Hope you enjoyed the video. Please post any other advice or comments below.

LinkedIn is an amazing tool for job search. Unfortunately most job seekers fail to achieve the true potential. LinkedIn enables you to create a personal web page and web address. Most businesses will tell you that creating a website doesn’t guarantee increased opportunities. Websites fail because (a) they don’t market the product/service effectively and (b) they don’t attract enough relevant traffic.

This article will help you attract more external traffic to your LinkedIn Profile. Don’t hope people find your profile – HELP THEM FIND IT!! I make the assumption that your LinkedIn profile sells your skills effectively. If not, read – LinkedIn: Do you fit in or STAND OUT? I also make the assumption that you’ve customised your LinkedIn profile URL www.linkedin.com/in/paulmullan.

10 ways to attract external traffic to your LinkedIn profile

Email Signature – Add your LinkedIn URL to the signature of your private email. This means you are marketing yourself each time you send or reply to an email.

Facebook – Most job seekers fail to lean on their network of friends and family during job search. Paste your LinkedIn URL to the information section of your Facebook profile.

Twitter – Twitter allows you to add a website to your profile. Use your LinkedIn URL as your website address. Tweeting or retweeting can attract viewers your profile.

CV – Add your LinkedIn URL at the top of your CV. I believe a hiring manager will spend more time reviewing a LinkedIn Profile than a CV. A LinkedIn profile provides additional information like recommendations. It also indicates that you are social networking savvy.

Business Card – Some job seekers are printing basic business cards to support their job search. This is a positive step but remember to insert your LinkedIn profile URL.

E-Marketing – Some job seekers send speculative application emails to firms. Try pasting your LinkedIn URL to the mail instead of attaching a CV. It’s a different approach.

Industry Forums/Blogs – Research and locate popular industry forums and blogs. Your target market will be visiting these sites. Ensure you paste your LinkedIn URL when you post meaningful content or share expertise.

Company Blogs – Most firms have a blog. This offers an alternative medium to get noticed or communicate. Key influencers in the organisation may be reading the blog. Paste your LinkedIn profile URL when you comment.

Cover Letter – Insert your LinkedIn profile URL below the address on your cover letter. Try directing the reader to your LinkedIn profile rather than attaching a CV.

General Site/Free sites – There are many free forums and advertising sites online (gumtree/boards/etc). Paste your LinkedIn profile URL to any messages/adverts.

Thanks for reading – post a comment and paste your LinkedIn URL to the message

I was privileged to be invited to present at the “LAI Taskforce on Employment Support” event facilitated by Dublin City Libraries on 27th Nov 2010. Well done to the 35+ people who braved the tough weather conditions to attend the event.

I presented about “Proactive Job Search”. The key points are outline below!!

ACTION – “Success is connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes but don’t quit”. There are no short cuts and you must be willing to pay the price. The harder you work the luckier you will get.

FEEDBACK – Record your activity. Results never lie. Recording activity, and seeking feedback, will allow you to identify what is working and what is not working. NB: Einstein defines insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”.

CREATIVITY – Inject creativity to stand out when targeting advertised jobs or the “M50 of the job market”. If you are not getting the results you desire – start taking risks / injecting creativity. NB: Risk-Taking is defined as “actions that might have undesirable results”. This means your actions could have desirable results!!

ATTACK THE JOB MARKET – Don’t react to the job market. Apply the 80/20 rule. Spend 80% of your time on proactive job search strategies like networking, social media networking, speculative application, or voluntary work. Implement visibility strategies to help the hidden opportunities find you. STOP hiding behind your CV!!

Become SOCIAL MEDIA Savvy – Social Media has changed they way we search for jobs and manage our careers. Embrace tools like LinkedIn, FaceBook, and Twitter.

Become the “KING OF NETWORKING” – A least 2 out of every 3 jobs is not advertised. You will find this by effective networking. Manage your existing network and seek out new connections.

Think SALES!! – Learn how to sell yourself because nobody is going to do this for you.

You can access ongoing career information by following me on twitter, joining “Measurability Careers & Jobs Club” on LinkedIn, or reading this blog.

Feel free to post any comments below.

Good luck with your job search ….

Below I have outlined 8 ways LinkedIn can help you land an advertised job

Contacting a recruiter – When you see a job advertised through a recruitment agency, LinkedIn can help. You can use LinkedIn to check out, and even get in touch with, the recruiter. You may have mutual connections on LinkedIn, and communication through these mutual connections can warm your initial approach. You may be a member of similar groups on LinkedIn and this can offer an alternative way to contact the recruiter about the job.

Find employees working for the company – When a job is advertised directly by a company, then LinkedIn could help too. Use the search function on LinkedIn to locate employees working with the company. Your quality connections on LinkedIn can enhance your reach. I believe it’s better to have your CV handed to the HR/Hiring Manager by a current employee rather than sending in a cold application.

More focused applications – LinkedIn can help give the edge to your CV or cover letter. Using your network, or accessing professional knowledge on LinkedIn can offer inside information about a company department, their challenges or plans. This information can help you tailor your CV and cover letter to catch the eye of the hiring manager.

Create a CV with a twist – If you are going to stick with a traditional CV, then paste your LinkedIn Profile URL to your CV. Remember to customise your URL – www.linkedin.com/in/paulmullan. This link can draw the hiring manager to your LinkedIn profile. For me, a sharp LinkedIn Profile can offer much more information than a CV.

Find a hiring manager – If you don’t meet the exact criteria for an advertised job, but feel you have something to offer, try to avoid the “send CV to HR” channel. Use LinkedIn to find the details (name/contact) of the Department Manager. Make a direct sales call or email your application to the manager directly.

Substitute for your CV – Try using your LinkedIn Profile as an alternative to your CV. I accept that this can be a risky strategy BUT not if your job search is void of positive results. I believe a strong LinkedIn Profile offers much more information than a CV and that hiring managers will probably spend longer reviewing a LinkedIn profile. This can help differentiate your application and land an interview.

A key selling point – Some organisations value LinkedIn knowledge for certain roles. Strong knowledge of LinkedIn can be viewed positively and lack of knowledge can be viewed negatively. Some examples include – Sales, Marketing, and Recruitment positions. Using LinkedIn as part of your application strategy for these roles could add weight to your application.

Researching a company – LinkedIn Groups and LinkedIn connections can provide valuable information (insight, facts, and opinions) to help you stand out at interview. LinkedIn can help you access information nuggets to give you an edge and to highlight that you went the extra mile with your interview preparation.

Researching an interviewer – Recruiters, and HR professionals, are checking you out online. So why not reverse this. Search for interviewers on LinkedIn. This can provide a valuable insight to the interviewer, and could enhance your interview performance. You can access useful information like – previous work history, previous study, group memberships, and even interests. This information can help you build rapport at interview.

Please post any additional advice in the comments below ….

LinkedIn Training Workshop for Job Seekers/Employees on 6th November @ Bewleys Hotel Dublin

“Why are you trying so hard to fit in when you were born to stand out?” When I saw the above quote, it sure caught my eye – amazing words!! I browsed to find it was from the movie – “What a Girl Wants”. I haven’t seen the movie, which is a surprise, as I thought I had to endure every romcom . This statement is very true when it comes to job search – very evident when I surf LinkedIn. Many LinkedIn users choose to “fit in”, it’s safer and less offensive.

There are key ingredients to setting up a basic profile (100% complete profile, customised LinkedIn URL, recommendations, using applications, posting updates etc), but users can go beyond this. Quite often the obvious is ignored. Below I look at the 3-2-1 of LinkedIn. 3 simple tips to stand out, 2 simple tips to keep standing out, and 1 not so simple BUT essential tip.

3 SIMPLE TIPS TO STAND OUT

Headline – I am very surprised that more people don’t use this. My headline reads “Career ~ Outplacement ~ Personal Branding Consultant. Inspiring Creativity, Increasing Visibility & Generating Career Smiles” A catchy headline can help draw people to view your profile. I’ve been using “headlines” to draw readers to read my blogs, since 2007. The same principle applies to attract people to read your LinkedIn profile. Be creative and have some fun

Summary – It is important to have a summary. It is more important to get “you” across in your summary. Inject some personality. Bland will lose the reader. I use the word “I” in my summary to help soften this section. Write from the heart, as this will help you connect to the reader.

Experience – I still read profiles with no (or little) content. These profiles are missing a perfect sales opportunity. I won some outplacement work, a few months back, when a potential client read Eng/Pharma recruitment experience on myLinkedIn profile. If you lack content in your Experience Section, you should add some. Remember – Don’t bore the reader. Focus on facts, figures and achievements. Excite the reader.

2 SIMPLE TIPS TO KEEP STANDING OUT

Ongoing Profile Maintenance – Ensure you continually review and update your LinkedIn profile. Add anything new that will enhance your profile – a new project, achievement or training. For example – I recently added that I spoke at the National College of Ireland Career Bootcamp in August. Your connections are notified when you amend your profile. Curiosity killed the cat, and curiosity draws them in to have a look.

Seek Feedback – You should always seek to improve your LinkedIn Profile. It is important to seek feedback. Ask people (friends, clients or customers) to review your profile. I continually do this. I ask clients to review my LinkedIn profile, summary and headline. I ask the questions – “Do I get me and my personality across?” and “Would my profile make you pick up the phone?”

1 NOT SO SIMPLE BUT ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT

Attract Viewers – A nice profile with no viewers is like dressing up in a new dress and sitting in, or like a website with no traffic. YOU NEED TO ATTRACT VIEWERS TO YOUR PROFILE!! What are you doing to attract viewers to your profile? Some viewers may stumble across your profile BUT don’t leave it to chance. Help them find you by becoming the “Pied Piper of LinkedIn”.

LinkedIn Training Workshop for Job Seekers/Employees on 6th November @ Bewleys Hotel Dublin

I presented to 200+ job seekers at the National College of Ireland this morning, as part of their annual Career Bootcamp. The subject was “Get Creative & Get Hired”. I’d like to thank Robert and Emma for asking me to participate in this worthwhile event.

The key objectives of the talk …

- To help job seekers accept the job market has changed. To help job seekers accept the job search strategies must change.

- To help inspire creativity in the job search.

- To outline creative strategies for targeting the advertised and unadvertised job markets.

- To talk for 1hr and 45 minutes without discussing CVs

I would like to thank all of the people who attended the event today. I had fun doing it, and hope you all took something away. Now – put this into action!! I thought the talk went well – did you?

Feel free to post your feedback and comments ….

“Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue.” David Brent

I work with many job seekers who feel they have monopoly rights on the role of “the statue”. One of their main job search frustrations – left hanging by recruiters/employers, without feedback, post job application or interview. Job seekers react to this in different ways, with many finding it difficult to move on. They develop an obsession, dedicating every waking hour to the quest for feedback. Others snap, and seek revenge, like the next story outlines.

From The New York Times Blog – A job seeker was invited for job interview by a Manhattan magazine. He interviewed with the HR Manager and Managing Editor. Following the interview he was asked to complete a test and return asap. Three months passed by, with numerous attempts to seek feedback, but no word. The job seeker finally snapped and sought revenge. He emailed the Managing Editor to say he had accepted the job, he was delighted to be joining the team and that he would report for duty early Monday morning. The three month cold shoulder ended. He was bombarded by urgent emails/voicemails demanding an immediate call to HR. He eventually called to come clean but not before giving a piece of his mind…

This story brought a smile to my face. I am sure it brought a smile to anyone who has had a similar experience. Nice to read, but I don’t promote revenge or stalking. Below I have outlined some advice for those feeling like a statue.

Complaining about the pigeon won’t help – I try to let go of negativity, because it has a direct impact on the achievement of my goals. When I hold onto negativity, I have an urge to tell others and complain. Most people I meet are turned off by blaming and complaining. If you find someone who wants to listen to your hard luck stories, you are hanging around with the wrong crowd. Job hunting success is determined by effective networking and engagement, which means negativity and complaining will hold you back.

Don’t waste time chasing pigeons – I have found myself in the role of stalker, spending hours chasing feedback from clients. I now realise that this was a waste of energy, and only served to frustrate me further. I must assume that the client received my message, after the 40 emails, 10 voicemails, 2 LinkedIn InMails, 1 postcard and 10 texts messages. I now ask myself - Can I put this energy to a better use? (like the next point)

Moving targets are harder to hit – I always tell myself that there is something bigger and better around the next corner (that hopefully doesn’t fall from the sky above ). It would be a great help to get feedback, but I don’t let lack of feedback hold me back. I keep moving!! I turn my focus to generating new opportunities. This means I have little time to dwell on hard luck stories. It dust myself down and move on.

Feel free to post your comments!! Don’t forget Measurability Careers & Jobs Club - a LinkedIn group with free advice for jobseekers on how to avoid pigeons . I will be presenting on Tue 17th Aug 9.30am @ National College of Ireland – “Get Creative and Get Hired!!” For more information Career Bootcamp 2.

Most LinkedIn tips and advice are geared towards jobseekers between jobs. LinkedIn can be a valuable tool to support jobseekers in active employment too. This post examines how current employees can use LinkedIn to source a new job.

Get over your fear and start using LinkedIn – Using LinkedIn does not automatically mean you are job hunting. Many business and professions use LinkedIn for other reasons.

Create a strong LinkedIn Profile – A LinkedIn profile is your own personal sales brochure. Some compare it to an online CV but I think it offers more. Build a full and up-to-date profile ensuring impact content and achievements, keywords and recommendations.

Your Headline/Status updates – Many job hunters between jobs use this to tell the world they are actively seeking employment. Use your headline to indicate what you do and who you do it for. Avoid putting information about your job hunt on your status.

Manage your account settings – Adjust settings so that your connections are not informed when make changes to your profile or status. If they can see you are connecting with recruiters it might give the game away. Use the settings to indicate that they are interested in career opportunities and that you accept messages from other members. Help recruiters/opportunities get in touch.

Ensure your profile is keyword rich – In US 85% of recruiters use LinkedIn to find talent and Ireland is following fast. Identify the keywords that recruiters may use to search for your skills.

Join relevant groups – Join groups in your specific field or industry. Recruiters and potential hiring managers will be monitoring. Contribute to the groups by posting meaningfully comments. This will help increase visibility and draw potential opportunities to your profile. Remember that everyone can read your comments so don’t give the game away.

Expand your network – The more people you connect to the more you expand your reach. Remember it is about quality and not numbers. Actively hunt down and build relationships with relevant recruiters through your group membership.

Comment on Blogs/Forums – When you comment on an industry forum or blog it is important to post your Linkedin URL. This can draw people to view your profile.

Email signature – Place your Linkedin URL on your email signature. When you send emails you are opening yourself up to potential viewers. Use your personal email and depending on your role you may be able to add to your work email.

LinkedIn Training – Individual & Group

Linkedin Group – Measurability Careers & Jobs Club

The National College of Ireland is running Career Bootcamp 2 from Mon 16th – Sat 21st August. Career Bootcamp is a week long series of FREE seminars and workshops to give practical help in the current employment market and real skills to cope with the new rules of job search.

I am one of the guest speakers presenting. My talk will be on Tue 17th Aug from 9 – 11am and is titled “Get creative and get hired!” The aim of the talk is to help jobseekers understand the current job market, inspire a move to more creative job searching and identify creative ideas and strategies.

If you are free on Tue 17th August then drop by. I will be about for a few hours after and free to talk and catch up.

Other FREE resources for jobseekers

Measurability Careers & Jobs Club on Linkedin
Measurability on Facebook
Measurability on Twitter

Below are 10 tips to help get a stalled job search moving again. This is an article I wrote for RecruitIreland towards the end of 2009. Hope you find the advice useful. For an additional 10 tips check out “10 MUST DO actions to revitalise your job search”

Be honest – Many jobseekers say they are job hunting but review tells a different tale. Some kid themselves while others work with limited knowledge about how to successfully job hunt. You need to be honest with yourself. If you are not putting in the effort then increase your activity. If you don’t know how to search effectively then seek help and support.

Avoid negativity – Surround yourself with positive people and minimise time spent with glass half empty people. Positive people have energy and ideas whereas negative people suck the goodness away. Aside from people, focus on positive newspaper articles, TV or radio. 

Write down your success list – Confidence and self belief can be continually eroded during a job search. It is essential to remind yourself about previous successes as a way of maintaining confidence. A great way to do this is write down all your successes – 100 if you can. Read this list at the beginning of each day or when you are feeling beat. Try it – you will be surprised!!

Record activity – If you don’t already have one then set up a recruitment log today. You need to record activity and review regularly to highlight what is working and what is not. Your recruitment log acts as your job hunting compass allowing you spend more time on the right path/strategy and take a different path/approach when you are off track. You cannot improve your results if you don’t know what needs fixing.

Stop cutting corners – If you are sending the same CV and cover letter for every application then STOP. You are cutting corners and this is costing you potential interviews. I am amazed at how many jobseekers tell me they don’t have the time to tailor CVs and cover letters.

Stop hiding behind your computer – There are excellent online strategies to source a new job including job boards and social media networking but real world human interaction should not be ignored. When you are meeting people and talking to people you are opening yourself to ideas, leads and powerful information. Remember to be alert as you interact with people everyday.

Phone 10 people today – Target easy calls initially including ex-work colleagues, friends and relatives. Your goal is to get a job but any conversation can deliver information to maintain momentum. Remember if people don’t know you are looking they can’t help you. 

Join Linkedin – This is a popular tool for professionals to network. Once you join you can create a profile, connect with contacts, develop your connections and join online network groups. The important point is to make yourself visible online. Help employers find you. You can join Measurability Jobs & Careers Club.

Add a signature to your email – Set up a signature on your email account including – Name, contact details, what you do (e.g. HR Professional seeking Permanent & Contract Generalist roles) and Your Linkedin Profile. You never know who might read this or want to get in contact.

Don’t forget to take a break – Too much can be counterproductive. We all need a break to recharge our batteries and when job hunting it is no different. Walk on the beach, go for a run or go to the gym. I find that exercise revitalises me and it also reduces stress. 

BONUS (Follow me on twitter) – I post job tips, advice, job news and other useful information for jobseekers. You can follow me at Paul Mullan Twitter.