Five and a Half Ways to not suck at using a $26 Billion Resource

I asked my Facebook friends if they had a LinkedIn profile, or if they knew if LinkedIn was an important tool used in their field. Some answers I received (in no particular order) are as follows:

• LinkedIn is the devil and I would never use that spam platform;
• I don’t think I know how to use it correctly;
• I applied for a job there and I think I didn’t get it because I told them I didn’t have an account when they asked during the interview.

The conventional wisdom is that LinkedIn is dumb or a waste of time. I hear this from people in my field. I work in IT Help Desk Support! Having a LinkedIn profile should be a requirement for graduating with a computer related degree.

The trick is to realize that IT jobs are distributed to recruiters. Recruiters are like real estate agents. They are getting a commission and they want to finish the process ASAP. Searching for candidates on LinkedIn is a great way to do that.

Can you tell me that LinkedIn isn’t important in your field?

Cause Microsoft is buying them for $26.2 billion. Yes, billion with a ‘b.’ That sounds important enough to take a second (or for many of you, a first) look at LinkedIn.

Here’s five and a half ways to make up for lost time.

1. Bring your profile up to date.

Your profile is going to serve as your living resume. Keep it up to date and add all of your certifications and achievements. Are you working on a new project at work? Sounds like you have something to add to your profile.

Also, slap a picture on there and don’t be stupid. No recruiter is going to call you and say, “Sweet keg in that pic, bro.” Get something business casual and recent and put it up.

2. Make up Job Titles if your company uses weird ones.

Everybody knows what an Apple Genius is. Nobody knows what the Creatives or Family Room Specialists do. They work in the same store. If your job title doesn’t make sense, change it so someone reading the headlines of your profile can make sense of it. You can take a generic title and make one specific to your actual responsibilities. For example, you aren’t a Business Analyst, you are a Marketing Lead for Advertising Returns.

3. Be Responsive.

You may get a lot of job offers that don’t interest you. When this happens, thank the person who sent you the information and tell them you aren’t interested. If you have been a man on a dating site, you know that it sucks to never hear back from anyone. This isn’t different, and you should notice there’s an overlapping skill set.

If you are interested, schedule a phone call.

4. Add and be added.

You should add your coworkers and friends and professors and neighbors and anyone else you know who has a LinkedIn profile. When you get a large enough network, you may notice that the lead recruiter at your dream company is connected to someone you know. This is your key to getting in.

Don’t sit on this giant network you’ve created. Go to their profiles. See what they are doing well and steal it for your profile. While you’re ~stealing~ visiting, give them some recommendations. You can write a few sentences saying nice things about them and their work ethic, or simply hit the +1 on their listed set of skills. They will return the favor.

5. LinkedIn is not a replacement for your résumé.

Yes, you need to have a copy of your résumé in MS Word format. It will come up in every job discussion. Have it ready.

You can’t hand out the same résumé to every job offer though. Read the job description and tailor your résumé. If you don’t, just print it out and place it in the trash yourself.

5½: If you give LinkedIn access to your contacts list your friends and family will tar and feather you, and they will be right for doing so.

LinkedIn will grab their information and spam them to create an account. Forever. You monster.

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