In 2010, the landscape for jobseekers continues to change as the world around us changes.  As social media begins to envelop almost every part of a corporate organization, and as more corporate employees are required to use it as part of their professional jobs, the impact it has on the jobseeker is tremendous.  However, most companies are still trying to figure out how to use social media, and initial planning usually starts with the social media marketing strategy.  What hints for the jobseeker might social media strategies that businesses implement have?  A lot.

First of all, think about why companies are now starting to show up on Facebook Fan Pages and Twitter: because that’s where you are.  Just as companies decided back in the early ’90s to create a “Home Page” on the Internet (and there was debate about the need of it back them), companies are currently struggling with not so much the “why” but the “how” to engage in social media.  And for their strategic planning, they are often hiring social media strategists like myself to do the planning and potential implementation.

Do you have your own social media plan for your job search?

Up until now, the tools for your job search were simple:

• Get your resume ready
• Contact your references
• Practice for interviews
• Look for jobs, often entailing registering with and looking at various job search sites

Of course, when we look for jobs now, it is less in the newspaper and more on Internet sites.  In 2009, many jobseekers became savvy and realized that, since most of the jobs never get advertised in the first place, they needed to Windmill Network and build up a large network that could help them navigate through their target company list and provide other invaluable advice.  As a part of that, and in order to network outside of their network, which is where the value of networking lies, most have already created a LinkedIn profile and are using the site in one way or another.

But guess what?

Social media marketing is not just about networking and it is not just about LinkedIn.  It requires a mindset, a mindset that says that you become a resource for others instead of broadcasting your requests to others.  It also means there are a plethora of other social media channels out there that you need to explore, not just LinkedIn.  Facebook.  Twitter.  Blogs.  YouTube.  StumbleUpon.  And more.

Why is it important?  Because that’s where your customers (i.e. hiring managers and recruiters) are, and it requires you to engage with them in a way that attracts them into wanting to contact you for your expertise.  The more channels that you cover, the greater the chance that you will be found.

I know many who joined LinkedIn in hopes of getting found.  Guess what?  Tens of millions of your competitors are doing the same.  What to do?  Differentiate yourself by 1) utilizing LinkedIn better (which my LinkedIn book is perfect on advice for) and 2) utilize other social media channels in a sophisticated way.

As I work more and more with corporations on their social media strategy, I look forward to paying it forward and sharing more and more information that jobseekers and professionals interested in proactive personal branding can utilize.  As I wrote in the beginning of my LinkedIn book, job seeking is just another sale, the product this time being yourself.  All of what I do for businesses is 100% applicable to professionals.

I have a few webinars scheduled for the near future to begin to roll out this information to professionals worldwide.  Join me for my first one, which will be a FREE webinar on February 16 entitled “Social Media and Your Job Search: How to Get More Hiring Managers and Recruiters to Find YOU”.  If you can’t make that webinar and want to be informed of future webinars, make sure you:

Looking forward to your comments and to virtually speaking at you at a future webinar!

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I have given many presentations on social media and your job search.  Everybody is finally “getting” LinkedIn, but few are looking at Twitter or even Facebook as platforms which could aid those in transition in their job search.  Today I want to talk about one strategy that I discuss on Twitter and your job search, and a story of how one Windmill Networker found success through thinking outside of the box and integrating the people he meets on Twitter with LinkedIn with real-life!

Personal branding is important in your job search to help differentiate yourself from all the other job seekers. But in social media, personal branding is more than just a differentiator: it can help you be perceived as a thought leader and get found by more relevant people sooner.  And Twitter is the perfect platform for this: just by tweeting about interesting reads from your industry that you’re already perusing anyway, you start building up your personal brand and people start to follow you.  Opportunities appear.

Rather than my speaking more about this, I am going to hand the pen over to today’s guest, Ken Nicholas. Ken Nicholas is a dynamic Sales leader and powerful Sales talent, with acclaimed successes in Social Media, Digital & Print. He has been the driving sales force behind leading ad programs that have resulted in winning Print Media Plan of the Year from AdWeek as well as creating a core part of the social media ad program that recently won the “Best in Social Media” Catalyst Award from JD Power & Associates. He writes an Industry blog, MindOnMedia[Sales] that has been linked on the AOL Autos blog family to date. He has also recently consulted with a Top-15 Ad Network and a WebTV/Video trade site, as he continues his look at new opportunities in 2010. Please feel free to reach out to Ken by connecting with him on LinkedIn.

Ken Nicholas

[This Post is dedicated to Neal Schaffer, visionary leader of SoCal Sushi Lunch events & social media expert/author of Windmill Networking.]

Almost by accident recently, I came across [yet] another way to utilize Twitter, one that I personally had not seen or heard of anywhere else until I inadvertently, well, used it. The technique is actually quite simple, can create new Interview/Job Lead oppty’s for each of us, AND demonstrate your expertise in the Career area you are pursuing…all at the same time. Really.

How? Over the holidays, I did a Tweet about a certain topic in the field I am in [and hope to find my next job in], Media Sales. In so doing, a firm that I had never heard of apparently does an ongoing ‘Auto-Search’ for keywords on Twitter that were exactly on the topic I had written about, and a day or so later, they started to Follow me.

Curious [as I had never heard of this firm], I clicked from the Notify email that they were now following me, through to their Website. Obviously, they were following me for a reason [the Tweet on that topic], so why not check them out? I did…and then clicked their ‘Careers’ button.

It turns out, this firm that I had never heard of…that found me from a Tweet that I had done…had a job opening; a Sales spot at the exact level I was looking for.

So, I of course applied. But I wasn’t done. I then went to LinkedIn [here is where I thank Neal Schaffer for his tireless evangelizing], found the C-Level person that I needed to find, sent HIM a note, and told him that I had applied, and they basically would be crazy not to look at me…since they were already following ME on Twitter! The logic works: they can’t question your expertise [they searched by keywords that YOU used], and can’t question your relevance [they are following YOU on Twitter.]

And, in my case on the Sales side, they can’t question my Sales skills, as my effort describes here, including asking the C-Level guy ‘for the order’; in this case, an interview.

Does this work? Well, I created a Job Lead from a company I had never heard of. And I have the first phone interview with them next week. I’ll take it! As I am my own Sales Mgr here, I am adding this to my own sales Career ‘pipeline’.

This is just one more example of how Social Media is & will be used, that could never have been predicted, or really created, in any other way. If you want to find out more about how I did this, get in touch~! Good Luck & Good Selling.

Have you had similar experiences in gaining new job leads from Twitter or social media?  Please do share for all of us to learn from!  Thanks!

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As the year comes to a close, it is time to look back, before looking forward to 2010, at all of the informative and insightful blog posts that the world has created in the past 365 days concerning LinkedIn.  LinkedIn itself, while beginning 2009 at a slow start, ended the year announcing 50 million members, integrating with Twitter, a new user interface, and an opening up of their platform.  Not to mention that they refined and improved upon the most valuable piece of their social networking platform, the Advanced People Search.  Oh, and then there was the new Profile Organizer application, while may not having value at $25 a month, is certainly recommended at the “hidden” $5 a month Personal Plus Account (wish I could get commissioned for all those who signed up after reading my blog post

So, with the above in mind, I wanted to share with the world my own picks as to what I thought were the most useful LinkedIn blog posts of 2009.  I used a number of factors when considering which were the best blog posts to recommend to you all, but I hope you’ll appreciate the list and use it as a resource moving forward in 2010.  Within each section I have ordered the listing in descending order by most retweets on Twitter at the time of this post, which are indicated in brackets.  Warning: Those with the most tweets were those listed on Mashable, which in itself guarantees the post will get a LOT of retweets.  So don’t let that scare you into not reading some of the posts that got fewer tweets, as they are of comparable quality.

One closing note on 2009 is that I personally wrote 93 LinkedIn-related blog posts in 2009 and released my own book on LinkedIn, Windmill Networking: Understanding, Leveraging & Maximizing LinkedIn this year.  If you don’t have the time to read through all of the blog posts or you simply want an indexed reference for all of your LinkedIn activities with insightful advice on social networking and personal branding on LinkedIn, look no further and buy my book  I have also sprinkled the below list with top suggestions from my own LinkedIn blog posts for your reference.

General LinkedIn Tips & Advice

There were a number of great LinkedIn blog posts in 2009 that covered a lot of general or social networking tips for using the site.  Here were the ones that I deemed most useful:

7 Ways to Get More Out of LinkedIn by Sharlyn Lauby [2,111].  Good summary of LinkedIn strategies for those who may not be fulling utilizing their LinkedIn presence.

8 Tips for Managing a LinkedIn Group by Jessica Faye Carter [719].  While not everyone “owns” their own LinkedIn Group, they play a valuable role in LinkedIn.  I was pleasantly surprised to find an excellent article with tips on how to manage a Group, but it is also relevant for those who want to get more out of LinkedIn Groups as well.

HOW TO: Do Good on LinkedIn by Christina Warren [569].  Paying it forward and doing good for others is the centerpiece of Windmill Networking.  This unique article gives advice on how to help others on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn – 22 Ways to Dominate by Jay Baer [90].  A list of 22 things you should be doing on LinkedIn.  Includes a nice SlideShare presentation.

7 Ways to Use LinkedIn as a Real Networking Tool by Arik Hanson [66].  People often forget that LinkedIn is a social networking platform.  This nice little post gives advice on how to utilize LinkedIn in this respect.  Once again, the article is well aligned with the tenets of Windmill Networking.

12 Ways to Use LinkedIn Today by Ari Herzog [19].  I like Ari and have been following his tweets and blog posts.  Smart guy.  This blog post also offers a good summary of advice for everyone who may be neglecting their LinkedIn presence.

17 Invisible LinkedIn Tricks Revealed by Thomas R. Clifford [?].  A very clever article proposing ways of using LinkedIn that we often forget about.  A+ for creativity!

(Some other posts to consider would be my own 25 LinkedIn Etiquette Tips to Ponder [13] as well as What is LinkedIn and Why Should You Join? [28]).

Improving Your LinkedIn Profile

10 LinkedIn Tips to Optimize Your Profile by Kevin Gibbons [352].  This article takes the unique approach of looking at optimizing your LinkedIn Profile for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) purposes.  1/2 of LinkedIn is about being found (the other 1/2 about finding others), so SEO should play an integral role in your LinkedIn strategy.

How to Ensure Your LinkedIn Profile is Effective by Meryl Evans [82].  An excellent article looking at how to better optimize your LinkedIn profile.

Embedding Video Into Your LinkedIn Profiles by Ron Callari [82].  Embedding video into your LinkedIn Profile is nothing new, and I cover how to do this in detail in my LinkedIn book.  However, it seems that many people are still not aware that this is possible, and this clever article should be recommended by covering this fact using its own video.

Seven Top LinkedIn Mistakes and Their Fixes by Sean Nelson [2].  Sean Nelson is a true thought leader with regards to LinkedIn, and I have enjoyed his blog posts so much that I added him to my blog roll as well as mention him in my LinkedIn book.    This article is culled from Sean’s experience and is a pretty detailed look at seven common LinkedIn mistakes.

13 LinkedIn Mistakes to Avoid by Suzanne Vara [?].  Another good compilation of LinkedIn mistakes.

Boost Your LinkedIn Profile by Kendra Reddy [?].  Good overall advice.

(In a similar vein, please check out my post on LinkedIn Profile Tips: The 10 Mistakes You Want to Avoid & Why [48]).

Personal Branding and LinkedIn

HOW TO: Build Your Personal Brand on LinkedIn by Dan Schawbel [1,860].  The personal branding guru writes a definitive blog post on Personal Branding and LinkedIn.  Enough said.  Please read!

(I wrote a post on Personal Branding Tips for the Unemployed on LinkedIn [2] that got a lot of comments that you might be interested in as well.)

Using LinkedIn to Find a Job

How to Use LinkedIn to Get the Job You Want by Chad Levitt [162].  I like the direct sales-oriented approach that Chad uses in this post.  Although it worked for Chad 5 out of 5 times, it may not work for you…but it’s an approach that’s definitely worth trying.

Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn To Find a Job by Guy Kawasaki [149].  Come on, you know that Guy Kawasaki is going to show up on every top whatever social media-related list of 2009.  Guy is everywhere.  Guys is smart.  Guy is Guy  Read and learn!

A Top 10. The Best Job Search Groups on LinkedIn by Tim Tyrell-Smith [?].  I could not have a top 25 list on LinkedIn and job search without including a contribution from my good friend and premier blogger on job search and career management Tim Tyrell-Smith and mention of his Spin Strategy blog.

Competitive Intelligence Research with LinkedIn – Who’s Hiring? by Ian Smith [?].  A good look at the resource that LinkedIn Jobs is and how to use it as part of your job seeking research on companies that may be hiring.

Best LinkedIn Groups for Jobseekers by Dan Keller [?].  A good overview of suggested LinkedIn Groups for job seekers to complement Tim’s list above.

(Also be sure to check out my two-part blog post on using LinkedIn for Executive Job Search Part 1 [22] & Part 2 [18] as well as my post on Social Networking Tips for the Unemployed – Leverage LinkedIn & Connect [61]).

LinkedIn for Business

33 Ways to Use LinkedIn For Business by Meryl Evans [591].  A great and concise list of how businesses could be utilizing LinkedIn.

Top 20 LinkedIn Groups All Entrepreneurs MUST Join by Chris Perry [165].  A great post from the Young Entrepreneur Guru and good friend Bradley Will‘s blog.  While you’re there, be sure to check out the post I wrote on Brad’s website titled Young Entrepreneurs: 5 Reasons Why You CAN & SHOULD Leverage Linked [9].

How to Use LinkedIn to Spam Business People by Rich Brooks [11].  This is an excellent piece on how LinkedIn could be used, but often and unfortunately exploited the wrong way, in business.  Read and ensure that you are not spamming us as well.  Thank you.

5 Tips for Creating, Promoting and Managing a LinkedIn Group by Ellie Mirman [?].  This excellent post comes straight from the blog of the Inbound Marketing experts Hubspot.  Highly recommended.

(As an extra, please check out my post on 7 Ways Sales & Business Development Professionals Can Maximize Their LinkedIn Presence [24])

LinkedIn Related Blog Post Compilations

LinkedIn SuperGuide – Tutorials, Tips and Tools by Robin Broitman [267].  A good compilation of sites that was released in May of 2009.  Most of the articles on my Top25 List were published afterwards, so if there is additional specific information you are looking for,  please check out this list.

LinkedIn Guide for Knowledge Workers by Tony Karrer [?].  While this compilation was made for knowledge workers, it is an excellent resource as to what other information about LinkedIn exists.  This compilation was written in July of 2009, so once again it serves as a good complement in introducing older articles that may not appear in this article.

Do you agree with my picks above?  Did I miss any?  I am open to all suggestions so please feel free to comment!

As 2009 comes to a close, we start reflecting on our New Year’s Resolution(s) for 2010.  In Social Media, which is all about sharing, the greatest contribution that you can make is to share your knowledge or opinions to the world through blogging.  After all, as a professional, where is your “Home Base,” the hub that you share with people who want more information about you?  Your LinkedIn Profile?  It should be your blog, and if you are looking for reasons to start blogging, check out these 7 reasons to start blogging (in 2010 or ASAP!).

1. Blogging is the Best Way to Build & Showcase Your Personal Brand

Whether you like it or not you are developing an online identity with or without your knowing it.  Just do a google search for your name and watch the results increase.  You can’t fight it, so you might as well do your best to proactively manage how people will perceive of your online identity.  This is what personal branding is all about, and you are in complete control of it through your blog.  If you have expertise that you want to let the world know about, simply start blogging and they will recognize you as the expert over time.  I can think of no better way to build your personal branding than through blogging.

2. Blogging Helps Differentiate You from Everyone Else

As a professional, there are times where you may want to stand out from the crowd for whatever reason.  Could be you’re aiming for a promotion among several contenders at work.  You could be competing in the marketplace for jobs.  Or maybe you can’t control your ambitions and want to be known as THE go-to person in whatever it is that you are an expert in.  There is no better way to differentiate yourself these days than by creating a blog and sharing your expertise for all to see.  Get noticed: Start blogging!

3. Blogging Brings You New Opportunities

To be honest with you, I started blogging because I wanted to Windmill Network.  There is no better way of meeting new people online than to put your thoughts and ideas out there for the world to see, not just those that may happen to see your profile on LinkedIn, et. al.  But something funny happened as I started blogging and getting comments: a lot of opportunities started to come way.  And as I continue to blog, now that my blog has some credibility, more opportunities come my way.  You have to trust me on this one, but once you start blogging, you will start meeting new people and various opportunities will come your way over time.

4. Blogging is the Ultimate Pay It Forward

Paying It Forward is an important part of Windmill Networking.  There is so much that we can do for others, and it can only help our bank account of karma over time.  By blogging and sharing information, you are providing a great service to everyone out there seeking out just the information that you can provide.  Google is the matchmaker here.  Everyone is happy.  Consider blogging as the ultimate Pay It Forward device and start sharing!

5. You’re Already Tweeting…Why Not Add Your Own Original Views in More Depth?

If you are reading my blog I am assuming that you have already started to tweet…if you haven’t do that first!  Why?  Once you start tweeting on a regular basis a funny thing happens.  You start thinking about what you want to tweet about it when you read information on the Web.  You start thinking about what information your Twitter Followers might be interested in.  But maybe you want to start adding more of your own color and opinions but are feeling limited by 140 characters?  Well, Twitter is a micro-blogging platform, so when you’re ready to move up, start a blog page on Posterous or even WordPress.

6. You Can Start to Monetize Your Knowledge

I recently did a webinar on helping entrepreneurs and frustrated job seeking executives to utilize social media to start monetizing their knowledge.  A blog itself will not help you make money, and very few bloggers make enough money to replace a full-time job.  But blogging does serve as a gateway to advertise anything that you may want to create, such as an e-book, webinar, or speaking engagement.  When you are ready to start monetizing your knowledge, your blog should be the home base from which you broadcast and advertise…but in a savvy way that is aligned with social media.

7. Because You Can

If you have enough time on your hands and the creative juices are flowing, start blogging now.  You never know what will happen to you tomorrow!

Did this article give you enough courage to start blogging?  Are you already blogging and want to add more reasons why others should start?  Do tell!

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TwitterJobSearch's JobMap puts job tweets on the map!

I just finished giving a presentation on utilizing Twitter for your job search today to an audience of in-transition professionals.  While most of the professionals had a LinkedIn account (albeit half of them joined LinkedIn while being in transition), only a handful of them were on Twitter.  There is still a lot of confusion and fear about Twitter, and it takes a little while before you have your “Aha!” moment and become an active Twitter user.  If you’re already on Twitter, I hope this gives you a new perspective on Twitter.  If you’re still new to Twitter, jump aboard!  There’s never a better time to start embracing this incredibly addicting social networking and real-time communication platform!

I see Twitter going through what LinkedIn has gone through over the past few years.  I call it the “LinkedInization” of Twitter.  With LinkedIn, the executives joined, followed by the headhunters, and now the jobseekers have become active members.  With Twitter, the recruiters and corporate HR are also starting to join in troves.  And it is the same reason why they are on LinkedIn: it’s free!

Well, LinkedIn is not completely free for many organizations with paid accounts or using the LinkedIn Talent Advantage software.  But being able to pinpoint people you want to interview and contact them is free.

Twitter, as you know, is completely free at this point in time.  Why post jobs on Monster and HotJobs for hundreds of dollars when you can do it on Twitter for free?  The economics of Twitter’s attractiveness is easy to understand.  Plus, it helps brand the company being active on Twitter as well as get the message out to the type of employee they may want to hire, the social media-savvy type.

What does this mean for the jobseeker?  It means you should be taking advantage of the situation and establish a Twitter presence.  There are three basic strategies I discussed today in some detail with regards to how Twitter can aid you in your job search:

1) Windmill Network with Professionals That Can Help You Find Your Next Job

Just as you use LinkedIn to network and find hiring managers, employees at target companies to have informational interviews with, and recruiters, the same can be done on Twitter.  The advantage of Twitter is that the atmosphere and culture is a casual one, meaning that you can try to reach out and communicate with someone with an @Reply message.  No fear of an IDK on Twitter!  (Although you can be blocked and reported for spam on Twitter, so try to develop a rapport and use common sense when communicating.)

2) Brand Yourself as the Subject Matter Expert

There is no better place for online personal branding, other than your own blog, as Twitter.  Just as you want to be found on LinkedIn with LIPO: LinkedIn Profile Optimization, you also want to be found on Twitter tweeting the same keywords.  By sharing information that you have expertise on, be it your own opinion, blog, an informative article that you found interesting, or ReTweeting someone else’s information that you found relevant, you are branding yourself as the expert.  Don’t worry about numbers of followers: Twitter is the Field of Dreams.  Tweet relevant and valuable content and they will come.  And recruiters looking for someone with your subject matter expertise will find you.  Brand yourself with your tweets: After all, You are What You Tweet!

3) Follow the Twitter Job Posting Tweets

Networking is the best way to find a job in the hidden job market. When you look for a job on the Internet, you are playing roulette.  On the other hand, if you only spend a few minutes a day looking on the Internet for a job by limiting your time on these job sites, there is no harm done (the problem being when you spend ALL of your time on the Internet and not networking in person).  Just as you may get email alerts from Simply Hired or Indeed.com or even search LinkedIn Jobs for a position on a regular basis, give Twitter a try.  But instead of inefficiently following tweeters who tweet jobs or search for relevant hashtags, let TwitterJobSearch.com do the work for you.  TwitterJobSearch not only searches Twitter for every relevant job posting, it does it better than Twitter’s only search engine.  Add on their unique JobMap feature that actually visually puts jobs on the map for you to search for and you have a site that any jobseeker should be checking on a weekly if not daily basis.

There are many other ways to use Twitter for your job search, and there are also many subtleties involved in using any of the above three techniques.  But if you didn’t think Twitter could help you in your job search, think again.

And if everyone else is on LinkedIn, why not differentiate yourself and establish a Twitter presence?  A few tweets a day and you are on your way!

How do you use Twitter for your job search?  Any success stories to share?

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Image by Steve Rhodes via Flickr

LinkedIn continues to be flooded by the unemployed and executive job seekers.  This is not a new phenomenon, as everyone knows that all of the headhunters and recruiters are active on LinkedIn: establishing an intelligent LinkedIn presence with a consistent brand is free and invaluable career insurance that you can never have enough of.  I’d like to write today on the new tactics that I see being taken by some aggressive job seekers and comment on their effectiveness (or lack thereof).

Since I am a LinkedIn LION, I get more than my share of LinkedIn invitations.  And since many of the unemployed are joining open networking groups like TopLinked and connecting with group members like myself, I receive a lot of invitations from those in transition.  So it surprised me a few weeks ago when I received a LinkedIn invitation from someone who’s name was “FIRST LAST – Active Job Seeker.”  I had seen “Active Job Seeker” as part of someone’s Profile Headline, and I have already blogged about not broadcasting your unemployment status in your Status Update.  But to have it as part of your name is something that really caught my eye.

Well, someone must have written a blog post or spoke about this practice and recommended it to their followers, because since then I have received a steady stream of these invitations with people who add “Active Job Seeker” to their name.  And I really wonder why whoever is recommending this practice is doing so.  I think it is the wrong strategy for LinkedIn job seekers for the following reasons:

1. “Active Job Seeker” is now part of your brand.  Your brand should differentiate yourself in the job market, but in a positive and strategic way.  Do you want to be perceived as a successful executive with a great track record in specific functions in certain industries?  Or do you want people to just think that you are a job seeker?  The difference in the way people will perceive your brand is huge and most likely not to your advantage.
2. By broadcasting the fact that you are an “Active Job Seeker,” you have now just devalued your brand.  Think about it: there is an entire industry of recruiters and headhunters that believe that “Passive Job Seekers” are more valuable than “Active Job Seekers.” You can’t hide the fact that you’re unemployed, but do you need to brand yourself with your current situation?
3. It’s socially awkward.  Would you walk into a networking meeting with a “For Sale” sign hanging from your neck?  I don’t see any difference in actively portraying yourself as an Active Job Seeker as part of your name.
4. You are not found on LinkedIn in this fashion.  And if you are found it may be for the sole fact that you are unemployed.  How do recruiters find you?  Not by looking at your name.  By doing keyword searches, looking at past companies, your education, your successes.  If a recruiter finds you by searching for “Active Job Seeker,” that job may not be something that you’re looking for.  Let’s look at a similar situation that I have experienced: If you are a sales executive and post your resume on Monster or Career Builder, many insurance companies and financial planners will contact you regardless of your past industry just because you are in sales and are unemployed.  You are not attracting the people that you want to contact you.
5. It violates the LinkedIn User Agreement.  Although it is not the same as having a telephone number next to your name, adding the term “Active Job Seeker” clearly, “adds to a content field content that is not intended for such field (i.e. submitting a telephone number in the “title” or any other field).”

I am not proposing that you lie if you are unemployed.  Simply updating your LinkedIn Profile focusing on your branding is sufficient.

There is no need to brand yourself with the fact that you are in transition.

What do you think?  Leave your comment and let’s continue the conversation.

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Plugging Your Windmill into the Grid (Copyright by Neal Schaffer, Image by Jimmy Giokaris)

(This is the second in a two-part blog post on how to utilize LinkedIn for Executive Job Search.  This first part looked at using LinkedIn in the “traditional” manner of utilizing Jobs Boards and searching out Hiring Managers.  This second part will take a Windmill Networking approach to utilizing LinkedIn for Executive Job Search through a deeper understanding of social networking.)

LinkedIn itself advertises that “Executives from all Fortune 500 companies are LinkedIn members.”  But it is not enough to just sign up for the service and wait for things to happen.  LinkedIn is, at its heart, a social networking platform.  And Windmill Networking treats all social networking platforms the same with the notion that you should maximize your presence on each site for whatever objective you may have.  Don’t stop at just connecting with ex-colleagues that you already know or even simply trolling the Jobs boards.  If you are in transition, you need to maximize your presence on LinkedIn.  You need to be become both more visible as well as become a better Windmill Networker.

Let’s start with understanding the importance of becoming more visible.  You have to understand that:

* LinkedIn is fueled by recruiters and corporate HR organizations
* Because of this fact job-seekers are flocking to LinkedIn to be found
* LinkedIn, and social media in general, are slowly replacing the “traditional” methods of looking for talent

In other words, if you are not visible enough on LinkedIn, you may not be found and may be missing out on potential career opportunities.  As I mentioned in the first part of this blog, LinkedIn is a huge database.  And you need to ensure that you are found on it.  Period.

How to Become More Visible on LinkedIn

Recruiters will utilize the Advanced People Search (or the LinkedIn Talent Advantage software platform with even more functionality) to find potential candidates.  In order to be found, therefore, you need to:

* Completely fill out your profile, including relevant work experience.  Each position that you worked at gives you additional companies, titles, and keywords that will allow you to be found.  Don’t be shy here and don’t stick to a rigid resume format.  This is an exercise in Search Engine Optimization for YOU!

* Connect and expand your network.  The more connections you have, the higher the chance that you will be found in search results.  You do not necessary have to become a LION, or LinkedIn Open Networker, like I have; simply connecting with the 10 LinkedIn LIONs & Super Connectors that I recommend will help you greatly expand your network.  My friend expanded his 3rd degree connections by 1 Million people just by connecting with one person on that list.  That’s 1 Million more people that now may find my friend more easily when they search.

* Establish relationships with relevant recruiters.  Many recruiters are LinkedIn LIONs because it is in their inherent interest to build out a large network.  This also makes it easier for you to connect and develop relationships with them, as they will often accept your invitation.  Search for key recruiters in your industry and locale.  The Ladders offers this as part of their premium paid service; LinkedIn enables you to find recruiters for free.  Take advantage of it.

In connecting with people that you might not know, you are including others in your LinkedIn network that might not be part of your physical network.  And that is exactly the objective of Windmill Network: to empower you to maximize LinkedIn and meet the people you need to in order to reach your objective.  In doing so, you are creating a unique virtual network that can now supplement and hopefully become part of your physical network over time.  You are now starting to Windmill Network!

The Stigma of “Social Networking”

Social networking may have been something that was not looked upon positively in the past.  After all, “Social networking was just for the unemployed, right?  And that is why everyone is on LinkedIn, no?  Just to look for a job?  As they say, you know when someone is looking for a job when they revise their LinkedIn profile.”  These are words that I used to hear a lot of in the past.

I believe this has been the prevailing argument until now.  But this recession, and the growth of social networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, where Gen X & Baby Boomers are joining the sites by storm (my 80+ year-old dad just friended me on Facebook yesterday), social networking is going mainstream.  Executive search firms like McDermott & Bull and career management sites like Netshare and ExecuNet are providing social networking “meetups” as an integral part of the services they provide to executives in transition.  All generations are starting to realize the inherent value in social networking of digging your well before you’re thirsty; however, it is often the case that they don’t realize this until they are unemployed.

The Social Networking Aspect of LinkedIn

With this in mind, there are many other things that you can do while on LinkedIn that will indirectly aid you at finding your next job: networking beyond just recruiters.  As many say, it is now what you know but who you know.  Obviously LinkedIn can and should be used to help you connect with others that can not only help you on your journey, but also lives that you can touch through sharing your experience and expertise by Paying It Forward, which is the guiding principle of Windmill Networking.  These activities include:

* Joining LinkedIn Groups in your industry or profession and participating in conversations.  There are hundreds of thousands of LinkedIn Groups, so I am sure you can find one that is relevant to you.  Here is my advice on what LinkedIn Groups you should join.

* Answering questions on LinkedIn Answers and sharing your expertise with others.  You may learn a few things along the way and meet some truly inspirational and remarkable people to add to your LinkedIn network.

* Writing LinkedIn Recommendations for all that you feel deserve recognition.  Even if they don’t ask you for one, I am sure they will be ecstatic to receive one.

The beauty is that all of these activities will lead to a greater presence on the social networking site, allowing you to kill three birds with one stone:

1. Be found by even more potential people as your “footprint” will now be seen by many others.
2. Pay It Forward in assisting others.
3. Solidify your personal branding. Your “LinkedIn Brand” will be defined by everything that you do or don’t do on the site.  Every Group you join, every question you answer, every recommendation you give, and even your profile language should be consistent and advertise who you are.  In doing so, you will be come better “branded” and differentiated from others in a positive way.

A presence on LinkedIn is an integral part of the Executive Job Search in this day and age.  Take advantage of LinkedIn and truly leverage your presence on the social networking site to the maximum.  It will help you not only find your job, but also aid you in building out your network for the next time you are in transition.  After all, your next job may not be your last one.  It is a fact of life that we should all better prepare ourselves for.  Why not start today?

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Image by Getty Images via Daylife

(This is the first in a two-part blog post on how to utilize LinkedIn for Executive Job Search.  This first part will look at using LinkedIn in the “traditional” manner of utilizing Jobs Boards and searching out Hiring Managers, while the second part will take a Windmill Networking approach to utilizing LinkedIn for Executive Job Search through a deeper understanding of social networking and personal branding.)

As a sales and business development executive who has personally experienced being in transition during this recession, I can relate to other executives and their current job search in this dismal economy.

Not only has the economy dipped at an unprecedented rate for a prolonged period of time, the job search environment has been radically altered.  Where networking with other executives may have provided more plentiful job leads in the past, this recession may be proving to be a little more difficult.  The executive recruiters that you may have fostered relationships with in the past may not be calling you when you most need them.  And because the higher up you are in the food chain the fewer jobs there are, it may start to feel a bit lonely at the top.

What hasn’t changed is that the “hidden job market” is still where a majority of positions are being filled, even more so at the executive level.  If you have not attacked that market, it will make it even more difficult to find your next position.  Of course, the only way to attack that market is to 1) get in front of decision makers and hiring managers and 2) expand your network to help you get in front of these same targets.  For this purpose, LinkedIn will be the most valuable online tool that you can utilize.

I like to refer to LinkedIn as being a huge database of people, a place to find and be found.  I talked about finding others in the above paragraph, and this is very easy to do on LinkedIn.  Utilizing the Advanced People Search you can easily pinpoint decision makers in the organizations that you are targeting.  How you contact them on LinkedIn should be just as you do in person: asking for a referral from a trusted connection.  And for that purpose, LinkedIn has an Introduction functionality that you can use.  If you want to research more companies to add to your target list, move over Hoovers: the LinkedIn Companies database is growing and includes a lot of very interesting data that you can utilize to analyze where you might be a good fit.

You’ll notice that I have not even mentioned the Jobs section of LinkedIn until now.  Just as we all sometimes get lucky in Las Vegas, some are lucky enough to find a job on the Internet.  Job boards are not the preferred way to look for a job, as the chances that you will find a job on them are slim.  Furthermore, once you list your profile, you get contacted by the people you have no interest in.  And muddling through the lower-level jobs yields very few executive jobs.  The Ladders, obviously, is the exception here, and I am one who has found a job on The Ladders.

But the LinkedIn Jobs boards are different.   LinkedIn is, at the heart of its platform, a place for you to connect and develop relationships with other professionals.  And because of this, LinkedIn is a very attractive place for recruiters to be.  LinkedIn hosting a robust Jobs board section is a natural extension of this phenomenon.  And the quality of the Jobs board is high, very high.  You won’t see the “garbage” that other sites often post.  In terms of volume, you definitely won’t see as many jobs posted here as on the other infamous jobs boards, but you should know that there are many jobs that are posted on LinkedIn that aren’t posted elsewhere.  Case in point: I did a search for “VP” this morning within 50 miles of my home here in Orange County, California (by the way, Orange County, with a population of 3 million, still is considered part of “Greater Los Angeles” on LinkedIn).  Only 19 results came up.  But 8 of the 19 were exclusive to LinkedIn.  And they were all of very high quality.  In other words, if you are not using the LinkedIn Jobs board you may be missing out.

What else do I like about the LinkedIn Jobs board?  Check out this screen that recruiters see when they post a job to LinkedIn: “Receive on average 30 applicants.”  You hear the stories that other job sites get hundreds if not thousands of applicants for each job posted.  LinkedIn gets only 30 on average.  30 people on average is not a lot of competition.  Searching for your next position on the LinkedIn Jobs board may be the best kept secret out there! (until this blog post, of course )

Details of how to use all of these LinkedIn applications to their fullest extent will be made available in my upcoming LinkedIn Book, which I am happy to announce is tentatively slated for an October 2 publishing date.  I am even happier to announce that you can see the front cover of the book for the first time by clicking on that LinkedIn Book link.  For a preview, if you haven’t read it, check out how the editor of my book found her job on LinkedIn utilizing the advice in the book.

An interesting note on job boards, though, is that social networking sites are starting to replace them as the premier source to find candidates.  And that is why you shouldn’t be using LinkedIn only for the above activities: you need to realize that social networking, like LinkedIn, is free career insurance that you should buy into and can never have enough of.  I will continue this conversation in the 2nd part of this blog post.

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LinkedIn's Awesome Advanced Search Functionality

I attended a great local Tweetup last night in Orange County.  There were many people who I had communicated with on Twitter and finally had the chance to meet…the feeling was almost like seeing long lost friends!  I will save Tweetups for another blog post, because what interested me last night were how many people I met last night that were active on Twitter but not at all on LinkedIn.  Many saw LinkedIn as just being a site for “professionals” or really didn’t know what to do with it.  The good news is that my upcoming Windmill Networking book on LinkedIn will help both those just learning about LinkedIn embrace the platform as well as assist advanced users in finding value they didn’t even know existed on the platform through the lens of Windmill Networking.  In order to really explain LinkedIn to those that are new to it or do not fully understand it, I think it is best to ask what it is in the first place and elaborate some reasons why everyone (and I mean everyone from Gen Y and Millenial college students to Baby Boomers) should be utilizing it.

What is LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is really a huge database of professionals.  Twitter lacks profile depth, Facebook is all over the place demographically and is also hard to find people.  LinkedIn standardizes information entered by users into predefined “Profile Headline”, “Summary”, “Education”, “Company”, etc. categories.  In addition to this huge database of information, LinkedIn provides an awesome search tool to allow you to pinpoint the person you are looking for depending on a number of very specific factors.

On the other hand, the more LinkedIn connections you have, the more you will be found.

So What is LinkedIn?  LinkedIn is the place to find and be found.

Why Should You Join LinkedIn?

I actually wrote a guest blog post on this sometime ago on Trender Research, but I wanted to follow up with an updated recap of the 3 biggest reasons for those who are still not sure as to how much time they want to spend on LinkedIn.

1) Getting Back in Touch (Finding & Being Found) —> Yes, Classmates.com and Facebook also allow you to get back in touch.  But because of the search functionality that LinkedIn has, I am finding people on LinkedIn that I can’t find on the other social networking sites.  And because it is easier to be found on LinkedIn, many are finding me too!

2) Acquire & Share Expertise —> LinkedIn has over 300,000 LinkedIn Groups that you can join.  Each group has its own Discussions Board, News Board, and Jobs postings.  Furthermore, the LinkedIn Answers boards has more than 2,000,000 answers to a variety of questions for you to peruse.  The subject matter in both Groups and Answers covers a wide enough of topics that there is value for everyone to be participating.

3) Career Management —> I mentioned the following in my previous post on Social Networking Tips for the Unemployed: Social Networking is a Career Insurance that you can never have enough of. The advice is the same whether you are looking for a job or are happily employed: a network should be your insurance for your future career growth. Companies are organic entities whose needs change and do not and cannot promise you a guarantee that your job will be there 10 years from now, next year, or even next month. That is why you need to be on LinkedIn so that you can both find potential companies and recruiters as well as be found by them. Even if you are happy in your job, it can’t hurt to have a minimal profile on LinkedIn and receive contacts from recruiters in your industry or specialty who may be able to help you out in the future, can it? LinkedIn is free career insurance! BUY INTO IT!

You will notice that I didn’t even mention the reasons you should join LinkedIn if you are looking for business benefits from social networking.  Of course there is lots of business and other advantages to being on LinkedIn.  Wait for my book for all the details!

If you still don’t understand what LinkedIn is and why you should join and leverage it, I have not done my job as a blogger and LinkedIn advocate.  If you are still confused please comment and let me know how I can help you see the light!

Image by Vincent Ma

At most social networking events I attend, I am struck by the growing numbers of those that are in transition that are showing up looking to meet new people that will hopefully lead them to their next job.  As I tell people, you will not find your next job at a networking event.  But with the right attitude, you may be able to find people who will help you along your journey. With the wrong attitude, you will go home frustrated and confused.  If you have already attended a networking event, congratulations, as you are already one step ahead of a lot of people.

A good example: One of my friends from college just had his position eliminated for the first time, just as what happened to me late last year.  It was a shocking wake up call to him, as it is to many, that he wasn’t Digging His Well Before He Was Thirsty.  But he admitted it, swallowed his pride, and asked if I could help him understand how to put social media to work for him, which is what Windmill Networking is all about.  This two-part blog post of three basic social networking tips for the unemployed is for him, as well as other fellow people in transition looking for their next job.

Three Basic Social Networking Tips for the Unemployed

1) Get Back in Touch with Your Network

Although it is better to do so earlier, it is never too late to start Digging Your Well. Don’t be intimidated, but network smartly.

Many who are unemployed immediately call their network telling them that they are suddenly out of work and are looking for a job.  While reaching out to your network is important for the newly unemployed, if you have not stayed in touch with your network, a call such as I describe actually helps you lose credibility with your contact, as if they are someone that you just talk to when you need something from them.  In such a case, no one wants to help you, and in fact they may avoid you because they feel that they cannot give you what you are asking them for (a job).

When reaching out to your network for the first time in a while, you have to have the attitude of a smart, experienced and intelligent networker.  The whole purpose of Windmill Networking from a social networking perspective is to Pay It Forward.  You, as an individual, have lots of experiences, relationships, and knowledge that you can offer to others.  So when you call someone in your network, don’t advertise the fact that you are unemployed.  You are calling to stay in touch.  How can you help them.  And if the subject comes up, go ahead and mention that you are unemployed, but that if you need their help you will ask them for it at a later date.

For many of us it takes our positions to be eliminated to wake up to the importance of social networking.  It is never too late to start!  But remember to Pay It Forward.  Your network will thank you for it, and the windmills will blow in your favor down the road.

(Part 2 to follow)

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