61 Short and Sweet LinkedIn Tips for Recruiting

61 Short and Sweet LinkedIn Tips for Recruiting With 400 million users and 4 million companies on LinkedIn, it comes in top among the social networks for professional use. Whether youre looking to connect with business prospects, engage your customers or market your brand, LinkedIns  expansive network of users and professional features make it the perfect social channel for business. In order to make sure you are leveraging all of the available tools and getting the most out of  LinkedIn, Top Dog Social Media  have shared 61 short and sweet LinkedIn tips for business. LinkedIn is a business social network and people expect things to be professional at all times. Always respond to your messages on LinkedIn in a timely manner. When asking for an introduction on LinkedIn, make sure they actually know that person. Connect with people who viewed your profile, but skip the “I saw you viewed my profile. Have a strong and clean LinkedIn profile that speaks to your ideal clients. Not just your offer. Listen to the language that your ideal clients use to describe their challenges and problems. Your profile pic should be a clean headshot facing the camera smiling with a clean background. Optimize your LinkedIn headline with at least 1 or 2 keywords. Have a clear call-to-action in your LinkedIn summary.Tell prospective clients what you want them to do next. Endorsements improve your search ranking on LinkedIn for the keywords listed in your Skills. Optimize your LinkedIn profile for your keywords speak to your ideal clients to get more connection requests. Set yourself apart from your competitors, invest the time to complete your LinkedIn profile. To effectively use LinkedIn groups, join groups that are specific to your target audience. If your business focuses on your local area, join all relevant local LinkedIn groups. As a member of a LinkedIn group, you can send 15 free messages per month to members. If you see a group with no activity on LinkedIn, that might not be the best group for you to join. To engage in LinkedIn Groups, search for keywords that interest your prospects and clients. Dont post to multiple LinkedIn groups at once otherwise you will flood the newsfeed. Share your content in a LinkedIn Group, but be sure you’re providing value relevant to group members. When posting an article in a LinkedIn Group, start with a question to stimulate conversation. Always personalize your connection request to potential prospects on LinkedIn. When you connect on LinkedIn, it is vital that you DO NOT send the default LinkedIn message. Create a Welcome/Thank You message to send to your new LinkedIn connections. Relationship-building messages are designed to build rapport with your new LinkedIn connections. Dont use LinkedIn messages to sell but to warmly lead prospective clients into setting up a meeting/call. Decide how much time to devote to your lead generation campaign on LinkedIn daily and be consistent. For successful lead gen on LinkedIn, the key is to create a system and routine that becomes second nature. Create a daily/weekly task list to follow, to make your time on LinkedIn more efficient effective. Posting daily status updates should be one of the first things on your LinkedIn checklist. Post once or twice a day on LinkedIn. Make sure you post information that is interesting to your target audience. When you post on LinkedIn, always add a comment. Also ask a question, to stimulate conversation. Share your posts directly from your blog on LinkedIn with social sharing buttons. One of the first things you want to do each day on LinkedIn is to accept new connection requests. When you connect with a new person on LinkedIn it’s a win-win, you both expand your network. Search results on LinkedIn are limited to 1st, 2nd, 3rd degree connections group members. Be sure to grow your network. After you accept a connection request, you should send your new connection a welcome message. Make an effort to regularly build your network, connecting prospects, clients and strategic partners. Set a target for the number of prospects to reach out to on LinkedIn everyday â€" be consistent. When people view your profile, it is a chance to connect. No need to say I saw you viewed my profile. If a prospect sends you a LinkedIn connection request, reply with a thank you message that provides them with value! You need to monitor engage with your LinkedIn network on a regular basis. Review the discussions in Groups you belong to and look for opportunities to engage add value. You should review your LinkedIn notifications daily for engagement opportunities. Introduce your LinkedIn connections to each other.This invokes the law of reciprocity expands your network. You can search for prospects on LinkedIn using LinkedIns Advanced Search and LinkedIn Groups. Pay attention to the people your contacts are connecting with, especially if they are competitors. Each week reach out and share content with some of your hottest prospects on LinkedIn. If you come across content that would be a good fit for one of your LinkedIn connections, send it. If you find a great article, send it to individual connections that would benefit from reading it. Do not try to sell or pitch new connections.This is the fastest way to KILL a potential relationship. I highly recommend you grow an email list to complement your LinkedIn lead generation efforts. To convert a prospect into a client, move the relationship off-line. Social Selling is first and foremost relational it’s SOCIAL media not sales media. Social selling requires a time investment, but the Return on Investment (ROI) justifies it. LinkedIn Privacy settings are for your protection but be sure not to close yourself off. 3 Major Premium LinkedIn Features: Advanced Search Function,Whos viewed your Profile InMail. The EXTRA Advanced Search Options are one main differences between FREE Paid accounts on LinkedIn. You can manage your LinkedIn relationships adding relevant tags to keep them organized. Create “saved searches” on LinkedIn you’ll get weekly updates of people that match that search. When sending connection requests on a mobile device, make sure you go to their profile to send it, so you can personalize it. With a free LinkedIn account you see the last 5 people who viewed your profile, with a paid account you can see them all.

What is a Retained Executive Search Firm

What is a Retained Executive Search Firm If you are an executive who has ever searched for a job, you might have heard the term “retained executive search”.A retained executive search is usually conducted for a director, vice president, or C-level positions with a minimum annual salary of $150,000. What you might not know is that there are two different types of retained executive search firms.Whether you are a job seeker looking for your next C-level position or a business owner looking to hire, it is important to know the difference between a retained executive search for companies and a retained executive search for job seekers.Retained Executive Search for CompaniesDefinition: A retained executive search for companies is where a firm is hired (and paid upfront) by the company to recruit an executive for a specific job. This is the most common example of a retained executive search firm and has been around for over 40 years. Companies hire retained search recruiters (headhunters) to find top talent for open positions .How much do retained search fees cost companies?In this model, retained search fees cost companies 25-35% of the estimated total compensation. This fee is not contingent upon a successful placement and can be kept without success.Retained Executive Search for Job SeekersDefinition: A retained executive search for job seekers is where a firm is hired (and paid upfront) by the job seeker to find their dream job. This style of retained search has only become popular in the past couple years. Instead of working for the company, the firm works directly for the executive.How much do retained search fees cost thejob seekers?In this model, retained search fees can vary for the job seeker as well. A well-known service provider charges ~$2,000/month for these services.Which Retained Executive Search Firm Is for Me?If you are in HR, Talent Acquisition, or Recruiting and you are looking to learn more about the retained executive search firms for companies, check out thetop 20 retained executiv e search firms for companies. These companies include Korn Ferry, N2Growth, Egon Zehnder, Heidrick Struggles, and Boyden just to name a few.If you are an executive looking for a job, the list becomes much shorter. As of now, there is only one company offering retained executive search for job seekers. That company isFind My Profession.What is Find My Profession?Since 2015, Find My Profession has helpedexecutives find their dream jobs at companies like Google, Amazon, Kaiser, Mercedes, UPS, Pepsico, Chevron and more.They call it“Career Coaching”.Find My Profession will assign a Career Coach to manage your entire job search, create your resume, apply to jobs, offer interview advice, and network for you.

9 Action Items to Navigate the Coming Decade of 10% Unemployment - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

9 Action Items to Navigate the Coming Decade of % Unemployment - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Are you ready to navigate the coming decade of % unemployment? The jobless rate is at its highest level since 1983 at %, this is known as the U3 unemployment rate. An even more comprehensive measure of unemployment, known as the U6, which includes all marginally attached workers, puts the unemployment rate at 17.2%. That leaves about 1 in every 5 Americans without a job. The politicians will tell you there will be a healthier job market when the economy rebounds and that unemployment will trend down to more normalized levels. The reality is that nobody, including politicians and economists really knows what the job market will look like in the years ahead. It is a fools game to try and predict what the job market will look like in the next years there are too many moving factors and variables in our global economy. Those that will have you believe that full employment, widely accepted to be at 5% unemployment, is achievable within the next four years may be overly optimistic. The sobering reality, is that we may be heading towards a lost decade for jobs. Excerpt: The jobless rate usually sees a sizeable drop during the economic recovery â€" and bigger recessionary spikes in unemployment are typically followed by larger declines during the first year of improving unemployment. So it would be no surprise if, a year after the unemployment rate begins to drop, it falls to the nine percent range. The real problem is that the rate of decline in joblessness slows during the rest of the economic expansion. The annual postwar pace of decline in unemployment during these periods has been reasonably uniform, the median being 0.5% a year. If that pattern persists, the U.S. economy needs to keep expanding without interruption until 2020 for unemployment to fall to its pre-recession low. Even to get back to 5%, often considered to be “full employment,” it would take a business cycle upswing lasting about as long as the record-setting 1991-2001 expansion. Should the next recession arrive earlier, as we suspect, it will take much longer. The implications constitute nothing short of a wake-up call for policy makers who promise to get job growth back on track. The data and rational thought is pointing to a very tough road ahead for jobs. I find it sad that so many good people are without jobs and are struggling to make ends meet. I have heard many stories about the hardships that many people and families are going through. I truly hope that the unemployment situation becomes better and those that are struggling find their way. But, hope is not enough you need to do more then ever before in this job market to find a job or keep your job. This is the reality of our new world good bad or indifferent. Action items to take on Here are 9 action items that you can take to defend yourself from the lost jobs decade and go on the attack with your personal brand: 1.) Create your personal website (www.yourname.com) Having your own website is a great way to feature and differentiate yourself from other job candidates. Your experience and credentials are the meat of your site and should highlight why you are the best candidate in your field or niche. Your website should be your personal virtual billboard that screams you need to hire me! 2.) Join Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter and get involved Linkedin should be the first social network you should be on to help create your social network safety net. The more quality connections you have the better off you will be. It is essential to network in this job market and Linkedin is one of the fastest and most efficient platforms to help you network. Also, establish your profiles on Facebook and Twitter they are great ways to network, build relationships and be exposed to opportunities. Here is a post I wrote on how to use Linkedin to get the job you want. 3.) Create a blog about a passion Blogs are a great way to demonstrate thought leadership in your niche, field, or profession. Through documenting your ideas for others to read you will gain mindshare and credibility this is of course if your creating valuable content. Think of ways to fix common business problems at work, do something better, be more innovative, shorten a process, or shed new light on something. People will notice. 4.) Be an avid reader and subscribe to blogs in your niche Through reading the latest and most up to date information you will create a wealth of knowledge over time. Through constantly seeking out knowledge from thought leaders in your niche you can become one yourself. Ideas come from ideas so start reading and subscribing to the great blogs on the web. 5.) Regularly comment on industry leading blogs or any blog you are interested in When you consistently comment on a blog you will begin to form a relationship with the blogs author. This is a great way to build your social network and create some opportunities for yourself. If there is a job at a company you would like to work at try commenting regularly on their blog someone will notice. 6.) Execute on the job be a leader If you are fortunate enough to be employed and would like to advance at the company you need to differentiate yourself. Make sure you are excelling at everything you do and pay attention to the details. Take courses that will help you learn the skills you need to succeed on the job and keep learning. Managers notice the top performers on their team be a top performer or learn how. 7.) Promote your personal brand Through promoting your personal brand properly you will accelerate your career path and create more opportunities for yourself. Use all the social networking tools at your disposal to spread your personal brand and give your brand some legs. Add links to your website and blog in your email signature. You will be amazed at how quickly your personal brand will be noticed by those in positions of power and your colleagues at work. 8.) Monitor your personal brand Setup Google Alerts for your name and terms you are interested in. This is the easiest way to monitor the conversations that are happening about you on the web. If something is said about you on the web (good and bad) you want to be able to respond to either elaborate the discussion or defend your personal brand. Another great tip is to set up Google Alerts for topics you are interested in this is a great way to stay up to date and learn a ton. Read enough and you will be very knowledgeable sooner then you think. Knowledge is power. 9.) Have a written plan with steps to reach your goals Human beings have the highest emotional capacity of any species on earth, however so many people seem to live an uninspired life and feel stuck where they are. This is truly unfortunate. Well, the good news is that no matter where you find yourself in life, all it takes is one choice to move you in a new direction. A series of purposeful choices can start creating leverage in your life and bring you to places you once thought impossible. From the beginning of time, every human accomplishment started as an idea in somebody’s mind. This idea then became real as choices were made with the realization of the idea as the end goal. When we’re growing and working towards the attainment of any worthwhile, self-defined goal it brings forth a sense of happiness and accomplishment few other things can. Remember, it all starts with an idea and the first decision that moves you towards its realization. Stop waiting for things to happen and start deciding! Write down your goals and take action. Please retweet this post and share with your social networks. Your Ideas What would you add to these 9 action items? Did I miss anything? If you have any other tips or action items please share your comments. Lets talk about it some more. Author: Chad Levitt is the author of the New Sales Economy blog, which focuses on how Sales 2.0 Social Media can help you connect, create more opportunities and increase your business. Chad is also the featured Sales 2.0 blogger at SalesGravy.com, the number one web portal for sales pros, the professional athletes of the business world. Make sure to connect with him on Twitter @chadalevitt.

8 steps to a perfect cover letter

8 steps to a perfect cover letter Most cover letters are addressed to people you dont know, so lets just stop referring to them as cover letters since what they really are is sales letters. You are trying to sell yourself to a stranger. The best way to think about this letter is in terms of direct mail, so pay attention to the well-funded, unsolicited offers you find at your doorstep. Many of those envelopes have been created by the finest writers in the direct mail business. Here are eight rules from the direct mail experts that should guide your cover letter writing: 1. Open with a bang. This is the line I used to write: I am writing to apply for the position you advertised blah blah blah. But DUH, of course you are writing to get a job. Why else does anyone write a cover letter? So use your first line to sell yourself and make yourself stand out. For example, I think your company can use my exceptional sales skills and ten years of experience in your industry. 2. Be clear about your purpose. Your cover letter is the introduction to your resume. If your cover letter is longer than a page then it is likely longer than your resume, and who ever heard of an introduction that is longer than the main event? Also, write a separate letter for each job, because each sentence of your cover letter should be specifically relevant to the job at hand. 3. Use your time wisely. A hiring manager spends ten seconds on a resume to decide if shell reject it or not. This ten seconds includes your cover letter. Dont let your cover letter waste your ten seconds. The rule of a resume is that every single line of the resume sells you. This is true of the cover letter, too. In fact, its shorter, so it should sell with more punch. Every sentence of the cover letter should give a specific reason for hiring you because you never know which sentence will catch the readers eye during your precious ten seconds. 4. Format strategically. Bullets work well in a cover letter to highlight your relevant achievements immediately. Odd numbers of bullets are proven to be easier to read than even numbers, so use either three or five. Seven is too many the list will look so long that people will skip it. 5. Tell the reader the next step. A cover letter introduces a resume and the point of the resume is to get an interview. So in the cover letter say flat out that you want a phone call or an email, because thats how someone sets up an interview. This call to action makes a nice last paragraph. 6. Say it, and then say it again. Put your email address and phone number at the top of the letter, and on the bottom, too. The hiring manager should not have to hunt for your contact info because each second of that hunt is a second the person could change her mind about calling. 7. Come back to it. If you copy and pasted and have the wrong company name in your opening sentence Spellcheck wont catch it and probably neither will you because its very hard to catch errors when youve been rewriting the same letter for an hour. So come back to the letter in two hours, proofread, and then send. Youll be amazed and grateful at the errors you catch. 8. Follow up You have to. I know it is a discouraging call to make because the odds are that you wont get through to a real person. And if you do get through to a real person he will give you no information. But there is a very slim chance that you will get someone on the phone who will take a good look at your resume just because you called, and that will get you the interview. Thats why you need to make the call because it just might work. Besides, picking up the phone is a lot easier than finding another job opening and writing another cover letter.

Get more Accomplished with The 12 Week Year CareerMetis.com

Get more Accomplished with The 12 Week Year â€" CareerMetis.com I am sure this has happened to you. You set a brand new goal, you are excited and you start working on that goal or project. Things go great in the first few weeks, you start working on your new goal with newly found enthusiasm â€" but as time progresses your enthusiasm fades. Sooner or later, the goal starts to lose its appeal â€" your motivation starts to dwindle, and before you know you have quit.There are couple of reasons for this.1. You are working on too many things at the same time. It is difficult for our brains to focus on multiple things at once. 2. The enthusiasm dwindles with time â€" You know how hard it is to get access to any machine in the gym in the first week of January. Then when you go back in February you can literally use the gym as your playground :). This happens year over year. And we are all guilty of this. The problem with long-term goals is that you will lose your motivation over time. We are all human, and it is hard to stay disciplined in sticking with the program. We lose the sense of urgency.So what is the solution Nissar you ask!!The solution is the 12 Week Year by Brian P Moran Michael Lennington.You can finish this book in a few hours in one sitting.This book the ideas in the book is a true game-changer. It will change your perception on setting goals. You will no longer set 1 million goals and projects to achieve, you will set few important goals and stick with them until completion. You will also get a renewed sense of enthusiasm towards both your short-term and long-range goals. You will have a framework or system to track your progress every week.I strongly recommend you read the book, and in this article I will highlight the key points on the 12 Week Year.1. SENSE OF URGENCYevalInstead of setting long-term That is why, programs such as P90X or Insanity have been very popular in the last few years. These programs offer the participants intense exercise programs they can complete in a short period of time Once again, t his weekly review will put a fire under your butt, in another word sense of urgency.3. SIMPLIFICATIONWe love to do many things, I think it is because we realize that time is finite, and we are bombarded And perhaps this is why we get frustrated as the year progresses, we start off the year with multiple goals and then as time flies , our motivation fades, we look back at the year and realize we haven’t done much.It is key to focus on few things (maximum 3 or 4) and do them very well.I started using the 12 Week Year since June 2015 and have seen tremendous benefits. Anytime I come across a new goal or new project I move it to my future goals list. Sometimes, I realize that some of the future goals are not worth the investment and energy. Without a proper system in place, I would have started on multiple goals dissipating my energy and focus.By focusing on the few goals (3 to 4) I am able to maximize my time and resources. I also get a stronger sense of accomplishment.You will also get more done over the long-term.Trust me â€" this program works.I encourage you to pick up the book, and adopt the 12 Week Year. I guarantee you will feel an increased zest for life, and also a renewed focus in working towards your goal.

Company Research Resources

Company Research Resources Finding company research resources shouldnt be difficult, so Ive listed some of my favorite resources. Free resources for finding target companies LinkedIn (of course) New York States Department of Labor Potential Employer search tool is here. Potential Employer tool contains data provided by Infogroup which allows you to find companies by industry or occupationin other words, enter the kind of job you are looking for, select the county and about 75 company names and basic company information will pop up.   That doesnt mean these companies have openings.   It means that these companies might hire that occupation, or have had a history of hiring that occupation. It is easy to use! Rochesters Top 100.  (And every city has the equivalent) Every year companies compete to win the honor of being on this list.   They have to submit an application and provide data about their financial growth. Hoovers  is another resource which shows you the company profile and top three competitors. Hoovers also has free industry overviews.  Hoovers is a product of DB.   For a fee you could subscribe to get more info, however, you may be able to access it from your local library. Start creating a list of companies you would like to research and perhaps work for so you can begin networking rather than chasing the job postings on job boards!   Create a Marketing Plan to really get your job search moving.

Writing a Career Summary For Resume

Writing a Career Summary For ResumeWriting a career summary for resume does not have to be a daunting task. Just keep the following tips in mind when doing so.If you are applying for a job that is simply the same as yours, then a resume will not suffice. It is still important that you include all the relevant information about yourself and what skills you possess. This information is vital to potential employers to get a picture of your professional abilities. Additionally, it will also help your prospective employer to know if you are fully committed to the work experience.Writing a resume requires you to format it properly. You may have to consult a professional on this. Nevertheless, there are some simple rules you can follow.Write the summary in a concise manner, using just a few lines. This will help it to present your educational experience in a clear and concise manner. Use short sentences. The more concise the summary, the better. If you find that you are running out of space , you can use bulleted lists for some information.Do not take into account your educational activities in writing your resume. This information is not required by any employer and it will only clutter your resume. Moreover, you will also not be highlighting any accomplishments that you would prefer to remain unmentioned. Instead, concentrate on the qualifications and skills that you have that can help the employer to assess your suitability for the position.Writing a resume for a specific job is a very different matter. The objective here is to let the employer know about you so that he can see for himself what qualities you possess. This will help you land a job more easily.Do not overdo it if you are writing a resume that is specifically for the job that you are applying for. You should not do the work for more than one employer. Remember, the last thing you want is to appear to be looking for other jobs.As you can see, these are some basic tips that you should always follow when you are writing a resume. With a little bit of practice, you will soon learn how to compose a resume without a lot of extra work.