How to Simplify the Job Search and more

Since my temporary departure from corporate, I have learned about all sorts of tools available to those in the job seeking market. I found one to be simple and packed with value since it is free. It is a networking website called Linkedin, http://www.linkedin.com/. Set up a profile or outline of your experience, education, and specialties. Once you search for people you know and invite them to join your network, you are now capable of networking with others who are only "six degrees of separation" from you. You can also set up a group of individuals in your network with like minds and network with them for opportunities.

The tool will automatically provide companies and jobs that "match" your profile. As you start learning about companies you want to work for, you can search the company name and pull up a list of linkedin users who work for that company. Now here's the power...find someone who has a title at your target company that closely aligns with your experience or the job title you are interested in. You may directly ask to network with them or ask someone to introduce you to them through the "introduction" tool. Everyone on linkedin is there to network, so a blind e:mail (in-mail) or introduction by someone else asking to network with them is expected and understood. Find out when you can call them for a brief chat. Ask them to provide information about the company culture, the issues and challenges, and maybe the hiring manager's name for the job you want. Use all this information to to gain a better understanding of the target company and to make more networking contacts. When looking for a job, it's all about the networking! And linkedin makes it simple!

Linkedin has jobs you can search, or it has jobs that it will recommend for you based on your profile. Based on it's intelligence and it's ability to read your profile, it will recommended books, networking groups and professional development events just for you. Sales people should use this to find customers, homemakers should use this to find services, job seekers should use this to find jobs, and recruiters should use this to find talent. Anyone providing a service that wants additional exposure and business should be on Linkedin to promote their business. It's a powerful tool and its free (for now).