, and other criteria. You can probably find the person making the hiring decision for that job you applied to on Indeed, Glassdoor, or any other job board.
Real-World Application: There's no getting around having to fill out online applications, and it's difficult to stand out. But if you can identify a potential hiring manager, and reach out to them after you've applied, you may be able to pique their interest in your skills and experience.

REASON #2: INMAILS
What This Is, and Why This Matters: With the free LinkedIn membership, you have the ability to send messages directly to first-level contacts (people to whom you are already directly connected through an accepted invitation). Without a first-level connection in place, in order to contact a decision maker at a company you will need to either A) Send an invitation, get it accepted, then send them a note; B) Find or figure out some form of contact information for the decision maker; or C) Post your online job application and pray it gets noticed. Each scenario is risky and uncertain. Paid subscribers get a set number of InMails each month, notes that can be send to almost anybody in the system.
Real-World Application: After applying online, search LinkedIn for a decision maker at the company (see reason #1). Then send them a brief note indicating that you have applied online (this helps, because it shows that you followed their process), that you have the skills and experience needed for the job, and how they can reach you. If you've reached the right person, it's not unheard of for them to walk over to their recruiter to ask for your resume.

REASON #3: FREE MESSAGES TO OTHER PREMIUM MEMBERS
What This Is, and Why This Matters: Have you ever seen a little gold "in" badge in somebody's profile or near their name? It looks like this:

This symbol means that this person is a premium member. One perks LinkedIn provides its Premium members is the ability to send unlimited InMails to other Premium members – including people you're not connected to. It's a "Free Message." In other words, even if your subscription plan only gives you a few InMails each month, a premium member-to-premium member message won't count against your allocation.
Real-World Application: Most recruiters have paid subscriptions (they use LinkedIn to mine candidates), as do a variety of sales, business development, and other professionals, as well as job seekers like yourself. These free messages help you can aggressively reach out to multiple potential employers.

REASON #4: IMPROVED POSITIONING TO RECRUITER SEARCHES
What This Is, and Why This Matters: As I mentioned in #3, recruiters pay to get a beefed up version of LinkedIn. This enables them to search for what are known as "passive" candidates (in other words, individuals not actively looking for a job) through enhanced search capability, which enables them to see just about every profile in LinkedIn. LinkedIn advertises that as a benefit of being a paid subscriber, you will be a "Featured Applicant," where "Your job application will appear above job applications from non-Premium members, increasing your chances of having it viewed."
Real-World Application: I'm not privy to the specifics of how LinkedIn's search and reporting algorithm works, so I'm not sure exactly how high you'll appear on any given search, but if this benefit pushes you toward page 1 or 2 of search results, there's a much better chance the recruiter will take a look at your profile. (Side note: Make sure your LinkedIn profile is chock-full-of-keywords).

REASON #5: SEE WHO'S LOOKED AT YOUR PROFILE
What This Is, and Why This Matters: You can see who has viewed your profile over the past 3 months.
Real-World Application: What if you found out that a recruiter at an employer you were interested in had looked at your profile? In sales parlance, this is what's known as a "warm lead." In other words, they have a demonstrated interest in you. Why not send them a note which goes something like:

"Thank you for viewing my LinkedIn profile! I have always been very interested in working at Company X, would you be available for a brief chat?"

FINAL NOTE: In case you were wondering, I am in no way affiliated with LinkedIn other than as a paying user, and for my subscription I pay rack rate. But I've been using the system since its early days and while there are things about it I don't love, I firmly believe in its power as both a job search and recruitment tool.

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Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, and career coaching services, including a free resume review. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

4 Easy Hacks To Help Get You Noticed on LinkedIn

Are you actively looking for a job? Would you like to get noticed? Recruiters are combing LinkedIn for people to fill their open positions. Make it easier for them to find you.

Here are four hacks you can use to quickly improve your chances of getting your profile noticed on LinkedIn.

1. Change your name! Not literally - but LinkedIn gives you 40 spaces for your last name. Unless you have a really long surname, use some of that space to advertise who you are. For Example - "John Smith – Mechanical Engineer," or "Lisa Weathers – Project Manager." That way, when a recruiter searches for criteria, and they are looking at a list of names - your credentials will pop off the list.

2. Show your value in your headline! You get 120 characters immediately after your name to tell the world about you. Make this space jump out at recruiters so that they can quickly surmise the skills you bring to the table and want to keep reading your profile, separating each skill with a bullet. Some examples: "Software Engineer • C++ • Java • Global Enterprise Applications," or "Strategic Business Executive | Asset Management | P&L Leadership."

3. Select your skills! You have a section in your profile called "Skills and Endorsements." These are searchable by recruiters. Make sure you complete this section and, more importantly, put these in order of descending importance. In other words, if you are skilled in project management and want a job as a project manager, make sure that you have "Project Management" as a listed skill. You have the ability to prioritize your top ten skills - these are the ones that people will likely endorse in your profile; list your most important skills within the top ten. A note on endorsements - you're trying to trigger these by listing your top skills prominently; the LinkedIn system advertises your skills to your connections and ASKS them to endorse you.

4. Like what other people have to say – and add your own two cents! In your news feed, you'll see your contacts' posts - they will create their own updates, photos, or articles, or they will like what their contacts have to say. Take a few minutes each day to see what people are posting, then like or comment on their updates. This way, you will appear in your contacts' feeds for your activities. And if they like your comments, their connections may see your activity. On LinkedIn, activity is currency. Just a word of caution: I encourage you to stay away from posting anything political or overly controversial. While it's okay to post your opinions, bear in mind that LinkedIn is a business-oriented site, and it's best not to say or post anything which may hurt your public image - here's a good perspective on this: https://www.quora.com/Is-it-appropriate-to-post-non-business-content-on-LinkedIn

#resume #career #jobs #LinkedIn #Profile

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. He is a Human Resources professional and staffing expert with almost two decades of in-house corporate HR and staffing firm experience, and is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC).

Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, and career coaching services, including a free resume review. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

5 Great Ways To Use LinkedIn to Network Your Way Into a Job

Networking has changed over the years. It used be that the only way to network your way into a job was to do a lot hands-on networking - as in, pressing the flesh. In other words, you had to go to an event, work the room, and hand out business cards.

Nothing replaces human contact, those networking events still matter, because you get the chance to meet people in person and make a positive impression. Keep in mind, interviews still (usually) happen in person, and most major decisions are made with face-to-face contact.

But LinkedIn is an amazing tool. It's changed the networking game. In many ways, it's democratized networking, making it easy to make meaningful connections. For the job seeker, it's a boon, because it gives visibility into key contacts as potential employers. 

Here are 5 great ways you can use LinkedIn to network your way into a job!

1. Grow your network, strategically. This is a long-term strategy. Add people with whom you've had contact, whether it be in person, by phone, or by email. The more people your contacts know, the more people you'll be able to access in their network. By the way, LinkedIn is crawling with recruiters - they're good connections to have.
2. Build your brand. Your LinkedIn page is your platform, and an opportunity to present yourself in a positive light. Develop a clean, crisp, and professional profile for yourself, and obtain good, solid recommendations from former bosses and coworkers. Write blogs (LinkedIn calls them Posts) that highlight your expertise in your professional area. All recruiters I know use LinkedIn to actively search for talent. Many will check out somebody's LinkedIn profile after receiving a resume to get an idea of the person's presentation. You have full control over your profile and what's published under your name on LinkedIn, take advantage of it!
3. Get introductions through LinkedIn. If you see that one of your connections is directly connected with a key contact at a company you'd like to reach, ask your connection for an introduction. Better yet, ask them if they have the person's email so you can reach them directly.
4. Apply on the job boards, then reach out to a company contact via LinkedIn. Go to Indeed, Monster, or any job board, and complete the online application for a position. Then, do a search on LinkedIn for a company recruiter, HR person, or appropriate line manager, and send them an InMail letting them know you've applied to the position, you're qualified, and you're interested. Sometimes this can get you moved to the top of the resume pile; recruiters will easily get over 250 applications for an open position online, and they won't have time to review everybody. By taking this approach, you present yourself as a potential solution to their problem.
5. Ask for informational interviews. People, by nature, like to help. Find a strategic contact at your target company through LinkedIn, then send them a note requesting an informational interview. Offer to bring your contact a cup of coffee in exchange for their time. Remember, don't ask for a job - your only mission here is to get information. If you present yourself well, you may be considered for open positions, or your contact might refer you to somebody they know for an opportunity at another company. The key here is to come loaded with great questions and a heap of modesty.

Remember, maintain every relationship as if it's critical - because it is. Don't just be a "taker"; make productive introductions on behalf of others, too. Not every connection has an immediate payoff, but you can certainly move the job search in your favor.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. He is a Human Resources professional and staffing expert with almost two decades of in-house corporate HR and staffing firm experience, and is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC).

Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, and career coaching services, including a free resume review. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.