Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn to Find a Job

I recently read the following blog post and wanted to share it with you - Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn to Find a Job.

My own experience is that LinkedIn has been most useful when I find a company/position I'm interested in. These connections are what have taken me from one of hundreds of people who may have applied online to a direct connection to the hiring recruiter and actual phone call to be considered for the position. I'm currently looking at 2 positions and this is exactly how I connected with these companies. When you find a position you're interested in, search your Linkedin network to see who you are connected with at that company. Then send a quick note asking them for additional information and/or tips regarding the position. If the contact is a 2nd or even 3rd degree contact, request your contact to forward your note to the contact. I currently have over 3,000 contacts in my LinkedIn Network and I am happy to connect my readers to my connections to network for job opportunities.

What is a Job Aggregator?

Basically they are search engines for jobs. There are currently over 40,000 j ob boards on the Internet. There are major job boards like Monster, CareerBuilder, and HotJobs. There are Regional job boards like AllCountyJobs.com for people in CT. And there are Niche & Industry-Specific job boards such as SalesAnimals for sales positions. Therefore, how do you know which ones to use for your job search. Well, I know 2 companies who have search engines that pull all of the jobs on the web to their site - SimplyHired and Indeed. Both offer FREE access for Job Seekers. I noticed that SimplyHired has a bunch of new, very cool tools that allow you to get updates on your Facebook account or directly to your phone. Indeed recently launched a job search by salary as a unique way of connecting with job seekers. I would recommend checking out both of these sites and at least setting up job alerts.

ResumeBucket vs. VisualVC

Ok, for those of you who haven't checked out VisualVC, I encourage you to do read my blog post below or check it out for yourself. I reviewed a competitive product, ResumeBucket and it doesn't compare in functionality or ease of use. I started creating my resume which I will put here so you can view it, but I didn't spend too much time because I didn't like the overall look/feel and ease of use as much as VisualVC. I encountered a problem with my jobs being listed with the most recent on the bottom and I couldn't "quickly" figure out how to fix this. And since I already have an online resume, I didn't spend the time to figure it out. You do get a unique url to share your resume which you get with both services, but its not as easy to add all the extras - ie. Portfolio items, etc. that make VisualVC so unique. So if you haven't created an online resume - I recommend VisualVC. This won't replace your MS Word resume that HR professionals will still want, but it will give you a link to include in your cover letter that has more information than your standard resume and additional ability to sell yourself.

VisualCV - Create A Free Online Resume

I recently evaluated a really cool new tool - VisualCV - which allows you to create an online resume - FREE! Not only do you get a unique url that you can forward to HR Managers and Recruiters, but you can add all kinds of additional information not normally included with your standard resume. I was able to put my resume online - www.visualcv.com/dbarden - in less than 2 hours and included my references, a letter of recommendation, and some marketing samples for the start of an online portfolio. This is so easy to use and it's FREE - I recommend creating your own - go to http://www.visualcv.com/.

ResumeSpider - Distribute Your Resume to Many - Part 1

I am currently evaluating a resume distribution service called ResumeSpider. At first glance I like the idea behind this service because I come from a background of direct marketing and I honestly feel there is a correlation between direct marketing and conducting a job search. If you only submit a couple of resumes in response to jobs you find on Monster or CareerBuilder, your chances of getting a response from these online applications is very slim. Just like direct marketing, it's a numbers game. You need to get "many" resumes out there to increase your chance for a higher response. I've been trying to get resumes out in quantity, but I'm still lucky if I'm sending 20 or so per week.

So, I thought I would check out the ResumeSpider service. They have a FREE DEMO which allows you to run a search by location, job function and industry. You can then view the recruiting and search firms and direct employers who match your search criteria. When I did my search, there were 1102 member companies (search/recruiting firms) and 453 employers that matched my criteria. There are different pricing plans available. I'm going to evaluate the Basic Plan which costs $39.95. This seems like a pretty good deal - send my resume to 1555 recruiters and employers for less than $40. That's only $.025 per resume distributed - seems like a good deal.

I will post part 2 in a day or two with an update of ResumeSpider's basic distribution plan.

Welcome to the JobSeeker101 Blog

I was recently laid off from a management position in a small company in the recruitement advertising industry. I was totally in shock and couldn't beleive that this was happening. I loved my job and didn't want to leave. I wanted to help this company weather the storm through this economy. Instead I was let go and on my own to navigate this very different job seeker landscape.

Luckily, working in the recruiting industry, I found myself blessed with a knowledge and tools to utilize in my job search. Social networking, niche job boards, job aggregators, etc. - many that were either not known or available the last time I was looking for employment. In talking with some friends and other people I've met who are unemployed and looking for their next career opportunity, many of the tools I mentioned were unfamilar to them. Therefore I decided to start this blog and document my experiences in hopes that it will give others a hand with their job search.

If anyone has a new website or tool they would like me to critique or check out - just let me know. I hope you find my job seeker journey helpful in your own search. Comments, recommendations, collaboration are all welcome.

Debbie