Connecting with people in LinkedIn is an important way to build your network.  For example, my network of about 100 people I know directly yields over 40,500 people 2 degrees away and over 3,510,800 people 3 degrees away. So here are 2 simple tips for building your network.

First, have rules as to who you allow into your circle.  You should have some relationship with the person at the very least. So don’t just allow anyone into your network.

Second, when inviting someone into your network, take the time to override the default invitation and put something personal in.  It is more effective, and just more polite.  Every week I get invitations from people and sometimes I have to say, I just do not recall how we know each other or why we should be connected. So improve your acceptance rate by taking 30 seconds to put in a personal greeting.

Linkedin has become a must for job seekers so use these tips to make sure you are appropriately managing your network.

Linkedin.com started a few years ago as a neat way to build your network.  It is based on the notion that if you invite your contacts into your group, and they invite their contacts, and so on, then you can connect with thousands of people.  In fact, Harvard published a study a few years ago that indicated you could connect any 2 people on the planet with 5 levels of contacts.  There are now 45 million people on Linkedin with thousands joining every week. Interesting yes, but now Linkedin has become a necessity for every professional, particularly job seekers. Just note this statistics: people with more than 20 connections are 34 times more likely to be approached with a job opportunity than people with less than 5.

Linkedin is free and you start by setting up your profile.  This is similar to a resume but a bit more conversational and shorter. You can now quickly build a network by searching for colleagues from school or work. Nice, but that’s not why you must be on it.

For one, 86% of employers indicate they will search for your online presence as part of the job screening process. Recruiters also use Linkedin extensively to find people, especially as they can see who you might know that they know. Importantly, Linkedin has an area where people can recommend you and they want to see that too. 

Another nice thing about Linkedin, is that, unlike a job board, having your profile does not send a message to your employer that you are seeking a job.  So in managing your online presence, you should start by having a professional Linkedin profile so it appears before your silly pictures on Facebook from the last Christmas party.

Tools that you should know about in LinkedIn include a powerful company search ability. Here you can identify companies that fit your criteria, as well as the people who work there (that are on LinkedIn).  This is also a great way to identify the decision makers and people you want to network with to get an interview.

Linkedin is so robust that I could write a book on the subject (and many have).  Let’s just say that it is an important tool for your career management plan.

Hundreds of thousands of positions were obtained by job seekers last month, so employers are definitely hiring. If you are frustrated in your job search, then perhaps you should rethink your job search plan. Here is a recap of job search techniques and how to get the most out of them.

JOB BOARDS
The first thing a job seeker does is head for the job boards. After all, isn’t it exciting to find positions that fit you like a glove? The chief problem is that the job boards are the most competitive way to way to find a position and have the least probability of success - generally less than 5% of jobs are filled this way according to industry statistics. That is not to say that you shouldn’t use them - it just means that they should not be the heart of your job search.

Start by using Indeed.com or SimplyHired.com as these are job board aggregators, meaning they pull jobs from all the other job boards as well as company web sites to give you a single place to find openings. Also look at Craig’s List which is becoming a great place to find local job postings. And do NOT apply over the Internet. Yes that’s right, pull yourself out of the big pile of resumes in HR and use this simple technique.

First, find out who the hiring manager or key influencers are. You can usually do this by going to LinkedIn.com and doing a company search. Once you have their name and phone number give them a call and say something like: “A friend told me you might be interested in someone with my background. I have (insert your 2-sentence pitch), and I have just a few questions for you.”
Then ask them some questions that show you’ve done some homework on their company. Be very friendly, down to earth and personable and build some rapport, At some point they will ask you for your resume at which point you have now put yourself at the top of the decision maker’s pile and skipped the HR screeners. Using this trick can be the difference between being screened out and getting noticed.

RECRUITERS
Recruiters have about a 5-12% effectiveness rate in securing a new position for you so you should consider whether they should be a part of your plan. Here we are only talking about those who are paid a fee by the employer, and I would caution you to steer clear of those who want you to pay the fee for their services.

Start by considering whether the type of position is typically filled by recruiters. For example, recruiters will not generally work with entry level people or career changers as employers are paying them a hefty 20-30% of your first year’s compensation as a fee for their finding you. Entry level people are easy to find and a recruiter will generally not offer a career changer up as a candidate if they have no track record in the desired field.

If you decide to work with recruiters, then use a service (hint: like ours) that will present your resume to the largest number. These are inexpensive and very effective, especially in saving you time. Remember that recruiters in California can be searching for candidates on Texas, so do not limit your search locally.

NETWORKING
Networking is the king of effectiveness in job searching as it has always had over a 50% effectiveness rate. Especially in this market, networking should be the heart of your search plan as employers are much more inclined to hire someone who is referred to them as compared to a stranger. Networking is not as much fun as applying through job boards and requires a good deal more discipline, but the difference is not only in its effectiveness rate, but also in the quality of the job you obtain.

Most people think networking is sharing your resume with friends and neighbors but this is the worst thing you can do as you just lost control of the process as you wait for the phone to ring. Networking as a subject is a long article unto itself, but here are the key techniques.

Develop an “elevator pitch”, the 3 to 5 sentences that describe who you are and why an employer should want to speak to you. Develop support materials that include a networking business card too. Also make sure you are posted into LinkedIn.com which is becoming the top networking site for professionals.

Now identify the 5-10 companies you are most interested in joining. You can use LinkedIn which sports a fairly robust company search tool to do this. Then research the company online using a variety of excellent tools like Zoominfo, Spoke, Highbeam and many others you can easily find. Try to learn as much about the company as possible so you can impress an insider.

The next step is to identify people inside the company which you can also do through LinkedIn. Now your job is to network yourself into a meeting where you can impress them with your knowledge of their challenges, and how you can help them. Start by thinking about people you know who knows someone who is inside the firm. It’s great if you can get to the decision maker and it’s equally good if you can get an insider to walk your resume into their office. This is your Step 1 in networking.

Step 2 is to expand your search to other firms. Remember that good networking is asking people for advice as people are much more likely to give you advice than help you get a job. Here you want to know about industries, companies or people you should talk to who can help you focus your efforts. An easy, painless way to get going with this is to go to the regularly held networking meetings that are advertised in your local paper.

Now, if you are unemployed,  plan on calling 25 people and having 3-5 face-to-face meetings per week. This is where discipline comes in, but after you have done this a couple of times, it becomes easier. Ask each person who else you should talk to and add them to your database.

In short, your job search plan should include the 3 major ways to contact an employer: job boards, recruiters and networking. Recognizing the different effectiveness rates of each in securing a new position, make sure you put a heavy emphasis on your networking efforts. Remember that although there are far fewer jobs open then last year, you only need one. Follow these steps and you will slash your job search time considerably.

So you took your resume and posted it on the job boards. You also spent hours searching for the jobs that fit your background and career goals, and you responded to a few dozen jobs. Then you waited for the phone to ring. But it didn’t. What went wrong? Read the rest of this entry »

The economy is picking up, budgets are new, positions are open and companies are hiring. Now is the time to rev up your job search efforts. Use these tips to dramatically improve your results. Read the rest of this entry »

The time has come for you to change jobs and you’ve landed the position you wanted. Now you have to tell your boss and you need a letter of resignation. Here are some guidelines to keep you out of trouble. Read the rest of this entry »

You’ve had 3 interviews with a potential employer and they’ve asked you for references from your prior job. The problem is that you didn’t leave on the best of terms and now you’re a bit worried about the kind of reference they’ll give. Follow these simple rules and you will be able to handle this without any problem. Read the rest of this entry »

So you enrolled in Computer Science at your college or technical school. Not too long ago that was a wise decision. After all, we had all read for years about the high salaries computer professionals were making. And if you had that coveted certification, well, life would be just grand. Read the rest of this entry »

Despite all the bad news, people are getting hired. We are seeing this personally as 5 people who completed resumes with us had multiple offers in the last 30 days. Yet the days of putting your resume up on Monster.com and waiting for the phone to ring are over. People who are getting hired are putting together an aggressive plan. So here are the core ingredients that make up a successful job search.

Read the rest of this entry »

Here is a good article from CNN on companies that look for people working from their homes.

Check out:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/worklife/12/01/cb.home.based.workers/index.html