{Hummed to the tune "The 12 Days of Xmas}

On the 10th day of Christmas - Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0 revealed to me -

“10 LinkedIn Cheats”

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Of all the things you can do with LinkedIn -- and there are hundreds -- 10 are critical if you want to connect with an employer faster.

If you don’t have a LinkedIn profile already, go to LinkedIn.com and create it now.  Follow the online instructions and just get a basic profile done today -- you can always add to it later.  

If you’re really stuck, search LinkedIn for well-connected people in your profession, look closely at their profiles, and find inspiration for what to include in yours.

When your basic profile is done, here are 10 “must do” items, listed by priority:

1. Send a request to link to me.  By clicking on the “Add David to your network” link  below.  See where the arrow is pointing?  That’s the link.

You’ll get access to my network of more than 16M. My contacts which are “Two degrees away” will become your third-level contacts instantly! That’s a million plus people instantly.  That’s a good start. 

When asked how you know me, choose the option that says we have done business together. www.linkedin.com/in/davidperry

My LinkedIn statistics:

2. Get a personalized email signature (like this: www.linkedin.com/in/davidperry). It’s free and you’ll have it for life, so clients, friends, and headhunters will always be able to find you. Follow the LinkedIn instructions to do this.

3. Download and install LinkedIn’s productivity tools. LinkedIn has made it easy to search, build your network, and manage your contacts, all from the applications you use everyday like Outlook, Internet Explorer, and Firefox.

4. Download the Jobs Insider applet. It displays the people already in your LinkedIn network that are connected to hiring managers and companies for any job listed online at Monster, CareerBuilder, HotJobs, Craigslist, Dice, Vault, and others. Bingo! You have an inside edge over other candidates for these jobs.

5. Got a blog, Facebook or MySpace account? You should. Link to them through the “Websites” section of your LinkedIn profile. Go to the Application section which is located within the “More” tab of your LinkedIn  Home Page {see below} and download the Company Insider and Share on LinkedIn applications, then install them on your blog, Facebook, or MySpace profiles.  LinkedIn gives you complete instructions.  It’s simple.

6. Go to www.toplinked.com/ and follow the instructions to Link to the largest “connectors” in LinkedIn. These people, known as LinkedIn LIONS, are “open networkers” who will accept your invitation to connect without question. This will grow your contact base overnight. You can always disconnect with or “un-invite” these people later, but you won’t want to J

7. Become a Groupie. Go to the Companies Tab at the top of your LinkedIn profile page. Select company search. Scroll to the bottom of the page and select “Browse all Industries.” Select the industry(s) you want to work in and choose a company you want to work for. Find anyone in sales, marketing or corporate recruiting, and look at their profile. Now scroll down the page until you find the “Groups and Associations” section. Look at the groups this person belongs to. Pick at least one and join. Congratulations. You now have an affinity with an influential person at your target employer.
   
   

Bonus: Being in a group lets you contact other group members directly; you can also post and read discussions that may be read by people you want to meet. Finally, make sure you join the Guerrilla Job Search group. (www.linkedin.com/e/vgh/1189487/).

8. Show and Tell. Just as you included specific achievements in your Guerrilla Resume, you’ll want to do the same here.  This proves to the readers of your LinkedIn profile that you’re the real deal. Including testimonials, called “Recommendations” on LinkedIn, is a great way to do this. So, ask your colleagues, customers, et al for recommendations. Follow the LinkedIn instructions for this. Tip: People are busy, so feel free to suggest to others what you’d like them to say about you in a recommendation.

Bonus: When you write recommendations for other LinkedIn members you accomplish two things:

·        You ingratiate yourself to the person you wrote the testimonial for and they will very likely return the favor; and

·        You didn’t hear this from me but..  As you might imagine, recruiters regularly read testimonials.  When LinkedIn first started it was an easy way to separate the men from the boys, so-to-speak.  But a bunch of us quickly recognized that by clicking on the name of the person who wrote the testimonial we could often find another well qualified, if not better candidate.   So writing testimonials for other people can be a good strategy for being found.  But I didn’t tell you that...

9. From the “More” link on your LinkedIn profile, choose at least one application to install. Are you in sales or marketing? You can upload a PowerPoint that you’ve used in the past (be sure to get permission from your employer, if need be). Are you a finance wizard who can make a spreadsheet sing and dance? Upload an example. Remember, its one thing to say you’re intelligent or creative: with LinkedIn applications, you can prove it!

10. Install the “Polls” function. When you have 150 or more of your own first-level contacts create a poll related to your job search. Send it to them. It’s faster than a networking letter or the phone.

Finally, just as you can connect your blog or website to LinkedIn, you should connect your Facebook, Twitter, and other online profiles to your LinkedIn profile. This article from the Washington Post describes how to do it quickly.  To read it Google the full title or copy and paste this URL into your web browser: http://tinyurl.com/m37l9v

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