Best and Worst Practices for Searching for Opportunities Using LinkedIn

Best Practices for Searching for Opportunities Using LinkedIn

By Mery Propster, SPHR

At our January meeting, the use of social media in a job search was suggested as a topic for exploration.  Here is a brief introduction to searching for opportunities using LinkedIn.

Did You Know?

1. Job search activity on LinkedIn is private. Your connections cannot see when you view, search for, or apply to a job.
2. There are over 200,000 jobs posted on LinkedIn, with opportunities for every industry, location and career stage.
3. You can also use LinkedIn to research companies, get noticed by recruiters, follow up on job applications, and more.

The following is how to navigate your LinkedIn account to mine for opportunities.

• Access your LinkedIn page.
• You will see a menu bar at the top which lists several options, HOME, PROFILE, NETWORK, JOBS, INTERESTS
• Select JOBS and you will be taken to a page titled “Search for Jobs” that includes a space to enter the type of job you seek.
• Enter the desired job classification, e.g. Human Resources, and hit “search.”  You will probably see hundreds of postings, many times going on for page after page.
• If you want to narrow the search, you can enter a company name, a job title, a geographical restriction or other delimiters.
• If you find something of interest, a single click will take you to a more complete job listing.
• Be sure to look in the upper right hand corner of the page where it might list the name of the person who posted the listing or those who work at the organization and are connected to you.  Time to jump on your networking skills and follow up!
• Be sure to check back often – postings go up every day.

Worst Practices for Searching for Opportunities Using LinkedIn

By Richard Propster, SPHR-CA

LinkedIn is, indeed, an effective powerful networking tool.  It is also a significant source of irritation.

Using the tips Mery presented above will help you get more leads, find relevant groups and increase your chances of landing the position you seek.  It will enable you to optimize your LinkedIn profile so other people can more easily find you.

That said, here are a few things you shouldn’t do on LinkedIn:

• Don’t use a photo that is either unprofessional or unrealistically eye-catching. Look at the LinkedIn photos of people you respect; professionals and thought leaders in the field you are pursuing.  Look at the photos of those with whom you would like to establish connections.  Do their images appear to be cropped from a photo at a bacchanal? Do they appear to be from a years-gone-by prom?  Your LinkedIn photo should be both current and appropriate, reflecting your professional self. Glamour shots rarely work because people also want to do business with real people.  When you actually meet someone after a LinkedIn connection, the last thing you want is shock.
• Don’t ask to connect using the “I’d like to add you to my professional network” default template provided by LinkedIn. If you want to connect with someone, there should be a reason why—and you should share that reason with them at the outset.  This increases the value of the connection by establishing your credibility and transparency. Delete the template message and take the time to say how you were referred and and why you wish to connect. Mention common connections, interests and other reasons the connection will be mutually beneficial.
• Don’t immediately follow-up a new connection by asking for something. You wouldn’t approach a stranger and begin a conversation by asking for something and should not act differently merely because you are not face to face.  An immediate request is not only unprofessional, it’s gauche.  This includes asking a brand new connection for a referral to one of their connections even though your new connection doesn’t actually know anything about you. Connections (first, second and third levels) are touted by LinkedIn, so just wait a bit and give new connections time to establish themselves before launching into a series of requests.
• Don’t ask people who don’t know your KSAs to provide recommendations. Appropos the above, people should recommend you because they want to and know your work, not merely because you make an appeal. Don’t force people in a position of either ignoring your request or to writing something insipid, superficial and insincere.

• Don’t endorse people willy-nilly to garner attention and return endorsements. While the jury on the value of endorsements is still out, it is clear that some folks endorse total strangers.  A well crafted LinkedIn profile using the tips above and being an active contributor are far more professional means of gaining exposure. Ask yourself how you react to that person you barely know that endorses you again and again, week after week, picking a new skill each time.
• Don’t fail to routinely update your profile as your career progresses. A stale profile can be worse than no profile at all.  Remember, each time you update your profile your connections are notified and reminded of you and the reason you are connected.

Informational Interviews

Richard Propster, SHPR-CA

February 2014

When exploring personal career goals, you may find you need additional particulars to develop your career arc.  Informational interviewing is a productive way to find out about an industry, a company or a position you are considering.  Talking with those experienced in careers you are considering can give you a sense for the real life challenges, opportunities and demands as well as its drawbacks and limitations.

Informational interviewing was conceived by Richard Nelson Bolles, author of the best-selling career handbook, What Color Is Your Parachute? He describes the process as “trying on jobs to see if they fit you.” Bolles notes that most people choose a career path without taking the time to speak with professionals in the field and, all too frequently, find themselves in careers that are not an appropriate match for their skills, values, interests and abilities.

People are busy.   Successful people are especially busy.  Your request for an informational interview is an imposition.  Such requests, therefore, obligate you to accommodate the schedule of the person to be interviewed, to agree upon and strictly adhere to a time limit, to be on time and to be prepared.

The informational interview is a highly focused information gathering session with a networking contact designed to help you choose or refine your career path by giving you the “insider” point of view.   The goal is to find out as much as you can about a given field or organization.  Research prior to the meeting is critical to accomplishing that goal in a very limited time.

With proper research, the Informational Interview allows you to:

• Gather valuable information from industry professionals on career planning and job search strategies.
• Discover the “realties” of a particular career field and what it is really like to work in a given industry.
• Evaluate whether the career is compatible with your skills, interests, lifestyle and goals.
• Receive specific suggestions on appropriate next steps in your quest.
• Develop confidence by interviewing with professionals and discussing your goals.
• Gain access to the hidden job market. Over 80% of quality jobs are secured through networking.
• Expand your network of contacts in your field of interest
• Gain referrals to other professionals in the same field to further expand your network.

Since informational interviews are short (typically between 30 and 45 minutes), it’s critical that you prepare a list of questions in advance and arrange them in descending order of importance—always begin with questions most important to you.

Don’t be reluctant to ask about how your existing skills and experience or education fit into the field and how you might improve your prospects going forward.

Keep your questions open-ended and allow the interviewee to consume the majority of the time available. 

Among areas you might want to discuss during the informational interview are:

• The interviewee’s career
  • Key responsibilities?
  • Would you choose this field if you had it to do over again?
  • Is there anything you would do differently?
• The ideal skill set, certifications and qualifications for success in the field
  • What education, training or certifications are desirable for career success in this field?
  • Which personal skills have you found most beneficial?
  • Which do you believe will be most important in the future?
• Recent and future industry trends
  • What changes have you seen in the course of your career?
  • Where do you see this industry in the next few years?
• Impact on lifestyle
  • In what ways does your position affect your outside life?
  • How do you see work-life balance issues affecting colleagues?
• Challenges and rewards
  • What are the most positive aspects of your job?
  • The most negative?
  • Resources available that will help you stay abreast of the industry?
    • Which trade or professional associations have you found most beneficial?
      Which trade or professional journals have you found most beneficial?

Remember this interview is informational and it is inappropriate to ask for a job or present your résumé unless it is specifically requested.

Shortly following the interview, you should capture lessons learned in writing for use when planning additional informational interviews and for future reference.

Finally, be sure to follow-up with an appropriate and personal thank you letter.

Interview Errors – Yours and Theirs

Richard Propster, SPHR-CA

Richard@Propster.com 

Interview Errors – Yours and Theirs

PIHRA Districts – 2014

An employer has only one reason for recruiting—to identify or retain someone to competently address an organizational challenge—to solve your problems. 

The Interview

An interview is not conversation, confrontation or competition—it is consultation.  At the completion of the process, both you and the aspirant must make critical decisions, foremost among them whether or not there is a good ”fit” between their needs and yours. 

Your role in the interview, therefore, is to identify the aspirant that demonstrates unique suitability to take on your organizational challenges—to solve your problems.

The Interview Ritual

Interviewers probe for the three Cs: 

• Competence: Proof of meeting the minimum standards needed for the position: the knowledge, skills, abilities, aptitudes and attitudes
• Capacity: Evidence of the ability to not just maintain current competence, but also grow with the organization and the evolution of the industry
• Chemistry: Probably the most critical of the three — absolutely the most subjective 

Aspirants, on the other hand, seek to establish the three Ds:

• Differentiation:  Why I am the best choice for this opportunity?
• Declaration:  Attestations of your ability to rapidly provide value to the organization by applying your skill set to their needs. 
• Delivery:  A review of your past successes with a high degree of specificity and explanation of how the same skill set addresses their challenges. 

All too often the interview process leads to poor or inconsistent hiring decisions due to a lack of understanding of the true purpose of the interview:

• Interviewers (even those with several years “experience”) are not adequately prepared to probe for success factors and waste time with superficial exchanges
• Aspirants (even those with several years “experience”) are not adequately prepared to proactively guide the interview toward exploring their unique abilities to serve the needs of the employer 

Both interviewing and being interviewed remain more art than science.  The end game must become for each of the parties to objectively evaluate the other, assess the potential for mutual benefit and determine the level of “fit.”

• Aspirants must learn to assist interviewers in discerning their “best self.”
• Interviewers must be trained to mine for a realistic picture of the aspirant.  

After each interview, therefore, you should have adequate answers to several questions, including these:

1. Has the aspirant conducted sufficient research to understand our organization, the position and to identify the most significant challenges to be confronted by this position?
2. Can he/she successfully address these problems?
3. Does he/she truly want to address these problems?
4. Will he/she thrive and add to their personal competencies while addressing our problems?
5. Is his/her nature compatible with the way the organization goes about solving problems?

Here is an incomplete list of common interviewer errors and things to consider when preparing interviewers.  “Prompts” to consider are included in italics.  Please improve this list by adding your own potential remedies.

COMMON INTERVIEWER ERRORS AND POTENTIAL REMEDIES 

Interviewer Errors	Potential Remedies
Not building rapport at the outset of the interview	Rapport is key to a meaningful interview Offer a smile and a handshake Provide raters’ names and business cards if appropriate Thank the aspirant in advance for taking the time to attend the interview
Not reviewing the applicant’s résumé and application prior to the interview	Review the documents submitted vis-à-vis the job description with interviewers before the interview “Would you like to briefly review your background and qualifications…?”
Not understanding the job and the essential job functions	Review the job description Consult with incumbents in the position “Positions such as this require…”
Not having a good grasp of the KSAs necessary for success on the job	Review the job description Consult with incumbents in the position “The challenges in this position require…”
Not probing for critical success factors	“What do you see as some steps to initially focus on…?”
Not being trained concerning the laws and rules of interviewing	Require an HR briefing before anyone is allowed to be an interviewer Provide a sampling of acceptable and unacceptable questions (DFEH-161[1])
Not actively engaging in the process	Select interviewers who demonstrate passion for the organization Include the importance of positivity in interviewer training
Not allocating the majority of the airtime to the aspirant	At least 85% of the airtime should be used by the person being interviewed
Asking “Yes” –“No” questions	Use behaviorally based questions “Could you” versus “Would you”
Asking trivial or silly questions	Use the performance review form for the position as a template for interview questions If a question yields the same response 90% of the time, it probably should be eliminated. Identify the specific information you seek to elicit from each question and if you cannot, eliminate the question

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[1] www.dfeh.ca.gov/res/docs/Publications/DFEH-161.pdf

FINAL THOUGHTS 

• In an era where costs continue to escalate, making bad hiring decisions can have serious and costly implications.
• If you have a performance review form, you have an interview template. Given that employees are evaluated against the standards on your performance review, why not hire to these standards?
• Go into the interview with specific requirements in mind.
  • Use relevant questions about the organization, the position and your culture.
  • Look for responses to interviewers’ questions that demonstrate poise, clarity and substance
  • Assess preparation as a demonstration of interest
  • Note if the aspirant inquired about performance requirements
    • Your expectations
    • What can he/she might do to exceed those expectations?
    • The organization does not have all the power and is not the sole decision maker.
      • The organization assesses the aspirant for a position.
      • Aspirants assesses the organization to determine if they can thrive in the position.
      • The power of the “Ask.”
        • Did they ask for the job?
        • If the interview has gone well and he/she wants the job, he/she should ask for it.
        • It’s so simple, yet so rarely done. 

The end game of the interview is a dual evaluation of
the potential for mutual benefit—it’s all about the “fit.”

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Supplemental Material
COMMON ASPIRANT ERRORS

Interviewing is the end game of a research project. Both sides of this game have roles to play:

• You, as one of the aspirants, are seeking to convince the interviewer you are the best fit.
• The interviewers, as independent evaluators, are seeking a high level of proof before supporting your candidacy.  

This support will based not only the positive impressions, but also lack of negatives.

The most important success factors, concentrated preparation and the aura of self-confidence, are both quickly evident to the interviewers.

To assist in refining these success factors, here is a list of common errors by aspirants being interviewed.  It is provided for your information and reference.

Common Aspirant Errors	Points to Ponder
Not having a sense of their own true value and not convincing themselves that they are the best candidate	Most of us are better than we think Consider objective introspection and mock interviews If you can’t convince themselves— you probably can’t convince anyone else Don’t be a commodity – be a unique asset
Not being able to comfortably articulate why they are a good fit for the position highlighting their own true value	“If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.”—Rudyard Kipling Don’t tell it—sell it Include transferable skills Passion for the position and enthusiasm shines through Practice, practice and practice some more
Not carefully reviewing and memorizing their own résumé and application	Find a trusted advisor to help you practice: Not until you get it right—until you can’t get it wrong
Not minding their non-verbals	Pick up the meta-messages Dress Demeanor Desire
Not being pleasant and respectful to drivers, clerks and receptionists	No second chance to make a first impression
Not completing due diligence before the interview by thoroughly researching the company.	Carefully review the job description, job posting or advertisement Prepare and practice short narratives on how and when you have performed critical success factors mentioned. Be prepared to talk about obstacles you encountered and how you dealt with them successfully. Be prepared to talk about past achievements that you have attained that in any way relate to this job. Informational interviews Tapping your network Expanding your network to mine for intelligence on the organization
Not assessing company culture and their comfort with it	You will spend quarter of your life there Informational interviews Tapping your network Expanding your network to mine intelligence on the organization
Not knowing the immediate challenges the position will face	Awareness implies competence You can’t explain how you will go about addressing their primary concerns if you can’t identify them
Not probing for  critical success factors	You can’t measure without a yardstick What gets measured gets done What gets done well, gets rewarded
Not actively engaging in the process	If there is no passion, there is no need to interview Don’t try to “fake it.”  Admit it if you don’t know something and then explain how you would remediate that lacking Be sensitive to prompts: “What can you tell me about your ability to…?” Be sensitive to requests: “Give us an example of…” Treat the interviewers as customers:  They have desires; the company has needs
Not actively listening	Every interviewer provides cues to their needs—capture them “How extraordinary is the fact that no effort is made anywhere in the whole educational process to help individuals learn how to listen well.”—Mortimer Adler Much of the message is conveyed through nonverbal forms of expression like eye contact, posture and hand gestures. “The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said.”—Peter Drucker
Droning on	Leave time for additional positive aspects of your background to be explored 1-2 minutes should be enough for any response unless they ask follow-up questions Use stories to concisely highlight your skill set
Not working personal assets into the exchange	Your “fit” and how you know it Your unique competence and work ethic Your capacity to learn and grow
Badmouthing former employers or supervisors	Disparaging former associates suggests you will also disparage future ones Treat prior criticism as clues on how to improve. Be thankful.
Not having well-reasoned questions and a carefully prepared closing	Don’t ask questions that you could easily answer if you had conducted proper research Ask intelligent questions that demonstrate your knowledge of the organization and how you share their aspirations Show your desire to go above and beyond by asking, “What are the most important contributions I can make in the first six months on the job?” Probe for secondary or collateral duties that may give you an edge “Have I addressed your concerns sufficiently?  Would you like additional detail on anything we have covered?”
Not ASKING for the position	MOST aspirants don’t! Power of the ASK
Not saying “Thank you”	Manners always count Complimentary close, such as: “I believe I was given a fair chance to discuss my capabilities and I thank you for making the time for this interview.”
Not negotiating next steps	Whom should I contact if I do not hear from you? Is ten days a reasonable wait…? How should I follow-up? With whom?