Process Options:

• If the target is a member of the same LinkedIn group(s) as you, and he/she has opted in for contacts, you can use the “send message” feature, available on the target contact’s profile.
• If the target is a second-degree contact, you can reach out to the first-degree contact through LinkedIn or email and ask to be introduced.
• If you are paying for the LinkedIn Business membership, and he/she has opted in, you can send an In Mail message.
• You can do some detective work and uncover your target’s email address, and send him/her an email directly. See my post, “How to find hidden email addresses for company contacts.”.

Top 2 Tips To Get A Response:

When you email someone that you don’t know, you need to use strategies that help to get your message read (not deleted) and responded to.

• Use “commonality”: In the subject line of your email and/or in the beginning of your note, mention something that you have in common with the person you are communicating with. This will help to grab the recipient’s attention and get them into listening/reading mode.

Here are some subject line examples:

“Sandra Johnson (Fidelity) Referred Me To You”

“Fellow Member of Sales Playbook LinkedIn Group”

“Fellow Bentley University Alumni”

“Just Read Your Marketing Manager Blog”

• Ask for advice, instead of directly asking referrals or to forward your resume. Keep the message short and to the point. Do not attach your resume. Here is an example:

Dear XXX,

Sandra Johnson recommended that I reach out to you.

My name is John Lowden, previously Director of Sales at Fortune 500 Company, and currently looking at other career options.

The reason for my email is, Best Place To Work Inc. is one of my target companies and I see that you have been there for more than five years. Congratulations on your recent promotion to VP, Finance. (A compliment can also be helpful!)

Do you have any advice on the best way to approach Best Place To Work and gain some visibility in this competitive job market? I noticed that you recently advertised for a Director of Sales in your healthcare division.

Please let me know. Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

Asking for advice will frequently lead to a telephone conversation, information on who the recruiter/hiring manager is and a resume forward.

Do you have additional tips for contacting 2nd or 3rd degree contacts on LinkedIn? Please share them in the comments section.

Copyright March 2010, Marci Reynolds, All Rights Reserved

Setting up a personal website can be fast, easy and very inexpensive, and provides many benefits to your job search.

• A personal website will help improve your online visibility (SEO) to  help you “be found” when recruiters and hiring managers look for you- or candidates that look like you with your skills and abilities.
• You can reinforce and build your online brand by including website content that showcases your unique skills, abilities and qualifications. And, because it is your website, you can update the content and design anytime.

Here’s how you can set up a personal website in three easy steps:

Step One: Reserve Your Personal Domain Name, www.firstlast.com

The first step in setting up a personal website, is reserving a personal domain, i.e. www.yourname.com. I recommend using GoDaddy for domain reservations because their interface is fairly easy to use, the process is fast and most .com domains cost just over $10 per year.

Since one of the objectives of creating your own site, is to improve your online visibility and search engine rank, you should attempt to reserve your first and last name as the domain. If your name is already taken, try adding a dash between your first and last name or adding your middle initial.

Note: When you reserve your domain there is no need to pay for the list of addons provided such as WordPress hosting. Just get the basic domain service with no exras. You can always pay for more options at a later time.

Step Two: Sign Up For An Account At WordPress.com

The free, WordPress.com platform is not just for blogging. With a choice of 80, free themes you can design a very attractive, personal website in a few minutes. Simply go to WordPress and follow the steps provided to create an account and then point your personal domain name to your site.

There are other free blogging platforms to choose from, ex, Blogger, but after reviewing them all, I have found that WordPress.com provides the most design options and colors (themes), to make your site look more like a site- versus a blog.

The other great thing about WordPress is, if you want to start blogging at a later date, you are ready to go. With a few clicks, your personal website can also have a personal blog.

Step Three: Add Your Website Content

These are the basic elements that I recommend your personal site includes:

• About Page: Your “about section” is a personal bio that highlights your unique skills and abilities AND focuses on what you can do for your prospective employer and how you can positively impact their business results. The words, phrases and branding should be aligned with your LinkedIn profile summary information, but don’t need to be identical.
• Contact Page: Include a page that lists your telephone number and email address. I do not recommend displaying your home address for confidentiality and safety reasons.  When you display your email, you may want to write out the words to prevent spammers from capturing it. Example: Instead of john@johnsmith.com display john at johnsmith dot com.
• Resume Summary: Create a version of your resume that summarizes your experience and generates interest, but does not include all of the details. Your goal is to summon curiosity so that you get a phone call or email from a recruiter or hiring manager. After they make contact, you can then provide a copy of your full resume. (I recommend including your city and state, but not your home address for confidentiality and safety reasons.)
• Photo: For all the same reasons you should include a photo in your social networking profiles, include a photo somewhere in your personal website. Flattering photos help to draw in and engage viewers, and personalize your web presence. Check out this post, “Strengthen your personal brand with an online photo“.
• Twitter Feed: If you are actively using Twitter (which you should!), display your Twitter feed as part of your consistent navigation.
• Links: Display links back to your LinkedIn Profile and to any other online content that may be relevant. For example, if you have guest blogged or published articles that are business related, you may want to include links back to that content.

Beyond The Basics:

• Keywords: How will recruiters or hiring managers find your personal website? Via keywords. Be sure that your content includes the keywords that may be used to find someone with your skills and abilities. Learn more in this article, “The power of keywords in your social network profiles”.
• Samples Of Your Work: In your last role, did you create an impressive powerpoint about a new company strategy or department project? Did you create a unique excel spreadsheet report or marketing model? Assuming that you will not breach any confidentiality agreements, you may want to display links to sample work that demonstrates and reinforces your unique set of talents.
• A Blog: If you are a strong business writer, have specific expertise or opinions about a career related topic, and have the time to publish weekly content, you may want to start blogging. Blog content will draw more visitors to your website and is another way to showcase your abilities. Check out this post: “Blogging 101 for your job search“.

Bottom Line

Setting up a personal website can be fast, easy and very inexpensive, and provides many benefits to your job search. Get started right now!

Copyright February 2010, Marci Reynolds, All Rights Reserved

There are many good things about the recent Twitter – LinkedIn integration, but I encourage you to consider some of the following do’s and don’t’s.

What Is It?

A few months ago LinkedIn introduced a number of enhancements to synch your LinkedIn presence with your Twitter presence.

• You can add your Twitter handle to your profile description.
• You can synch Tweets and Status Updates, so all messages or some messages get posted at the same time to both sites.
• You can display your Tweets on your profile
• You can display your connections’ Tweets on your home page

The Audience Is Not The Same

As my connections have gotten used to this new functionality, I’ve seen more and more of them posting 100% of their Tweets on LinkedIn. And, I don’t think this is a good trend.

The purpose of the status update function is to communicate and interact with a specific audience or set of contacts and the audience is not the same on both websites.

Let’s use my network as an example. On LinkedIn I have about 600 connections and the majority are colleagues and business contacts. About 400 or close to 70% live near me in the Boston area.

On Twitter, I follow 2,000 people and 1,700 follow me back. I would guess that only about 20% are also LinkedIn connections, while the remainder I’ve met via online networking and they are located across the globe.

These audience groups are vastly different. What about yours?

Habla Twitterease?

Twitter also has its own unique language. Retweeting, sending @replies and recommending who to follow on Fridays, does not apply to your LinkedIn activity.

Job Search & Business Branding

If you happen to be involved in a job search, you should also consider the “social network recruiter” and hiring manager audience. Social network recruiters are recruiters who leverage social networking tools to source and research candidates to fill open positions. Although recruiters do use the “big three”, i.e. LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook… LinkedIn is the most popular and widely used tool.

In addition, a large percentage of hiring managers use LinkedIn to further research candidates. They may have received your resume in response to a specific job posting and now want to learn more.

Therefore, if you are involved in a job search, I recommend that you finely craft your LinkedIn Status Updates to appeal to the recruiter and hiring manager audience. Focus your updates on topics that demonstrate your skills, abilities and professional interests- that align with your job search goals.

Similar advice also applies if you are a salesperson or business owner, that may have prospects or customers researching you on LinkedIn. When they arrive at your profile, you want them to read status updates that reinforce your expertise and build credibility and confidence.

Your Tweets should also demonstrate your skills and abilities, but when you consider Retweets, @replies and followfridays, all of them don’t. (Check out the blog post “Building a Tweet Content Strategy For Your Job Search“.

Different Frequencies

The last issue to consider is the frequency of updates. I update my LinkedIn Status update once per day or every other day while I send three to five tweets per day. Last month one of my LinkedIn Connections messaged me and asked me to take him off the list to get my status updates. I explained that he could change his notifications in LinkedIn Settings – but the point is, even one update a day was too often for him.

If our LinkedIn contacts want to receive continual updates from us, they have the option of following us on Twitter. But, I know that most of my connections don’t use Twitter. So, I do not treat my status updates, like I would a tweet.

Tweeting – LinkedIn Do’s

There are many good things about the integrated functionality. Instead of synching 100% of your tweets and status updates, you can strategically, hand pick specific updates that make sense to post on both sites and apply to both audiences.

And, by displaying your Twitter handle in your profile, you demonstrate that you are “social media savvy” and invite connections and audience members to follow you to learn more.

I also recommend leveraging technology and applications that help you manage all of your status updates with one, easy to use interface. For example, I use Hootsuite and have set up my LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook profiles. With one login, I can send updates to all three websites.

What do you think?

You may also like this article: LinkedIn and Twitter Partnership Do’s and Dont’s For Users on PC World

For more information on Twitter for job hunting, check out the free offer from Tweetajob.com. Sign up for a job seeker account and get a copy of the free ebook, “How To Use Twitter For Your Job Search”. Go to Tweetajob.com.

Copyright February 2010, Marci Reynolds, All Rights Reserved

Eventually I did sign up, began using it and have had some Facebook fun. And I have done a lot of research about how you can use Facebook for your job search and how recruiters are using the site for research. I still believe that LinkedIn is the most important social networking site for job seekers, but there is a lot of value in leveraging Facebook as well.

I have recapped below, the three most important steps to using Facebook for your job search. If you have other ideas and tips, please add them to the comments section.

1) Design a Job Search Friendly Facebook Profile

When building your personal profile, strategically add and organize content with your job search in mind. You can include your resume or networking profile in the “notes” and “information” sections. You can add separate tabs for Slideshare and YouTube to showcase your professional media. You can connect Twitter to your status updates and refer to your expertise in your tweets. (For more information, refer to the article “Building a Tweet Content Strategy For Your Job Search”) If you write a business related blog, you can share your posts with your Facebook friends via an RSS feed.

You also want to strategically exclude content from your profile, if you plan to use Facebook as a job search tool. Remove any inappropriate photos and ensure that none of the public profile content is racy or inappropriate.

After you create your job search friendly profile, go to the Privacy Settings area on Facebook and choose preferences that allow you to share the appropriate information with the public, and share the remaining information with just your Facebook friends.

Social network recruiters who leverage social media tools to search for (source) candidates to fill open positions actively use Facebook, so you want to be found. (A recent survey from Jobvite.com, stated that Facebook use among employers grew from 36 percent in 2008 to 59 percent in 2009.)

2) Develop and Stand By A Friend Strategy

Once you become Facebook friends with another user, their access to you and your content can significantly increase. Decide if you want to limit Facebook friends, just to “friends and family” or to expand it to include business contacts.

If you do decide to include business contacts, learn how to use the Facebook lists functionality. Similar to Twitter and now LinkedIn, you can organize your connections by category. Then, when sharing updates, you can decide to send them to everyone, or just portions of your contacts.

And, triple check your privacy settings. When I think about my Facebook friends, my younger brother comes to mind. He has a tendency to post updates that are less than professional and I would not want any business contacts to see them. And, my sister loves to post old pictures of me growing up which are not always very flattering. (Thanks Sis!) My guess is that you have friends and family that also use Facebook like this. So, triple check your privacy settings if you decide to include business contacts as Facebook friends.

I love this cartoon from HubSpot about social media friends:

3) Become A Fan Of Target Companies

Facebook Fan pages can be an incredible source of information about the companies you want to work for. To find them, use the Facebook search function, narrow the results to “pages” and identify the ones for your targets. If the page is rich with information and updates, become a Facebook Fan.

Here are two examples of employers actively using Facebook Fan Pages.

iProspect is a search engine marketing firm, based in Boston, MA and has just over 1,300 fans. In addition to the traditional company overview stuff, you also get links to a “library” of company research studies and white papers, and access to a photo library with shots of employees and company events

Google, has several fan pages including one devoted to working for the company called Life At Google.

The fan page news feed has content specific to working for Google. For example, here is a post from January 25, 2010, “ Google is one of Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For! http://bit.ly/google100best We came in 4th place, but we’re going to work really hard to get back to #1 next year!”

Once you become a Fan, your target company updates will automatically show up in your Facebook news stream. You’ll see the updates as they happen!

But Wait.. What about Their Job Postings?

Facebook does have a Jobs section within Facebook Marketplace however; there are “slim pickins” which is a job search term- LOL. Having worked for Monster.com I can tell you that Facebook was not considered a competitor in the job search space. I recommend that job seekers invest their time with online tools that will yield better results such as the Indeed.com or SimplyHired job posting aggregators.

You may also be interested in the post, “Facebook and your job search” by Jason Alba on Job-Hunt.org. He shares some additional tips about Facebook Groups and building your network.

And, I just discovered this PDF from The Ladders called “Can you Facebook your way to a new job?”.

Copyright February 2010, Marci Reynolds, All Rights Reserved

Examples of The Science Of Selling

Before we talk about job search strategy, here are a few specific examples of how science and selling work together in the business world.

In a prior role working for a B2B cataloger for small businesses, we tested 70 different elements within an inbound telephone call to determine which elements had the biggest impact on the average order size and number of products purchased by our customers. An element, referred to something that the call center rep did or said during the telephone interaction.

As a result of our testing, we were able to prove out that if we thanked a customer for their length of patronage with our company, that customer was  likely to buy more on that call. (“Mr. Smith, I see that you have been a customer with us since 1992. Thank you for your ongoing business.)  We also identified that using the word “missing” was a powerful way to influence someone to buy an add-on product. (Mr. Smith, I noticed that envelopes are missing from your order today. Most customers that buy stationery also order envelopes. Should I go ahead and add them?)

We ultimately identified more than a dozen techniques that we could scientifically prove, influenced sales results. Many of these concepts can also apply to the job search.

4 Ways To Use The Science Of Selling In Your Job Search

I have summarized four specific techniques for using the science of selling in your job search. These should help to get your messages read more often, help to get more responses to resumes/cover letters, could assist you in building rapport during telephone and face to face interviews and help you stand out from the competition.

1) Commonality:

The definition of commonality is “the joint possession of a set of attributes or characteristics”. From a job search perspective, commonality refers to what you have in common with someone you are communicating with: a hiring manager, a recruiter, a contact.

By bringing up something that you have in common, the person you are communicating with will often be more open to listening to what you have to say and reading what you have written.

Here are some examples, of how you might use commonality in an email or telephone call to a key contact:

• I came across your profile because we are both members of the same LinkedIn Group XXXX.
• I noticed that we are both connected to Tom Smith and Mary Thompkins from EMC…
• I noticed that we both graduated from Bentley University….
• I was referred to you by “name we both know”…..

2) Personal Credibility:

Demonstrating your credibility, the quality of being believable, authentic or trustworthy, is a critical attribute of a successful salesperson, and just as important for a successful job seeker.   When you are competing with 100 to 200 other candidates, you want to be perceived as more credible than some of the competition.

There are many ways to demonstrate your credibility during a job search.

• You can create a blog and publish posts, which clearly demonstrate your knowledge of a particular, business topic.
• You can provide your services for free to a startup or non-profit, then share specific success stories and/or get fantastic references.
• When creating job search documents (resumes, cover letters) you can use verbiage that reinforces your relevant experience and accomplishments. This is one of the reasons why tailoring these documents for every job, instead of using a generic version, is so important.
• Use Twitter and publish “thought leadership” tweets. These are personal quote tweets that demonstrate your knowledge or opinions on topics, key trends and events related to your industry or profession.
• You can answer questions and participate in discussions on LinkedIn, that tie to your industry or profession.

3) Compliment – Ego:

In mid to high end retail stores, salespeople will often hover around the dressing room area and wait for a customer to come out to look at themselves in the big three way mirror. When they do, these salespeople usually compliment you on what you have on, or offer to bring other items that will look “wonderful on you”.  There have been times when I’ve tried on an outfit that I wasn’t 100% sure about, the salesperson proceeded to give me a few compliments, and that pushed me over the edge to actually make the purchase.

You can use compliments and appeal to the “ego” aspect of your contacts, within your job search communications.

Before an interview, thoroughly research the people who you will be meeting with. Then, drop some of the impressive details you uncovered during your interview discussions. This appeals to their ego and shows that you are well prepared.

• I noticed that you have been with Teller Inc for more than 5 years. I was impressed with all of the promotions you’ve received.. from Recruiter to Director of Talent Management.
• I saw your profile on LinkedIn and was very impressed with your experience and achievements.
• I really enjoyed your white paper on Marketing Automation. I was impressed with your expertise.

If you are trying to get an informational interview at a company, you might include a statement like this in your email:

• I am researching opportunities in the internet advertising industry and I was referred to you, because you are considered an expert in this area. I would love to get your thoughts on current trends in the industry, challenges and where you think the market is headed.

Like any compliment, you want to be believable and genuine, so don’t lay it on too thick! Use the compliments strategically.

4) Show, Don’t Just Tell:

If you have worked in Corporate America, you have probably had the pleasure of attending some vendor sales presentations. If your company was considered buying a new software product, they likely invited three to four vendors to come in and present why you should buy from them and not their competition.

The vendors that stand out, tend to provide more impressive demonstrations of their products, are more prepared for your questions, share a variety of visual aids and can provide very specific success stories.

When you are invited in for a face to face interview, you are likely up against the top five to ten, most qualified individuals. And in this economy, there are many impressive candidates available.

You have to have a plan to stand out and one technique is to “show, don’t just tell”.

Think about how you can create visuals or examples, which align with the key accomplishments that you have included in your resume. For example…

• If you were involved in a very large project, create a one page slide visual calling out the project details and accomplishments. Use shapes, colors and images – not just text.
• If you are participating in a second or third interview, consider creating a three month plan document highlighting your recommendations for the role should they decide to hire you.
• If you are interviewing for an analytical position, bring a small portfolio of some of the reports you created in past roles.

These techniques can help you to stand out, and give your interviewer something to refer back to after you’ve left.

Bottom Line

There are specific actions that a job seeker can take to increase their likelihood of getting noticed, getting interviews and ultimately getting hired. Don’t leave your job search up to chance. Add these science of selling techniques to your job search strategy and tactics.

Do you have other examples of applying selling techniques to the job search? Please add your comments below.

When considering social media and internet marketing in your job search, it is not the individual components that make the biggest difference, it is often the combination of mediums that can be very powerful…. the recipe for success.

I’d like to share a few experiences from my own job search history and the power of using different online mediums to get results.

When I was first released back into the job seeker population in early 2009, I spent some time determining what my personal brand would look like. I decided to focus on my experience leading Sales Operations, which included sales support, inside sales, customer service and call centers. I began positioning myself as a Sales Operations expert and then went on to build a supporting, online marketing strategy.

One of the first things I did was start my own blog, simply called The Sales Operations Blog, and began to publish content on a weekly basis.

I then spent time beefing up my LinkedIn presence and joined a number of applicable, LinkedIn groups.

There were two groups that stood out for me, the Inside Sales Experts group and The Sales Playbook. I actively participated in group discussions and used the news section to share links to my Sales Operations Blog content.

I also became more active on Twitter and saw that the moderators of both Inside Sales Experts and The Sales Playbook, also tweeted, so I began to follow them. They in turn, started to follow me. Over time, I “retweeted” their content and they “retweeted” mine.

Both moderators had their own blogs, and I began to read and comment on their blog content. And they began to read and comment on mine.

And, then the online relationships became more real.

The moderator of the Inside Sales Experts group and blog, asked me if I wanted to write a guest blog, which I did, linked here. Then, I eventually met her in person at a Sales conference in Boston. And, over the course of a few months, she sent me several different job leads.

The moderator of the Sales Playbook sent me a LinkedIn invitation, then asked if I wanted to connect over the phone so we could learn more about each other- which we did.  And, he offered to help with my job search in any way he could.

As a result of these experiences, I have referred many people I know to their blogs,  LinkedIn groups and businesses.

Contract Work Too!

I also got a contract writing job, specifically due to my online presence. The head of a Sales Incentives company wanted to write a book on Sales Contest Design and had searched the internet for someone with experience. They found my Sales Operations Blog, read several posts about sales contests and then contacted me directly.

I was then hired to co-author the book, “Sales Contestology, 7 Steps To Sales Contest Design”, which was just published in January 2010.  It was a fun, challenging project, which would not have happened, had I not had a strong online presence.

These are just a few examples of the results I have personally gotten via social media and internet marketing- but I could list many, many more.

Key Takeaways:

• I have experienced first hand, the power of social media and internet marketing in my own job search experiences and anyone can mimic the actions I took and the techniques that I used.
• Often times what starts out as a virtual relationship with a stranger, can become more real over time through your interactions, and can benefit both parties.
• When thinking about social media and internet marketing in a job search, it is often the combination of mediums that lead you to the most success.

For more information on Twitter for job hunting, check out the free offer from Tweetajob.com. Sign up for a job seeker account and get a copy of the free ebook, “How To Use Twitter For Your Job Search”. Go to Tweetajob.com.

Jeff Dickey-Chasins, also called the Job Board Doctor, writes one of the blogs I follow. Jeff is a veteran of the job board industry and was the original marketing director for Dice.com, growing it from $7 million to $65+ million in three years.

Jeff is now a consultant, dedicated to the job board industry, helping businesses and websites launch, improve and grow. (Check out www.jobboarddoctor.com)

I recently contacted Jeff because throughout 2009 I received questions and comments from job seekers and career coaches about job boards: their value, how best to use them, their future etc.

I asked Jeff some tough, job board questions, to help job seekers achieve more success. There is a lot of detail in this post, but it’s worth reading every line until the end. Very valuable stuff!

1) Jeff, bottom line, why are so few jobs actually filled via job boards? I’ve read that less than 30% of positions get filled via job boards. In fact, a 2008 Weddles survey said it was only 15%.

2) Job seekers often report that some of the jobs listed on job boards are fake or not really job openings.  Why does this happen?  What % of the jobs on job boards do you think are quality postings?

I would guess that perhaps 10% of the jobs posted on the big 3 are these ‘filler’ job postings.

3) After applying for a job via a job board, the next step is often a computer screening, not a human review. What can job seekers do to be more successful getting their application past the computer- to the human?

4) It seems like a new job board pops up each week. Is it worth it for job seekers to visit all of these niche sites or are most of those jobs also posted on the major boards: Monster, Careerbuilder and Yahoo Hot Jobs?  How much duplication do you think exists?

Indeed is a great tool because it scoops up a large portion of the jobs posted on job boards (and to a lesser degree, company sites). It can be aggravating to use, however; you click a link for a job, which may take you to another link, which may go to another link…  Nevertheless, Indeed (and SimplyHired) is a good way to discover niche job boards and get a feel for what’s out there. Just don’t rely on it alone!

Aggregators continue to provide competition for the big 3 job boards. They make most of their money, however, by charging job boards for highlighted job ads (similar to Google search), which means they don’t really want to compete directly with job boards. I would expect to see them expand their job seeker offerings during 2010, with more tools, research, and freebies.

Spam via a job board can happen a variety of ways. For example, when a job seeker signs up on a job board, there is usually a check-box for ‘opting-out’ of 3rd party emails. Most people don’t bother to opt out – and thus they end up allowing such email to be sent to them. Sometimes an ad will pop up during the process of creating your resume and – if you’re not careful – you may click a button which allows a 3rd party to send you email (or even worse!).

My advice: be careful when you sign up and post your resume. Don’t rush through the process. Each time you reach a page with a ‘Submit’ button on it, make sure that you haven’t accidentally overlooked an ‘opt in’ or ‘opt out’ check box!

7) I am a big proponent of using social media to support your job search, with an emphasis on using LinkedIn and Twitter.  What do you think about social media and the job search- and what changes do you expect to see in 2010 and beyond?

Social media is here to stay – but then, in my opinion, it always was. After all, sending an email to your friends asking for help with your job search is just one step removed from doing the same thing on LinkedIn or Twitter. The difference, of course, is the size of the network you can access now. My advice is to use LinkedIn and Twitter with clear goals in mind – don’t let yourself be diverted by the amazing amount of trivial information you can find on them!

For example, if you’re a sales professional in technology, use Tweetdeck’s search feature to locate other tech sales folks. Join the appropriate LinkedIn groups. Participate. But remember – always keep your professional foot forward. You’re doing this for your career!

Per my earlier advice, I think the key is to be crystal clear on what you’re seeking. Map out at least 2 or 3 ‘ideal’ jobs. Spend some time investigating your target industries. There are always interesting companies and jobs out there that you’ve never heard of! Use job boards as one of your job tools – not the only one.

Treat job hunting like a job – spend at least 4-5 hours a day on it. Don’t be lazy – review as many job boards and company employment sites as you need to, and not one less. Use job boards to expose you to companies and jobs that you might otherwise overlook – but then take the next step by visiting the company web site. It’s not uncommon for a company to advertise one or two jobs on a job board – but have six or seven on the company site. Be sure to set up ‘job alerts’ on each job board you use, so that jobs are emailed to you regularly. Finally, don’t give up – job hunting rewards the diligent!

If you enjoyed this post, you may want to follow Jeff on Twitter: @JobBoardDoctor

Copyright January 2010, Marci Reynolds & Jeff Dickey-Chasins, All Rights Reserved

The concept is fairly simple. Any LinkedIn user can post a question and any LinkedIn user can answer. The person who posted the question gets notified whenever a new answer is listed. Then, once the asker has enough responses, they close out the question and rate which answer was “Best.”

The cool thing is, if your answer is chosen as Best, this becomes part of your LinkedIn profile and you advertise your expertise. For example, here is a snapshot from my own LinkedIn profile:

In addition, when you are visiting the Answers section, the Top Experts and Topic Specific Experts are listed and promoted.

The keys to success are targeting the question subject areas that best align with your areas of expertise and taking the time to provide a detailed, well thought out reply comment.

How To Start Answering Questions:

To access LinkedIn Answers go to the top of your LinkedIn home page, click on the More tab and choose Answers. You will arrive at the Answers landing page.

The questions are divided into 22 top level subjects, and many more sub topics. For example, there is a top level subject called “technology”, which has eight sub topics such as “web development” and “enterprise software”.

You can find questions in your target area by clicking on a top level subject area or by using the “advanced answer search” and probing by keyword.

If you want to answer questions on a regular basis, I recommend that you sign up for an RSS feed in your target area(s). If you are new to RSS, check out “How to read RSS Feeds” on CNET.  Look for the symbol.

For a detailed tutorial on how to use LinkedIn Answers, visit the LinkedIn Learning Center, here.

Example Of How Recruiters Use Answers:

One of my business contacts recently shared a story about how his firm sourced a candidate through the Answers area. They were looking for a very specialized skill set, so they posted a question that directly pertained to the specialty and reviewed the answers. Ultimately, the person who posted the best answer was interviewed and was eventually offered a position.

Next Steps:

Using LinkedIn Answers is free, easy to use, and the only investment is your time. I recommend that you give yourself a personal goal to answer at least one question per week. Even if you answer just one, it could be the answer that gets you an interview or a new consulting job. What a fantastic ROI!

Copyright December 2009, Marci Reynolds, All Rights Reserved

What are the top 10 social media job search questions of 2009? Find the questions and answers in this week’s J2B Marketing blog!

As 2009 progressed, I often heard the same social media job search questions come up in various job seeker and career training sessions or networking functions. Most questions centered around using LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook to find a job. And, although the questions were often similar, I found that not all experts agreed with the answers.

In this blog post, I’ve attempted to capture some of the most popular, social media job search questions of 2009 and have included answers from a variety of different perspectives. (I’ll be adding a few more during the week.) I encourage you to add your own answers in the comments sections.

1) Do I have to put a picture on my online profiles? Why?

• “You should select one picture to use in all of your social media profiles, on your business card, on your blog and in other collateral.  This way it consistently portrays your brand as a professional in your field and so people can follow your digital tracks online.  A picture says more than a thousand words online, it says almost everything.  By not having a picture, it will be harder for people to have an emotional connection with your personal brand.”
  

Dan Schawbel | Author of Me 2.0 and the Personal Branding Blog

• “YES! Not including a photo can be just as damaging as using the wrong photo. Personal branding is about creating emotional connections. People believe content more when it’s accompanied by the author’s photo. An online profile with no photo is a missed opportunity to reinforce your brand and engage people.”

Meg Guiseppi, C-level / Senior Executive Personal Branding, Online Identity and Job Search Strategist, at Executive Career Brand, | www.executivecareerbrand.com

• “YES! Remember one of the important reasons why you’re involved with these communities – engagement. You come off far more approachable, and yes – professional, when you include an image that helps promote your personal brand. Words and information on a profile are just that – words and information. A good photo helps personalize the message, ties you more closely to your brand and helps promote you as an approachable professional.”

Chris Osborn | Senior Consultant – Talent Management & Career Transition Coach | BPI Group

2) How many recommendations do I need on LinkedIn?

• “It depends… on how many different companies you’ve worked for and how many different roles you’ve had. Quality is also more important than quantity, i.e. 5 very well written recommendations are more valuable than 10 generic ones. You also need at least 3, to make your LinkedIn profile officially complete.”

Marci Reynolds | CEO J2B Marketing | Job Seeker Internet Marketing Services

• “I’d say 30, but the more the better.  Get recommendations for whatever you can, not only from your last supervisor. “

David Barrett | “The LinkedIn Lawyer” | Boston Attorney│World’s Largest LinkedIn Lawyer Network│12,000+

3) If I set up a blog to help my job search, what am I supposed to write about?

• “Write about topics that will resonate with your target audience. Make sure you include relevant keyword phrases in your blog and page titles, so that recruiters and hiring decision makers searching these phrases to source candidates will land on your blog.”

Meg Guiseppi, C-level | Senior Executive Personal Branding, Online Identity and Job Search Strategist, at Executive Career Brand | www.executivecareerbrand.com

• “Well – let’s start with a preliminary question – are you willing to blog? And by this I mean, are you willing to write 4-500 words at least once per week about a topic you are passionate about? If not – don’t do it. If yes, then I suggest writing about things you are knowledgeable and passionate about. If that knowledge and passion tie to your profession, a blog can be a terrific job search tool.”

Chris Osborn | Senior Consultant – Talent Management & Career Transition Coach | BPI Group

4) Is it still worth it to post my resume on the job boards, ex. Monster.com or Careerbuilder?

• “Employers go to job boards often for a unique combination of skills and experience.  A client came to me with a very eclectic background, she had experience processing contracts, training, and managing projects and her resume was selected from the job boards and she was offered a position that combined all three.  Posting your resume on job boards is not the most successful job search strategy, but it is worth the few minutes it takes.”

Leenie Glickman | Job Search & Career Satisfaction Coach | www.ResumeMotivation.com

• “Yes, for several reasons. 1) It’s free, so you have nothing to lose, 2) As someone who used to work at Monster.com, I know that access to the resume database is one of the most popular offerings that Monster sells to recruiters and HR professionals. They pay a monthly or annual fee to have access to searching the database. And, Monster just introduced Resume Database Power Search to make their offering even more attractive.

Marci Reynolds | CEO J2B Marketing | Job Seeker Internet Marketing Services

5) Do I have to post my information online for job searching? I’m concerned about privacy.

• “If you want to be found by hiring managers and recruiters, you must be online.  If you are concerned about privacy, you can control how much information can be found when someone searches for you.  For example, when you create a public profile on LinkedIn, you can determine how much of your profile will be visible if someone searches for you on Google.  Similarly, you can set your Facebook profile so that you will only be found in Facebook and not in a Google search.  If you have a thoughtful profile that highlights your expertise, skills and strengths, visibility on social networking sites can only help to advance your job search.”

Susan Peppercorn | Career Outside the Cube | Career Coaching And Advisory Services |  www.careeroutsidethecube.com

6) Does Indeed.com include (aggregate) all job postings, or do I still need to go to separate job board sites?

• “First let’s define Indeed, Simply Hired, Juju and other like companies as job listing search engines. They capture the majority of listings that are posted online with job boards.  Overall, they do a pretty good job and we would not recommend spending any significant time surfing job boards if you have correctly established alerts within their systems.

However, when evaluating your job search campaign time management, we think it is important to reference a 2008 Weddles survey that determined that less than 15% of all jobs are actually filled through online classified ads.  For 2010, we believe, it is much more important for job seekers to use a service that provides organized data mining and leverage’s social networks to find your next position.  Corporate use of social media in recruitment has doubled in the last 24 months and we think it will double again in the 2010.  Candidates will be best served to align their job search strategy to match corporate recruiting behavior.”

Ian Levine | CEO CareerBrander and Outplacement Tools

7) Do I have to use Twitter for my job search? Isn’t it just for celebrities?

• “I highly recommend Twitter for job hunting! Using Lists or a Twitter tool (TweetDeck is my favorite), job seekers can customize Tweet streams to create personal news sources, with the latest information from industry/profession sources plus target employers, even job postings. With a keyword-rich Bio plus on-topic Tweets, job seekers can carefully attract employer attention in return.” (Note: Susan’s quote is included in the new eBook, “How To Use Twitter For Your Job Search“)

Susan P. Joyce | Online job search expert and editor/publisher of award-winning Job-Hunt.org | @JobHuntOrg

• “It’s true that there is a lot of useless information on Twitter.  Following celebrities may be fun but it won’t get you closer to a job.  There are valid reasons why job seekers should use Twitter.
  • First, Twitter is a great way to follow subject matter experts and find out what’s on their mind from a business perspective.  By following their tweets you can find out what leaders in their fields are reading, and writing about.  Many use Twitter to link to their own blog posts.
  • To find experts in your industry on Twitter you can search for keywords related to your industry or search for an individual by name.  Third-party sites categorize Twitter users by profession, industry and geographic location. The most popular are twellow and WeFollow. Both sort Twitter users into industry categories and most influential users. Companies and job boards post job openings on Twitter. Two popular job resources on Twitter are jobshouts and Twitterjobsearch.
  • Last but not least, if you are an expert in a particular area, let the world know about it by tweeting!

Susan Peppercorn | Career Outside the Cube | Career Coaching And Advisory Services |  www.careeroutsidethecube.com

Isn’t Facebook just for personal use? Why and how can I use it for job search?

• “There are countless ways you can use Facebook to search for a new job. You can include your resume and other background information in both the Notes and Info sections of your profile page. You can add separate tabs for both SlideShare and YouTube, which you can use to showcase your own PowerPoint presentations and videos. If you write a blog, you can share your posts with your Facebook friends via an RSS feed. You can connect Twitter to your status updates and refer to your expertise in your tweets. And finally, you can become a fan of the company you’d like to work for as a way of learning more about it and possibly even networking with employees there.”

Bob Cargill | Copywriter, Creative Director and Social Media Marketer | Cargill Creative

9) Do I have to sign up for other social networks beyond LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, e.x. Plaxo?

• “If you use LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, you have the bases covered as far as business networking is concerned.  There is a downside to belonging to too many networks.  For one thing, each time you join a new network, a learning curve goes along with it. Also, since managing your profile and contacts on each social networking site takes time, belonging to too many networks may stretch you too thin and results in diminishing returns. One thing to keep in mind is that social networking does not replace face-to-face networking.  It is a tool, not an end in itself.”

Susan Peppercorn | Career Outside the Cube |Career Coaching And Advisory Services |  www.careeroutsidethecube.com

10) What email domain (ex. verizon, yahoo, gmail) is the best to have and why?

• “If you can set up your last name as a domain it looks great – so David@Barrett.com, but popular last names may be taken.  I’d say Gmail still has a bit of smarty-cache vs. yahoo and hotmail.”

David Barrett | “The LinkedIn Lawyer” | Boston Attorney│World’s Largest LinkedIn Lawyer Network│12,000+

• “There are a few things to consider when choosing a job search email address.
  • First, regardless of the provider, you want to choose a professional handle, which is ideally your first and last name. Save the cutesy, RedSox223 for personal use.  I agree with David Barrett, that using your own domain name equal to your first and last name is best.
  • Second, the provider you choose can send a message about how technically savvy you are. When you see AOL, you think of old technology and baby boomers. When you see Gmail, you think of Google and new technology. Services like Comcast and Verizon are somewhat neutral.
  • Last, there are some email providers that are more likely to end up in a spam filter than others. I recently surveyed “tech  guys/gals” on LinkedIn about this topic, and the experts tended to agree that Hotmail, AOL and Yahoo were MORE likely to end up in someone’s spam file, while GMAIL was less likely to.

Marci Reynolds | CEO J2B Marketing | Job Seeker Internet Marketing Services

Copyright December 2009, Marci Reynolds, All Rights Reserved

Be remembered, be accessible, be a “go to person” for your target job opening- all with the help of email signatures.

Leveraging email as a communication tool has become standard within job search activities. And, using a well-written, email signature can help job seekers with marketing and branding. 

What Is An Email Signature?

An email signature is content that displays at the end of an email and may be in text form, graphical or a combination of both. These signatures usually include contact information, and may also include marketing taglines, logos or V-cards.

For example, this is the email signature that I use when I send out J2B Marketing communications:

Marci Reynolds
CEO, J2B Marketing
Job Seeker To Business™ Internet Marketing Services
www.j2bmarketing.com
marci.reynolds@j2bmarketing.com
Twitter: @J2BMarketing

Most email programs (ex. Outlook, Gmail) provide an option to create an email signature template that automatically populates at the end of every email when you start to compose a new message. I recommend that job seekers learn how to use the template for their program and create standard verbiage for their outgoing emails. (Note: About.com has a helpful article which lists email signature resources  for a variety of email providers. Read it here.)

Why Use An Email Signature?

Many employers accept their job applications directly through email. Job seekers often send follow up or thank you communications, after a face-to-face interview, using email. And, networking via email has become very common.

A well-written email signature can help email recipients to remember who you are, be reminded of what your unique set of skills and qualifications are and make it very easy for them to contact you. All of these outcomes will benefit your job search.

The Components of a Strong Email Signature

As a job seeker, these are the email signature elements to consider:

• First and Last Name: Use your full name and the name format on your resume and LinkedIn profile. You want to avoid being Joe on LinkedIn, Joseph on your resume and Joseph P. on your email signature. Choose one name format to use on all job search communications.
• Job Related Tagline or Title: The “Job Related Tagline or Title” section is your opportunity to reinforce the job you seek and/or your unique set of skills or qualifications, very similar to the headline on your LinkedIn profile. In fact, they should be the same for consistency. Here are a few examples of what you might include in both your email tagline and LinkedIn headline.

Award Winning Project Manager | PMP Certified | Six Sigma Greenbelt

Global Sales Leader, SaaS & Software Expert, Passion For Emerging Technology

Internet Marketing Manager | SEM, SEO, Social Media | Beyond Leads To Revenue

• Email Address
• Telephone Number: I recommend including just one number, probably your mobile phone, that you will always answer. Listing 2 or 3, makes email recipients have to guess what the best number is.
• Link To Your LinkedIn Profile or Google Profile
• Link To Your Twitter Profile
• Link To Your Personal Website or Blog
• Link to a Visual CV

If you include links to websites, make them live, hyperlinks so email recipients can get to the advertised destination within one click. Note: This may or may not be supported by your email provider.

V- Cards

V-cards are another type of email signature, often described as the digital equivalents of business cards. Similar to a standard email signature, users enter defined elements into a v-card form and the v-card displays at the bottom of your email.

V-cards provide several advantages over standard email signatures.

First, the email recipient can choose to save your vcard information into their contact database, usually with one click. Once in their database, future emails from you to them, should get right past any spam filters. Plus, they’ll have your contact information at their fingertips, for future communications. If they save your V card to their Blackberry, they can call you back with one click.

Second, V-cards often have the appearance of a business card, further standing out in an email message.

So….

Be remembered, be accessible, be a “go to person” for your target job opening- all with the help of email signatures!

If you have additional email signature tips, please add them to the comments section. Thanks for visiting the J2B Blog.

Copyright December 2009, Marci Reynolds, All Rights Reserved

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