Looking for a job these days means being a super hero. In this presentation you'll learn about 3 super powers that can help you use the strength of LinkedIn to find success in your job search efforts!

1. 3 SUPER POWERS OF
LINKEDIN JOB HUNTING
HEROES
Copyright 2012 Spirit From Suzette Conway at Spirit Spot
Spot™

2. What is LinkedIn?
 Connect to people you know and people they know
 Share your professional background, brag about your
accomplishments
 Research and follow companies
 Share your expertise
 Look for jobs & help recruiters/jobs look for you

3. Why LinkedIn?
 80% of companies use social media for recruitment
 95% of those use LinkedIn
 World‟s largest online professional network: 175 million
members in over 200 countries & territories (62% non US)
 2 new members join every second
 Members made nearly 4.2 billion professionally-oriented
searches in 2011, to surpass 5.3 billion in 2012
 Over 20 million students & recent college graduates
(fastest-growing demographic on LI)
If that’s not enough….

4. Why LinkedIn?
 Executives from all 2011 Fortune 500 companies as
members
 LI hiring solutions used by 85% of the Fortune 100
companies
 Hundreds of thousands of job applications have been
submitted using Apply With LinkedIn
 > 2 million companies have LinkedIn Company Pages
 Share insights & knowledge in > one million Groups
 >75,000 developers use APIs to create tools & services

5. Why LinkedIn?
Everyone’s doing it.
You know you want to.
You know you have to.

6. Are You a Super Hero?
These days we need to be a super hero when job hunting.
We need…
Super human amounts of
time…
Secret handshakes in back
room deals…
Special powers to open
doors of opportunity….
How do you become a job seeking
super hero with LinkedIn?
You develop 3 critical super powers …..

7. Are You a Super Hero?
SECRET
SAUCE
SEARCHING
SHOWING
OFF
Discover the hidden formula in the secret sauce used by powerful job
seekers, harness your keen searching abilities, and learn to show off like only the
finest of super heroes knows how to do

8. Are You a Super Hero?
SECRET
SAUCE
SEARCHING
SHOWING
OFF

9. SECRET
Secret Sauce SAUCE
 Everything in LinkedIn hinges on a well built profile and
connections
 LI is more powerful if these two things are in place
 Make the PROFILE your starting point
 Already have 100%? review it regularly to ensure it is
current, accurate, targeted
 CONNECT and STAY CONNECTED

10. SECRET
Secret Sauce - Profile SAUCE
Make it
 Complete
 Personal
 Easy to Read
 Relevant
 Secure

11. SECRET
Profile - Complete SAUCE
 Complete core sections (see next slide)
 Add sections that highlight something extra (Add
Sections is near the “Summary” header)
 Read a lot of business books? Add the reading list.
 Attend tons of industry conferences? Add events info.
 Have a killer online portfolio? Add the portfolio app
 You‟re 40% more likely to get opportunities with a 100%
complete profile
 You rank higher on searches and are easier to find
TIP: Use the “Improve your profile” button

12. Profile – Complete
SECRET
SAUCE
Minimum information for your profile?
 Name & headline
 Work history
 Easy to ready Summary
 Certifications & Education
 Skills & Expertise – these ARE key words and they
come with analytics about their value
Tip: Include key words in every section

13. Profile – Complete
SECRET
SAUCE
 Other things you can add
 “Additional Information” = websites, honors/awards
 “Personal info” at the bottom of your profile; I add email but
not phone or IM, birthday, or marital status
Tip: Be smart about what private information you include in any
online profile, even LinkedIn. I include email but not
phone, birthday, or marital status. Why? Email is a great way to
make initial contact, after which I can provide a number. Also, age
(birthday) and marital status shouldn‟t factor into someone‟s
impression of me professionally, so I don‟t include them.

14. SECRET
Profile - Personal SAUCE
 Create a vanity URL
 Easier for others to find you
 Improves Google searches on your name by drawing people to
your LI profile
 Where to do this? Edit Profile Section >> Edit link >> Lower
right corner of page >> Link to “Customize your public profile”
 Use a professional picture
 People connect better psychologically if they can see you
 Don‟t use one from the wild holiday party or your last vacation

15. Profile – Easy to Read
SECRET
SAUCE
 Not too wordy
 Use bullets
 Use the sections LI gives you instead of cramming all
the details into your summary
Tip: Stay current. LI adds new sections from time to time.
Latest addition? ENDORSEMENTS
 Different than Recommendations – more casual
 Go to SKILLS in your profile to see your endorsements
 LI is prompting people to do this, it’s super easy
 Can’t do it if you don’t have skills defined
 Not sure yet if this impacts search rank results

16. Profile – Relevant
SECRET
SAUCE
 Focus on skills and accomplishments
 Use Key words related to your skills, industries, and
target jobs
 Research by pulling information from job descriptions
 Do key word analysis – LI helps you with the “Skills”
feature in the “More” menu
 Remember this is part of your brand; Don‟t have to
include everything – include what‟s relevant to your
career goals

17. Profile – Secure
SECRET
SAUCE
 Settings - under your name in upper right corner
 Control privacy, types of notices, frequency of
emails, who can view what in your profile
 There are more settings then there used to be – check
them all
 You decide what‟s right – I leave mine very open

18. SECRET
Secret Sauce - Connections SAUCE
 Use the tools LI provides
 Import address book (Contacts >> Add Connection)
 “People you might know” list (home page >> upper right) – LI
knows your potential network better than you
 Review the connections of your connections and reach out
 Join and participate in groups and meet people. After a few good
interactions, connect to people who appeal to you.
 Ask for introductions
 Be clear on what ask of the person connecting you and the
person you are connecting to
 Connect to (follow) companies, too; See news, job
openings, who‟s been hired; follow them on Twitter, too

19. SECRET
Secret Sauce - Connections SAUCE
 LI connections should mimic your real life network
 We ask and offer things -
recommendations, introductions, resources; hard to do if you
don‟t know someone
 My exceptions:
 Groups: If you‟ve had a particularly good conversation with
group members, regularly interact with them, and they or you
want to connect, do it. Just one more way to meet
 Industry leaders: Full of information, contacts, industry
news, etc.
Rule of thumb: I expect a personalized invitation
message. If I don‟t know you and you don‟t explain who
you are or why we should connect, it looks like random
spam. If I‟m unsure, I check the profile.

20. SECRET
Secret Sauce - Connections SAUCE
Stay Connected by Being Active On The Site.
The last thing you want is to build a network you don‟t interact with.
You can‟t just add people and only speak to them when you need
something.
Like all social networks, LinkedIn is largely about giving
(information, resources) and relating.
How do you do this? ……

21. SECRET
Secret Sauce - Connections SAUCE
Stay Connected, Be Active
 Give and ask for recommendations (profile >> recomds)
 Offer congrats on new jobs or other news
 Post articles, comment on other‟s posts
 Share tips & resources, thank people when you use the
ones they share
 Thank folks for job leads and share your own
 Request introductions
 Check in periodically just to ask what they are up to
professionally
 Go beyond LI - Follow people and companies on twitter

22. SECRET
Secret Sauce - Connections SAUCE
Stay Connected, Be Active
 To do this, and really leverage the power of LI, you have
to get over your fear of „asking favors‟.
 People on LI expect to be asked for
connections, recommendations, tips, etc…
 It‟s all about HOW you do it.

23. SECRET
Secret Sauce Summary SAUCE
 100% complete is the goal
 Requires 50 connections
 Makes you 40% more likely to receive opportunities
 Helps you rank higher in results
 Recruiters search by key words - Make sure your profile
has what they want
 “Jobs you may be interested in” is based on your profile
 Companies find talent in the context of their relationship
with employees – the more relationships you have the
more connections you have to companies looking for
rock stars like YOU.
 Connect and stay active

24. Are You a Super Hero?
SECRET
SAUCE
SEARCHING
SHOWING
OFF
Harness your keen searching abilities to build your job seeking strength!

25. Search SEARCHING
 Jobs
 Companies
 Skills
 People
 Reverse search – let info come to you

26. Search - Jobs SEARCHING
 Search by job title, key words, and skills
 Refine the search with filters to the left to help target
your time and efforts
 Can use the “Advanced Search” tab also
 Things to notice:
 See who in your network is connected to the company
 Can connect or see who you both know and ask for
introductions, information, etc…
TIP: Don‟t ask for a job. Ask for the info that leads to the job (email
of the hiring manager, info on company culture…)

27. Search - Jobs SEARCHING
 See the variety of companies offering the kind of role
you want (note industries, Co. names, connections…
add to your list of companies to search)
 Use Similar Company link for each company name
(link when hover over name)
 Note HOW a job is described; use that to describe skills
the way companies do and they‟ll find you
 Save the jobs that interest you (link on hover if paid
member)
 Look for similar jobs (link on hover)
 Use the “jobs you may be interested in” on your home
page

28. Search - Companies SEARCHING
 GOOGLE Search “Top 100 companies in [your city or
industry]”
 Identify the top 25 you are interested in
 Research them… starting on LinkedIn

29. Search - Companies SEARCHING
 Search Company for actionable information:
 Overview of Company/Products/Services
 JOBS –based on relevance to your profile
 Use the Insights tab for very cool information
 See people in your network with a link to the company
 People who looked at this company also viewed….
 Who got promoted, who left, and where did they go? (shows
related prods, industries, skills – other places for you to look)
 Where employees of the co. are located
 What skills they commonly have
 Your connection graph
 “Companies affiliated with” = other companies to research

30. Search - Skills SEARCHING
 Search for Skills & Key Words (More >> Skills)
 See and add skills to your profile
 See others you are linked to with the skill – where do
they work, who do they know?
 See companies associated with this skill – helps you
know which companies to look at!
 Shows groups related to that skill and consider joining
them
 GREAT Growth/Size/Age graph at top of skill page –
helps you fine tune the key words you use

31. Search - People SEARCHING
 Before an interview - search the person interviewing
you, company executives and department managers
 After you meet at networking events, through
friends, online…
 As you research companies – find the job you
want, research your connections to the job (see their
skills, titles, background)
 Know the the kind of people they look for
 Help find common ground or past or future projects to to highlight
in an interview or cover letter or email

32. Search - People SEARCHING
 More than just typing a name into the search box
 Use “People you may know” on home page – click SEE
MORE and notice company logos on top row – click
aname to see who you know at those companies who
you aren‟t connected to
 Import address book (Contacts >> Add Connection)
 Review connections of your connections and reach out
 Check “Who‟s viewed your profile”;
 What should you do with this information? Do you want to
connect to them, get to know them, join the groups they are
in, follow their companies?
 You see more info here if you pay for premium access

33. Search – A Reverse Search SEARCHING
 Let Information come to YOU instead of looking for it
 “Settings” control how often the summary come to you
 Gives you a constant stream of things to share on LI…
 Helps you stay active on LI
 Demonstrates your knowledge and desire to stay current in your
industry (share and comment on the news or articles you see)
 Stay in touch with connections (comment on job
changes, articles posted, books read)
 Share the info with individuals, groups, or as a general update.
Great way to “give” without having to find something of value all
on your own
 Where/How? LI Groups, Connection Updates, & News

34. Search – A Reverse Search SEARCHING
 News >> LinkedIn today:
 Customize the news LinkedIn sends you, stay current on your
industry
 Stop sorting through blogs and twitter 2 hrs a day
 See the source of the news and that helps you hone in on
which sites and blogs you might want to review regularly

35. Are You a Super Hero?
SECRET
SAUCE
SEARCHING
SHOWING
OFF
Put on that cape so people notice you for the hero you are!

36. Showing Off SHOWING
OFF
Share your Expertise, Interests, and Experiences
Showing off is about BRANDING YOURSELF.
The brand of YOU is the same as the brand of a product. It‟s about the
promise you make to potential customers (employers) about what you
offer and why you are valuable.
Help people know who you are, what you are about
Clearly define your skills and what you can contribute
Define your space of expertise
Get over your doubts about bragging.
YOU are the one responsible for making yourself stand out in a crowded
marketplace.

37. Showing Off SHOWING
OFF
 Share your expertise
 Slideshare
 Answer questions (and become an “expert” – LI even
calls you that!)
 More >> Answers or Search box >> Answers –
 I believe you rank higher in searches if you are marked as an
expert
 Gives credibility and visibility to your area of expertise
 Be active in groups
 Integrate with other social media tools
(twitter, Slideshare)

38. Showing Off SHOWING
OFF
 Share your interests and how you stay current
 Share what you‟re reading (share yours, see what your network
is reading, and see what‟s hot in your industry!)
 Events you host and attend
 Share your experiences
 Get and give recommendations
 Share articles, links, videos, other resources
 Comment (intelligently) on news & resources that others share

39. Are You a Super Hero?
SECRET
SAUCE
SEARCHING
SHOWING
OFF
You‟ve picked up some pretty strong super powers….. But what about
the accessories?

40. Super Hero Accessories
Wonder woman has her bracelets, invisible plane, and a
lasso; Batman has the car
From what you‟ve learned, what are some Super Hero
Accessories you should have in your Job Seeking Efforts?
 Great profile
 50+ connections
 Time spent (re)searching people, jobs, companies
 The gift of sharing (your expertise and activities)
 Integrate LI and Twitter
Plus…

41. Super Hero Accessories
 Consider the job seeker premium account
 Starts at $25 a month
 Direct connections available with InMail
 Let‟s recruiters message you for free
 See who viewed your profile (follow up with them!)
 Search jobs by salary
 Apply for jobs through LI & be featured applicant
 Access to Job seeker community on LI and to webinars
 Get a JS badge
 Use the Job Insider tool bar
 Add to browser, see connections when viewing jobs outside of LI
 More >> Learning Center >> Job Seekers >> Bottom….

42. QUESTIONS?
FIND ME…
ON LINKEDIN:
HTTP://WWW.LINKEDIN.COM/IN/SUZETTECONWAY
ON TWITTER
@SUZETTECONWAY
Copyright 2012 Spirit 3 Super powers of job hunting heroes
Spot™