LinkedIn - A Simple Introduction

What is LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a huge database of professional profiles. Recruiters use it a lot so it makes sense to have your profile there.

Complete Your Profile

The recruiter uses the LinkedIn search function to hunt for people. That means you have to complete your profile because if there is no content, the search engine won't have anything to work with.

Also, if the recruiter makes it to your page and it doesn't tell him much, he's going to pass you by.

Attach Your Resume

LinkedIn now allows you to upload your resume as an attachment to your profile. You should upload yours. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't complete your profile.

Use Generic Terms.

LinkedIn has a field under your name that you can use for a quick description of yourself. Neal Schaffer calls it the Professional Headline.

Some companies have unique job titles. No one outside the firm has ever heard of those titles so no one is going to search them on LinkedIn. If you have a freaky title, replace it with one that most people are familiar with.

Connections Don't Matter

In the past, when you did a search on Linkedin, you could only find someone if you were linked to her (by 1, 2 or 3 degrees). See a Detailed explanation of Linking here.

If I was searching for a Sales Operations Manager in Milwaukee and you were a Sales Operations Manager in Milwaukee, you would only turn up in my search if you were linked to me.

So, it was important to link to a lot of people because that would increase the size of your searchable database and it would also make you more findable by others.

But, a few weeks ago, Jerry Albright asked me to run an experiment on Linkedin. We both entered the same search terms and compared our results. They were the exact same.

In theory, my results should have been better because because I had 4000 connections and Jerry only had 1800 so I had a bigger database.

In fact, however, the Linkedin game has changed radically. Now, you get the same number of results no matter how many links you have.

There are, however, some limitations.

For instance, when you do a search, only the first and second degree contacts are shown with their full name. Third level contacts only show the first name and the first initial of the last name and people outside of your network will show up in a search without a name.

However, that problem is solveable.

There's a summary section near the top of every Linkedin profile. It usually includes a current job title. For instance, Senior Recruiter at Fred's Computer.

Put these exact words into Google and it will give you the person's name. Sometimes it helps if you search it like this: linkedin "Senior Recruiter at Fred's Computer".

There's another limitation. If the person is not in your network you don't get to see their entire profile, only the information the person had decided to leave open to the general public. But, usually, that's enough. If you have someone's name, title and employer it's easy to find the phone number and call them.

Linkedin Groups

I said to Jerry, "I guess groups don't mean anything now either." In the past, if you joined a Linkedin group, the members would become searchable even if they were not linked to you. But now that everyone was searchable being in a group seemed irrelevant.

Jerry told me I was wrong, Groups are still good because you can send messages to other group members even if you don't have the inmail privileges that come with a paid account.

The Limits of a Free Account

One more point. If you have a free account you can only see 100 results per search. So, if you want to see 500 people you have do the search five times. Just modify some of the factors.

Zipcode is the easiest to vary but you can change some of the keywords, too.

If you're searching for Sales Managers in the HVAC business, first look for people selling fans, then blowers, then pumps. It might be a little awkward but usually you want to narrow your search anyway rather than plough through hundreds of returns.

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