Post: #1

I just updated mine, while doing so I started wondering just how much it matters. Is this something that top executives look at and use to gauge one's credibility? I only have ten connections.

Basically, is this something that is worth my time to maintain? Will adding a bunch of connections, getting a lot of endorsements, pimping it out, etc, help with future business moves? Obviously it wouldn't hurt to have a nice page, but is it important?

Post: #2

Yes. CEOs are more represented on LinkedIn than any other social network. My exfb linked in her way into fucking a partner in a lawfirm as an assistant.

Post: #3

When you post a resume on Monster or Careerbuilder you'll obviously have your current company listed.
This pops up on HR's custom searches by keyword. Now they know you're looking to leave and it's not a good spot to be in.

Linked in is different because your page is basically your resume. It's never in an on or off state like the other sites.

I've had recruiters friend me on there. It's useful in that way. Linkedin also shows possible jobs you may be interested in.

Post: #4

Would it be a good idea to add the owner of your company to your connections? Is that ballsy haha

Post: #5

Nevermind that is some brown nosing for sure.

Post: #6

if i'm going into a meeting I will always check out who im meeting with on linkedin first (why wouldnt you). I've also opened numerous sales opportunities using linkedin.

Post: #7

(08-14-2013 09:56 PM)kickboxer Wrote:  Would it be a good idea to add the owner of your company to your connections? Is that ballsy haha

i would.

Post: #8

YMG's linkedin guide:
/thread-7895.html

Post: #9

Yes, Linkedin is great. I get interview offers passively all the time.

I also utilize it to help clients of mine break into international careers.

I definitely think you should add your CEO. Don't just add him though - try to add value in some way like perhaps sending an article that you think he might like or something like that. Put in a thoughtful message that will add value to his day/life.

Linkedin groups are a mixed bag but can be very useful.

I also do a lot of snooping around on linkedin to find out information about people.

It is a very useful tool and I gain far more value out of it than FB.

FB is only useful for in the context of marketing. Otherwise it's a giant time suck.

I want to experiemnt with more linkedin marketing.

Post: #10

Its a very power tool so use it wisely and to your advantage. Be sure to Link to lots of high quality contacts as that's where the real power comes from with it so that when you want something you can reach out to your network and get it with ease, new job, new leads, new resources etc...

BAM!

Take the time to build your profile well over time, professionally and seek well written endorsements from people you have worked for and with, as they also build your credibility.

I use it daily and find it a big help in my role (c level exec)

Good luck and welcome to the club!

Post: #11

Not sure it's been that useful for my career (C# geek).

But if you're building your presence on there, focus on getting senior people linked to you, rather than juniors.

And endorse people, as you might get endorsed back.

Post: #12

Cool, thanks for help.

Post: #13

(08-14-2013 09:31 PM)kickboxer Wrote:  I just updated mine, while doing so I started wondering just how much it matters. Is this something that top executives look at and use to gauge one's credibility? I only have ten connections.

Basically, is this something that is worth my time to maintain? Will adding a bunch of connections, getting a lot of endorsements, pimping it out, etc, help with future business moves? Obviously it wouldn't hurt to have a nice page, but is it important?

Funny you started this thread because I just restarted my account which has been dormant since I created it back in 2007. Whatever search software they employ is a beast because it automatically searched for contacts through my e-mail accounts, which has led to invites being sent to hundreds upon hundreds of people (even folks I'd actually rather not want to become reacquainted with).

I've also had a few opportunities being passively offered to me from headhunters who have found my profile.

I've also reconnected with several long lost contacts and have exchanged some messages.

It's not much different from dating at the end of the day. You use it to project power and value and, as with all social media, you put out what you want people to see.

Post: #14

I keep getting very random HR people and recruiters trying to join me in Linkedin. I've been ignoring them because I don't want to clutter my account, but should I rather allow them to connect to my account?

Post: #15

(08-16-2013 12:59 AM)Thomas the Rhymer Wrote:  I keep getting very random HR people and recruiters trying to join me in Linkedin. I've been ignoring them because I don't want to clutter my account, but should I rather allow them to connect to my account?

that comes down to personal choice but for me, I am extremely picky with who I allow to link with me because if they do not add value, then they dont make the cut.

This restricts my linkee's to executives, directors, senior techs, senior management, vendor contacts and good friends etc..I also do not allow anyone to see who I am liked with because its no ones business but my own, at least that's how i feel about it.

Post: #16

Long term I think LinkedIn will only get more important. Especially if you are looking to get hired by the big corps. LinkedIn's CEO recently said it is still "early days". Basically it is the modern day CV.

Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.

Napoleon Hill

Post: #17

Depends on your industry. I personally work in finance/economics and find it a vital tool. As someone suggested, I look up everyone I am going into meetings with ahead of time. Valuable information can be found!

Post: #18

here is a semi decent link on do's and dont's for linked in case you need a hand

http://www.news.com.au/business/worklife...6699866450

Post: #19

(08-18-2013 11:30 PM)Mike5055 Wrote:  Depends on your industry. I personally work in finance/economics and find it a vital tool. As someone suggested, I look up everyone I am going into meetings with ahead of time. Valuable information can be found!

Can you break it down for me: How is it useful in Finance, in particular?

I have been debating LinkedIn and looking for a compelling reason to join.

Post: #20

(08-19-2013 12:56 AM)BostonBMW Wrote:  

(08-18-2013 11:30 PM)Mike5055 Wrote:  Depends on your industry. I personally work in finance/economics and find it a vital tool. As someone suggested, I look up everyone I am going into meetings with ahead of time. Valuable information can be found!

Can you break it down for me: How is it useful in Finance, in particular?

I have been debating LinkedIn and looking for a compelling reason to join.

Half of everything in finance is about a network, especially once you've proven you have the skills. Part of the reason I got my current job by networking with alumni from my university. He submitted my resume and it got pushed to the top of the pile.

Once you meet people, add them on linkedin. Keep in touch with some of the more important ones and have them introduce you to others (either in person or via email or telephone) and then add them as well. Just keep growing your network and once you find something you want to do, there's a good chance you have a connection that can get you to the right people.

Post: #21

How useful is it for a fresh grad or student?

My profile is okay, got some unrelated work but related internship experience.

Out of the 4 invites from people that I got:
2 - Students, not much value there
1 - Former FB, different field than me.
1 - My dentist, dude lives 1000 miles away in Mexico City.

If I put the "search my email" function, I'll get some okay people (experienced, not C-level) in Mexico (I'm in Texas).

Post: #22

(08-19-2013 10:30 PM)Cattle Rustler Wrote:  How useful is it for a fresh grad or student?

My profile is okay, got some unrelated work but related internship experience.

Out of the 4 invites from people that I got:
2 - Students, not much value there
1 - Former FB, different field than me.
1 - My dentist, dude lives 1000 miles away in Mexico City.

If I put the "search my email" function, I'll get some okay people (experienced, not C-level) in Mexico (I'm in Texas).

If you are young you are not going to get passive interest from recruiters and HR people. Once you hit the 2ish years mark, that's when you might start getting hit up. That's certainly when it happened for me.

When you're a fresh grad you have to be proactively using Linkedin to join groups and discussions and, if you want to cough up the cash, send direct private inmails to MDs at companies to get a foot in the door for internships and interviews.

Post: #23

Been on the site for about a week and filled out my profile which garnered an "all-star" rating (for being detailed).

Aside from reconnecting with old acquaintances, I get the sense that this joke about Linkedin from @GSElevator on Twitter is all too true:

"#1: LinkedIn is the Match.com of the underemployed."

Post: #24

I actually passively landed my current job with a huge tech firm through LinkedIn, so some big(and any other size) corporations are on there hiring to supplement their other recruiting efforts. As others said, it is great for networking and I found it particularly useful for getting references from people who I know could vouch for me when going through the hiring process for several past gigs or other endeavors that needed recommendations. I found a pretty useful article on how to "hack" LinkedIn so to speak. Although it is international in scope, theoretically it could be used domestically as a viable strategy too.

Quote:Phase 1: Join Linkedin

If you haven’t already, you need to join LinkedIn and upgrade your profile to a “Business Plus” account.

“But why pay for LinkedIn? I need money for Hulu Plus and Heineken!”

Would you pay 5 dollars to treat a Managing Director to a lunch at Wendy’s if it meant that you could source an interview and potential offer? Yes, you probably would. By upgrading to this account, your search abilities are enhanced and you can send unsolicited messages, called “inmails”, to decision makers within your target companies. By sending carefully crafted messages to decision makers within your target companies, you are essentially taking a calculated gamble on securing interview offers.

After you’ve received an offer, you can cancel your paid subscription. However, you have to make sure that you are using the monthly subscription and not annual.

Phase 2: The Profile

You need to make your profile as compelling as possible to the decision makers you will contact. These are some things you should do immediately upon creating a profile:

Add a picture of yourself in formal business attire.
Add all of your academic information with your major and relevant coursework.
Add each of your previous work experiences, your responsibilities, and how you added value to the company for each of these placements.

Now that you’ve got a profile, you need street cred. Search for former colleagues, managers, professors, or basically anyone who could give you a solid reference regarding your competence in the workplace and level of integrity and professionalism. Add these people as connections and then request a recommendation.

For example, if you worked at Google, first add as a connection your manager at the time. Then, under the “profile” tab, click “recommendations”, then “request recommendations.” You’ll be brought to a form that will allow you to request a reference from a specific manager, colleague, professor, or person of authority from a previous organization with which you were involved. Having these references will make it clear that you’ve added value in your past work placements.

Phase 3: Finding your Target Managers

In this phase, you are going to find a handful of people with hiring power who are going to help you hack into the interview process. Primarily, you should choose your target city abroad. For this example, let’s use Shanghai. You should first compile a list of 10 companies in Shanghai for whom you’d like to work. You are then going to use LinkedIn’s search feature to find decision makers you will contact. These “Target Managers” will generally have titles like “Managing Director”, “Senior Project Manager” or something similar.

Ideally, you want to find someone with whom you have something in common. The best commonality is actually knowing someone in common who can introduce you. If not, a common nationality, university, or native language is usually a solid foundation.

Phase 4: The Pitch

At this point you need to create a template of a message that you will use for each target manager. You can use this as a general framework:

“Hello Mr. Flynn,

My name is Dan Lang and I am a recent graduate of NYU. I have previously worked at the American Embassy in Beijing as an intern. I am interested in pursuing a career with (Target Company) in Shanghai.

I am interested in opportunities with (Target Company) because (list 1-3 strong reasons). I also feel like I would be a good fit because (list 1-3 strong reasons).

Is it possible we can set up an interview?

Best Regards,

Dan”

Use this template to create a custom inmail for each of your target managers and send them out, one by one. By the end of this, you should have set up several interviews with your target companies by getting internally referred by a manager, thereby hacking past human resources gatekeepers.

http://markmanson.net/how-to-be-an-inter...eer-hacker

Post: #25

(08-19-2013 10:20 PM)Mike5055 Wrote:  

(08-19-2013 12:56 AM)BostonBMW Wrote:  

(08-18-2013 11:30 PM)Mike5055 Wrote:  Depends on your industry. I personally work in finance/economics and find it a vital tool. As someone suggested, I look up everyone I am going into meetings with ahead of time. Valuable information can be found!

Can you break it down for me: How is it useful in Finance, in particular?

I have been debating LinkedIn and looking for a compelling reason to join.

Half of everything in finance is about a network, especially once you've proven you have the skills. Part of the reason I got my current job by networking with alumni from my university. He submitted my resume and it got pushed to the top of the pile.

Once you meet people, add them on linkedin. Keep in touch with some of the more important ones and have them introduce you to others (either in person or via email or telephone) and then add them as well. Just keep growing your network and once you find something you want to do, there's a good chance you have a connection that can get you to the right people.

Thanks for breakdown.