There’s a reason they called it “LinkedIn”
➔ While many lament the changes that have been wrought in the job search world, many of the same changes have yielded many, many benefits for the job seeker.
How much easier is to conduct a background search on a company – or on people within a company – with all of the digital assets that are available to us any day, any time, anywhere? No more (or very few) trips to the library. No more being restricted by the library’s open hours.
How much easier is it to send your resume to someone, anyone at any time? Email your resume to a recruiter, to a networking contact, or directly to a company. (OK. We realize that there is an underside to emailing your resume to a company, but email is still better than snail mail.)
Despite the obvious lack of the personal touch, how much easier is it to meet with someone (interviewer, recruiter, networking contact) by Zoom? No drive time. No expenses for parking, lunch, coffee, etc. You’re there. You do it. You’re done.
More than the obvious links
Of course, the elephant in the change room when it comes to job seeking is LinkedIn. More than 90 percent of recruiters admit to using LinkedIn on an almost daily basis. That’s pretty powerful.
The obvious LinkedIn benefit is your ability to effortlessly post information about yourself – essentially an online resume – with just a few clicks. And don’t forget how easy it is to edit and update that LinkedIn profile.
Also, LinkedIn is a two-way street. Not only can you search for companies, employees, etc. on LinkedIn, but other people (most notably recruiters) can find you as well. There may be an opening at a company you’ve never heard of that could have the perfect job for you. A savvy recruiter will connect the dots between you and the company.
Another way to enhance your networking and to get yourself in front of potential employers is to join any number of LinkedIn’s various professional groups. Belonging to the same group as a potential employer is an electronic foot in the door – so to speak.
There is a lot more that LinkedIn can do for you to help your job search. In fact, you can learn a lot about how to use LinkedIn effectively in your job search through online articles and YouTube videos – additional new-fangled assets for your job search.