If you’ve been lucky enough to hear John Hill speak, then you can skip this post. He’s positively brilliant about explaining how LinkedIn is a cornerstone of any job search.

I wrote two years ago in this blog how shocked I was that students are not counseled by career services in networking online; and today I’m glad that people like John and Terry Bean are out there preaching, because the situation hasn’t changed nearly as much as it should.

In talking recently with a current student at the University of Michigan, I was encouraged to hear they were counseled to “reach out to friends and relatives” – terrific advice. But the idea of doing that through LinkedIn as well as the real world hadn’t been broached.(!) While I’m sure that the UM is so large that it’s happening in some places and not others, my point is that LinkedIn coaching is still not standard practice at many educational institutions.

Why am I so passionate about this? In part, I know too many people looking for jobs. It’s a tough time to be in Michigan. But it’s also a great time to be in Michigan! There are people creating jobs in all sorts of places! And where are you going to find the movers and shakers? Online.

Who’s connected to the movers and shakers? Build a network in LinkedIn, and you’ll have access to the address book of everyone you know. Then look up a company you want an intro to, and find out who can make the intro for you. Easy peasy.

Then learn how to ask for an intro. It’s an art. Learn what a good ask looks like. Talk to Terry Bean – he is a great coach at the ASK. He’s also got a great book on business networking that ought to be required reading for anyone in a job search – the same rules apply. For nine bucks you can’t afford not to check it out.

John has some great tips on the ask, too. In particular, he suggests tapping into alumni networks. He’s done an exemplary job of building the MSU alumni network – and using it to help students – and the university make helpful connections. Every college needs someone like John!

If you haven’t already checked in out, LinkedIn has added an invaluable job search feature. You can search jobs by keyword and by zip – both within LinkedIn and through the aggregator Simply Hired. Take a gander if you’re doubtful about the existence of jobs in Michigan. My bet is that you’ll be (pleasantly) surprised.

Happy hunting!

I would like to point you to a favorite article on the topic of Facebook vs. LinkedIn, but after browsing a couple pages of Google results I’m here writing because there was a disappointing amount of industry-centric commentary. We’ve got A-List bloggers scorning one or both systems (hardly a “use case” or fair comparison for the average business person); pundits debating which network will succeed, and scenarios describing the use of these systems in getting (and unintentionally losing) jobs, etc.

While all of that analysis has its place, what do Facebook and LinkedIn offer to the average business person? Here’s my “elevator pitch” answer…

LinkedIn
If you’ve got a business card or a resume, you need to be on LinkedIn. It’s a tool for sharing professional recommendations, which means you belong here if you’re working on growing your business or your professional network. Period.

Facebook
If you want to get back in touch with your buddies from college and high school, join FaceBook. That’s what it was designed for, and what it still does best.

For a little more detail on both LinkedIn and Facebook, read on: Read More

I’m not an early adopter – I just hang around a bunch of them.

By November 17, 2003, enough of these early adopter types (aka friends) had bugged me about LinkedIn that I finally felt compelled to sign up and give it a whirl. For a long, long time it was mostly my techie friends there. And not much happening.

Years later, when facebook took off and I became a Twitter addict, I figured LinkedIn was dead. Unlike these other social media tools, LinkedIn wasn’t “giving back”. You could collect data (ie make connections and add resume items) but beyond that, what was the use? It seemed limited to being a virtual file cabinet for resumes – and I’ve already got enough places to file things, thanks. Read More