Great Advice for Recent Graduates on Effective Use of LinkedIn

Submitted by Ray Rogers, Director of Career Services

While many recent graduates are familair with online social networking, online professional networking can be a completely new experience.  We have put together some great resources to help alumni as they develop their professionial identity.  The article below by John Hill below is a great introduction to the overall concept and gives a great snapshot of some importnat concepts to keep in mind.  To learn more about creating or improving you LinkedIn profile, visit the Alumni Webinar page on the Office of Career Services website (scroll down to the webinar archive section) to watch LinkedIn instructional videos.

Three Ways Recent Grads can Leverage LinkedIn for Long-Term Success

by John Hill on LinkedIn Blog

Photo Credit: fotobydave on Flickr

You have your new degree in hand and your future at the forefront, so now what? Whether you’ve landed a job or are still weighing your options, LinkedIn can be an invaluable tool for your next steps post-graduation. We’ve pulled together three simple things you can do now to successfully transition from campus to career.

Take Charge of Your Professional Identity Your LinkedIn profile makes it possible for opportunities to find you. It is a virtual billboard that communicates to current, potential and future employers, and colleagues 24 hours a day. That said, a complete profile doesn’t mean just replicating your resume. Here are a few steps to take to create a standout profile

What Determines Career Success?

Submitted by Julia Larson, Assistant Director of Career Services

As you navigate life after graduation, you may find yourself with many questions; perhaps more questions than answers.  Through this colorful slideshow, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman shares important insights gained from his own career journey.  His guidance may help you develop your own unique interpretation of career success.

Amazing Career Advice For College Grads From LinkedIn’s Billionaire Founder

by Nicholas Carlson on Business Insider

Reid Hoffman says it took him 15 years after graduating from Stanford in 1990 to figure out what he was really doing with his life.

Figure it out, he did!

Hoffman is now the billionaire co-founder of LinkedIn, a $19 billion public company.

During those 15 years, Hoffman first thought he wanted to become an academic. Then he abandoned that idea to start some companies. Mostly, they flopped.

How’d he figure his path out? What lessons can today’s graduates learn from Hoffman’s journey? Read the rest of this blog post here. 

How to Tap Your LinkedIn Network for Your Next Opportunity

Submitted by Anne Meehan, Assistant Director of Career Services

If you want your resume to be seen by recruiters, you need to first focus on making personal contacts with key people in the organization you wish to work for  in order to make your job search efforts pay off.  Applying through online job boards is no longer enough so you must tap into your network or start creating one to help you land your dream job.  Lindsey Pollak, Career and Workplace Expert and LinkedIn Ambassador, just posted a blog with some quick networking tips to help you get started.

How to Tap Your LinkedIn Network for Your Next Opportunity

by Lyndsey Pollak on LinkedIn Blog

A recruiter once told me that he always has two stacks of resumes on his desk: one super tall stack of resumes he receives unsolicited from the Internet and one very short stack of resumes that have been passed along from people he knows and trusts.

Not surprisingly, when this recruiter has a job to fill, he reaches for the smaller stack of referred applicants first. It’s simply more efficient and effective to check out candidates who come with a recommendation from a trusted friend or colleague.

So, how do you get your resume into the coveted short stack? Here are some tips:

1. Put people first.  Instead of starting your job search with job postings, start with the people you know. Where do they work? Where did they used to work? Who do they know? What advice and introductions can they provide?

The new LinkedIn Jobs makes this easy by showing you all of the companies (that are currently hiring) where you have LinkedIn connections. Just scroll down the main Jobs page to “Jobs in Your Network” and start browsing opportunities. You can also visit the LinkedIn Company Pages of the organizations on your prospect list and view anyone in your network who currently works or used to work there.  Read the rest of this blog post here.

Seeking Jobs in the “Hidden” Job Market

Submitted by Ray Rogers – Director of Career Services

The transparency of the job market, or lack there of, often comes as a surprise to first time job seekers.  Because so many other things we have sought in life seem to be developed around a more obvious system (think of when you applied to college, purchased text books for class, or applied for a scholarship), we assume that the job search happens in a similar way.  For some, the first job search may be the first time we experience a system that is not set up for our convenience, but for the convenience of someone else.  The job hunt and application process is set up to meet the needs (and for the convience) of the employer.

While job posting sites, career fairs and college employer visits are one way to find out about available opportunites, these methods only skim the surface of all the positions that are out there.   More times than not, job openings are “hidden,” which is to say, they are not boldly advertised in a way that one searching for work could easily find.  Tapping into the “hidden,” or less than obvious, job market requires a little work, but, for obvious reasons, can be very beneficial to job seekers.

Heather Huhman posted a short and helpful guide to tapping this job source on Glassdor.com.

5 Ways To Uncover Hidden Job Openings

by Heather Huhman on Glassdor.com

Job seekers are struggling to find positions because so many job openings are never even advertised online. The “hidden job market” is very real, and it’s causing frustration among job seekers. You can find these jobs by determining what a company needs.

Here are five ways to uncover those hidden job openings:

1. Target the Company. Most companies now have internal job boards where they post all job openings. Determine a list of companies you want to work for, find their job boards, and apply directly. This is the most direct way to find job openings in a specific company. A great way to stay on top of these job openings is to add their job board to your RSS reader. When new jobs are posted, you’ll know right away.

2. Talk to Your Personal Network. This is the most talked about method, but it would be wrong not to mention it. Use the connections in your professional network. Get a personal reference from someone who knows about a job opportunity at their company. Your professional network can also help you find someone who knows someone, who knows someone else, who knows about a job opening.  Read the rest of this blog post here.

Recruiters Are Looking at More Than Just Your LinkedIn Profile: Are You Talent Worthy?

Submitted by Anne Meehan – Assistant Director of Career Services

If you are questioning whether your LinkedIn Profile is really being viewed by recruiters and talent managers, the answer is an epic “yes.”  Over 16,000 clients or companies pay to use LinkedIn Recruiter as a candidate sourcing and hiring tool.  With over 200 million users on LinkedIn, recruiters find LinkedIn to be the best tool to help glean top talent.  If you are new to LinkedIn or an avid user, you will want to read this article from Wired.com to get the recruiter perspective.

The Most Important LinkedIn Page You’ve Never Seen

By Alexandra Chang on Wired.com

Tucked behind your professional, yet pretty, profile picture, the descriptions of all your past jobs, and that column of “People You May Know” is a section of LinkedIn that most people have never heard of, let alone seen. And yet it’s the real reason why you should actually care about sprucing up your LinkedIn profile and network.

Dubbed LinkedIn Recruiter, it’s the company’s flagship product and the core of the professional social network’s Talent Solutions. Talent Solutions drive just over half of LinkedIn’s revenue, $161 million in the last quarter. While any LinkedIn user can see jobs and the pages companies build for themselves, Recruiter is only visible to companies that pay to use LinkedIn as a candidate sourcing and hiring tool.

Recruiter is a bit like a two-way mirror where companies and recruiters can see all of your profile information, without you knowing they’re checking you out. For example, recruiters can search for people with specific skill sets, flag them and add a dossier to their profile — all without that person knowing. They can all of the jobs they’ve listed and people they’re watching. Sure, there is a “Who’s Viewed Your Profile,” but those using LinkedIn Recruiter can make themselves anonymous (as can paying LinkedIn premium account members). Read the rest of this blog post here.

Employers are Interested in Far More than Your College Major

Submitted by Ray Rogers – Director of Career Services

As a strong supporter of a pragmatic liberal arts education, I was very excited to read findings from a recent survey from the Association of American Colleges and Universities showing that employers care about far more than a student’s major.  Critical thinking, innovation and broad skill sets that top their list.  And, they overwhelmingly encourage internship experience!

More Than a Major

by Zack Budryk on Inside Higher Ed

Business executives care more about their new hires’ thinking, communication and problem-solving skills than they do about their undergraduate majors, according to a survey being released today by the Association of American Colleges and Universities. The association first conducted the survey in 2006, and has done so periodically since then.

The report, entitled “It Takes More Than a Major: Employer Priorities for College Learning and Student Success,” features the percentage of business executives responding positively to a number of statements, and the results suggest that these employers are not just looking for STEM majors — or for any one kind of major.  Read the rest of this blog post here.

Employer Follow Up is Key

Submitted by Ray Rogers – Director of Career Services

A good amount of attention is devoted to finding jobs through networking, how to develop an effective resume and application and how to conduct a winning interview.  Where I see many applicants fall short is in the followup–after the interview.  The article below is a great read for anyone in about to enter or who is currently in the job search process.

Posted on FOXBusiness on April 8, 2013 – By Emily Driscoll

How Students Should Follow Up With Employers

College seniors who have sent out resumes and interviewed with hiring  managers might be ready to sit back and hope for a job offer, but their  application process is far from complete.

In the current competitive job market, following up after the interview has  evolved beyond a common courtesy and into a necessary step.

“It shows us that they care, they want to work here, that we’re not just one  of six companies and whoever offers the most money is the offer you’re going to  take, so it’s incredibly important and many do not do it,” says Tony Knopp, CEO  of ticket management company SpotlightTMS.

An effective follow up provides employers a sense for how a candidate might  conduct themselves in a professional setting as an employee at that  company, says Lindsey Pollak,  career expert and author of Getting from College to Career.

“You want to show that you understand professionalism means showing up,  following up, closing the loop on conversation, it means communicating regularly  so you’re advancing your job search but you’re also demonstrating your  professionalism, which is so crucial when the job market is so tough,” she  says.  Read the rest of the blog post here.