The Undercover Recruiter

How Graduates Can Make the Most of LinkedIn and Twitter

“77% of recruiters suggest that they would run an online search for the candidate”

“Only 29% students use social networking sites to promote themselves”

The UK economy is set to go into a double dip recession (BBC, 2012), as the market shrinks by 0.2%. Although this is set to be revised at least twice, this still demonstrates that graduate job opportunities are going to continue to be few and far between. So how do new graduates gain an extra advantage when capturing the dream role they have studied so hard to achieve?

Bringing Good To The Table

Graduates need to consider what they can bring to the table for their new organisation. Dan Hawes suggests using what you know best to get connected and create the cutting edge to get ahead. Most businesses who are not Internet savvy generally use newspaper ads, radio and television spots to reach out to customers and increase demand. However the generation for today use the internet for almost everything. Organisations are noticing the need to reach out to these customers and potential candidates to fill vacancies.

Positive Social Networking

Social networking has been blamed for removing the importance placed upon education and placing this importance upon social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter. However, future graduates can use their social media savvy to discover graduate vacancies before they are advertised to the wider market. The way of advertising jobs through social media is becoming ever more popular due to the accessibility the candidates have to it and cost of doing such advertising.

SME’s are feeling the need to digitalise and reach out and benefit online where a substantial growth of £0.8million in 2000 to £58.8billion in 2010. In today’s economy, an employer wants to know that, if required, you are able to complete a wide range of jobs. Having transferrable skills, a can do attitude and a willingness to learn and be involved in all aspects of the business is key to nailing the job interview. Although organisations prefer graduates with IT degrees, there is a need for graduates to understand social media in order to gain exposures. With this is mind, organisations are increasingly becoming broader in who they recruit when requiring a certain task to be completed with each executive incorporating social media into their professional branding strategy.

Working In The Lime Light

It is not only in the corporate world where you can use your social media savvy to get ahead of the game or to enjoy your role. Last year we learnt that Charlie Sheen was searching for an intern to manage his online presence. Charlie Sheen noticed the need to reach out to his supporters however did not have the time to do so. These types of jobs are becoming more apparent and available to recent graduates, so long as these graduates are able tom exploit their knowledge of using social media.

You And The World Wide Web

Although an online presence offers a positive for graduates, it is necessary to consider how it can reflect negatively upon yourself from your presence on the World Wide Web. 77% of recruiters suggest that they would run an online search for the candidate to generate additional information that can be of help. With this in mind it is important for graduates to promote themselves and paint a professional picture; however a survey showed that only 29% stated that they use social networking sites to promote themselves. The internet presents equal opportunities to enhance or damage your career prospects. It is essential that people are aware of the potential effects their online personal can have on their real lives.

Graduates need to promote themselves through social media such as Facebook and LinkedIn to stay one step ahead of the rest. Can you really afford to not be promoting yourself through social media networking sites?

Follow these five simple action points to use your social media savvy when gaining an advantage within the work place:

1. Ensure you have the following: Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, and Facebook

Although there are many additional sites you can be registered with, these are the main ones recruiters are going to look at. However having additional profiles on the likes of marketplace can be a good addition. Although Facebook may not be deemed as a professional networking site, it offers vast opportunities to connect with various professionals on a personal level.

2. Stay active online and develop your professional digital footprint

It is no good simply opening accounts with the mentioned sites. You will need to remain online commenting on relevant and professional topics. Have an interview but you are nervous? Look for your interviewer on LinkedIn and discover their interests to help create some common ground when you meet. The use of being able to see who has viewed your profile on LinkedIn means your interviewer knows you have gone the extra mile to understand the interviewer, which can only help demonstrate your determination to succeed.

3. Keep your social life separate from your working life

Employees have been dismissed from their role within a firm due to their excessive use on social networking sites. Either they have been suing such sites whilst at work or have slated their colleagues or their firm on these sites. Ensure you remain professional with your wording and comments and use out of working hours.

4. Ensure your profiles remain up to date

Stating something on your CV but it isn’t on your LinkedIn profile? This cast’s instant doubt into your interviewer about the credibility of either what your CV suggests or what your LinkedIn profile suggests. Check they link up and both are up to date.

5. Tweet regularly and follow the correct people

There is no need to tweet every hour or every day, however making a quick tweet here and there about a recent story or a recent activity that either interests yourself (i.e. football) or reflects upon the type of roles you want to enter within the future (i.e. recent economic downturn with finance roles). Start following specific people, such as CIPFA, to demonstrate your interests and intent to remain up to date with the relevant news and information.

This Guest Post has been written by Laurence Chandler on behalf of The Graduate Recruitment Bureau.

photo by: ralph and jenny

Filed Under: Graduate, Job Search, LinkedIn Tagged With: Graduates, Social Media

How Agency Recruiters Can Use LinkedIn [Presentation Deck]

Here’s a LinkedIn for recruitment agency briefing delivered by Link Humans in London last week at an APSCo and M Squared event. The brief was to talk about the bigger picture as in stats, why people use LinkedIn, the future AND to throw in some tips and tricks there.

If you are interested in learning more about LinkedIn for Recruitment professionals, have a look at the LinkedIn for Recruiters Masterclass at Covent Garden in London.

photo by: Adriano Gasparri

Filed Under: LinkedIn, Recruitment, Slides Tagged With: LinkedIn, slideshare

LinkedIn Gets a 1980s Makeover with WayBack Machine [Video]

Some social media users argue that LinkedIn in its current form looks very dated compared to Google Plus or Pinterest. What if we rewind 20 years and see what LinkedIn could have looked like in the eighties?

Our friends at Squirrel Monkey have dreamt up how LinkedIn would have looked like in the decade of glam rock, leg-warmers and Gordon Gekko. It reminds me of a Bulletin Board System (BBS) which was in a way was the first social media tool. Instead of a new iPad app, we would have been impressed with compatibility across Commodore 64, Amstrad and Sinclair.

photo by: Epiclectic

Filed Under: LinkedIn, Video Tagged With: LinkedIn, video

There’s a Guy on LinkedIn Swears He’s Elvis

“There’s a guy works down the chip shop swears he’s Elvis / But he’s a liar and I’m not sure about you” - Lyrics by Kirsty MacColl

In pre-social media days the traditional hiring process was thus: Advert in paper, CV posted with covering letter, interview, second interview, offer negotiation and then references. Pretty linear stuff with information shared between a fairly restricted number of players and usually confined to a discussion on professional competencies and achievements.

In the past CVs could contain embellishments (or sometimes downright lies) and only the most fastidious of hiring companies and the most honest of referees would challenge any potentially dodgy data.

Stories of such hoodwinks or blags are legion and I suspect mostly apocryphal but who’s to know how many senior and successful professionals previously managed to achieve moves up the career ladder with the odd little white lie or exaggeration on their CVs?

Online profiles help transparency

Today however we expose multiple aspects of our lives across sites such as Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Blogs, Instagram, Foursquare and many more. Savvy employers are able to tune in to and survey these online personalities and achieve a much more complex understanding of who are, or who we purport to be, without the need to ever read a CV.

In some circumstances this has even taken a more sinister or intrusive direction with stories of employers asking employees or prospective employees to hand over passwords to social media accounts so they could vet even the information we have chosen to remain private to certain circles of friends, connections and followers. Recently two US senators have asked for an investigation into this practice and Erin Egan, Facebook’s chief privacy officer, has issued a statement to users highlighting their right to refuse these requests.

Our professional profiles, which advertise our skills and experiences on sites such as LinkedIn for networking, promotional and career advancement reasons are necessarily more open than the social biased sites such as Facebook. This openness means they are there to be judged and shared online by colleagues, peers, competitors, clients and employers.

Woe betide anyone considering bending the truth or bigging up their achievements without the evidence to back it up as they can be quickly challenged and exposed. Nothing irks quite so much as someone taking undeserved credit for something and if found out the action taken against the usurper is likely to be very public and impossible to keep a lid on.

Never reveal sensitive or confidential information

The other big no-no is revealing information on profiles which others may deem sensitive or even confidential. The recent case of HR Manager John Flexman fired because of his Linkedin profile seems to hinge on two key items of contention. First that Mr Flexman was advertising himself as interested in career opportunities which is employer objected to. Second that he published company data that was deemed sensitive. I understand Mr Flexman’s court case against his employer is ongoing and many social media commentators are waiting with baited breath to see how this pans out as the repercussions may be significant.

Similarly users should avoid employing outlandish corporate gobbledygook on their profile to describe their fairly prosaic skills and services. A bit of spit, polish and marketing sparkle is perhaps fine but go too far and you run the risk of online ridicule.

Staff augmentation service?

I recently had a good chuckle at a tweet sent to over 3,000 followers by an industry voice (and then retweeted onwards by many more) raising an arched eyebrow at a recruitment agent describing their “exceptional staff augmentation service” available to clients. What was going through their mind when they wrote that particular piece of copy I have no idea but it clearly didn’t have the desired effect of accurately describing what they do but rather made them look a tad ridiculous.

The most bizarre and wrong-headed use of misinformation and deception used online that I’ve come across (so stupid I thought it was made up) are the foolish users who choose to create bogus profiles in the hope that they can solicit useful industry information from unsuspecting networkers.

For instance recruiters who hope that their false profiles will be approached with job opportunities, which they can then in turn act upon. How many flavours of stupid is that? At some point they are always “outed” and in one stroke they drag their profession through the mud, destroy what reputation they may have had and make themselves pariahs. Not to mention the distracting effort it must take to maintain the subterfuge.

Online profile guidelines

So when honing your online profile it’s probably best to stick to the following guidelines:

Sticking to the truth is always the best policy
Employment dates should add up, job titles should be truthful, responsibilities and achievements accurate, qualifications comprehensive
Use a photo that is actually you; not a cartoon character, album cover or movie star (I’ve seen them all)
Use plain English as much as possible and avoid too much corporate speak
Be 100% sure that you’re not posting any information that your employer, past employer or clients may deem sensitive or confidential
If your employer has a social media policy take care to ensure you abiding by it
Be mindful of the difference between what is appropriate on a site like Facebook where your friends are and what is appropriate on a site like Linkedin which may be seen by employers, colleagues and clients

Promotion and polish to make your profile look as good as possible is fine but mendacity is not: “There ain’t nothin’ more powerful that the odor of mendacity” – Big Daddy in Tennessee Williams’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Robert Wright is a Soft Southerner hiding in the North interested in Recruiting, Career Advice, Networking, Veggie Patching, Walking the Dog, Parenting and Husbanding. Find him on Linkedin or follow his Twitter account @robmwright.

photos by: hannes.a.schwetz & kevin dooley

Filed Under: LinkedIn, Personal Branding, Reputation Tagged With: LinkedIn, Personal Branding, reputation

INFOGRAPHIC: LinkedIn Members Who Grow their Networks are 30% More Likely to Find Jobs

The co-founder of LinkedIn, Reid Hoffman recently published his new book “The Start-Up of You”, see a book review here.

One idea is what they call “I-We” – how the power of your network out to the third degree magnifies your individual capabilities. It used to be “who you know”, now it’s also “who the people in your network know”. That’s the strength of “I to the We” of your network.

LinkedIn have kindly sampled some data for us:

• The average LinkedIn member has access to over 9,000 people via their 2nd degree network
• That’s connections in over 6,000 companies in 130 industries via 2nd degree connections
• The most connected users have access to 200,000 companies through 3 million people
• As your professional network grows, so do your career opportunities
• 20% of members advancing their careers to organizations where they had a previous contact
• Job seekers who grow their networks are 30% more likely to find jobs than other job seekers whose networks remained static

Further reading: Global LinkedIn User Statistics (Infographic).

Filed Under: Infographic, LinkedIn, Networking Tagged With: Infographic, LinkedIn, Networking

INFOGRAPHIC: LinkedIn User Statistics by Network, Profiles, Groups, Applications

LinkedIn now has 150+ million users. But how are those users really using the world largest professional networking site? Good question which this infographic will try to answer. Here are some of the highlights of the study.

First off, most users (90.9%) use the free version of LinkedIn and the rest have an upgraded paid account. Probably the way it should be, paid accounts are typically only useful for people using LinkedIn for recruitment or business development.

Most users (51%) have between 0-500 first degree connections on LinkedIn. Compare that to recruiters using LinkedIn, they have an average of 616 first degree connections (more at How Recruiters use Social Networks).

This is interesting: only 50.5% of users have ‘complete profiles’ as defined by LinkedIn. Getting a complete profile is really simple so wonder why so few people have done this?

The majority of LinkedIn users are in 10 or more groups. 10.4% of users are a member of the maximum 50 groups. Being in more groups gives users more visibility and ability to search for others, something only one in ten users have clocked on to.

How must time are users investing in LinkedIn? No surprise here that the biggest group (47.6%) only spend between 0 and 2 hours on the network per week. Only 10.5% of users spend more than 8 hours on LinkedIn per week, probably the same users that are members of 50 groups!

What do people like about LinkedIn? Most users say they like Groups, people searching, finding people they might know, seeing who’s viewed your profile and looking up company information. No mention of snooping on competitors or looking up ex-girlfriends.

Source: Power Formula

Filed Under: Infographic, LinkedIn, Statistics Tagged With: Infographic, LinkedIn

How Many LinkedIn Connections Do Power Networkers Have?

How many super connectors do you know on LinkedIn? Are you one of them?

What is a super connector?

Let’s start with the basics. A super connector is basically someone that is very well connected (no surprise here). The author Keith Ferrazzi uses the term in his book Never Eat Alone, here’s his definition:

“Super Connectors are people who maintain contact with thousands of people in many different worlds and know them well enough to give them a call. Restauranteurs, headhunters, lobbyists, fundraisers, public relations people, politicians, and journalists are the best super-connectors because it’s their job to know EVERYONE.”

I think we all know people like these, people whose name keeps popping up here and there in different contexts.

So who is a super connector on LinkedIn?

Some would say that anyone with 500+ connections is a super connector. I would probably say 1,000 makes you super at connecting. The poll below used 3,000 connections as the threshold into super connectivity.

If you feel like checking out some real life super connectors on LinkedIn, have a look at Neal Schaffer’s post listing 10 LinkedIn LIONs and Super Connectors.

But hang on, it’s not about the size…

Let me add the obligatory disclaimer here so I don’t get too many angry comments about quality vs. quality, engagement vs. broadcasting, farmers vs. hunters etc etc etc. This post is only about the numbers, what you do with your connections is another matter. The fact that someone has amassed thousands of connections does indicate that they have an ability to connect with other people (or they just trawl LinkedIn 24/7).

What percentage of LinkedIn users are super connectors?

A LinkedIn poll conducted by Michael Field Pty Ltd has identified LinkedIn super connectors (with at least 3,ooo connections). They asked 1,006 LinkedIn members exactly how many connections they have.

The findings:

• 54% of respondents have less than 500 connections,
• 27% have between 500-999
• 12% have between 1,000-1,999
• 3% have between 2,000-2,999
• 4% have 3,000+ connections.

So only 4% or one LinkedIn user in 25 have more than 3,000 connections and can call themselves super connectors here. Most folks have less than 500 connections which makes perfect sense. The first 500 connections are the most difficult to get, from there LinkedIn tends to snowball in the user’s favor and before they know it they’ve hit 1k.

Where are you on this scale, how many connections do you have? Do you feel that the connections you have are enough for your networking efforts?

Filed Under: LinkedIn, Networking Tagged With: LinkedIn, Networking

LinkedIn Headlines that Stand Out from the Crowd [10 Examples]

The headline is possibly the most important part on your LinkedIn profile. It is your 120 character hook to people finding you in a LinkedIn search, it should be about what you do as opposed to what you are. It should be memorable and enticing enough for someone to click on your profile and not your competitors.

Here is a compilation of a few interesting and creative LinkedIn headlines from around the world. Some are funny, some are memorable and some are very professional. Do let us know which is your favorite below in the comments section!

Be sure to check out the Top 10 LinkedIn Headlines of Recruiters as well.

1. Left & right brain thinker

Giacomo Bracci Helsen clearly uses his whole brain when coming up with new strategies for design.

2. Bleeding for his art

Glenn Le Santo keeps it brief. If you have ever seen Glenn’s speed of content creation you would definitely agree with his statement in the headline.

3. Wickless Candles Fun?

How exactly are candles fun? Well the headlines sounds like fun. Bit of a tongue twister perhaps but certainly an intriguing headline by Rebecca Brown.

4. The clear value statement

Our great friend and LinkedIn supremo Ed Han has gone for the classic personal brand statement with clear value to the reader.

5. The publicity expert on Google

Joan Stewart is the Publicity Hound, there is no confusion here about what she does for a living.

6. The secret agent

Tony Giovannini is a secret agent at UTV, what he really does is obviously shrouded in mystery.

7. Living the dream

Antonio Rocha Ferreira is living it up in Lisbon town, to find out more we have to click on his profile (and how could we resist with such a great headline?).

8. Human potential

Unleashing that human potential on LinkedIn, Steven Pallesen has gone for an almost philosophical headline.

9. The non-dead recruiter

Michael Bense has our favorite recruiter headline and deserves a mention here as well.

10. Not a team player?

Gordon Rae takes the biscuit with a humorous headline, wonder how it works when applying for a new job? Have a feeling Gordon isn’t too bothered!

I hope these headlines have given you some inspiration and will help you craft your own winning tagline on LinkedIn. If you want feedback on your headline, just write it in the comments and we’ll review it for you!

Still struggling with your headline? Check out Link Humans LinkedIn training courses in the UK and beyond.

Image credit JB Taylor

Filed Under: LinkedIn Tagged With: LinkedIn

Why LinkedIn is More Important than Facebook or Twitter

In a study from ROI Research, 59 per cent of respondents say LinkedIn is their most important account on social networks. This is a big gain from last year’s survey when only 41 per cent said LinkedIn is their number one.

The fact that LinkedIn is the most important network to people is interesting as the average user only logs on 2.9 times per month. Compare this to Facebook where the average user logs in every day. Another interesting fact is that LinkedIn never actually call themselves a ‘social network’, they prefer the term ‘professional network’.

We also learn from the study that respondents with ‘active’ LinkedIn accounts (i.e. not signed up and forgot about it completely), half of them visit the professional networking site once a week and a fifth log on daily. This is actually less than the figures from the height of the recession a year ago when two thirds visited the site at least weekly.

My 10 Reasons LinkedIn is the Winner

There are quite a few reasons LinkedIn has passed Facebook in this department:

1. LinkedIn likes to copy Facebook’s successful features. You may have noticed the share button and even the like button. These are of course direct copycat tactics that have worked well. Back in the day you couldn’t even upload your picture on LinkedIn but slowly and surely they have copied more and more from Facebook. Familiar features on one social networking platform will work on another.

2. Topical. Last year’s IPO of LinkedIn has made it the flavor of the month. If you want press coverage (and scrutiny), an IPO is probably one of the best ways. Every man and his dog have now signed up after reading that LinkedIn adds 8 new members every second. Having said that, a film is not a bad way of getting PR either – Facebook only beat Orkut in Brazil after ‘The Social Network’ was released.

3. Personal branding. Performics’s CEO Daina Middleton reckons: “Individuals have embraced social networking as a means to actively manage their personal viability in the global economy.” LinkedIn is loved by Google and if you want to manage your search results, LinkedIn is your quickest and best bet.

4. The recession. Unemployment in many countries are at an all-time high and LinkedIn is one natural place for job seekers to network their way to the next opportunity. Perhaps more so natural than job boards which have historically been the place to go.

5. LinkedIn’s hiring solutions are gaining momentum. After a big push last year, many large companies have signed up for premium recruiter accounts that allow them to contact any user of LinkedIn direct without being connected in any way. When people notice this, they realize how vital their own profile has become – and thus LinkedIn gains in importance overall.

6. Under the radar in your office. Think about it, most offices have a ban on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and the such just to keep productivity levels up. Is there ever a ban on LinkedIn? Nopes. The big L is seen as a work-related tool and is therefore acceptable to have on your screen even when the big boss happens to look over.

7. Lack of competition. Who are the hot rivals of LinkedIn? Local players such as Xing, Viadeo and Baidu will takes years to reach the size and reach of LinkedIn. Facebook are possibly the only serious contender, if they were to aim for the professional market as well (which they don’t at the moment).

8. LinkedIn is safer than Facebook. Again think about it, on LinkedIn there is really nothing to hide. You only get one tiny picture of yourself and a limited space to tell the world about your interests. Above all, there is no wall on your profile. This means nobody can tag you in drunken photos or write nasties on your wall. This could be part of the appeal of LinkedIn for anyone who is not Generation Y.

9. Word of mouth. Whilst social media is all about connecting online, we only tend to use sites that someone has recommended. Most people have by now heard success stories from friends finding a job or a new client through LinkedIn. Did you ever hear that about Facebook or Twitter? I rest my case.

10. It’s real. Apart from a few dummy profiles set up by headhunters to find new vacancies, everyone on LinkedIn are themselves. We have our real names, our real pictures and we’re listed under our real employer. The terms and conditions of LinkedIn state that you have to be truthful on your profile and you may only have one. Compare this to Twitter or MySpace where you’re just as likely to be known as CyberKitten and sport a neon colored avatar as you would be using your own name and image.

Do you agree with these 10 reasons? Can you add the eleventh and twelfth reason behind LinkedIn’s success? Please add your comment below!

And don’t miss the 10 Best LinkedIn Headlines of Recruiters.

Filed Under: LinkedIn Tagged With: LinkedIn, Social Media