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The problem with job boards is that unless they are rather unknown, everyone is using them. Applying through boards is essentially like getting into the back of
by fecak 9y ago
The problem with job boards is that unless they are rather unknown, everyone is using them. Applying through boards is essentially like getting into the back of a line and hoping you get noticed.
When I coach job seekers on finding new work, I typically encourage them to be careful not to spend too much time on the boards, and instead rely on their networks/meetups or personal research.
Using LinkedIn to search for open jobs is similar to using any other site, but it's greatest value is as a research tool.
Say you're a Python programmer in a suburb somewhere and you're looking for a new gig. If you use LinkedIn to search "Python" and set a geographic preference, your results will likely be other Python programmers in the area. Where do they work? Where did they used to work? Sometimes LinkedIn will offer other profiles in the sidebar ("people also viewed") - click those and see where they worked. Now you've got a list of companies that have employed Python devs, so you can do a bit more research to see if they are the type of place you might want to work - and pay no attention to whether or not they have any jobs listed on their site.
Once you found some companies that interest you, use LinkedIn to figure out the best person to reach out to. Might be their CTO if it's a small shop, could be an internal recruiter or hiring manager for a larger firm. Make the approach, tell them why you're interested in the company, and make a soft close to try and get them to agree to a conversation.
- henrik_w 9y agoI know LinkedIn isn't particularly popular here at HN, but I think the job adds I get shown there are quite good. Even if I am not looking for work I get a sense of what companies there are, and what kind of positions they are looking to fill.
- toomuchtodo 9y agoI’m in my current role because a recruiter found me on LinkedIn. I would’ve never gone looking for the particular role. Highly recommend LinkedIn regardless of what you might think of the platform.
- tezzer 9y agoSame story here. I never would have known about my company if their internal recruiter hadn't reached out to me on LinkedIn. I blew him off the first time he reached out, saying 'not now, check back next year' and when he called a year later I was ready for a move.
- SOLAR_FIELDS 9y agoI know that hiring managers for high paying and high skill level niche markets also use Linkedin - in my line of work the skills are niche enough that we will look for people with certain backgrounds and initiate the conversation with them to see if they are possibly interested. It's one of the reasons that the only social network I am on currently is Linkedin, it certainly is a window for opportunities. In fact, I'm in my current position which I am quite happy with only because a recruiter reached out to me on Linkedin.
- fecak 9y agoYour mileage will vary on LinkedIn depending on the time you put into populating your profile. I have written hundreds of profiles for clients this year - some clients are more concerned with branding (what does someone feel when they are directed to the profile or find it on their own) while others are much more concerned with just being discovered by recruiters, hiring managers, peers, etc. The approach is quite different, not unlike SEO techniques. If you're getting good ads, chances are you put some time into your profile and added skills that help their recommendation algorithm.
- albertgoeswoof 9y agoIs linkedin's SEO approach documented anywhere? Something like SEO Site checkup for linkedin profiles would be pretty cool.
- fecak 9y agoThere was a great detailed article on it many years ago, but since they've changed the site I haven't seen a new one. This is about as good as I've seen, and it's written by them. https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/4447/linkedin-search-relevance-people-search?lang=en https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/4447/linkedin-...
- wikibob 9y agoDo you have any profiles you can link to as examples? This sounds really interesting.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- el_benhameen 9y agoWould you mind elaborating on what you mean by a "soft close to try and get them to agree to a conversation"? Is this somewhat direct, along the lines of "I'd appreciate a few minutes of your time to talk about opportunities at your company", or something more general like "I'd love to take you to coffee to hear more about what you do"?
- fecak 9y agoSure. Soft close is a vague way of saying "don't go begging for a job". When you make this approach somewhat cold or perhaps slightly warm, your objective is to get a conversation started - that doesn't need to be a formal interview. Of the examples you provide, I'd think the latter might be more effective (possibly including "or a quick call" to make it even less of a commitment).
- iridium 9y agoSomething I read a while ago that stuck with me - ‘When you are looking for a new opportunity, you are really just looking for a person.’ This reframing totally changed how I look for new jobs, and what suprised me more was how willing people were to refer me, even if they had never met me.
- fecak 9y agoThat is great advice, and to take it a step further I'd say not to focus on getting an interview but rather a conversation. If people you haven't met are referring you, you are already doing something right.
- wishinghand 9y agoI agree. Instead of applying for a job, I do my best to figure out who's in charge of hiring and connect with them on LinkedIn. Once they accept I mention what I like about the company, that I can fill the role they have open, and that I'd like to talk further about it in the next day or two. I never let more than 4 days pass without a message between us as long as the position is still open and I'm still interested. This works a lot better than hoping I get an email back from their applicant management system that they'd like to setup a phone call. It puts a little more agency in my hands.
- irrational 9y agoDo you have any suggestions on how to find the right people when they aren't using social media like LinkedIn or Facebook? I know a number of managers at a local Fortune 150 company that don't use those tools and I've always wondered how I would find their contact information if I didn't already know them.
- RobSim 9y agoOne trick that I’ve learned is most people at larger companies have standardized email addresses, so all you need to find is one person in the company’s email, and you can guess anyone else’s based on their name.
- fecak 9y agoProbably referrals from others inside the company (who you could find on LinkedIn). No real good answer to that.