Job-Hunt Intelligence - Be Easy to Hire!

Published: Tue, 10/31/17

Job-Hunt®

Intelligence
For Smarter Job Search

By Susan P. Joyce

It's not that recruiters, hiring managers, and members of your professional network aren't capable of thinking and remembering. Of course they are! But, smart and successful job seekers focus on positioning themselves to be easy to hire!

Successful job seekers don't make recruiters think or work hard to hire them.

YOU MUST Tell Them What You Want to Do - What Job You Want

Don't send a generic resume and expect a recruiter or employer to look at it and figure out what you can do and where you could fit into their organization.

  • BAD: "I need new challenges." Or "I'm looking for more money." These are too generic and unfocused to be useful.
  • BETTER: "I'm looking for something in marketing or sales." Or "I'd like to work in IT."
  • BEST: "I'm looking for a job in B2B marketing or sales, preferably for a large consulting firm." Or"I'd like a job in network security for a financial services company."

​​​​​​​Networking contacts, no matter how well-intentioned, won't be able to help you without knowing what you want to do. They can't read your mind any better than an employer or recruiter. Make it easy for people to help you by telling them the job that you want.

Apply specifically for a job you know they have open or suspect that they will have open in the future.

 
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By Laura Smith-Proulx

Seeking more ways to attract employer and professional interest on LinkedIn? Look beyond the commonly used areas of the site (such as Summary, Experience, or Education) and into the Projects section.

The Projects section is a powerful part of LinkedIn, impacting the site’s search algorithm.

These projects do NOT have to represent formal initiatives from your work history.

The Projects section can facilitate your findability as a candidate, especially when you add a substantial amount of keywords.

How to Leverage the LinkedIn Projects Section

Add Projects that show desirable skill sets, group and individual work efforts, new capabilities, or informal use of valuable skills that reinforce your brand message.

Projects must be "linked" to either jobs in your Experience section or entries in your Education section – whether these are current activities or from your professional history.

The key is to emphasize the type of data important to your target employers to demonstrate your value as a prospective employee, whether it’s a specific area of expertise or industry term common in your field.

To get started using Projects, first navigate to Add a New Profile Section near the top of the right column of your Profile. Then click on the down arrow beside Accomplishments. Scroll down until you find the Projects. Click the button to the right of the word "Projects," and fill in details using these strategies:

  • Project Name

    This field has strong ranking in LinkedIn’s search algorithm, so you’ll want to add a description that notes skills or job titles where possible. 

    For example, a Project Manager who has delivered small SAP deployments might add "Project Manager – SAP Modifications, Finance Module." A Sales Rep who is applying for team management roles (but who has only mentored junior colleagues thus far) could add "Sales Management" as a Project Name to describe ongoing efforts to train other aspiring sales staff.

    The Project Name can also be a major initiative that was mentioned in your employer’s marketing materials, such as a rollout of a new customer-facing capability or the release of next-generation software. As you can see, the Project Name can represent any area of your expertise, work history, or skills, with the idea of further marketing your capabilities.

READ MORE

 
 Recommended Reading...
  1. 5 Tips for Acing Your Skype Interview by Mark Feffer
Video interviews are an invaluable tool for candidates. The difference is you need to prepare more than your answers and what you're going to wear. You must consider the technical issues involved in using Skype properly. Yes, the software is easy to download and install and, yes, webcams today are plug and play. But neglect the simple aspects of using Skype, and you'll end up looking amateurish and unprepared. IT Job Search Expert Mark Feffer lays out the best ways to succeed.
  1. How to Find and Connect with Recruiters on LinkedIn by Laura Smith-Proulx
Planning to reach out to recruiters during your job search, but don’t know how to approach them? You’re in luck. It’s easier than ever to find recruiters who specialize in your field by using LinkedIn - and even better, they’re often receptive to your queries from the site. After identifying a pool of key recruiter contacts, you’ll need to craft an introduction that is succinct, professional, and related to your area of specialty. LinkedIn Job Search Expert Laura Smith-Proulx explains how to find and reach out to recruiters using LinkedIn.
 

Newest Job-Hunt Quick Guide: 
Smart Personal Branding with LinkedIn, 3rd edition
 
By Personal Branding Expert Meg Guiseppi 

Whether you are in a job search or managing your career, you'll want to grab your free copy of the latest version of Personal Branding Expert Meg Guiseppi's 15 Minute Guide to Smart Personal Branding with LinkedIn. This ebook will help you to use LinkedIn more effectively and also to improve your understanding of personal branding.
 Make LinkedIn work better for your career with Meg's help in this ebook.
 
 

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