SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS

Social media is a key part of networking and your job search.  It is important to respect the differences between professional networking and social networking. Remember that any posts you make on social media could influence a potential hiring manager.

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HOW TO OPTIMIZE YOUR LINKEDIN PROFILE

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See this video from CGL: 5 Ways to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile

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The main professional networking site in use today is LinkedIn. Some studies show as high as 90% of recruiters now use LinkedIn in some form so having a great profile is a must.  In order for these individuals to find you on LinkedIn you need to have as much data out there as possible about yourself.   Searches, especially on LinkedIn, are keyword driven so more is more!  Also, remember to turn on your "Open To New Opportunities" section if you are actively looking for a new role.  You can find this setting by going to your profile under edit mode.

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Follow our website team member, Melanie Woods of CGL , on LinkedIn. You can review her previous posts and also receive new ones. Melanie frequently posts tips and tricks for job seekers.

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Here are a few of her tips:

"LinkedIn now offers assessments on skills that companies can use these to help find you as a candidate. You can access these by going to your profile under the section titled Skills and Endorsements."

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"On your profile when you enter in a company that you worked for in the past make sure you are actually linked to that company!! Why? One of the LinkedIn Recruiter search options is to look at candidates by industry. The industry data for this search pull directly from the companies you are linked to."

 

"When you turn on the "Open to new opportunities" setting you can choose up to five locations. Instead of choosing a specific "City" - choose the "State" that city is in. For example, choose "Texas" instead of "Houston." Why? When companies are doing a search using LinkedIn Recruiter if they choose a search location outside of Houston (i.e. Huntsville) you will not come up in the search if you have only listed "Houston." It is important to maximize how many searches you come up in. You can always say no when someone calls you if it is too far."

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HOW TO EFFECTIVELY NETWORK

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By David Yaw, Engineer

LinkedIn or virtual networking requires some effort. You need to build your network with people in your industry and people outside of your industry.  In December 2019, I had roughly 500 connections.  Four months later, I have 6000 connections.  I regularly get 10,000+ views on posts, 100+ likes and 30 or so comments.  I used to get 8 profile views a week.  Now I regularly get 700 to 1,000 views.

 

Here is how I did it.  I started to post content about my job search.  I was laid off in August 2019.  I spent 5 months applying to job boards, going to free classes on resumes and job searches, applying on job boards and contacting recruiters.  In 5 months, I got 2 live interviews, 2 phone interviews (one was a job scam), and my resume was sent to 3 jobs.  In mid-January, I decided to rededicate myself to networking since approximately 75% of jobs came from networking. It was also the time of year when most companies don’t hire much.  I had one breakfast with a contact but wasn’t having much luck getting others to meet me.

 

I decided to start using LinkedIn to network. I started posting encouraging posts to job seekers about the mental aspects of job searching.  I also started to use my learned knowledge about resumes to review job seeker’s resumes to help make them better.  I started adding connections who looked at my profile or liked my posts.  I had minimal success at first, because I wasn’t adding a personal note.  I started looking at people’s profiles, their posts and their About section. I started adding a personal note to each and every connection request.  My success rate went up to 80 or 90%.  I always send a thank you to each and every connection when they connect.  I usually end up talking to them a little bit. Now I get 5 or 6 DM posts a day from people.  Some are the same and some are different.  I try to get to know them as people.  It is difficult with the number of connections I have to know everyone, but I make an attempt. One other thing to do is get involved in groups tied to your industry.  Find people on there to connect with who are interesting to you.  If you are applying for jobs, find the hiring manager, recruiter or a professional who you can connect with.  Do not ask them for a job.  That just puts people on the defensive and makes them less likely to help you. Get to know them and find out about their companies through them.

 

In December 2019, my connections started to grow.  I had 5 interviews in the span of 3 weeks.  One of those ended up offering me a job as a contractor.  I stayed with them 5 weeks.  I had one of the companies that I interviewed with in September come back and make me a very lucrative offer, so I jumped ship.  This job was also as a contractor.  It allowed me to save some money.  With the recent low oil price, they have shut down almost all production and my hours were cut to zero.  I’m still involved with the company and should get full-time when the price comes back a little bit.

 

I’m currently back looking for work during this trying time just to keep busy.  I don’t ask for help finding a job.  Instead I continue to post about my feelings, what is going on in the world and hopefully encouraging posts.  I have had several people tell me about opportunities in oil and gas.  I’m also applying for part-time jobs to keep my mental state up by keeping busy. I’m also using my spare time to learn Spanish and apply myself to learn basic Python programming. 

 

Just in the last month, 3 people that I have talked to about networking have received jobs.  This is amazing during the pandemic.  One has vastly exceeded expectations and had 15,000 profile views in one week.  This was just two weeks after they started posting.  Networking works for now and for the future.  Just apply yourself and get out there and work at it.

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OTHER TIPS

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By Jason Flaum, Geologist

After speaking with different managers:

• Be proactive in your posts. Providing thoughtful content and comments, especially in the industry you are either apart of or wanting to join, is critical to being recognized in the future. These are the types of actions that hiring managers will look for as recovery begins.

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• Don't show panic.  While it is certainly understandable that the emotions following a lay-off will run deep, what you post on LinkedIn should not reflect this.  In particular, the posts should show that you are approaching the situation with a sense of determination and optimism.  

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