Advertisement<\/p>\n
LinkedIn Is the On-Ramp to Your New Job<\/h2>\n
You need a big network, and that\u2019s where LinkedIn enters the picture.<\/p>\n
It isn\u2019t Snapchat, Twitter, or Instagram. In fact, LinkedIn is pretty much in a class by itself when it comes to social media that\u2019s work-related. It was designed to facilitate professional networking, and it is so good at professional networking that there are no real rivals.<\/p>\n
LinkedIn is useful to you because being on it will help you find a job. There are a few reasons for this:<\/p>\n
1. LinkedIn Makes You Findable<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\nRecruiters in a hurry turn to Google and LinkedIn to find qualified job candidates.<\/p>\n
Searching online for qualified candidates is usually quicker and much more effective for recruiters than screening the hundreds of job applications resulting from job postings to find those who are actually qualified for their jobs.<\/p>\n
There are two primary reasons that LinkedIn makes you more findable as a job candidate:<\/p>\n
\n- Google typically puts LinkedIn near the top of the first page of search results for those recruiters who use Google to find candidates.<\/li>\n
- LinkedIn’s primary source of revenue is recruiters who pay LinkedIn for the privilege of searching through the member database for qualified candidates.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
So, having a solid LinkedIn Profile puts you in position to be found whether they are searching the Internet with Google or searching only inside LinkedIn.<\/p>\n
Read 7 Ways to Attract Recruiters on LinkedIn<\/a> and Choosing the Best Keywords for Your LinkedIn Profile<\/a> for more details.<\/p>\n2. LinkedIn Gives You Credibility<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\nNot having a LinkedIn Profile raises eyebrows in many circles. Why don’t you have a LinkedIn Profile? Do you not understand how important it is? Are you hiding something? What’s wrong with you?<\/p>\n
LinkedIn is one of the first places an employer or recruiter checks to verify<\/em> the contents of a resume or job application.<\/p>\nHaving a solid, complete (“All Star” in LinkedIn’s terminology) Profile, helps assure them that the facts on your application are correct — after all, your colleagues, friends, and family can see the contents of your Profile.<\/p>\n
The assumption is that what you make public to friends, family, colleagues, and the world at large is apt to be more accurate than what you submit online.<\/p>\n
Read Social Proof: Linked(In) to Your Resume<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n3. LinkedIn Helps You Expand Your Network<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\nMake no mistake, in spite of the millions of job postings online, networking is the most effective (and quickest) way to connect to a new job.<\/p>\n
Responding to job postings is one of the least effective ways to find a job.<\/p>\n
Maybe there\u2019s a family friend, let\u2019s call him Uncle Bert. Uncle Bert isn\u2019t actually related, but he might as well be, he\u2019s just as much a part of every family gathering as everybody else, and was always fond of you.<\/p>\n
But do you know what Uncle Bert does for a living, or with what employer?<\/p>\n
Or perhaps at your graduation celebration Aunt Jane congratulates you, gives you a great big hug, and tells you to call her if you need any help finding a job. Use LinkedIn to connect with Uncle Bert or Aunt Jane (if they\u2019re on it), and see who they might know.<\/p>\n
And now you have a reason to call Aunt Jane or Uncle Bert. One really easy way for them to help you is by introducing and connecting you with the people they know, either via LinkedIn or otherwise. What about all the other people you know who\u2019ve been in the working world for a while now, like your best friend\u2019s parents, or your own? And don\u2019t neglect older siblings, cousins, neighbors, and even your professors and other students.<\/p>\n
These are all people who know and like you, so help them help you. And a few years down the road, when someone you know is in the same position you are right now, you know how to respond.<\/p>\n
This is networking<\/em>. It\u2019s precisely the kind of thing that LinkedIn is built to do because it is so essential to careers and to job hunting.<\/p>\n4. You Can Connect with Employers on LinkedIn<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\nIf you ask any hiring manager, HR professional, or corporate recruiter what the best source of new hires is, they\u2019re going to tell you — hands down — that employee referrals are where it\u2019s at.<\/p>\n
The employee referral — when an existing employee of an employer recommends someone for a job — is the gold standard for sources of hire. It is the number one source of hires, far<\/em> ahead of job postings.<\/p>\n\n- The referring employee already knows what it\u2019s like to work there, so if they refer someone it\u2019s because they feel he or she can do the work, and would make a worthwhile addition to the organization.<\/li>\n
- No employee will refer someone that leads colleagues to question their judgment. So employee referrals are valued because the candidates have been vetted by someone who is in a position to do that well.<\/li>\n
- The new employee has a built-in support systems, starting with the person who referred them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
This is how you ideally want to become a candidate to an employer. And as you grow your LinkedIn network, bear in mind that network growth targeted towards particular industries or employers is an important strategy.<\/p>\n
5. LinkedIn Is Essential for Interview Preparation<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\nMost people in the business world have a LinkedIn account (over 660 million in early 2020).<\/p>\n
A Profile should include a person\u2019s education and work history, displaying the Recommendations they were given by others on LinkedIn, and describing their accomplishments.<\/p>\n
Together, these pieces of information put you in a great position to find commonalities with a hiring manager and understand what traits he or she values.<\/p>\n
However, you can only see the person\u2019s full profile if you or someone you\u2019re connected with–1st or 2nd degree connections, in LinkedIn parlance — is connected to that person.<\/p>\n
\n- This is one reason you want to have a good-sized network.<\/li>\n
- This is also why you want to connect with people within target organizations, so you can learn more about what it\u2019s like to work somewhere.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
You will find that a lot of people have worked for a lot of businesses — you might be surprised by how much job and employer changing has been going on the last decade or so. But this also means a lot of people potentially have the kind of information you really want.<\/p>\n
You can search on LinkedIn for people who are both current and former<\/em> employees of a given business, and they\u2019re often gold mines of information. Use LinkedIn’s Search to find that option.<\/p>\nThis is the kind of information that lets you ask great questions in your interview; the kind of information that shows you\u2019re smart and know how to do good research; the kind of information that says yes, they need you to join their team.<\/p>\n
The Bottom Line<\/h3>\n
A job search is a hard process, no question. But LinkedIn is a powerful tool that makes it a lot easier for new grads because it offers you an effective way to become visible and to have a bigger network.<\/p>\n
[MORE: Why New Grads Must Join LinkedIn<\/a> and 7 Elements of an Effective LinkedIn Profile<\/a>]<\/p>\nMore About Job Search for New Grads<\/h3>\n\n- How to Land a Job when Your Major Has High Unemployment<\/a><\/li>\n
- Competing with Older Candidates<\/a><\/li>\n
- Improving Your GPA After<\/em> Graduation<\/a><\/li>\n
- How to Make Employee Referral Programs Work for You<\/a><\/li>\n
- LinkedIn SEO (Search Engine Optimization)<\/a><\/li>\n
- Mining Mom’s Network for New Grad Job Search<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n![\"Ed](\"https:\/\/job-hunt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Ed-Han-6.jpg\")
About the author…<\/strong><\/p>\nEd Han is a recruiter and wordsmith and social media fanatic. As a veteran of several industries, including publishing, financial services and fashion, Ed helps facilitate a job search group in Princeton NJ and has served as the online community manager for the regional HR networking group Whine & Dine. Connect with Ed on Twitter @ed_han<\/a> where you will often find that Ed has posted a “LinkedIn tip of the day.”
\nMore about this author<\/a>…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ed Han provides 5 ways that LinkedIn helps new grads have a successful job search.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":18735,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"old-site-template.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[93,86,49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-grads","category-networking","category-social-networking"],"last_modified_at":"","edited_by":"Jessica Howington","acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5030"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5030\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24059,"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5030\/revisions\/24059"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
So, having a solid LinkedIn Profile puts you in position to be found whether they are searching the Internet with Google or searching only inside LinkedIn.<\/p>\n
Read 7 Ways to Attract Recruiters on LinkedIn<\/a> and Choosing the Best Keywords for Your LinkedIn Profile<\/a> for more details.<\/p>\n Not having a LinkedIn Profile raises eyebrows in many circles. Why don’t you have a LinkedIn Profile? Do you not understand how important it is? Are you hiding something? What’s wrong with you?<\/p>\n LinkedIn is one of the first places an employer or recruiter checks to verify<\/em> the contents of a resume or job application.<\/p>\n Having a solid, complete (“All Star” in LinkedIn’s terminology) Profile, helps assure them that the facts on your application are correct — after all, your colleagues, friends, and family can see the contents of your Profile.<\/p>\n The assumption is that what you make public to friends, family, colleagues, and the world at large is apt to be more accurate than what you submit online.<\/p>\n Read Social Proof: Linked(In) to Your Resume<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n Make no mistake, in spite of the millions of job postings online, networking is the most effective (and quickest) way to connect to a new job.<\/p>\n Responding to job postings is one of the least effective ways to find a job.<\/p>\n Maybe there\u2019s a family friend, let\u2019s call him Uncle Bert. Uncle Bert isn\u2019t actually related, but he might as well be, he\u2019s just as much a part of every family gathering as everybody else, and was always fond of you.<\/p>\n But do you know what Uncle Bert does for a living, or with what employer?<\/p>\n Or perhaps at your graduation celebration Aunt Jane congratulates you, gives you a great big hug, and tells you to call her if you need any help finding a job. Use LinkedIn to connect with Uncle Bert or Aunt Jane (if they\u2019re on it), and see who they might know.<\/p>\n And now you have a reason to call Aunt Jane or Uncle Bert. One really easy way for them to help you is by introducing and connecting you with the people they know, either via LinkedIn or otherwise. What about all the other people you know who\u2019ve been in the working world for a while now, like your best friend\u2019s parents, or your own? And don\u2019t neglect older siblings, cousins, neighbors, and even your professors and other students.<\/p>\n These are all people who know and like you, so help them help you. And a few years down the road, when someone you know is in the same position you are right now, you know how to respond.<\/p>\n This is networking<\/em>. It\u2019s precisely the kind of thing that LinkedIn is built to do because it is so essential to careers and to job hunting.<\/p>\n If you ask any hiring manager, HR professional, or corporate recruiter what the best source of new hires is, they\u2019re going to tell you — hands down — that employee referrals are where it\u2019s at.<\/p>\n The employee referral — when an existing employee of an employer recommends someone for a job — is the gold standard for sources of hire. It is the number one source of hires, far<\/em> ahead of job postings.<\/p>\n This is how you ideally want to become a candidate to an employer. And as you grow your LinkedIn network, bear in mind that network growth targeted towards particular industries or employers is an important strategy.<\/p>\n Most people in the business world have a LinkedIn account (over 660 million in early 2020).<\/p>\n A Profile should include a person\u2019s education and work history, displaying the Recommendations they were given by others on LinkedIn, and describing their accomplishments.<\/p>\n Together, these pieces of information put you in a great position to find commonalities with a hiring manager and understand what traits he or she values.<\/p>\n However, you can only see the person\u2019s full profile if you or someone you\u2019re connected with–1st or 2nd degree connections, in LinkedIn parlance — is connected to that person.<\/p>\n You will find that a lot of people have worked for a lot of businesses — you might be surprised by how much job and employer changing has been going on the last decade or so. But this also means a lot of people potentially have the kind of information you really want.<\/p>\n You can search on LinkedIn for people who are both current and former<\/em> employees of a given business, and they\u2019re often gold mines of information. Use LinkedIn’s Search to find that option.<\/p>\n This is the kind of information that lets you ask great questions in your interview; the kind of information that shows you\u2019re smart and know how to do good research; the kind of information that says yes, they need you to join their team.<\/p>\n A job search is a hard process, no question. But LinkedIn is a powerful tool that makes it a lot easier for new grads because it offers you an effective way to become visible and to have a bigger network.<\/p>\n [MORE: Why New Grads Must Join LinkedIn<\/a> and 7 Elements of an Effective LinkedIn Profile<\/a>]<\/p>\n Ed Han is a recruiter and wordsmith and social media fanatic. As a veteran of several industries, including publishing, financial services and fashion, Ed helps facilitate a job search group in Princeton NJ and has served as the online community manager for the regional HR networking group Whine & Dine. Connect with Ed on Twitter @ed_han<\/a> where you will often find that Ed has posted a “LinkedIn tip of the day.” Ed Han provides 5 ways that LinkedIn helps new grads have a successful job search.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":18735,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"old-site-template.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[93,86,49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-grads","category-networking","category-social-networking"],"last_modified_at":"","edited_by":"Jessica Howington","acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5030"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5030\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24059,"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5030\/revisions\/24059"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}2. LinkedIn Gives You Credibility<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
3. LinkedIn Helps You Expand Your Network<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
4. You Can Connect with Employers on LinkedIn<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
5. LinkedIn Is Essential for Interview Preparation<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
The Bottom Line<\/h3>\n
More About Job Search for New Grads<\/h3>\n
\n
\nAbout the author…<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nMore about this author<\/a>…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"