Breaking News about LinkedIn’s Company Follow

LinkedIn announced on October 10 that it was rolling out yet a new feature that will change the face of what it means to follow a company on LinkedIn.  For a year and a half prior to this development, it has been possible to follow companies on LinkedIn.  But the information available was rather limited, i.e.,  1) when employees join, leave or are promoted; 2) new job opportunities; and 3) company profile updates.

If you are a job seeker interested in working at a company, or if you are a recruiter, the three pieces of information listed above can be quite useful.  You can keep track of useful tidbits like how many and what type of people a company is hiring, how many people get promoted, and how many employees leave the company.  As LinkedIn suggested in its April 2010 announcement about the Company Follow feature, Get on the inside track with “Company Follow,” if you are geography teacher you might be quite interested if you see web technology companies hiring people like you!

What was missing from the Company Follow feature was the ability to get news and information from the company itself. That has now changed with the advent of…  Company Status updates!

Yes, it’s true. Companies on LinkedIn can now act just like people and post updates to their very own status bar.  With a 500-character limit, these updates can be substantial. And you can follow them with a simple click of the mouse!

Here’s a video about the new feature:

Click here to watch a video about this new feature!

What’s in it for you?

How might company updates help you as a job seeker?  Well, you have probably heard a lot about the “hidden job market.”  Most high level positions are actually filled without being advertised. Note well:  Status updates allow you to find out any news that a company thinks is important to share.  If you read these updates carefully, you might find a good reason to contact the company, comment on these new developments, and make a positive impression on a decision-maker.

You might be thinking, “Well, if company updates are available to everyone, won’t everyone be pestering these poor decision-makers with congratulatory notes and other correspondence?” My best guess is that most people will not take advantage of the opportunities presented by Company Follow. They might not be paying attention, or they might be too scared to write a letter to a decision-maker. By truly utilizing the information that is available, you will set yourself apart.

You may already have ideas of companies you want to follow.  Start following them!  In addition, take a look at the Search for Companies homepage.  You will be given “Companies You May Want to Follow,” much the same as you can find “Groups you Might Like” under the Groups tab.

Follow The Essay Expert’s Company Page on LinkedIn

Here’s a great idea: How about starting by following The Essay Expert! I will be updating my status from time to time to let you know of developments that might interest you. And I will always be happy to hear from you in response to my updates.

For any company owners reading this, you have a new task to add to your list:  updating your company status bar and starting to gather followers.  As of now, posting is a “by hand” type of job, though I hear HootSuite is working on integration. LinkedIn might not catch up to facebook when it comes to creating company buzz, but for job seekers LinkedIn is still the place to be…  and to follow.

Follow The Essay Expert!

What’s the “right” way to write a resume or conduct a job search?

People ask me questions all the time about how many pages a resume should be; whether to include an Objective statement; what the value is of a web portfolio; etc. The fact is, there is no clear cut answer to many of these questions, and the answers change year by year, even day by day. They certainly can change depending on who you are, what industry you’re in, and what your experience level is.

Ask the Experts

Given that resume writing and job search strategies are constantly changing, I feel fortunate that there is a coalition of experts who spend a lot of time thinking about these issues, and even more fortunate that they share their wisdom each year.

On December 30, 2010, a consortium of 156 career experts from the U.S., Canada and the U.K. met to brainstorm about career and employment issues. They published their findings on March 14, 2011 in Findings of 2010 Global Career Brainstorming Day: Trends for the Now, the New & the Next in Careers. As my readers, you are privy to the valuable findings of this group of Career Thought Leaders.

The latest trends in resume writing and job search strategies include:

1. Your Google results are the new resume. Build a strong online presence so you look good when those results come up. And monitor your Google results routinely in case of anything fishy!
2. Keep it short. Three-page resumes are discouraged, regardless of your experience level. Use “extras” or addenda if necessary for publications, technology qualifications, consulting experience, etc.
3. Culture fit is more important than your skill set. Companies hire people, not resumes.
4. Web portfolios are not as useful as you might think in most industries.
5. Brand yourself! Keep your brand consistent throughout your job search documents.
6. DO use a Core Competencies or Key Strengths section.
7. DO put a testimonial or two on your resume.
8. DO use tasteful graphic touches, including borders, text boxes or graphs when appropriate.
9. Show the company what YOU can do for THEM. Write resume bullets that clearly show the problem you solved and how you solved it.
10. If possible, write your intended job title instead of “Summary of Qualifications” above your summary. This structure makes your objective clear, and allows you to write a summary of your offerings instead of an objective.
11. DO send paper resumes! They will make you stand out from the crowd.
12. DO send a cover letter. Do not expect that it will be read. However, in some cases it is read first, so assume it will be read.
13. E-cover letters (in the body of an email) can be short and sweet.
14. Have a bio available in addition to a resume as an alternative introduction to a resume.
15. Format your resume in Microsoft Word .doc format. Have a plain text resume available as well.
16. Use Twitres (www.twitres.com) to display your resume on Twitter. Use Box.net to display your resume on LinkedIn (Box.net is my personal tip)
17. Networking is still the absolute best way to get a job. Job boards just are not an effective tool for job search, although you should use them as part of your strategy. Only 13.2% of external hires in Fortune 500 companies came from job boards, whereas 26.7% came from referrals and 22.3% came from employer career sites. Overall, somewhere between 65-95% of all new hires come as a result of networking. That’s a pretty staggering statistic!
18. Social networking an essential job search strategy, and LinkedIn tops the chart. 80% of recruiters use social media to recruit candidates. You absolutely MUST have a strong presence on LinkedIn, “the #1 online networking platform for job seekers” according to the report.
19. Clear skeletons out of your closet if you can. With so many candidates vying for each open position, any red flags mean your application is put in the “no”pile. Employers will go back 20-30 years to make sure your record is clean.
20. Become savvy with virtual technology. You might be required to attend a virtual interview, or you might choose to create a web-based resume or portfolio to get some extra notice. Need help to manage it all? Many job seekers are hiring virtual assistants just to keep up with it all!

If you want to read more detail about these top 20 points, please go to the full article, Findings of 2010 Global Career Brainstorming Day: Trends for the Now, the New & the Next in Careers.

Were you surprised by any of the findings? What did you learn? Please share in the comments below.

The exact numbers vary, but it’s generally agreed upon that the vast majority of people obtain their jobs through networking.  The statistics are particularly valid for high level corporate positions.  This article from The Wall Street Journal provides some insight into the process of “greasing the inside track.”  Greasing the Inside Track to a Job

Although we’ve made it clear this week that postings on job sites are not the be all and end all of an internet search, I thought it would be useful to provide some of the top 100 job search related sites. Many of these sites create networking opportunities. Perhaps you have been missing out on some connections if you don’t know about these! Top 100 Social Sites for Job Search – from NewGradLife

Staying with the theme of a social-media based job search, I’ve attached this article from InternsOver40 emphasizing (and this can’t be emphasized too much) that today’s job search is about making connections and getting to know people, NOT just about submitting your resume to job postings. Of course you do need a great resume once you find and connect with the people who want to see it! Getting a Job Using Social Media

Angela Astley shares the actual steps she took in networking for a job through LinkedIn. They work! New Grad Life: 9 Steps to LinkedIn Networking for a Job

If you are a job-seeker, are you taking job fairs seriously enough? I personally have a friend who got a job at a job fair that he still holds 5 years later. I recommend going to job fairs and making sure to avoid these errors when you do! 5 Common Job Fair Mistakes

Kate Seidametova provides solid, spot-on advice for using LinkedIn for your job search, and suggests some useful groups to join if you are a job-seeker!  Job Search Networking on LinkedIn

This advice on creating a Testimonials page is geared toward businesses. If you are a job seeker with a LinkedIn profile, it applies to you too. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to sell yourself or your company. The Power of Testimonials from MeetingWave.com’s blog.

I’ve been hearing from a lot of people that they are having difficulty locating past contacts for recommendations and references. Here is a Wall Street Journal article by Dana Mattioli that may help: Ways Job Seekers Can Find Old Contacts