I’m On LinkedIn – Now What???

Think Like A Recruiter While on LinkedIn, Part II

Last week I wrote Think Like a Recruiter While on LinkedIn and got a terrific suggestion from Don (second comment):

… if there are a few different possible email address structures for a company (i.e. Microsoft has so many employees, they have had to expand/change their email structure – firstname.lastname or firstnamelastinital or lastname.firstname…) ALWAYS send 1 email to each email address. This way you will know which email address is the correct one through a process of elimination…for the bad ones you will get a “UNDELIVERABLE” notification. Chances are it you do not get a notification, you have the right email address.

Thanks Don, that’s a great suggestion – my only addition to that is to try this one at a time (as you suggest) but wait to try another one until you have received an undeliverable message… you don’t want to send 3 of the same emails to someone and have them all get there…

Posted in Using LinkedIn | No Comments »

Think Like a Recruiter while on LinkedIn

In the last post I talked about how to cheat the system by joining Groups (in regards to contacting people you find on LinkedIn).

Here’s another tactic, though, which I’ve used.  When I find a target contact I will use the internal messaging if I have to.  I like LinkedIn Introductions, to a point… but what might be better is just a plain old email to the target contact.

However, if you are not a first degree contact it might be really hard to find an email for the person.

Now it’s time to start thinking like a recruiter.  If a recruiter found the perfect candidate, and the email wasn’t there, that would not stop them from moving forward.

A recruiter would look for another way to contact the person – phone (whitepages.com) or email or something else.

Recently I found someone who I wanted to contact.  It was the CEO of a company.  In doing some company research (first on LinkedIn, to find other employees there, then on their blog) I found the naming convention of their corporate email addresses.

How?  I found two employees who had their email addresses posted online (0utside of LinkedIn).  Both of their email addresses had the same naming convention… so I GUESSED on the CEO’s email.

It worked – within 24 hours I had a reply to my email, from the CEO.

Just because you can’t message someone through LinkedIn’s mechanisms, don’t stop!  Find other ways to get in front of that person – when I’m stuck I think “what would a recruiter do?”  Tacky, I know, but they do this stuff all day long.

Posted in LinkedIn Companies, LinkedIn Introductions, LinkedIn Profiles, Using LinkedIn | 6 Comments »

Contacting LinkedIn Contacts – Cheating the System

Last week I wrote about LinkedIn Companies, and the work I’m doing prospecting people on LinkedIn.

I was comped an upgraded account on LinkedIn (thanks LinkedIn!) and have really loved it… I have the ability to communicate with people I’m not connected with quickly, easily and immediately.

However, if you don’t have an upgrade there is a way to cheat the system.  Actually, it’s not really cheating the system.  And if you had my LinkedIn DVD or LinkedIn book you’d already know this… it is a powerful almost-loophole to help you contact people in LinkedIn.

Did you know that if you are in the same LinkedIn Group as someone you can message them for free, no matter how you are connected?

It’s perhaps the most compelling reason to join multiple LinkedIn Groups.

Here’s how you can apply this:

Let’s say you find a target contact… but she is a third degree contact.  You don’t want to do a LinkedIn Introduction (for various reasons)… you’d rather contact them directly.

Go to their LinkedIn Profile, scroll down to their Groups, and find Groups that might be relevant to you (in other words, Groups you would join whether they are in them or not).

Then, join that or those Groups.  Hopefully you’ll find a Group that let’s you in right away… if so, you can then message that key person right away – all because you are in the same Group!

Pretty cool, huh?

Remember, you can only join 50 Groups at a time, so you might find yourself joining and leaving Groups the more you do this… I haven’t had to do that because I have the upgraded account, but it’s a simple fix to the problem

Posted in LinkedIn Groups, LinkedIn Introductions, Using LinkedIn | 6 Comments »

Finding Relevant Contacts on LinkedIn

Last week I blogged about using LinkedIn Companies to find relevant contacts.

It made me think about one of the options I regularly use when I get search results on LinkedIn.  Check out the option I find myself choosing almost all the time:

I used to do just “Relationship,” which is, show me all of the results based on the degree of separation.  But now I choose “Relationship + Recommendations,” because this tells me something INTERESTING:

If you have Recommendations, I’m going to assume you are using LinkedIn, at least more than someone who just came in, created a skeleton profile, and has never logged in again.

And if you are using LinkedIn, or have used it a little bit, when I contact you THROUGH LinkedIn, you aren’t going to think that is so weird.

Hopefully, because you understand LinkedIn a little better, you’ll see my communication to you for what it is, instead of judging it as spam.

I know I’m generalizing, and assuming that having Recommendations means you know what’s going on, but that’s really the best I have to go on right now.

Speaking to the other options:

Relevance: I think this means how relevant the Profiles are based on my search criteria… but since they have “keywords” in there, maybe this is based on job titles?  For example, a C-level or director is more relevant than a manager?  I don’t know and didn’t test.

Connections: The same argument could be made about the number of connections someone has, however, I still want it based on my RELATIONSHIP (Degrees of Separation) first, and then another criteria.  It would be cool if they put Relationship + Connections as an option.

Keywords: I’m guessing this makes the keyword phrase more strict… but I’m not sure, really, what the diff is between not choosing any option (which defaults to Relevance).

Anyway, my preference today is Relationship + Recommendations

Posted in LinkedIn Profiles, LinkedIn Recommendations, Using LinkedIn | No Comments »

LinkedIn Companies – A Goldmine of Information

This last week I’ve been working on “business development,” or looking for key contacts in industries and companies that I want to communicate with.

Specifically, I’m looking for channel partners to help me move forward with my outplacement offering.  I should say, it’s more of an alternative, or even a supplement, to outplacement – by no means do I think I’m going to compete head-to-head with traditional outplacement.

I find myself doing more and more searches in the LinkedIn Companies search than anywhere else.

The old Jason would have done a regular, simple search in the regular search box, which by default searches on “people.”

The new Jason clicks on Companies (at the top) or changes the default search from “Search People” to “Search Companies.” I’m thrilled, elated and impressed with what I’m finding.

I find all relevant people in a target company.  The most relevant, for me, have become those who are currently at the company (the first grouping of people).  I look at the contacts based on (a) their job function/title, and (b) their connection to me.  I find the people I want to contact and then reach out to them.

Some people get an inmail or message, although I have to be careful with those because I only have so many.  Others will get a direct email.

I’ll blog more about some of the aspects in this post next week, but I have to say, I’m IMPRESSED with the LinkedIn Companies functionality – I have been saying it’s the second best thing about LinkedIn, and I’ve come to fall in love with it.

Are you using Companies yet? If not, I bet you could magnify the value you are getting out of LinkedIn by creating a Companies strategy.  (I touch on this in my LinkedIn for Job Seekers DVD)

Posted in LinkedIn Companies, Using LinkedIn | 3 Comments »

Would You Pay $43.33/month for LinkedIn Access?

I just got an email from the chairma of Ecademy:

I’ve not really paid much attention to Ecademy… it is a European professional network.  The two things I think I know about Ecademy are:

1. There are lots of small businesses there promoting their stuff (hawking their warez). This is quite a big difference between Ecademy and LinkedIn – sure there is business stuff in LinkedIn, but I think the general feeling is in LinkedIn it’s the professional first, company second (in many cases).  I don’t know, but what I’ve heard, in Ecademy it’s my company first, then the professional.
2. Scott Allen is the expert in Ecademy.  He was a few years ago, I don’t know if he’s kept up with it.

That’s really all I know about Ecademy.

I find it intriguing that they have been charging $39.95/month for blackstar level access… that is more than LinkedIn’s lowest ($20/month) level.

WHO IS PAYING THAT?

Enough people, apparently, to encourage them to increase the price by about 10%.

My thoughts were:

1. Would regular LinkedIn users pay $40 or $43/month for a high-level access?  I doubt it.  Companies would, but I doubt individuals would.
2. Would LinkedIn users be okay with a 10% increase in the fee?  I highly doubt it.  We’ve become so accustomed to getting lots of stuff online for free… not for regular increases in monthly fees.

I don’t know much about Ecademy now but I’ve always wanted to learn more… time and money have been my issues.

Posted in social networking | 11 Comments »

“Will You Recommend Me On LinkedIn?”

Don’t you love those messages you get from someone you don’t really know who ask if you will recommend them on LinkedIn?

I hate them.

Part of the issue is my connection policy: if someone invites me to connect I typically accept (with one exception).  In part, this personal policy is because I have a public personality and people might read my stuff or here me speak and want to connect – I’m happy to start a relationship that way (as opposed to saying “I don’t know you yet – let’s work on a relationship first.”).

What this means is I get a lot of people who I don’t know.

And it bugs me to no end when one of them, someone who I don’t know, asks me for a Recommendation.

What can I recommend you about?  The fact that you don’t know people but still ask them for professional endorsements?

That’s like a car company asking for an endorsement of a car you’ve never been in.

Or a pen company asking for a testimonial for a pen you’ve never seen or used.

I do not write back and decline, or lecture, I simply delete the Recommendation request.

It still bugs me, though…

Please, only ask for Recommendations from people who can really recommend (or, professionally endorse) you.

(this is only one reason why I dislike the built-in recommendation request feature in LinkedIn)

Posted in LinkedIn Recommendations, Using LinkedIn, social networking | No Comments »

LinkedIn Recommendations and Other Recommendations: So What???

I’ve been thinking about this for a long time – I am pretty sure I included it in my LinkedIn book and on the LinkedIn DVD – and for sure I talk about it in my LinkedIn presentations.

When you get a Recommendation on LinkedIn, what do you do with it?

I think too many people don’t do anything with it, except let it sit there.

If you assume people will (a) flock to your LinkedIn Profile, and (b) scroll down and read any of your Profiles (after reading any of the LinkedIn Profile that proceeds it), I think you have unrealistic expectations

So, perhaps your LinkedIn Recommendations are sitting there like a bump on a log, getting no attention, and not working for you.

You are CEO of Me, Inc, right?  Well, put on your marketing hat.  Here’s an example:

As CEO of JibberJobber, and creator of the LinkedIn DVD (LinkedIn for Job Seekers (not just for job seekers)), I check out my Amazon reviews every now-and-then.  These reviews are similar to LinkedIn Recommendations – hopefully they are credible endorsements of a thing (in this case, my DVD.  In the Recommendation case, of YOU).

Here’s a recent Amazon Review I got:

I got more helpful information from this DVD then from reading 3 seperate books on LinkedIn. I would recommend this DVD to anyone looking for a job or just looking to learn more about LinkedIn.

This is a terrific endorsement of the DVD.  As a marketer, what do I do with it??

I have started to send out PART of this review to various places – on my website, in emails, etc.  Which part?  This:

I got more helpful information from this DVD then from reading 3 seperate books on LinkedIn.

This is not a lot to read or digest.  I’m not asking the reader to sift through jargon or cliche – it’s straightforward and to the point.

Go through your own LinkedIn Recommendations and take out one sentence, or one part of a sentence, from each of them that you could use somewhere.  Here are a few of mine that I think drive various points home (and enhance my personal branding message):

• As a speaker: Jason… “is a great speaker who connects with his audience and engages them in the presentation.”
• As an author: “Jason’s book “I’m On LinkedIn. Now what? is an incredible aid to anyone who doesn’t fully realize the value of LinkedIn…”
• As a subject matter expert: “Jason Alba is more than an expert in his field. He’s an expert who can actually teach and help others become an expert too.”
• My position in the industry: “From his powerful suite of tools at JibberJobber / Career Management 2.0 to his books on LinkedIn and Facebook, Jason delivers huge benefits to careerists, entrepreneurs, and even to career coaches!”
• Regarding my JibberJobber website: “I have been using JibberJobber.com as a premium user on a daily basis since 2007. Jason has created an excellent Web 2.0 service which has provided a vehicle for me to efficiently and clearly organize my career goals. As excellent as JibberJobber is, Jason has continually enhanced and improved his user’s experience and efficiencies”
• As an entrepreneur: “Take one part job-seeker advocate, one part solutions guy, add a collaborative style and toss with a heaping cup of innovation. Mix well. This is the recipe that is Jason Alba.”
• As a leader: “Jason was a visionary leader for Nuvek, strategically focusing the company on profitability. I learned so much from him as my mentor and my boss.”
• As a service provider (think customer service): “Jason’s expertise, reliability, attention to detail, and affable personality made working with him a pure pleasure. We received an excellent product tailored to our needs”
• As a team player: “I found Jason’s contribution [to the team] intelligent, insightful and meaningful to our objectives.”
• As a human being: “Jason is one of easiest individuals to talk to.”

Gosh, that sounds like a Jason-Is-Awesome Fest, doesn’t it?  I didn’t do it stroke my own ego (although I’m feeling pretty good right now), but to make a point – there is gold in your LinkedIn Recommendations!  Sift through each one and pull something out!

My first point is: You don’t have to use the entire LinkedIn Recommendation in your marketing.

Putting the entire thing could be distracting.  Use the powerful point you want to make, and leave the rest out.  It’s really okay to not say everything!

My second point is: Others are already talking favorably about you – let their words sell you.  And use those words in various places.

Once you figure out what your snippets are, put them somewhere – just leaving them on your LinkedIn Profile is not good enough (not if you are trying to market yourself – which you should all be doing).  Here are some places you can put these snippets:

• In your email signature,
• On your website
• On your blog – perhaps in the title or subtitle?
• In blog posts
• On your business card
• On your resume
• In your Bio (more on that later)
• __________________________… where else?

Go, today, and find snippets.  Then figure out where to put them.

Posted in LinkedIn Recommendations, Using LinkedIn | 24 Comments »

Is LinkedIn Walking A Fine Line?

Last week I posted about LinkedIn & Twitter and got a very interesting comment from Charlie PA TPK:

I have to wonder about the direction LinkedIn is heading with these enhancements.

I am very protective about my online identity, so much so I use a pseudonym (as in this post) when I make my observations on policies, products and services.

When LinkedIn added photos, my initial thought was ‘Gee, just like MySpace and Facebook’. Now I see Twitter hooks.

When does a serious, employment-related social networking service end and another time-suck service (ala Facebook, Twitter) begin? I am not suggesting that LinkedIn has reached that point yet, but every time there’s a new hook like this, it moves closer.

This much I know: the day one of my LI contacts ‘pokes’ me will be my last on LI.

So, what should LinkedIn do?  I’ve heard comments like:

• Facebook is trying to become more like Twitter,
• LinkedIn is trying to become more like Facebook,
• Twitter is trying to become more like Friendfeed….

Should each social network just be themselves?  I’m afraid I don’t see that happening – when one scores a grand slam with a feature, the others are sure to follow… and if that keeps up then eventually they’ll ALL look like one another.

I can’t imagine Facebook losing all of it’s “fun” “social” flavor and becoming more boring like LinkedIn (I mean that in a good way).

I can’t imaging Twitter adding all the stuff Facebook has – one reason Twitter was so succesful was because of the simplicity.

We have seen LinkedIn adopt many social features … the question will be, how far will they go?

My contacts on LinkedIn are different than my contacts on Facebook and/or Twitter.  I don’t care to have the same functionality with my LinkedIn contacts as I do on Facebook – do you?

I’m not privvy to any LinkedIn product design meetings – that would really be quite interesting. But I doubt they are going to aggressively pursue all of the fun stuff you see in other networking platforms… they seem to be very respectful to their users and want to add value to the process of finding and being found… not to connect everyone from 12 to 92 years of age.

What do you think?  Do you think you’ll walk away from LinkedIn if they add certain features (like Charlie says)?

Posted in Using LinkedIn | 10 Comments »

How to Request and Introduction on LinkedIn

I recently was asked how to request a LinkedIn Introduction. I love Introductions for a few reasons which I talk about in my LinkedIn book and the LinkedIn DVD (2 hours of training!).  Here I’ll share the mechanics of HOW to do it.

You would use the LinkedIn Introduction request when someone is a second or third degree connection, and your introduction request goes through your first degree contact to the person you want an Introduction to.

First, I go to the  Profile page of the person I want an Introduction to.  You’ll notice I have the “send a message” link – ignore that – I only have that because I have the upgrade account.  If I had the regular account I would not see that.  The red arrow points to the link I really want.

If more than one of my first degree contacts can do the Introduction, LinkedIn lets me choose which one I want to do it.  This is cool because I will have a stronger relationship with some of these contacts – and those are the ones I’d be inclined to choose.  In this case I’m going to choose Brad.

Now I figure out how much I want to share with Harry – the person I want to be introduced to.  Lately I’ve been doing this for B2B purposes (sales) and want to be accessible in multiple ways, even outside of LinkedIn, so I put my email address AND my phone number.

Here’s one of my least favorite parts, only because sometimes I’ve had to choose from this limited list of items in the drop down, and sometimes the real reason is not listed there. Alas, choose the one that fits best – you can explain yourself better in the actual message   (also, you’ll see below “Category” is the “Subject,” this is where you put what amounts to an email subject… have it be descriptive – not vague or spammy.

Finally, you get to write two messages, one to the person you want an introduction to (in this case, Harry, and you put the message where I have the number 1), and one to the person you are sending the introduction THROUGH (in this case, Brad, with the number 2).

That’s it – then hit the Send button and cross your fingers

Two points I want to make:

1. Think about how to word your Introduction.  I wrote a post titled Killer LinkedIn Introduction Request where I show a terrific Introduction I saw and comment on it – read that post to see how you can construct your own LinkedIn Introduction.
2. If your communication is time-sensitive, perhaps an Introduction is not the best option.  Imagine if Brad where out of town for a couple of weeks?  I’d probably miss my opportunity to communicate with Harry, based on something I don’t really control (Brad’s schedule).

Good luck with your LinkedIn Introductions!

Was this helpful?  There’s a ton more on the LinkedIn DVD

Posted in LinkedIn Introductions, Using LinkedIn | No Comments »