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M i n o r i t y B u s i n e s s E n t e r p r i s e

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H o w t o u s e L i n k e d I n f o r y o u rJ o b S e a r c h

M i n o r i t y B u s i n e s s E n t e r p r i s e

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W h a t i s c o v e r e d i n t h i s ?

Information on LinkedIn

How to Begin

How to Make the Most of LinkedIn

LinkedIn Toolbar

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I n f o r m a t i o n o n L i n k e d I n

LinkedIn is an online network of over 20 millionprofessionals that continues to grow daily

You create a professional profile summarizing andhighlighting your accomplishments

You create a network of former colleagues,partners, clients, etc. It is essentially a network oftrusted contacts that allows you to also connectwith your contact’s contacts, thus expanding yourreach.

(taken from LinkedIn.com)

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I n f o r m a t i o n o n L i n k e d I n

Using your network you can:

Search for jobs

Be found by hiring managers

Connect with those who can potentially help you inyour job search

(taken from LinkedIn.com)

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Go to www.linkedin.com and sign up.

Fill in basic information about yourself including yourname, e-mail address and either where youcurrently work or if you are looking for work. If youare looking for work, it will ask you what industry youwork in.

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You will then see a page asking how you want touse LinkedIn.

If you selected that you are Looking for work, it willautomatically default your choices to the ones thatare recommended. The ones that are suggestedthat you check off are shown on the next page.

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You will then receive a confirmation e-mail and willbe asked to verify your password.

Once you have confirmed your password, you willbe shown a page that will allow you to search forconnections based on your address books inOutlook, Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc.

It is recommended that you do this, since you neverknow where a connection may lead you, butsearching for connections this way is left to yourdiscretion.

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You can also search for connections based onwhere you went to school and where you lastworked. Again, it is recommended that you do this.

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Once you have searched for possible connections,you should take some time to work on your profile.On the upper left hand side of the site, you will seea menu where you can select Profile. There youcan Edit your Profile and you can also select ViewMy Profile so that you will see what others see whenthey search for you.

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In your profile, you should add everything thatmight be job search related or that you have puton your resume. You should include formerpositions, information about schools you attended,information on organizations you are involved withor volunteer with.

You may even upload a photo, but be sure that it isa business photo, preferably one that wasprofessionally taken. Remember that this could beseen by potential hiring companies!

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You can also include a summary. We recommendthat you copy and paste the summary that is usedon your resume if you are in the job search mode.

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LinkedIn essentially provides you with your very ownprofessional web page. The site allows you tocustomize your address so that it includes yourname, which is recommended. While you are stillEditing your Profile, select the button to Edit yourPublic Profile Setting

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There you can put in your name to customize yourLinkedIn webpage and see if it is available.

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Next you will want to scroll down and make surethat the setting for your Public Profile is set at FullView. This ensures that those conducting searchesfor connections or potential hires will be able to seeyour entire profile.

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Work on adding connections – this will increase yourvisibility to those doing searches for candidates

Complete your entire work history bio – this way youwill show all your experience and credentials forthose who are doing searches on LinkedIn. Werecommend that you again copy and paste fromyour resume.

Be sure to allow for a Full View on your Public Profile.This will come up when someone Googles you,allowing you to help control what people seeabout you.

(taken from Guy Kawasaki’s LinkedIn Blog)

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I n f o r m a t i o n o n L i n k e d I n

Perform searches on who works or has worked atprospective companies as well as prospectivehiring managers to learn more about them. Youmay find you have a connection (mutual contact),similar hobbies, or went to the same school.

You can even do searches to see who previouslyheld the position you are interviewing for by doingsearches of the job title and the appropriatecompany and unchecking the box that says“Current Titles Only.”

(taken from Guy Kawasaki’s LinkedIn Blog)

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I n f o r m a t i o n o n L i n k e d I n

You can do similar searches on prospectivecompanies to look at how long people stay at thecompany or to see what their turnover is in certainpositions.

You can do an advanced search using companyname and unchecking “Current Companies Only.”

(taken from Guy Kawasaki’s LinkedIn Blog)

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I n f o r m a t i o n o n L i n k e d I n

When you are putting together your target list ofcompanies you might want to work at, you canalso do the advanced search to look at whatcompanies people with similar skill sets or titles asyou are working at.

Put in titles and/or keywords into the advancedsearch to see who comes up and where they areworking.

(taken from Guy Kawasaki’s LinkedIn Blog)

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L i n k e d I n T o o l b a r f o r y o u r I n t e r n e t B r o w s e r

LinkedIn offers a toolbar you can download calledthe JobsInsider.

This toolbar works with your Internet Browser andpopular job search sites to allow you to see if youhave any connections at companies that arehiring.

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The JobsInsider can be downloaded here.

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Once downloaded, go to one of the sites it workswith (Monster, CareerBuilder, HotJobs, Craigslist,SimplyHired, Dice and Vault) and type in yourappropriate search information.

The LinkedIn Toolbar should automatically pop-upon these sites (if not find this button on yourInternet Toolbar and select it).

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L i n k e d I n T o o l b a r f o r y o u r I n t e r n e t B r o w s e r

Once you put in your search criteria and select ajob that interests you, the JobsInsider will appear tothe left and show you

- If anyone is in your network at the hiring company - If you have any connections at the company - If you have any friends that have connections at the company.

Simply click on the appropriate link to find out yourconnections.

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