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Leveraging LinkedIn to Get a Job – Part 3

Published

3 years ago

 on

LinkedIn Profile to Generate Job

In my last two columns, I provided the following five tips to boost your LinkedIn profile views and increase being informed of job opportunities.

  1. Have a current, no older than 6 months profile picture.
  2. Get your headline right.
  3. Be comprehensive about your skills.
  4. Build your network to the 1st degree.
  5. Follow companies you’re interested in joining.

 

Here’s 3 more tips on leveraging LinkedIn for your job search.

 

  1. Use the Advanced Search.

Use LinkedIn’s Advanced Search option and conduct a search on companies you’re interested in joining. Make a list of your 1st degree connections associated with these companies (past or current employees). Then reach out to your connections who are current employees and inform them you’re interested in joining their company. Ask if they’d be willing to assist you in your job search (e.g., refer you to job openings). One of the most helpful things your 1st degree connections can do for your job search is being able to introduce you to people who are in a position to hire you. Therefore, you need to ask them for an introduction, which brings me to my seventh tip.

 

  1. Ask for an introduction.

I’m happy to make introductions for connections whom I know, and trust, outside of LinkedIn. Speaking for my preference, the best way to request an introduction is to send a note:

 

Hi Nick,

[Personal note/comment]. Would you mind introducing me to [person’s name along with their LinkedIn URL — www.linkedin.com/in/nameofperson]?

I am interested in speaking with [person’s first name] about the Digital Strategist position I came across on Merrick BioTech’s website. [Link to the job posting.]

Sincerely, 

Stephanie

 

I like to give the person my connection is looking to connect with a “heads up.” Therefore, I’ll send them a note asking if they’re open to being introduced.

 

Hi Akando,

Hope all is well with you. Stephanie Powers, a former colleague when I worked at Rekall, Inc., is interested in speaking with you about the Digital Strategist position at Merrick BioTech’s. [Link to the job posting.] Can I make an introduction?

Regards,

Nick

 

Once Akando says yes, I then make the introduction.

Hello Akando & Stephanie,

I’m following up to connect you both regarding the Digital Strategist position at Merrick BioTech. I’ll let you two take it from here.

 

Regards,

Nick

 

  1. Be more than a wallflower.

The key to being visible on LinkedIn and building your network is to be active, by regularly sharing and creating content and engaging with other people’s content.

If you’re starting out on LinkedIn, I recommend you begin by engaging with other people’s content before sharing your own. Review your feed (content you see when you click on your LinkedIn home page) and thoughtfully comment on other people’s posts and articles.

 

There are three ways to engage with someone’s content:

  • Like
  • Share
  • Comment

 

I believe comments are the gold standard of engagement. The reason being your name, your photo and the beginning of your headline appears before your comment. Therefore, your comments act like mini advertisements.

TIP: When you comment, tag the author of the post so they’re notified that you’ve commented.

To tag the author of the post or anyone on LinkedIn:

 

  • Type the @ symbol.
  • Begin typing the poster’s name.
  • Choose the poster’s name from the dropdown list you’ll be given.
  • LinkedIn will then delete the @ symbol and bold the poster’s name.

 

Regarding creating content, while I write and post articles (125,000 characters maximum) on LinkedIn, I get more engagement from my posts (1,300 characters maximum). The reason for the increase engagement is LinkedIn posts are favoured by LinkedIn’s algorithm and will show up on your connection’s newsfeed. However, LinkedIn posts quickly get lost in the crowd and therefore have a short lifespan. On the other hand, LinkedIn articles will keep getting viewed from search results on Google and other search engines; thus, they have a longer lifespan.

In summary, LinkedIn posts (TIP: For additional visibility include several relevant hashtags and add a graphic.) are great to keep the ball rolling on the engagement side of things. In contrast, LinkedIn articles are helpful for long-term brand image and authority (subject matter expert) building. The bottom-line: The more you interact and post as a professional, the more you’ll be noticed and build recognition.

 

In next week’s column, the last of this four-part series, I’ll be discussing the following:

  • Get involved in LinkedIn Professional Groups.
  • Research your future boss and executive team.
  • Network after business hours.

______________________________________________________________

 

Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers advice on searching for a job. You can send Nick your questions at artoffindingwork@gmail.com.

 

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Carry On Canadian Business. Carry On!

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8 hours ago

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October 22, 2024

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Human Resources Officers must be very busy these days what with the general turnover of employees in our retail and business sectors. It is hard enough to find skilled people let alone potential employees willing to be trained. Then after the training, a few weeks go by then they come to you and ask for a raise. You refuse as there simply is no excess money in the budget and away they fly to wherever they come from, trained but not willing to put in the time to achieve that wanted raise.

I have had potentials come in and we give them a test to see if they do indeed know how to weld, polish or work with wood. 2-10 we hire, and one of those is gone in a week or two. Ask that they want overtime, and their laughter leaving the building is loud and unsettling. Housing starts are doing well but way behind because those trades needed to finish a project simply don’t come to the site, with delay after delay. Some people’s attitudes are just too funny. A recent graduate from a Ivy League university came in for an interview. The position was mid-management potential, but when we told them a three month period was needed and then they would make the big bucks they disappeared as fast as they arrived.

Government agencies are really no help, sending us people unsuited or unwilling to carry out the jobs we offer. Handing money over to staffing firms whose referrals are weak and ineffectual. Perhaps with the Fall and Winter upon us, these folks will have to find work and stop playing on the golf course or cottaging away. Tried to hire new arrivals in Canada but it is truly difficult to find someone who has a real identity card and is approved to live and work here. Who do we hire? Several years ago my father’s firm was rocking and rolling with all sorts of work. It was a summer day when the immigration officers arrived and 30+ employees hit the bricks almost immediately. The investigation that followed had threats of fines thrown at us by the officials. Good thing we kept excellent records, photos and digital copies. We had to prove the illegal documents given to us were as good as the real McCoy.

Restauranteurs, builders, manufacturers, finishers, trades-based firms, and warehousing are all suspect in hiring illegals, yet that becomes secondary as Toronto increases its minimum wage again bringing our payroll up another $120,000. Survival in Canada’s financial and business sectors is questionable for many. Good luck Chuck!. at least your carbon tax refund check should be arriving soon.

Steven Kaszab
Bradford, Ontario
skaszab@yahoo.ca

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Imperial to cut prices in NWT community after low river prevented resupply by barges

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11 hours ago

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October 22, 2024

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NORMAN WELLS, N.W.T. – Imperial Oil says it will temporarily reduce its fuel prices in a Northwest Territories community that has seen costs skyrocket due to low water on the Mackenzie River forcing the cancellation of the summer barge resupply season.

Imperial says in a Facebook post it will cut the air transportation portion that’s included in its wholesale price in Norman Wells for diesel fuel, or heating oil, from $3.38 per litre to $1.69 per litre, starting Tuesday.

The air transportation increase, it further states, will be implemented over a longer period.

It says Imperial is closely monitoring how much fuel needs to be airlifted to the Norman Wells area to prevent runouts until the winter road season begins and supplies can be replenished.

Gasoline and heating fuel prices approached $5 a litre at the start of this month.

Norman Wells’ town council declared a local emergency on humanitarian grounds last week as some of its 700 residents said they were facing monthly fuel bills coming to more than $5,000.

“The wholesale price increase that Imperial has applied is strictly to cover the air transportation costs. There is no Imperial profit margin included on the wholesale price. Imperial does not set prices at the retail level,” Imperial’s statement on Monday said.

The statement further said Imperial is working closely with the Northwest Territories government on ways to help residents in the near term.

“Imperial Oil’s decision to lower the price of home heating fuel offers immediate relief to residents facing financial pressures. This step reflects a swift response by Imperial Oil to discussions with the GNWT and will help ease short-term financial burdens on residents,” Caroline Wawzonek, Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance and Infrastructure, said in a news release Monday.

Wawzonek also noted the Territories government has supported the community with implementation of a fund supporting businesses and communities impacted by barge cancellations. She said there have also been increases to the Senior Home Heating Subsidy in Norman Wells, and continued support for heating costs for eligible Income Assistance recipients.

Additionally, she said the government has donated $150,000 to the Norman Wells food bank.

In its declaration of a state of emergency, the town said the mayor and council recognized the recent hike in fuel prices has strained household budgets, raised transportation costs, and affected local businesses.

It added that for the next three months, water and sewer service fees will be waived for all residents and businesses.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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U.S. vote has Canadian business leaders worried about protectionist policies: KPMG

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11 hours ago

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October 22, 2024

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TORONTO – A new report says many Canadian business leaders are worried about economic uncertainties related to the looming U.S. election.

The survey by KPMG in Canada of 735 small- and medium-sized businesses says 87 per cent fear the Canadian economy could become “collateral damage” from American protectionist policies that lead to less favourable trade deals and increased tariffs

It says that due to those concerns, 85 per cent of business leaders in Canada polled are reviewing their business strategies to prepare for a change in leadership.

The concerns are primarily being felt by larger Canadian companies and sectors that are highly integrated with the U.S. economy, such as manufacturing, automotive, transportation and warehousing, energy and natural resources, as well as technology, media and telecommunications.

Shaira Nanji, a KPMG Law partner in its tax practice, says the prospect of further changes to economic and trade policies in the U.S. means some Canadian firms will need to look for ways to mitigate added costs and take advantage of potential trade relief provisions to remain competitive.

Both presidential candidates have campaigned on protectionist policies that could cause uncertainty for Canadian trade, and whoever takes the White House will be in charge during the review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement in 2026.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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