Apparently the average time spent per month on LinkedIn is just 17 minutes. I probably spend at least that amount of time on the platform before 9am!

At the centre of my world over the past few months, LinkedIn has become like a second wife to me. With algorithms feeding me a steady diet of posts from people and organizations I follow, the platform keeps me up-to-date on the world of work, various companies, and topics of interest. Jobs for which I’m qualified float onto my homepage and into my emails like the sweet smell of homemade muffins, tempting me to apply. Beyond the teasing availability of interesting jobs, there are even confidence-inducing tools to help prepare for interviews.

What’s not to love?!

I must be honest though. It’s been a long slog. Headwinds from the COVID-19 fallout have made the task of finding work challenging. In the current environment, there are simply more fish in a smaller pond. Recently, this has started changing, but slowly.

As much as LinkedIn is the go-to online professional network, one can sometimes feel like a needle in a hay stack amid more than 706 million individuals vying for the millions of job openings listed by a plethora of companies.

So how does one differentiate oneself from others?

Getting LinkedIn

LinkedIn claims that more than 75% of people who recently changed jobs used the platform to “inform their career decision”. In terms of the efficacy of the platform in landing a job, according to a 2017 study (is there not something more up-to-date?), 122 million LinkedIn users received interviews as a result of a LinkedIn job posting, and 35.5 million people were hired by a person they connected with on LinkedIn.

With 100 million job applications submitted through LinkedIn every month (a figure I suspect has doubled during the pandemic), I believe that who one connects with on the platform is as important as applying for jobs. Certainly having an up-to-date profile is critical to making oneself as appealing as possible to a potential employer, but from my experience, linking up with people and having them refer you seems to be the ‘secret sauce’ in the hiring process.

Referrals are the engine of the co-called ‘invisible job market’ where it is said 80% of available roles reside. Which is to say LinkedIn probably represents 20% of all available jobs. So if a position is advertised on the platform, getting on the radar of hiring managers and/or decision-makers in the hiring process should be one of the most important things to do.

In essence, LinkedIn makes windows of opportunity available, but in order to succeed on the platform, knocking on these windows is not enough. One has to learn to open them. More specifically, it means having others act as window openers.

The keys to unlock these metaphorical window are ‘insiders’; individuals who are directly part of the hiring process or who have influence over it.

Getting to know SSI

Apart from securing referrals, it is important to put one’s best foot forward. To this, I recently checked out my Social Selling Index (SSI)*. If you’re not familiar with SSI, it’s a measure from LinkedIn that measures how proficient one is at establishing a professional brand, building relationships / finding people to connect with, and providing engaging insights. While it is mainly a B2B tool for sales people, it can be a useful guide in determining one’s effectiveness on the platform.

My current SSI is 74. What this means is:

My professional brand is pretty well developed with a rating of 19.76 out of 25. This is the extent to which I’ve established myself as a thought leader by including interesting content on my profile, posting high-quality information relevant to my followers, and securing endorsements from connections on LinkedIn.
My networking score is adequate at 15.61 out of 25, but it probably indicates that I can do a better job of using LinkedIn’s search tool and connecting with second-degree connections, as well as those who search my profile.
The third component of the SSI metric is the extent to which one offers insights when engaging on the platform. In my case, I have a passing grade (13.17 out of 25). I suppose this means that I need to do a better job of sharing relevant content, contributing clever comments, and being an active member of LinkedIn Groups pertinent to my profession of corporate communications.
The last SSI measure is building relationships, and here I am doing well. Fortunately, it’s something I do naturally, and hopefully, it means I’m doing a good job of establishing trust with decision-makers on LinkedIn.

Connecting Virtually

Leveraging a network starts with building a network. Networking during pre-COVID days included informational interviews over coffee with individuals at companies one might be targeting, as well as attending events where one could meet in-person. These face-to-face opportunities are far less common nowadays so tapping into virtual networking tools is essential.

My LunchClub profile

One networking platform that caught my attention recently is LunchClub (thanks to an invitation from Justine Greenland Duke). Offering online introductions to relevant people using AI, the service curates 1:1 video meetings that it facilitates on a weekly basis. Apart from inputting one’s interests, one can share ‘conversation starters’ such as “I’d like to learn about…”, “top-of-mind for me…”, and “My side hustle…”. One also indicates personal objectives in using the service, ranging from exploring new projects, to meeting interesting people, to getting to know other companies.

AddI’ve met some interesting people through LunchClub and now that Google Meet, Zoom and WebEx are a normal way to meet, face-to-face encounters seem to be less important than they once were. Give it a try.

The journey continues and my connections continue to grow. As I remain focused on securing the right role, I continue to follow the ABC Principle: “Always Be Connecting”…;-)

What have been your LinkedIn learnings? Any stories or tips to share regarding the process of job hunting? I’d appreciate hearing them.

*To check out your SSI you need to be logged into your LinkedIn account and then follow: https://www.linkedin.com/sales/ssi

A new city, a new life. That’s the thinking in coming to Toronto, Canada’s biggest city and the financial centre of the country. With my LinkedIn profile up-to-date, a polished up CV and a new suit, I have ‘put myself out there’. As a job hunter I can say there are three priorities when seeking employment: 1) Work your network; 2) Strategically attend events; and 3) Use LinkedIn wisely.

Work your network

While one may not be working, the best first step is to get in touch with friends and colleagues from previous positions to ‘test the market’. Hear from them on where they think opportunities may lie, some of their perceptions of the job market and insights into agencies, companies and leaders in different sectors in which they work. If you’re interested in a particular company that they either work at presently or previously, ask about the people, the culture and various positions at the firm. Enquire as to how they landed their job, whether they know any good headhunters, and even if they’re aware of any organizations looking for specific talents and experience.

In effect, you’re interviewing those in the market about opportunities that may be available. It is a strategic way to capture ‘on the ground’ information and if an opportunity does manifest itself, receiving a first-hand recommendation (ideally face-to-face or on an email) via a friend, is the most powerful way to have your name elevated among considered candidates. Such ‘insider recommendations’ are alway useful, so pay attention to this feature on LinkedIn (see below).

Strategically attend events

This is also a tactic to learning about the local market, but in a way that could payoff handsomely. If you look for events in your industry or at least industries and/or trends of interest, sign up and go! Sometimes events are free but generally there is a nominal cost to network and learn. And once you’re there, make the most of it, talking to strangers, from the organizers to the attendees to yes, even the speakers/panelists.

Face time and a handshake are often underestimated in their impact. Make yourself memorable with smart questions, a passion for the focus of the event, and a coherent understanding of who you are and what you’re looking for. Whether you meet an industry expert or a student new to the sector, be friendly, engaging and curious. Apart from being polite, you never know who that person knows…but you won’t unless you open your mouth and bother to say something. And if you end up landing an interview, make sure you reference attending events relevant to the interviewer (i.e. those that may show your interest in a particular industry or expertise in a certain trend).

Use LinkedIn wisely

The #1 platform for work-related networking is a very useful tool, but only if it is ‘employed’ to its potential. A few tips to make the most of it:

- Follow industry leaders and companies of interest and post on your feed your insights and comments about content they may be sharing. Even better, write an original post and share your own content, tagging in those you’re like to notice, like and share it.

- Sign up for LinkedIn Premium. It gives great insights and you can always downgrade when you’re employed. While ‘between jobs’, invest in this tool to see in which jobs you’re the top applicant (based on your profile), view a detailed breakdown of salaries by (per industry, company size, education level and field of study), and analyze hiring trends and employ-relevant stats from different companies.

- Take some courses on LinkedIn. While they are a relatively new feature on the platform, there is a diverse array of topics to study while you’re looking for a job. As you complete courses and learn new skills, put them on your CV and/or LinkedIn profile. Lifelong learning is mandatory if you’re going to get ahead - let alone keep up - in today’s economy. Pick up important terms and equip yourself with knowledge and insights that may set you apart from other candidates.

Job-Hunting in the time of COVID-19

Job Hunting in Toronto