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Revamp Your Linkedin Profile with These 4 Updates

One of the simplest yet most effective updates you can make to your LinkedIn profile is to 1) refresh your profile picture. A professional and approachable photo is the first thing people notice when they visit your profile. It sets the tone for how others perceive you in a professional context. A recent picture can really help convey your current professional identity and demonstrate that you’re engaged with your career.

When selecting a new profile picture, consider using a high-resolution image that shows your face clearly. Dress in professional attire appropriate for your industry, and choose a neutral background to keep the focus on you. Remember, your profile picture is not just a photo; it's your first impression. Make it count!

Updating your profile picture is just one of the 4 Updates To Your Linkedin Profile That You Need To Make Now. By showcasing who you are today, you'll create a more engaging experience for potential employers, recruiters, and connections. Bring a fresh look to your LinkedIn profile and watch how it can open doors to new opportunities.

2) Craft a Compelling Headline Now

Crafting a compelling headline is crucial when it comes to capturing the attention of potential employers and expanding your professional network. A great headline not only reflects your career expertise but also entices readers to delve deeper into your profile. If you’re looking to attract more connections and opportunities, consider the 4 updates to your LinkedIn profile that you need to make now.

Start by focusing on your current job title and industry. Make sure these elements are not just accurate but also marketable. A well-crafted headline that is clear and concise helps others instantly understand what you do. Instead of just stating your role, consider adding a little flair—use descriptive terms that highlight your unique skills or perspectives. This will set you apart and make your profile memorable.

Next, don’t forget about the power of keywords. Using relevant keywords in your headline can significantly improve your visibility on the platform. Think about the words that potential employers or collaborators might search for and incorporate them naturally into your title. This is essential, as one of the 4 updates to your LinkedIn profile that you need to make now is ensuring that your profile is easy to find and appealing to those in your target industry.

Finally, consider including a personal touch. A little personality can go a long way in making your headline relatable. Whether it’s mentioning your passion for a certain field or noting a soft skill that sets you apart, adding this element can create an immediate connection. Remember, a well-crafted headline is your first chance to make a lasting impression, so invest time in perfecting it!

Read Updates 3&4 and the complete JobSearchandCareerTools article

5 tips for optimizing your LinkedIn profile from a director of recruiting

Anna-Louise Jackson @aljax7

If the novelty of baking bread has grown stale and you’ve binge-watched every TV show and movie of interest, add this activity to your stay-at-home list: Update your LinkedIn profile.

Whether you’re still working full time, you’ve been laid off or furloughed, or your job seems like it could be at risk, it’s a good idea to be prepared for a potential job search. That’s because the job market is likely to become more competitive in the months ahead.

More than 22 million Americans have filed for jobless benefits in recent weeks, and the unemployment rate — previously at a 50-year low of 3.5% — could rise to as high as 32%, according to projections by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Many experts are forecasting that a global recession is all but inevitable.

So now is a good time to update your LinkedIn profile and ensure you make a positive first impression to hiring managers or recruiters, says Casey Hasten, a director of recruiting at VIP, an executive search firm. Paying attention to some small details can make a big difference, agrees Kylan Nieh, who works in product management at LinkedIn Profile.

“Listing your professional industry on your profile makes you up to 38 times more likely to be discovered by recruiters,” Nieh says. “If you don’t have a lot of job experience yet, consider adding any volunteer work, internships, or extracurricular activities, which gives recruiters more insight into your background and increases profile views up to 29 times.”

Here are five tips from Nieh and Hasten for optimizing your LinkedIn profile.

1) Put ‘some meat’ on your profile

There are several sections to a LinkedIn profile, including a summary, work experience, education, skills, endorsements and recommendations, and interests. The more detail you add, the more likely you are to be discovered by recruiters who use the platform to find potential candidates.

That’s why Hasten is looking for “some meat” underneath a candidate’s title. “You want your LinkedIn profile to mimic your resume,” she says. She recently hosted a podcast on the do’s and don’ts of using the platform to support your professional goals.

Be detailed about your work experience and make sure you include relevant keywords that recruiters might be seeking in potential candidates, Hasten says. She and other recruiters are often looking for someone with a unique and particular set of skills and experience: “I always joke that I’m looking for a purple squirrel.”

Keywords are so important because people like Hasten use LinkedIn recruiting to screen for potential candidates, “and if you don’t have your keywords on your profile, then you’re not going to turn up.” Be sure to update this information as you add new expertise. “Don’t underestimate the importance of using all that information,” she adds.

Finally, don’t forget about the skills section. According to figures from LinkedIn, 87% of recruiters say the skills a candidate lists are crucial. “List your strengths on your profile and start with the top five that are most relevant for your job or the job you want,” Nieh says.

If you have some time on your hands these days, this may be a good opportunity to brush up on skills or even learn new ones. LinkedIn Learning offers more than 16,000 courses and is currently offering more than 275 of those for free to help people navigate new working environments or land a job in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Nieh adds.

4) Signal to recruiters that you’re open to job opportunities

One of the easiest ways to pop up on the radar of recruiters is by letting them know you’re open to job opportunities. This is a setting you can enable within your profile.

“If you’re job seeking, absolutely turn that on,” Hasten says. “There are times when I’m doing a search and 100 people come up, and 20 of them are open to opportunities, so I’ll talk to them first.”

Be sure you’re offering this information to the right audience. There are two options: You can let all LinkedIn members know that you’re open to job opportunities, which can mean people at your current company, even your boss, could see, too, or you could limit that notification to recruiters.

What’s more, you can specify the type of job and location you’re interested in so that your profile appears in search results for recruiters, Nieh says. And if you’re a business owner or freelancer, you can list services on your profile that indicate to your network that you’re “open for business,” he adds.

See all 5 tips and the complete grow.acorns.com article

Does Your LinkedIn Profile Prove Your Credibility? 5 Boxes To Check

William Arruda

Now that your first impression is likely to be delivered online, you need to focus your attention on your LinkedIn profile. That’s because it’s the place people will go to learn about you when they’re checking you out in a professional capacity. And that’s great news. It means you don’t have to Tweet like Kim Kardashian and publish YouTube videos like Justin Bieber to influence those you seek to impress. By focusing on just one social platform— LinkedIn—you can deliver a powerful, authentic and differentiated first impression. A compelling profile sits at the intersection of likability and credibility. In this previous post, I shared ideas for upping your likability on LinkedIn. In this article, I focus on the things you need to do to make sure your profile exudes authentic credibility. Here are the five areas to pursue:

1. Are you professional?

Nothing screams “unprofessional” like a profile that’s not complete or is riddled with typos and grammatical errors. Your credibility wanes the second people spot that first glaring typo which screams “this person does not possess the brand attribute “attention to detail.” And a profile that’s not complete or is out-of-date says that you aren’t taking your career seriously. To make sure your profile looks professional, check it several times or have a professional copy editor look at it. You can find inexpensive copy editors on sites like Upwork. In addition, make sure your prose is properly formatted and has the right amount of white space (in your About, for example) so it makes it easy for the reader to consume. And lastly, take the time to complete all relevant sections of your profile. It’s an investment that will pay off.

3. Are you an expert?

One way to show people you are a leader in your field is to be clear about your expertise. That means not trying to touch all bases—that makes you a jack of all trades but an expert in none. Make it crystal clear in your profile what your expertise is. Make sure your top three endorsements are for the skills for which you want to be known. Also include all relevant details in the Experience section of your profile to reinforce your expertise—using all the right keywords that will reinforce your domain. Don’t just make a generic one-sentence statement. Be specific. And use the Accomplishments zone (certifications, courses, awards, projects, publications) to highlight those activities that feature your expertise.

See all 5 areas and the complete Forbes article

What's In A Name? A Lot, Says LinkedIn

By William Fenton

Names tell stories: LinkedIn locates divides by gender, nationality, and profession.

If I had my sights on the corner office, I'd do well to re-brand myself as "Bill." According to LinkedIn, that is. After scouring its repository of 100 million professionals, LinkedIn has released some fascinating data about first names and career paths, not to mention some delightful infographics.

Thanks to its global reach, LinkedIn has data on professionals from across the planet. Senior Research Scientist Monica Rogati started by combing the database for names over-indexed (over-represented) among CEOs. The results revealed a gender divide.

While monosyllabic names are over-represented amongst American executives, globally it's another story. The Brazilians have Roberto, Spaniards Xavier, Germans Wolfgang, and the Italians—I'm not making this up—Guido. And that's before season 4.

What's In A Name? A Lot, Says LinkedIn

By William Fenton
Names tell stories: LinkedIn locates divides by gender, nationality, and profession.

If I had my sights on the corner office, I'd do well to re-brand myself as "Bill." According to LinkedIn, that is. After scouring its repository of 100 million professionals, LinkedIn has released some fascinating data about first names and career paths, not to mention some delightful infographics.

Thanks to its global reach, LinkedIn has data on professionals from across the planet. Senior Research Scientist Monica Rogati started by combing the database for names over-indexed (over-represented) among CEOs. The results revealed a gender divide.
LinkedIn CEO Names

The top five CEO names for men were either short or shortened versions of popular first names: Peter, Bob, Jack, Bruce, and Fred. The top five names for women executives, meanwhile, tended to use full names: Deborah, Sally, Debra, Cynthia, and Carolyn. Of the contrast, Rogati cites Onomastics specialist Dr. Frank Nuessel, who posits that males use shortened names to "denote a sense of friendliness and openness," whereas females employ full names to "project a more professional image."

While monosyllabic names are over-represented amongst American executives, globally it's another story. The Brazilians have Roberto, Spaniards Xavier, Germans Wolfgang, and the Italians—I'm not making this up—Guido. And that's before season 4.

More Info On Name And Complete Article

LinkedIn: #1 Place for Job Searchers Online

By Marilyn Maslin @ Resume Footprint

According to the 2010 Global Brainstorming Day LinkedIn is now the #1 online networking platform for active and passive job searchers. Career coaches, resume writers, and outplacement specialists all agree that if you are looking to impress, be found, and get results online, you need a well-branded LinkedIn profile.

Today’s hiring managers use LinkedIn to source and research candidates. Devote time to establishing a quality, branded LinkedIn profile that will attract recruiters and job opportunities. Job searchers, who don’t take time to write a strategic, keyword rich LinkedIn profile, may be overlooked by recruiters.

About LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the largest professional network online, hitting a milestonein May 2011, with over 100 million members in over 200 countries and territories. About one million new members join LinkedIn every week. Originally created as a place to build an online resume, today it is primarily used for professional networking.

Users create profiles promoting their work history or online resumes. LinkedIn profiles include career history, education, connections and professional recommendations. Additionally you can join groups for networking purposes.

How to Find a Job Using LinkedIn

Build Your Personal Brand: Use your LinkedIn profile to manage your professional brand or career footprint. This self-packaging is all about differentiation you in the job marketplace. You want to leave an indelible impression on your contacts and the community that is uniquely distinguishable.

Profile Perfect: Your LinkedIn profile must match your resume and needs to be complete and flawless. No spelling or typographical errors. This is your resume online and it will be critiqued by recruiters, hiring managers and HR staff.

Professional Photo: Get an updated, professional headshot made and communicate to your prospective employer who you are through your energy, warmth and approachability. If you don’t have a professional portrait, post a flattering, professional picture of yourself.

Headline: Your headline will automatically display as the last job you held unless you change it. Consider making your headline your professional brand, or the job you are targeting. Brand yourself for the job you want – for your future.

More advice and complete article on Examiner.com: LinkedIn: #1 Place for Job Searchers Online - Denver job search | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/job-search-in-denver/linkedin-1-place-for-job-searchers-online#ixzz1KeiflfwX

LinkedIn: #1 Place for Job Searchers Online

By Marilyn Maslin @ Resume Footprint

Today’s hiring managers use LinkedIn to source and research candidates. Devote time to establishing a quality, branded LinkedIn profile that will attract recruiters and job opportunities. Job searchers, who don’t take time to write a strategic, keyword rich LinkedIn profile, may be overlooked by recruiters.

About LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the largest professional network online, hitting a milestonein May 2011, with over 100 million members in over 200 countries and territories. About one million new members join LinkedIn every week. Originally created as a place to build an online resume, today it is primarily used for professional networking.

Users create profiles promoting their work history or online resumes. LinkedIn profiles include career history, education, connections and professional recommendations. Additionally you can join groups for networking purposes.

How to Find a Job Using LinkedIn

Build Your Personal Brand: Use your LinkedIn profile to manage your professional brand or career footprint. This self-packaging is all about differentiation you in the job marketplace. You want to leave an indelible impression on your contacts and the community that is uniquely distinguishable.

Profile Perfect: Your LinkedIn profile must match your resume and needs to be complete and flawless. No spelling or typographical errors. This is your resume online and it will be critiqued by recruiters, hiring managers and HR staff.

Professional Photo: Get an updated, professional headshot made and communicate to your prospective employer who you are through your energy, warmth and approachability. If you don’t have a professional portrait, post a flattering, professional picture of yourself.

Headline: Your headline will automatically display as the last job you held unless you change it. Consider making your headline your professional brand, or the job you are targeting. Brand yourself for the job you want – for your future.

'Are You There God? It's Me, Jobless'

Shira Hirschman Weiss

Last Thursday, the Labor Department released data stating that the number of new unemployment applications is at its lowest since July 2008. While this indicates the economy is picking up speed, the news can either be a beacon of hope or salt rubbed into wounds for the presently unemployed. Faith is in a precarious perch for the religious and jobless. While some become despondent from repeated rejection and thwarted efforts, others cling to faith and turn fervently to prayer.

Deirdre McEachern is a career coach who says she sees clients "whose faith has been enhanced and re-affirmed by the job hunt." One of those clients, Jennifer Bindhammer, was a flight attendant with United in September 2011. "She came to me in early 2002 re-evaluating her life," explains McEachern. "We worked together for several months and in the process she reconnected strongly with her personal faith. Once she deciphered her life purpose, she felt as if God was opening doors for her -- helpful coincidences kept appearing -- like the sign she spotted on a subway platform advertising an MBA program." This literal and figurative 'sign' led the flight attendant to pursue her MBA.

In the process of contemplating the switch to a corporate profession, Bindhammer -- no stranger to the friendly skies -- turned to the heavens. "I enjoyed flying and I enjoyed my job, she writes in a testimonial, "It just wasn't the challenge that I wanted it to be, and realized that I needed to be challenged. When I thought about changing careers, I prayed about it -- I actively prayed."
Bindhammer followed her passion, received her MBA and kept praying. She is now working with an international air transport consultancy that focuses on aviation.

While the former flight attendant's faith was reaffirmed, Fiona (not her real name) reflects on how she sunk into a deep depression when she was laid off from a Public Relations start-up during the late 90s "dot bomb" era. She stopped praying and began spending Friday nights at local bars instead of the synagogue. She could have benefitted from an organization like Project Ezrah, had it been around at the time. The North Jersey based organization was founded in 2001 to aid members of the Jewish community (and now helps Jews and non-Jews alike) who were suffering from the hardships of unemployment.

Rabbi Yossie Stern, Executive Director of Project Ezrah, has seen individuals like Fiona who have been turned off to the synagogue experience, who are angry with God, and who are depressed about their situation to the point of losing faith. His organization has put together programs to help those who feel despondent. Notably, it developed initiatives to professionally retrain unemployed baby boomers.

"When your brother is impoverished, you have to be able to empower him to be self sufficient," he explains, "The highest form of charity is being able to afford someone a job, to help him achieve the same sense of self-esteem and quality of life that you have." His organization provides a wide range of services including a popular job board, career counseling services, financial counseling, mental health counseling, job training, and "in the box and out of the box services. We try to provide it all," Stern says. There is also a LinkedIn group that includes seminars on how to use social networking to find a career and much more. "We empower people to network, which is the best way to find employment."

Fiona eventually found her way back to a public relations career and to the synagogue, but admits that she felt at odds with her faith when things were uncertain: "I didn't feel it was God's fault," she explains, "It was related to a sudden, dark depression, which came about from my unemployment." And which, she admits, also may have been related to the fact that she was in a bad relationship at the time. "When life is unstable, it contributes to the instability of unemployment." Rabbi Stern stresses that it is critical that spouses be encouraging and not place blame due to unemployment. He emphasizes that a support system and building of confidence is essential to one's job hunt.

While Fiona received counseling for her depression, she realized she needed to make significant efforts to find a new job. "The Hebrew word Hishtadlut kept flashing through my head," she says. Hishtadlut means that one must make their own efforts. It relates to the universal concept of "God only helps those who help themselves."

Read the rest of the Huffington Post article

Jim Stroud demos Linkedin Signal and how to use it to find job leads.

This episode marks the end of season 1 of The Jim Stroud Show. Subscribe now to get updates on the next season. (Scroll down for more jobhunting resources.)

More Jim Stroud Advice @
the Recruiters Lounge

11 Reasons Why Every College Student Needs a LinkedIn Page

by K. Walsh

While in college, students worry about having enough money for tuition, what to major in, finding time to study, and passing mid-terms and finals. Having a LinkedIn page is probably far from their mind. But it shouldn’t be! LinkedIn is a valuable tool in their arsenal for helping them to establish their career.

It is important to remember that LinkedIn is your professional face to the business world. It is not like Facebook or YouTube. Don’t post goofy pictures, be silly, or say inappropriate things. Put your best foot forward. You are creating your own personal branding and this is your sales letter (about you) to future employers and to the world.
With that in mind, here are 11 reasons why every student needs to join LinkenIn:

Build your professional network. It’s never too early to start building a network with people in your career area. Start by linking to classmates who are in your major. While they are friends and classmates now, in the future they become business referrals. Ask professors who are in LinkedIn to write a recommendation for you. Linking to professors ensure that you will stay connected to them after you graduate. This could be beneficial.
Check out career paths. Find people who are in LinkedIn who are already employed in your desired profession. Check out their profiles to see what they have done to become successful. See if you can incorporate something from their career path into yours.
Prepare for interviews. When you have a job or internship interview, review the profile of the person who will interview you. Having this background knowledge during the interview will help impress the interviewer.
Get referrals. Networking is all about who you know and who those people know. If there is someone in LinkedIn that you would like to meet, ask a mutual acquaintance to for an introduction.
Land internships or jobs while in school. Is there a company that you would like to work for or an internship that interests you? LinkedIn can help you find a common connection to someone at that place of business.
Gain connections from conference attendees. When you meet new acquaintances at a conference that you attend as a student, chances are you do not have a business card to share. Nor do other students. LinkedIn is the perfect place to maintain a connection to those people once you have returned back to school.

Tips 7 - 11 and complete article

Top 10 Tips For Building A Strong LinkedIn Profile

Author Jay Markunas

Top ten tips for building a strong profile from LinkedIn:

1. Don’t cut-and-paste your resume. You wouldn’t hand out your resume before introducing yourself. Describe your experience and abilities as you would to someone you just met.

2. Borrow from the best marketers. Use specific adjectives, colorful verbs, active construction (ie..”managed project team” instead of “responsible for project team”).

3. Write a personal tagline. It’s the first thing people see in your profile. It follows your name in search hit lists.

4. Put your elevator pitch to work. The more meaningful your summary is, the more time visitors will spend on your profile.

5. Point out your skills. The Specialties field is your personal search engine optimizer when Recruiters are looking for candidates.

Tips 6 - 10 + Graphic + Complete Article

10 Tips for Effectively Using Your LinkedIn Status Update

By Careerealism

One of the features of LinkedIn that tends to be underutilized is the "Status Update" (also called your "Network Update") in your LinkedIn Profile. Your status update "block" is a white box located just below your picture on your "View My Profile" page. If you don't see such a block, then you've not posted a status update.

From your LinkedIn home page or your "Edit My Profile" page, you can change your status update as frequently as you desire. EVERY time you update your status, the home page of ALL of your network connections is "pinged" with your status update. Status updates are also distributed to your network via email when LinkedIn sends you your weekly "Network Update." Your latest status update is always displayed on your LinkedIn profile.

Your status updated is limited to 140 characters - just like Twitter - so keep that in mind, particularly when cutting and pasting information into your status update "window."

Updating your LinkedIn status is a great way to communicate to your network on a frequent and ongoing basis. I update my status at least once each day with different types of information. 10 tips for effectively using your status update to distribute useful information are presented below:

1. Insert the title and a "shortened" URL link to one of your recent blog articles. Bit.ly is a great resource for shortening URL's.

2. Insert the title and a "shortened" URL to a blog article you read and really liked. Particularly one that is timely, informative and relates to your "brand" or area of specialty in some way.

3. A link to a newsworthy web posting or news item. Include the title and a shortened URL. Alignment with you brand "voice" or area of specialty makes it more powerful. I like to focus on POSITIVE news as opposed to negative news.

4. A great "quote of the day." A great source of quotes of to search the #quote "hashtag" on Twitter. Since Twitter updates are limited to 140 characters, you'll find quotes that fit the LinkedIn status update window.

5. A brief piece of advice relevant to your brand or area of specialty.

For tips 6 -10 Read more: http://www.ibtimes.com/blogs/articles/25992/20110420/10-tips-for-effectively-using-your-linkedin.htm#ixzz1KAIhhxml

How Non-Profits Can Maximize Engagement on Facebook

by Zachary Sniderman

he Facebook Marketing Series is supported by Buddy Media. Eight of the world’s top ten brands use the Buddy Media Platform to power their social marketing on Facebook. Find out why here.

It’s important for any digitally-minded non-profit to be on Facebook because of the sheer number of active users. So, great — you set up a Facebook account for your organization. Now what?
Best practices are pretty variable when it comes to social media. This is especially true with Facebook, which switches up its appearance, services and features every few months. We did our best to put together some of the best approaches for non-profits, with some serious help from three social media mavericks at top causes.

Read on for some dos, don’ts, and a golden rule or two for how non-profits can better utilize Facebook.

How Facebook Can Help You

“We have to remember that Facebook was not made for non-profits,” says Danielle Brigida, the digital media marketing manager at the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). “Unlike Twitter, it is very hard for an organization to foster any individual relationships on Facebook, and it is almost best used as a discussion tool or for broadcasting.”
This certainly doesn’t preclude the ability to have conversations with your audience. However, the format does change how and what your audience will respond to. A question about IT staffing on Facebook may result in crickets, but that question would perform well on LinkedIn, says Holly Ross, executive director of the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN). “But if we ask our Facebook group what kind of music we should add to our hold lines, we’ll get twenty responses in an hour.” Ross sees NTEN’s Facebook community as a virtual water cooler — great engagement is about knowing what your community wants from your various social media profiles.

Golden Rules of Facebook for Non-Profits

“Ask open ended questions and use [Facebook] as a two-way street,” says Brooke McMillan, Livestrong‘s online community manager. “Always stoke conversation between you and the fan as well as fan-to-fan. We’ve seen some of the most supportive comments in the fan-to-fan relationship.” McMillan has helped build a vibrant online support community on Livestrong’s Facebook page, which has become a key component of Livestrong’s online identity. On the tech side, McMillan recommends posting at least once a day or as often as your organization has fresh content.

For Brigida (NWF), her golden rule is actually the age-old golden rule: “I engage with people how I want to be treated on Facebook,” Brigida said. “I don’t post things that will not engage our members … or overshare.” The NWF has specific audience pages — for photographers, teachers, gardeners and more — which Brigida targets from message to message. Understand that your community may be interested in different facets of your organization and tailor your posts to those niches.

Definitely Do Not Do These Things

Our experts honed in on two major non-profit no nos: lack of purpose and being too promotional.
“You have to have a reason to be on Facebook,” says Ross (NTEN). “Are you recruiting volunteers? Cultivating activists? Stewarding your donors? You won’t find any success in Facebook if you don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish.” McMillan echoed this, urging non-profits to keep their site active and their audiences engaged.

The other unfortunate truth is that no one really likes press releases. You don’t like writing them or receiving them, and your fans will get turned off by boilerplate messages. That said, your fans do want updates and information about your success and new campaigns. Ross recommends writing a post specifically for Facebook rather than copy/pasting a release. Adds McMillan: “In the [non-profit] world we often have really great studies and scientific papers that we want to share, but the general public doesn’t necessarily want to read an abstract for a research study — snoozeville.”

Find a way to deliver this information in an engaging way and your Facebook fans will reward you by actually reading it.

Trade Secrets - Read The Rest Of The Mashable Article To Find Out

5 Twitter Job Services For Some Real-Time Job Search

by Saikat Basu

Twitter may not merit a serious look as a job hunting and recruitment tool. But that’s something a fresher or even an experienced professional will be ill advised to overlook. You can bet that when Twitter increasingly has the power to spread revolutions, it can be a vital ally of your job hunting campaign.
In its overreaching popularity lies its job hunting prowess. Companies are increasingly using it spread their updates. Vacancies and recruitment’s are just one of them.
Even if you do a simple search for a job lead on Twitter, you will be surprised at the number of links that total up. I am not even telling you to do an advanced Twitter search or develop industry specific social strategy. We are talking here of Twitter services that do the job of distilling relevant job tweets for you so that you can find jobs on Twitter.
Here are five of them.

Tweet My Jobs

Somehow the image on this Twitter job app says it all. It is probably the largest Twitter job board on the web. The About page says that they have 10,052 vertical job channels segmented by geography, job type, and industry. The service is used by people on both sides of the table, the recruiters as well as the job seekers. It is free for job seekers. As a job seeker, you can sign-up and subscribe to a channel of your interest. Any news jobs available are sent as instant notifications as a Twitter feed or on your mobile. Beyond this, you can use the service like a regular job site: post your resume to companies or forward jobs to friends. Using TweetMap, a Google Maps mashup, you can geographically target jobs of your interest.

TwitJobSearch

This Twitter job search engine is another well designed and maintained service which could be the answer to your job search prayers. You can instantly sign-in with your Twitter account and start a hunt. The site allows you to save jobs to your account, have an online resume, and network. Creating a profile on this web service involves some fine-detailing as recruiters see what has been posted. You can also link the public LinkedIn URL or any other online CV you might have. The Advanced Search is just one way to trawl through Twitter job updates. For an industry specific browse, you can go to the directory which lists ‘Job Accounts’ for selected countries. Using the Job Map, you can visually see the jobs that have been tweeted about in the last 72 hours. The site also has a free iPhone app.

Job Shouts

The easiest way to get the dope on the latest job postings collected by this site is via Twitter. JobShouts.com is a social search tool for jobs across many job boards that include LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. All jobs are screened by the site, so the potential to hit the genuine ones is much higher for the job seeker.

Sites 4 - 5 and Complete Article

Social Networking for Career Success - LinkedIn tips from a recruiter

by Miriam Salpeter

I was so excited to learn yesterday that Sheryl Posnick, the editor in charge of my book at Learning Express, LLC, received the first copies back from the printer! I can’t wait to see the final version. It’s perfect timing, as I was just ramping up to share some tips here.

One thing I did when I wrote Social Networking for Career Success is tap my network of friends and colleagues to share advice and insights. While, in most (not all), cases, I could have written those sections myself, it made sense to me to provide an array of opinions — and, if they agreed with me (or I with them), all the better! When I headed up the career area at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health, one frustrating thing was how students could listen to me tell them something over and over again, but it wasn’t until I invited a hiring manager or recruiter in to say the same thing that they adapted their job search strategies. I figured the same point holds true with readers: having me tell you, “Do this, follow this advice” may be helpful, but backing it up with 100 other insights is even better!

In that spirit, and to start highlighting the terrific colleagues who contributed to the book, today I am happy to have permission to share insights from Craig Fisher (@FishDogs on Twitter) from his post today about LinkedIn. Be sure to read the full post with LinkedIn tips (from a recruiter), but here are some highlights:

- What should you have on your LinkedIn profile if you’re looking for opportunities? A candidate should tell a good story that describes who they are and what they do well. You also need detailed job descriptions in your work history going back at least 10 years. The more relevant detail and specific keywords that you include in your profile, the easier it will be for recruiters and employers to find you when they search for appropriate candidates for their openings.

- What are some LinkedIn tools that you should be using? Use the apps available on your profile page to import content into your page. Apps that automatically import your blog posts, SlideShare presentations, etc. help your profile to rank higher in search results. The idea is to get more eyeballs on your Linkedin profile. Also update your status once or twice per day with something that would be interesting to your targeted employers or prospects.

- Are there any mistakes or misconceptions about this method of job searching? The top misconception is that if you just create a Linkedin profile, then you should get calls from employers or recruiters. Not so. You must optimize your profile with plenty of specific information that relates to your skill set; and participate in Linkedin groups, Q&A, and status updates. You must also grow your network. The more active you are, and the more people you connect with, the more people will see your profile.

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Banks woo youth with social media

Robert Cartwright drives a company car. He has a laptop, iPhone and video camera paid for by this employer, and rarely spends time in the Bridgeton headquarters of Vantage Credit Union.

Instead, Cartwright is often online where he chats with 'fans' on social networking site Facebook, posts videos on YouTube, microblogs to 'followers' on Twitter, and does the kind of stuff you'd expect from a 26-year-old.

But he's not goofing off. Cartwright is spokesman for the credit union's youth marketing program, a key effort to win the financial business of the young demographic group Gen Y.

Vantage and many competing financial institutions are connecting with their next generation of customers by speaking their language -- social media -- and reaching them on smartphones.

"This age group, Generation Y, it's what we're on all the time," Cartwright said.

Several banks are also rolling out new accounts specifically geared to Gen Y, with no fees if they get their statements online and deposit checks electronically instead of visiting a bank branch.

The group's age range varies, but it generally includes teenagers up to 32-year-olds. It was dubbed "Y" after following Generation X -- typically defined as those ages 33 to 46 -- that succeeded the baby boomer generation.

The focus on youth is a way to build brand loyalty for future banking relationships, bankers say. In 2010, Gen Y's personal income, $2.4 trillion, accounted for one fifth of the total personal income in the U.S., according to Javelin Strategy & Research, a California-based financial services research firm. By 2025, when the last of the employed boomers draw closer to retirement age, Gen Y will account for 46 percent of personal income.

Financial institutions have been slow to use social media, because of regulatory and privacy issues. That's beginning to change as they realize that social media and smartphones are the main way to reach this coveted demographic, which prefers to 'tweet' or text instead of visiting a bank branch. Banks are primarily using social media for marketing and connecting with customers instead of account activity.

"Gen Y is influenced more by the comments of their peers than traditional advertising" such as TV and radio ads, said Jay Sinha, an associate professor of marketing and supply chain management at the Fox School of Business at Temple University in Philadelphia.

Financial institutions are following the lead of consumer products companies such as Adidas and Victoria's Secret that have used social media to increase sales, he noted.

"It adds positive cache to a brand, provided that it's not crass commercialism. Gen Y is really turned off by that," Sinha said.

To make sure Vantage's marketing message gets out, Cartwright posts dozens of Facebook and Twitter messages a week, showing up at baseball games and movie theaters that he tells his hundreds of online followers about and giving out free tickets and gift cards. He writes five blog posts a week on his website, youngfreestlouis.com and creates videos he posts to YouTube with tips on saving money and other topics.

"Most college kids are really bad with their money," he said. "I wish something like this would have been around when I was 18." Vantage Credit Union, which has 15 branches, hired Cartwright last year as its first "Young & Free" spokesman.

The job, which pays $30,000, lasts a year. In June, Vantage will begin the search for the next spokesperson. Cartwright, who has a degree in education, got the job after he created and posted an audition video online that was voted on by the public.

The program has paid off for Vantage, says Executive Vice President Eric Acree. Since last summer, 2,500 customers have enrolled in its account geared to 18- to 25-year-olds, which offers free checking and additional benefits, and 40 percent of those are customers new to Vantage.

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Business networking start-up aims to break LinkedIn stranglehold

By Michelle Hammond

A new business-oriented social network has launched in an attempt to break the increasing stranglehold of LinkedIn, which has hit two million users in Australia alone.
The new entrant, titled WhenTheMeetingsOver.com, was born from the founding member’s frustration at being unable to connect with like-minded people while away on business, not only on a professional level but on a social level as well.

Based in the United Kingdom, WTMO chief executive Stuart Dawson says the site provides an environment to “epitomise our time online”.

“It’s not designed for the Facebook generation of soul-baring wall writers, but for professionals that require a purpose-built social network to enhance their work/life balance,” he says.

However, Foad Fadaghi, research director of market analyst firm Telsyte, predicts it will become increasingly difficult for new entrants to compete with the likes of LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

“Maybe the horse has bolted in the sense that the big guys have shown their market dominance,” he says.

Fadaghi estimates around 40% of professionals in Australia use LinkedIn.

“There are many non professionals on the site as well... LinkedIn has the critical mass that other sites don’t have,” Fadaghi says.

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When Your Dream Company Is Hiring on Twitter

More companies are launching Twitter handles specifically to lure job applicants

By Alexis Grant

As more companies warm to the idea of recruiting on Twitter, the world of tweets, at symbols, and hashtags is becoming populated with a new kind of handle: usernames created specifically to lure applicants. And for job seekers, that means opportunity.

Think @HersheyCareers, @JobsatGates (by the Gates Foundation), @GEconnections, and @xboxjobs. Recruiters behind these handles—that's Twitterspeak for username on the social networking site—say interacting there helps them find talented candidates who aren't necessarily looking for a job and makes their company more appealing to applicants who are already in the running for positions. Spin that 180 degrees, and you've got a way for job seekers to connect directly with hiring managers, gain valuable insight about companies they want to work for, and even hear about openings before they're listed on over-crowded job boards.

"It's a fun way to interact that acts as a reminder for both parties that there's a real person in that recruiter role or at the other end of that resume," says Christopher Hoyt, who works on social recruiting strategies for PepsiCo and is one of the voices behind @PepsiCoJOBS. "[Candidates] are looking for confirmation that their resume doesn't just go into a black hole." PepsiCo launched the jobs handle about six months ago, Hoyt says, and it drives more traffic to the company's careers portal than LinkedIn or Facebook.

Many jobs-specific handles are new and have only a few hundred followers. But some organizations have made growing their jobs handle nearly as important as the company's main Twitter handle. Take Twitter itself: @JoinTheFlock, which launched in early 2010, has more than 94,000 followers, an impressive number by Twitter standards. (It helps, of course, that Twitter is a sought-after place to work among the tech community.)

More than half of human resources professionals now use social networking tools to source potential job candidates, according to a new poll from the Society for Human Resource Management. That's up from a third in 2008. But the majority of organizations focus recruiting efforts on LinkedIn. Of those who use social media for recruiting, 95 percent use LinkedIn, 58 percent use Facebook, and 42 percent use Twitter, the organization reports.

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9 Best Mobile Apps for Finding a Job

By Amy Levin-Epstein

Job application apps and other online tools have officially gone viral. Never before has it been easier to keep track of jobs and contacts on the go. A great example is the old standby, Monster.com, which now has apps for the iPhone, Droid, and iPad that allow you to keep your job search — including resume, cover letter, and listings — with you at all times. Because if you’re hunting for a job, the last thing you want to do is to be a day late — and possibly a job short — just because you missed a posting.
Here are eight others I hope you’ll find helpful. Got more? Please share them in the comments section.

Jobs by Careerbuilder App
What it does: Lets you find and apply for jobs right from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. So if you’re out networking (or taking a coffee break from your job search), you won’t miss a single opportunity.

Indeed.com
What it does: Indeed gives you free access to millions of postings from both job boards and company websites — plus, you can have your personalized searches delivered right to your iPhone or Droid.

Jibber Jobber
What it does: This online organization tool helps you keep track of everything related to your job search, including where you applied and who the contact person is for each position. If your email inbox is a “work-in-progress”, this can help you avoid missing opportunities.

SnapDat
What it does: This free download quickly creates and sends digital business cards from your iPhone to your new contact’s email.

LinkedIn Mobile
What it does: Whereas some of these other apps are limited to the iPhone or Droid, LinkedIn Mobile is also accessible on the Blackberry, Palm, and others. So next time you’re in an interview and get surprised with a second introduction, you can quickly view the new interviewer’s page, scout any connections, and put together some talking points on the fly.

Apps 5 - 9 and Complete MoneyWatch Article