Job Search Tips #5

This week I realized it’s been a while since I wrote and published a Job Search Tips post. This came about because several people asked me variations of the question “how do I get the job I want, where I want to work?”

I reviewed the Job Search Tips I’ve shared so far (after sending the links to a few Job Seekers) and wrote today’s post.

Networking is a great tool to help you find your ideal job. However, quality is more important than quantity.  An effective strategy when growing your network, is to seek out people in the organizations you’d like to work with and connect to them.

This is relatively easy to do using LinkedIn. Find employers you’d like to work for. Search LinkedIn to find their company page, and follow that page. Then look at the profiles of the employees who are tagged as working at that organization.

Find the ones you have something in common with, or who’ve done something intriguing that you’d like to know more about. Send these people personalized LinkedIn connection requests, mentioning why you’d like to connect.

Do NOT ask for a job. This is about building relationships.  Asking for a job right away is off-putting, and many people will ignore those invitations.

Then comment on the content they share on LinkedIn. Commenting demonstrates that you actually read or watched their content, and have relevant thoughts to share. It’s also an opportunity to share some of what you offer, as a potential employee, without coming across as a desperate job seeker.

Remember to comment on other people’s posts too, so you don’t come across as a stalker!

You can also comment on the organization’s posts. However, the people managing most organization’s social media feeds are not the hiring managers, so this is less effective than commenting on a potential future colleague's, or human resources professional’s content.

The time and effort that you put into this, will help you grow your Friendly Forces Network, which will help you discover more job opportunities.

This tactic can also be used when deciding which jobs to apply for. Rather than applying for every open job you come across, focus on applying for jobs with the employers that you want to work with. If you’d like to learn more about my thoughts on that watch this 10-minute YouTube video to learn a little bit more about me, an ideal job case study, and a tactic and a strategy to help you find or create your own ideal job.

You’re also welcome to read the other Job Search Tips blog posts I’ve published.