By Jordan Adams, Assistant Director, On Campus Recruiting
Do you want to connect with over 42,000 ‘Canes in more than 20 high-growth industries, are you interested in Ebay, Apple, Cisco, or Amazon.com, do you want make some connections before you move to New York, Los Angeles, or maybe Washington D.C.? Well then LinkedIn is your ticket to supercharging your job and internship search.
We all know that
personal connections are extremely important when job searching and that
networking has become the new mantra, but for many of us it is it is difficult
to know how to expand our professional network or even where to start. Luckily, though, LinkedIn has made this
crucial process much more painless and accessible and has given us a chance to
reach out to millions of people across a plethora of industries and geographic
locations.
To get started, you can
begin by using these top 10 tips LinkedIn has put together for attracting the
best professional opportunities.[1]
1. Make time
Schedule at least 15
minutes a day to work on your resume, update and check online networking
profiles and search job listings. Opportunities come and go quickly, so you
need to be in the game on a daily basis.
2. Get noticed
What better way to
impress a recruiter than to have a professional networking profile be the first
search result for your name? Completing your LinkedIn profile to 100% will
increase your search ranking and give employers a good impression.
3. Be keyword savvy
Make sure your profile
is full of keywords that will attract a recruiter’s attention. Look through job
postings and LinkedIn profiles that appeal to you and incorporate some of the
same words or phrases. In addition to job and industry-specific words, include
leadership terms (captain, president) and action words (managed, designed.)
4. Reach out
Connect on LinkedIn
with everyone you know – friends, family, neighbors, professors, family
friends, internship colleagues and other ‘Canes. Once you’re connected, send
each person a friendly message on LinkedIn, asking if they would keep an eye
out for the particular kind of job or jobs you’re seeking, or if they can
introduce you to other helpful contacts.
5. Spread the word
To build your
credibility and stay on people’s radar during your job hunt, regularly update
your status on LinkedIn and other social networks. You might share links to
articles you think would be relevant to people in your field, events you’re
attending and good career news.
6. Get into groups
Beyond connecting to
individuals, join LinkedIn groups related to your alma mater, professional
associations, volunteer organizations and industries you want to join. Every
discussion in which you comment is an opportunity to market yourself to people
who might be hiring, and every group also contains a “Jobs” tab.
7. Search high and low
LinkedIn’s job postings
don’t just tell you who is hiring, they tell you how you are personally
connected to that company through your network. Even when you see a job listed
on another site, LinkedIn can help you research people at that company and tell
you how you are personally connected. No matter where you look for jobs, cast a
wider net by altering your search terms and location criteria from time to
time.
8. Follow companies
When you see a job you
like on another job board, use LinkedIn as a company research tool. Check out
the LinkedIn Company Page of any organization where you’d like to work and
click “Follow company.” That organizations activities (job postings, hires,
announcements) will appear on your homepage and alert you to potential
opportunities.
9. Persist (without pestering)
Sending follow-up
messages through LinkedIn can help you stand out from other candidates. Every
time you send someone a message through LinkedIn, the recruiter or hiring
manager can easily click over to your profile and check out your credentials.
10. Use the LinkedIn Student Jobs Portal
You can access
entry-level jobs and internships at some of the best companies worldwide at LinkedIn’s
student and recent grad job portal: http://linkedin.com/studentjobs.
Once you build you
profile and are ready to put these techniques in practice, begin by searching
for more than 42,000 UM students and alumni worldwide on the University
of Miami LinkedIn webpage. Fellow
‘Canes may be your best way to setup an informational interview and learn about
opportunities at your most sough-after organizations.
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