3FE: Lock The Job - Can I Really Use LinkedIn To Get A Job?

In an age when connectivity has evolved into something so powerful as to topple nations such questions seem almost asinine.  Still, it helps to ask the question if only to clarify the answer.

The power provided us by WEB 2.0 tools is unprecedented.  It has created unheard of connectivity, brand new social paradigms, communicative constructs that can either hinder opportunities or exponentially magnify them.  Can you really use LinkedIn to get a job?  Hell yeah you can!

My old mandate rings true, build a network, leverage a network, create an opportunity.

Everyone knows company recruiters, managers, as well as associates looking out for their friends trawl LinkedIn’s professional network seeking opportunity.  The possibilities each of us bring the network magnify the possibility for job prospects tremendously.  In fact, I haven’t googled so I can’t quantify the number for you, but basic observation proves out the theory.  We can see people locking jobs through LinkedIn.  It is happening!

It is the power of data aggregated appropriately to create meaningful information, which is what data becomes when it is logically constructed to make sense, and once it is information the power inherent in it becomes conveyed through communication.  The more rich the communicative experience the more effective the experience.

In this we find tremendous value.  LinkedIn on its initial interface is a rich communications experience.  The personal profile is a dynamic vehicle you can use to tailor your message as necessary.  There are various plug-ins you can employ that will enrich your profile and attract attention that is positive, increasing your possibilities for creating strong connections that will yield real results.

Remember, this is your personal brand.  The Lock The Job process is all about building your brand and telling the story of you.  LinkedIn is an intergal part of the Lock The Job process.  It is one of many avenues we utilize in order to re-build your brand into a vehicle for powerful and positive differentiation.

Which takes us back to the old mandate. Your network has value.  Your connections have value.  The professional network paradigm builds on the old concept of who you know.  You can leverage LinkedIn to see in depth professionally who you know, who they know, who they might be connected to, who’s looked at your profile recently, and what value you can find through these various connections.  I cannot express to you enough just how powerful this is.

Have you heard of Bullhorn Reach?  If you haven’t don’t worry, you will. Go on LinkedIn and check it out.  Have you endorsed someone for a skill?  If you haven’t don’t worry, you probably will.  We’ll discuss these aspects of the network in upcoming articles.  For now, know that these tools enrich the networking experience and increase you chances for connectivity and opportunity, thus your ability to use the professional network to Lock The Job.

Clearly, this is not a difficult proposition for you to understand and internalize.  LinkedIn has been in operation for about ten years.  It is a closely observed company on Wall Street.  In terms of recruiting it has become an indispensible tool.  If you are not on LinkedIn … WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!  Get online now, take a look at other profiles now, choose the best in breed of those profiles now, collect your information now, create your profile and tell you story on LinkedIn now!

Can you use LinkedIn to Lock The Job?  Now … I don’t need to answer that question again, do I?

The Aspiring Critical Thinker,
D.S. Brown

3FE: Lock The Job - Are You Fit For The Job?

The job market is improving.  There is absolutely no doubt about it.  However, given the fluctuations of available jobs and the regions of the country in which jobs are even available, not to mention the required skills set, one must ask …are you a fit for the job?

Over the years, and most especially in IT, there have been loud arguments about time wasted on interviews.  There have been discussions about jobs being specifically tailored for certain people, especially people who are here on temporary work visas, known as H1B visas. 

The concern is that Americans are being marginalized in favor of foreign workers.  However, we cannot forget that we are also still in a skills dearth in the United States.  Companies in some instances can only find qualified workers on foreign shores.  No matter what you might think, in many instances this is the unfortunate truth.  We need a firm commitment to STEM education in order to rebuild our nation’s skills bench.

Now, of course many Americans say this is rubbish.  The truth gets lost in the emotion of need.  Still, our technical markets are to some degree being flooded by workers from overseas.  However, if you think this does not apply to you personally and you know deep down that you have the skills to do the job, then perhaps you are a fit.  For you, the fact that America has a technical skills gap might not be an issue.  You may have the skills necessary to make you qualified for the job.  If you do have the skills, you then must think about why you have not Locked The Job.

As ever, we can apply critical consideration to the activity.  Most certainly if you know that you are qualified, then don’t consider an interview a waste of time.  Don’t consider sending in your resume a waste of time.  Don’t look at a company and say they are only hiring foreigners and that approaching them is a waste of time.

You must live what you believe and know in no uncertain terms that you ARE A FIT FOR THE JOB!

What does this mean and how can we make the statement truly effective?  It goes back to your brand.  And in maximizing your brand we can lean on 3FE and the Lock The Job process.

We’ve talked about building a network, leveraging your network, and creating an opportunity.  This blog has been all about thinking critically and building your brand.  We’ve talked about turning your boring resume into a 3FE masterpiece based on the Red Resume model.  We’ve talked about these things with one goal in mind, getting you placed, LOCKING THE JOB.  You cannot lose sight of that goal, and with that understanding in mind you must think critically about the job you want, the position that is open, the company that is offering it, and whether or not you actually fit.

Do the necessary work and determine if the job is for you.  Do you truly satisfy the skills requirements?  Do you understand as best as you are able what type of organization it is from a cultural standpoint?  Will you be happy there?  And no, the need to just make money does not trump your need to be happy.  The economic environment is improving and you do not have to compromise your happiness in order to earn a dollar. Work to determine the truth of whether you are or are not a fit for the job.

If you find through your research that you are a fit for a job then go for it with everything you can bring to bear.  However, remember that as an aspiring critical thinker on the hunt for a great job you are going for the position far from the norm, away from the traditional mode.  You are your brand and you are putting your brand to work for you.  You have written a new courageous resume, a Red Resume that tells the story of why you are the right person for the job.  You are connecting to others at the company through networking events and local organizations.  On your LinkedIn profile you’ve even added a Visual Resume through SlideShare that shows just how dynamic you truly are.  You are prepped and ready for the interview, and when you do show up you have more than just your resume.  You have artifacts that detail your work, and at the right moment you will direct them to your website, where you showcase all your talent.  You are a fit for the job, and in doing what I’ve detailed here, you will most certainly Lock The Job

The Aspiring Critical Thinker,

D.S. Brown