Every time I speak with candidates, I always ask them about their LinkedIn activity. If you are an active job seeker, selling yourself via social networking is a critical element of your job search campaign. You must be proactive and you must be visible. There’s a lot of competition out there, and effectively separating yourself from your peers is what will ultimately make the difference in the success of your search. You are essentially a product that needs to be sold. Ask yourself: “What makes me better than other, similar products that are being considered?”

Being an avid user of LinkedIn myself, I’ve learned a lot… and continue to learn. And I have a reason to believe in its power, considering I’ve landed my last three jobs due to connections I’ve made (and relationships I’ve built) on LinkedIn. The following is a list of what I feel are some of the most important aspects of LinkedIn – a “cheat sheet” for job seekers if you will. This is based on what I’ve taught myself, as well as tips I’ve learned from LinkedIn/social networking gurus, Neil Schaffer and Lewis Howes (who have both written excellent books on the subject – and are both people you should be linked to).

Beginner Tips:

1. Make sure that your profile is 100% complete (and make sure to add specific keywords and skills into your summary). This greatly increases your visibility. Similar to Google analytics, you will show up higher on the list in search results.
2. Make a point to get grow your direct network to100 people or more. Connect with LinkedIn’s most “linked” users. You can find them here: http://www.toplinked.com/toplinked.aspx. Most have contact information either at the top or bottom of their profiles.
3. Use a photo of yourself… smiling. Users are more likely to connect with you… as it’s more welcoming :)
4. Update your status regularly. It shows that you are active!
5. Don’t be afraid to reach out to people who you don’t know (we are living in a “pay-it-forward” society, and this is what social networking is all about).

Once you’ve done this, here are some Intermediate Tips:

1. Join relevant LinkedIn groups. Think about starting your own group (I started one called Texas Interactive, which now has close to 700 members). Get active in your niche! Also, the more groups you’re in, the better. And… if you don’t have an individual’s email address, but share a group with him/her, you can connect that way.
2. Become an “open networker.” Join groups such as LION (LinkedIn Open Networker) and TopLinked. Get into the habit of accepting everyone’s request to expand your 1^st degree network… which will ultimately expand your 2^nd and 3^rd degree network. And don’t stay in a “box” – expand to new individuals who don’t yet know what you have to offer!
3. Participate in group conversations. Represent yourself as someone who is knowledgeable in the subject matter by providing valuable content. If you have a question about something, utilize LinkedIn Answers (http://www.linkedin.com/answers/). Whatever your query, there are plenty of industry professionals out there who are happy to assist you (going back to the pay-it-forward statement).
4. Write recommendations for others. The more recommendations you have, the better. If you give a lot of value, you will receive a lot (according to the ‘rule of reciprocity’).
5. Utilize LinkedIn’s “Advanced” search option. This gives you the ability to narrow down your search; locating members based on things like keywords, geographic location, company/school, industry, etc. Advanced search also supports “Boolean strings,” which allow you to narrow (or broaden) your search in a very specific—effective—manner. Learning how to use Boolean operators and formulate strings is not as complicated as it might sound, and there are many sites/tutorials that can assist you with this. I personally like http://www.internettutorials.net/boolean.asp.
6. Use LinkedIn as a cross-referencing tool. For instance… if you apply to a job online (and know the name of the company), you can often times locate the hiring manager on LinkedIn — or at least locate someone who can get you to the right person. This can be an effective tactic for getting past gatekeepers.

Whether you are a frequent Twitter user or not, you most likely caught wind of the new Twitter trend known as “Twitter Lists.” It recently launched and I’ve already found it useful for personal use as well as for Paladin. A Twitter List is a new way of categorizing the people you follow and their tweets by your own preference.

Over the past few months, I have helped oversee the social media networks for Paladin with most of my focus on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. I find Twitter to be useful as a quick, interactive site to connect with our candidates and clients. The Twitter Lists now help us organize tweets from candidates, clients, marketing/creative/communiations associations, publications, news, events, etc.

Are you ready to create a Twitter List? Well, do you follow someone, but they are often overwhelming your home page and keep you from noticing other updates? Do you follow a variety of tweeters, such as celebrities, news, and job search firms? Are you ready for more organization within Twitter? If so, it’s time to get started! So…how do you create a Twitter List? I’ve listed a simple version, but if you are a visual learner, like me, the website below will give you detailed version: http://tinyurl.com/yjkle2n

1. Click “create a list,” a dialog box should pop up on your screen
2. Name the list to a category you want your followers to fall under
3. Search and start following tweeters under your list
4. Another way to search is to go through your followers’ profiles and click the button on the right labeled “manage lists” and add to your specific list (this option also allows to create a list in case you think of something on the spot!)

Twitter will give you the option of making the Lists private or public. If a List is public, you can follow other tweeters’ Lists and groupings.

Will this make Twitter more confusing? We don’t think so, in fact it makes Twitter more friendly and organized. The guys behind Twitter are predicting it will increase the number of new users. Twitter also promises the the roll out of List descriptions within the next week so public lists are easier to understand and, in turn, create more followers.

Let us know if you have created a Twitter List. Why did you decide to create a list and has it been helpful? @PaladinStaff has already been added on others’ Lists under the labels such as career, HR recruiting, work, etc. We also have started our own Twitter Lists to help us categorize marketing, creative and communication news/updates. Follow our Lists and let us know what you think.

@PaladinStaff/marketing

@PaladinStaff/creative

@PaladinStaff/communications

Last week I was fortunate enough to be asked to speak at the first Chicago Social Media Breakfast. SMB has been in existence in other cities since 2007 but this was the first one in here in the Windy City. The event was separated into different groups with specific topics to discuss. My group was focused on social media and personal branding in regards to the job search and career advancement.

As marketers we are seeing a wholesale change in how companies engage in communication with their clients and consumers. In addition, the ways we as individuals communicate are also changing dramatically. I think for the most part marketers (especially in the last year) are really starting to grasp the enormous changes going on within their space.

What has continued to be a struggle for people is telling the difference between “blowing your horn” in regards to your talents/expertise and “communicating your passion” to a wider audience than your existing personal/professional network. The ability to help people and in turn receive recommendation has never been more important.  It’s a very organic way of self development which also can help you gain recognition and ultimately a new job, a promotion or new business for your organization.

My Top 5 Takeaways from our group discussions were:

1)      “The golden rule” treat others the way you would like to be treated. This will ultimately be something that will come back around to you.

2)      When networking on LinkedIn or other sites don’t “ask for a job” use the tools available to create awareness for your expertise to gain a larger network of targeted individuals for potential career placement and/or advancement.

3)      Use social media to create an integrated marketing campaign around a helpful blog post you have written (become a resource). This is a post I wrote describing an initiative I created here at Paladin: 

       Paladins Marketing Ninja guide: The 30 Minute Challenge

4)      Don’t close yourself off to just blogging, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. One of the attendee’s was discussing his use of Tumblr something I am going to attempt to utilize.

5)      Nothing replaces face to face contact. Definitely get out from behind your computer and regularly get out to coffee meetings, association evening events and luncheons. This is a post I wrote regarding networking events in Chicago: Paladins Galaxy Guide to Networking in Chicago

 We are all hearing the constant chatter (no pun intended) around social media. Some of the discussions are valid and some of are based upon lack of understanding and experience. My recommendation is to continue to share openly with each other and pay it forward. It’s a great community we have here in Chicago and I’m excited to attend future Social Media Breakfast’s!

Last month I wrote a blog highlighting a hiring trend I’m seeing recently at Paladin. In short, we found that although a recession typically leads to an increase in mid-level interim staffing needs within corporations and agencies, our clients were disproportionally hiring senior/executive level marketers for both direct-hire positions and for interim roles.

To gain a larger perspective, we asked the marketing community for feedback via a LinkedIn poll. We wanted to determine if what we are seeing at Paladin is an anomaly, or actually a hiring trend in marketing departments.

The Findings:

Nearly 60% of the respondents polled said their companies were not hiring at all in 2009. Not shocking given the current state of the economy.

However, what’s interesting is that 30% of the remaining respondents said their organization was hiring due to one of the following three reasons:

-         The need for a fresh marketing approach

-         A shift in business direction

-         Business growth

We also saw that enterprise and mid-sized organization were seeing the least hiring of senior level marketing talent. Small and large organization were the most active.

So, how can this information help marketers who are looking for work? The good news is that there are opportunities, and in order to find those openings, you should keep an eye out for companies that match the three indicators for hiring.  As you network through organizations like the BMA or CIMA, read key publications such as Crain’s Chicago Business and The Chicago Tribune or leverage corporate Facebook accounts and Twitter feeds, keep an eye out for corporations that are taking a distinctly different approach to marketing or to their actual business model.  As always, those companies that are experiencing rapid growth are ideal opportunities for senior marketers as well.

The poll is still up and active. Feel free to participate and add comments. We continue to be interested in tracking this trend.