Social NetworkingSocial Networking

How to use LinkedIn for recruitingBy Jennifer Fahlsing CPC/CTS

What is Social What is Social Networking? Networking? The process of meeting and networking with

people through the use of technology.◦ Job boards, Social networks, Search engines, Wikis, Blogs,

Microblogs …..

Recruiters and researcher have a wealth of options at their fingertips to find, reach out, and connect with active and passive talent. Every recruiter and researcher has a different set of sites, tools, and communities that they use to find their talent. This is referred to as the “recruiting portfolio.”

Social Networking SitesSocial Networking Sites Networks like LinkedIn, MySpace, and Plaxo provide a

structured way to keep information about people. It's not just a phone number; it's a person's entire history. These are tools for Strategic Networking.

LinkedIn focuses primarily on professional contacts. You can use the site to touch base with former coworkers, classmates, obtain professional references, and offers resources for hiring employees, consultants, or service providers.

MySpace is an popular social networking site that doesn't target a specific audience. It offers user blogs and message boards; it also has a classified ad section where you can place job listings for free.

Similar in concept to LinkedIn, MySpace also emphasizes professional and career-based networking.

How much is a vast network of How much is a vast network of hard-to-find candidates’ worth to hard-to-find candidates’ worth to your business? your business?

In the past 5 years, more than 3.3 million professionals have joined the LinkedIn network. LinkedIn's most active searchers are recruiters.

One big challenge facing recruiters today is that the technology is available to client companies allowing them to do what they had previously hired third-party recruiters to do.

 This threat is more likely to affect recruiters whose focus is on the middle range of positions, those paying between about $50,000 and $100,000 a year.

Professional NetworkingProfessional Networking On LinkedIn, your profile can be built as you invite

connections, answer questions like where and when you worked with each person, and how you know them.

The results build into something approaching a resume. The ability to publicly endorse others brings some of the power of Amazon or eBay reviews to the career arena.

Your personal profile is your foundation on LinkedIn, and it’s wise to treat it just like any other professional document. Make sure your profile answers the “What’s in it for them question”

A profile full of solid, sincere recommendations is a difference-maker that takes time to attain. It’s the kind of feature that especially interests people like recruiters, given their interest in “passive candidates” who aren’t actively looking, but might be persuadable if the right opportunity comes along.

Ways to Use Ways to Use LinkedIn ProductivelyLinkedIn Productively Boost your business. LinkedIn can increase your

chances of hitting that big deal that puts your business exactly where you want to be.

Improve your Google results. When someone Google's you, are they seeing personal or professional information? Your LinkedIn profile should be filled with the details you want people to see.

Check references for potential hires. With LinkedIn, you can use the advanced search field to find people who worked at the same place at the same time with your applicant. Then you can call them for a reference.

Ways to Use Ways to Use LinkedIn ProductivelyLinkedIn Productively Get advice. Use LinkedIn’s Answers feature to ask a

question and get some great answers. Easy resume. Download a candidates Profile as a PDF

and have an instant resume. Do research. Need to find out about business trends, an

expert or need to contact people for further information? Get connections. Start with others you know from your

company, associations, and groups. Prep for an interview. Know the background of the

Hiring Manager. Check out their LinkedIn profile to find out more about their work experience, interests, education and more. This will give your candidate an edge.

Ways to Use Ways to Use LinkedIn ProductivelyLinkedIn Productively Increase your credibility. If you’re trying to market

yourself as an expert or develop credibility in your field, it looks good to have a strong presence on LinkedIn..

Brand yourself. Develop your own personal brand. What do people think of when they hear your name? A strong presence on LinkedIn only reinforces the branding you’re doing elsewhere.

Find people. Looking for old friends, for old business associates that you want to re-establish a relationship with do a LinkedIn search.

Ways to Use Ways to Use LinkedIn ProductivelyLinkedIn Productively Help others. The best way to network is to help others

succeed. Use LinkedIn to help others — promote them, link to them, connect with them, recommend them, answer their questions.

Get to know a company. If you want to know about a company, you could Google them or go to their website. Using LinkedIn, you can find out much more for example, see what kind of talent has left the company, and how fast. You can connect with them to see what they have to say about their former employer.

Market research. Do a little research into companies and potential customers.

LinkedIn Tools for Job LinkedIn Tools for Job SeekersSeekers Jobsinsider automatically shows you how you are

connected to jobs found online and it supports popular job sites like Monster and CareerBuilder.

When you visit a website for a company the JobsInsider Toolbar will tell you if you “know” someone at that company.

Creating your profileCreating your profile Add your voice. Your LinkedIn profile is intended to help

you build and maintain interpersonal relationships. Connect with old colleagues. The #1 way to build

your LinkedIn network with real, trusted relationships is by uploading your contacts, finding and connecting the ones that are already in LinkedIn

Write recommendations. This is a powerful way for you to be of service to your network. You make yourself look good by making others look good.

Get recommendations. Authentic references from people you have actually worked with speak volumes about you. ◦ Endorsements help hiring manager understand how,

when, and where you can create value. Ask a question, answer questions. LinkedIn Answers

is an opportunity to give and receive value with your network on a more frequent basis than introductions.

Company ProfilesCompany Profiles Company Profiles is a research tool that helps users find and

explore the right companies to do business with. Company profiles goes beyond a simple description of a company by using network data.

How can my company utilize Company Profiles? Through Company Profiles, your former, current, and potential

employees and their networks can become valuable access points for business partners, customers, and potential recruits who are trying to engage with your company.

Companies can do the following to their LinkedIn company profile:◦ post targeted jobs, recruitment videos, and other promotional material for

recruitment◦ post information about products and services◦ upload company images

Company ProfilesCompany Profiles Related Companies

◦ Finds trends in the work history of users and identifying connections between companies.

Company Employees◦ A list of LinkedIn users in your network (up to 3 degrees away

from you) who currently work at this company. New Hires

◦ These are LinkedIn users who have indicated in their profile that they’ve recently joined this company.

Recent Promotions and Changes◦ These are LinkedIn users who have recently indicated in their

profile that they’ve recently changed positions at this company.

Company ProfilesCompany Profiles How can I utilize Company Profiles as an

individual?◦ Use Company Profiles to find the right contact in your network at

companies you are trying to partner with.◦ View job opportunities at companies in your field and better

understand the types of roles the company hires.◦ Read the latest news about the company and learn about people

that have recently joined the company.

Your professional relationships are key to your professional success.◦ The goal of social networking is to help you be more effective in

your daily work and open doors to opportunities using the professional relationships you already have. With LinkedIn you can search for candidates, discover who’s hiring, find new business opportunities, gather market intelligence, market your services and turn cold calls into warm calls.

Books about LinkedInBooks about LinkedIn I’m on LinkedIn — Now What???

By Jason Alba◦ You’ve signed up for LinkedIn, set up your basic profile, and connected with a few

people you know. Now what? It’s the question nearly every LinkedIn user asks. Business isn’t going to just start rolling in magically. There are still some things you have to do to get LinkedIn working for you. This book will show you how, step by step.

LinkedIn for RecruitingBy Bill Vick and Des Walsh◦ LinkedIn has received numerous awards as one of the top career sites on the

web. For recruiters it is one of the best sources of passive candidates, as well as a great source of referrals. In this book, over 40 recruitment industry leaders, authors, consultants, Big Billers, Human Resource and Staffing professionals and expert LinkedIn users share their secrets of LinkedIn success. The book will show recruiters, sourcers and others in the recruitment industry how they can make more effective use of the various tools and resources within LinkedIn. The book includes access to audio interviews plus several hundred dollars of bonuses.

The LinkedIn Personal TrainerBy Steven Tylock◦ If you want to just jump right in and start flexing your LinkedIn muscles, as it

were, let this book be your guide. Packed with advice, insightful questions, and exercises, you learn what to do - and why you should be doing it. When completed, you’ll be prepared to find, get found, and network your way to success with LinkedIn.

ResourcesResources www.linkedin.com www.linkup.com http://tiny.cc/4recruiting http://tiny.cc/LICheats http://www.jobmachine.net http://tiny.cc/QOyW5 http://tiny.cc/RecruiterNews http://tiny.cc/uselinkedin http://tiny.cc/LIProfile https://www.linkedin.com/static?key=tour_flash

Smart Ways to Use Smart Ways to Use LinkedInLinkedInBusiness Development / Marketing / Sales A Tool to Help with Reference Selling - Dave Stein Getting More Than Just Answers - Diane K. Danielson How to Use LinkedIn to Build Your Business - Liz Ryan (via

The Virtual Handshake blog) Market Your Company on LinkedIn - Gordon Choi Using LinkedIn for Market Research - Loren Baker / Jason

Calacanis Secrets LinkedIn Can Tell You About Your Customers -

Matt Asay Using LinkedIn to Make the Sale - Al Chase (excerpt from

The Virtual Handshake) Warm Calling via LinkedIn - Alex Iskold

Smart Ways to Use Smart Ways to Use LinkedInLinkedIn Meeting Face-to-Face Breaking the Ice at a Meeting with LinkedIn - Pete Johnson

Networking Introducing Your Network to Each Other - Scott Allen Unpredictable Benefits of LinkedIn - Nathan Gilliatt LinkedIn a Box - Brendon Connelly

Lists How to Change the World: Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn -

Guy Kawasaki Making Your LinkedIn Business Network Pay Dividends -

Tatsuya Nakagawa & Peter Paul Roosen Top Reasons to Use LinkedIn - Various, compiled by

Chris Pirillo