6 Ways To Leverage LinkedIn For Your Job Search

Networking to find your next gig can feel overwhelming when you’re scrambling to fit in all the responsibilities of your current job, your family and those two 7 minute workouts a week (Thanks, New York Times!). After-work events can seem like an impossibility when you’re exhausted and desperate for a little QT with the TV at the end of the day. 

Enter our friend, LinkedIn. Imagine, networking in your PJ’s while binge-watching Billions. Yes, this can happen. And while this won’t be your entire strategy, it will help you gain momentum in your search so your in-person conversations can be fruitful and high impact. 

Its time to get tactical, friends! For you LinkedIn power users out there this may be a review, but I find many of my clients are just scratching the surface with how to use this critical tool. Here’s how we dig in and 10x their results with my 6 Ways To Leverage LinkedIn For Your Job Search.  

1. Explore Profiles Of Others With Roles You Had And Roles You Want
Before you commit to updating the language in your profile, do your research! Search some of the job titles you’ve had and learn how others are describing themselves and the keywords they use to brand their expertise. Do not plagiarize, but take notes on common themes that you may want to include in your profile. On the flip side, I find many of my clients are not clear on the kinds of roles they want for their next gig. Search roles that you’re curious about and notice if the descriptions in these profiles resonate with you, include expertise you have and skills you want to learn. 

2. Synch Up Your Resume and LinkedIn Profile
This is LinkedIn 101, but you would be amazed at the number of people who are not doing it! Take some of the building blocks from your resume like the summary, expertise bullets and bullets for each job and use them as a starting point for your LinkedIn Profile. Since you’re not working with the same length restrictions on LinkedIn, feel free to add more to your LinkedIn summary that would give it more personality and intrigue—beyond what’s in your resume. Make the dates between your resume and your LinkedIn profile match. Period. Hiring managers and recruiters are going to make this comparison so you should beat them to it! Include your education, certifications, interests, volunteer work, etc.—everything you can to fill out the picture of who you are. And speaking of pictures, you need one! Here’s a needle in a haystack task for you—find the one photo of you without your kids. If you don’t have one, recruit that friend who’s exploring her photography skills to snap one of you ASAP. 

3. Expand Your Network To 500+ Contacts
The larger your LinkedIn network, the more successful you’ll be with Step 4 that I’ll discuss in a moment. Four years ago, I created a game for myself to hit 500 contacts. I wasn’t sure why I was doing it at the time, but I’m so glad I did—and so are my clients who are able to make new connections through my expansive network! By making it a game, it was fun instead of a chore. And this is the perfect task to do while you’re winding down in the evening. Ideally, you should personalize each request, but if that’s dramatically slowing you down—the standard request is often overlooked so I wouldn’t get too stressed about sticking with it. Don’t limit yourself by only expanding your network with contacts in your city. People move around and they have global connections. Right now, your focus is on broadening your reach, regardless of location. 

4. Research Your Target Companies And Find Contacts 
I take a proactive approach to job searching by focusing on target companies rather than simply applying to job postings ad nauseam.  Once you’ve expanded your network, search your target companies, follow them on LinkedIn so you see their updates in your newsfeed. Then either within the search bar or on the company page, LinkedIn will allow you to see “people at this company.” You will see a list of people who either currently work at the company or have at one time. You can then narrow your search by checking the checkboxes for 1st and 2nd degree connections in the left margin of the page. If you have 1st degree connections to your dream company—congratulations—you’ve got the golden ticket. Reach out to this contact for an informational interview, even if there’s not a role currently available. If you only have 2nd degree connections, don’t fret! You can reach out to your 2nd degree contact and ask for an intro to his or her contact at the company. If you don’t have 1st or 2nd degree contacts, go back to step 3 and continue expanding your network. 

5. Get Active And Contribute Content In Your Area of Expertise (So meta!)
One way to get noticed on LinkedIn is to become an active participant in the community. The easiest way to do this is to like, comment on or share the articles in your newsfeed. Each time you do this, your profile is shown in the newsfeeds of ALL of your contacts. Way to get easy exposure, friends! If you have time to go a bit further, post other articles you find that fit with your expertise and your personal brand. And of course, the highest level of contribution is to create content for the LinkedIn community. While it can be time-consuming, it’s a great way to build out your brand, share your point of view and help in areas where you see gaps in skillsets and information. See you around the newsfeed!

6.  Ask For Endorsements
While asking for something from others can often be hard, it’s worth it. Reach out to colleagues past and present, with whom you’ve built meaningful relationships to ask them to share an endorsement for you. If the first few you reach out to are busy, don’t take it personally and connect with others on your list. These endorsements fill out your page with powerful nuggets about who you are, your personal brand and what it’s like to work with you. Hiring managers expect to see them on your profile and it can be a red flag if you don’t have any. 

Becoming a LinkedIn Ninja is the perfect way to jump-start your 2017 job search. Get your wheels turning, ideas firing and your network churning so that you land the right next job for you.

Love The Job You're With

Four years into my last Digital Marketing role, I started to get a little antsy. My younger daughter was over a year old. I had steady childcare coverage and was in a healthy place with self-care (respect to my second born who came out of the womb a good sleeper. I heard this was possible, but never believed!). I was out of working mom triage mode (congrats to the former me!) and began to yearn for a more fulfilling and exciting career. Every time I thought of leaving, I came to the very sound conclusion, “You would be freaking out of your mind to leave this unicorn of a Mommy Dream Job.” I had flexible hours, co-workers I adored, respect, appreciation and a steady salary. So, there was all of that. 

When I looked at job descriptions for roles that would be a natural next step with Director of Digital Marketing titles, all I could see were gaps in my experience and reasons they might not hire me--not to mention the dreaded words “fast-paced environment” or “Must be good under pressure.” 

And then it came to me. Why don’t I make the job I have into the job I want? I’ve outlined some of the steps I took so you can try them out if you’re in a similar situation and ready to start evolving your role into the one you want.

1. Write an aspirational job description WITH a new title
Now is the time to get creative! How would you tweak your current role to become more exciting, fulfilling and more like the role that’s potentially next on your trajectory? Depending on your relationship with your leader and the culture in your organization, you may or may not share this with the team. Even if you never share it with anyone, it’s great for you to have so you know what you’re shooting for and so you can explain the more tactical tweaks to leadership. This may be controversial in some companies, but in smaller firms—tweaks to titles are absolutely possible. Choose a title that reflects the gravity of your new role and something that will be a closer connection to the next step in your career. 

2. Identify skills you want to learn
In my case, I wanted to better understand Digital Content Strategy so I could set the strategic vision for all of our digital and social channels—based on past performance data and strategic goals of the organization. I selected an online course that was well reviewed and requested that my organization fund it because I would be rolling out my new skills to the benefit of the company. Once the course and the strategy were completed, we rolled it out across our channels and tripled our social engagement. It was a win-win-win! What are the skills you want to learn that would also make an impact for the organization and your customers?

3. Earmark conferences you want to attend
Remember all of the times you turned down those invites to interesting sounding events and conferences because you felt like you didn’t have anything exciting to talk about? Instead, you hid out at your desk, optimizing your budget spreadsheet for the umpteenth time that week. Well, things have changed, friend! You’ve wrangled yourself a new role with new projects and opportunities to learn new skills. Now would be a great time to get out onto the conference circuit to be exposed to new ways of thinking and success stories from other companies. Start small with some free or low-cost events that may be two to three hours. Give your leaders the chance to see the impact this time is making on your engagement in your role and on your results before you ask for a ticket to SXSW. 

4. Delegate areas of your role you don’t enjoy (wherever possible)
This one has a few caveats for those who don’t have any direct reports, but in my case I had a few smart, capable employees on my team to whom I could hand over work that they enjoyed and I did not. I made a clearer separation between our roles and eventually was able to distribute that to the broader team. My guess is that there are some of you out there who have employees, freelancers, vendors or agencies to which you can delegate certain tasks, but you don’t because you’re either good at these things or you’re known for these things. Neither of these are good reasons to hold on. Delegating tasks is a great way to leave space for new skills and growth. It can be scary to give up the thing we know is a slam dunk in exchange for the thing we’re just learning—but it’s the only way to stretch our skill-sets and embody everything in our aspirational job descriptions!

5. Sell in your ideas to leadership
It’s one thing to put this all on paper, but within 99% of organizations you’ll need to sell this move to leadership to help them understand why it’s good for the company. Help explain why your new direction is in synch with the goals of the team and the broader organization. Promise to keep leadership in lockstep with your evolving vision and your learnings so that your new knowledge benefits a wider audience. In my case and in the case of many of my clients, the leaders involved were not only anxious to make the changes to roles to benefit the organization, but they respected the initiative and courage that came from the employee to bring it to their attention. This will not always be the case. If that is your situation, then you know where you stand and you have some deep thinking to do about your next step. 

By re-inventing my job, I was able to take on more of a leadership role at the organization because I was confident and proud about what I was doing day to day and the impact I was making for the business. Two years into that role, I discovered coaching, fell in love and the rest is history—but I credit this time in my tenure at the organization to helping me get my career mojo back after having my kids. It was one of those moments I was reminded—hey I’m the one in charge of my career! And man, did that mantra stick! 

Create An Elevator Pitch For Your Career Transition

Twelve years ago, I was part of a layoff at a company that was going through a dramatic downsizing process. I was given three months' severance that kicked in during the sunny first days of June. Instead of sulking and hiding out, I broke out my sundresses, bought myself a pair of pink Pumas and deemed it, "The Summer of Rachel." I took the time to explore my options AND do the reflecting I needed to do to land the right next gig. What did I like about my job? What do I want to do more of? Less of? While I didn't wear my Pumas to networking meetings, I DID talk all about the "Summer of Rachel." Everyone got it. The gift of time to do things I enjoy, spend time with people I love, the space to "not know" for a while.

When you're in the process of figuring out what's next in your career, a time of "not knowing" can be terrifying. My high-achieving, goal-oriented clients admit, "On top of hating that I don't know the answers, how in the world do I explain where I am right now to my family, my former colleagues, my mentors? I feel like a flake!" Of course you feel that way, because that's how you're choosing to feel. I don't know if it's because I'm an optimist or a former marketer, but my next question is always, "How would you describe this time if you had to make it sound exciting…or like a gift?"

The truth is that it takes courage to explore something new. The process can be exhilarating, but it can also be scary and leave you with (as the sage Brené Brown would say) a vulnerability hangover! Hangovers aside, this is the time when being honest and authentic in your relationships can bring your connections to a deeper level. You can admit you don't know the answers. This doesn't make you a slacker. In fact, it makes you a hero. I can assure you the people sitting across from you don't have all the answers either. They have been in your seat in the past or may be inspired by your courage because they are desperate to make a change. 

How do you want to own your career transition story? Let's start with writing a Career Transition Elevator Pitch with some examples from my own career transition from Marketing to Career and Leadership Coaching:

1. Own up to being in a career transition. How does this sound for you?: Example: After 16 years in Marketing, I decided to take a step back to figure out my next move. I looked at my strengths, what I've loved about past jobs and started putting the puzzle pieces together. I don't have the answers yet, but I'm enjoying the process of figuring them out. 

2. What are you finding exciting about this time?: Example: It's exciting to start considering the skills outside of past job titles and descriptions for which people have always sought me out. Motivation, mentoring, writing, career advice. I've done these things throughout my career and when I did them—that's when I felt completely myself. There's something there that I need to look into for sure! 

3. How can this person help you?: Example - Now I'm talking to people who have similar strengths and roles that they seem to enjoy. Would you mind telling me more about your role, how you got there and what you like about it? 

4. Now put it all together!: String all the pieces of your pitch together. You get bonus points if you come up with a fun and creative title for your exploration time. This can be a gem that emphasizes your personal brand AND a clue that you don't take yourself too seriously. 

5. Practice: Practice with friends, family and your close-in circle. Make sure it sounds like your voice and your personality -- not robotic. 

Now own it with the chutzpah it deserves! This is where you are right now. It's not where you'll be forever. Fight it, and you will continue to struggle. Accept it, and you will move through it with grace and a deeper understanding of who you are. 

If you’re looking for a little extra support in honing your Elevator Pitch, please consider the Nail Your Elevator Pitch Mini Course!

The Mini Course includes…

Five short videos that walk you through:

• A welcome and setting you up for success

• Identifying your strengths

• The strategy and approach to writing your pitch

• The formula for three different types of pitches based on your situation

• Getting into action with your pitch

Plus, a workbook where you can write the first drafts of your pitch.

All for $60!

Add a 45-minute 1:1 session to workshop your pitch with Rachel for $125.

Let’s get you out there networking with a pitch that will give you the momentum you need to make that next big career move. Take the next step here: https://www.rachelbgarrett.com/pitch

Escape The Overwhelm That's Killing Your Career Creativity

Often when my clients come to see me, they know they want a career change. They know they’re craving something new, but they feel stuck. They’re exhausted and depleted. They’ve sandwiched our session between a presentation to senior leadership and the errands that are mission critical to running their home for the week (ie. picking up the kid who will be the last one standing at daycare, again). 

When I ask them, “What would you be doing right now if money and time were no object?”, I get a deer in headlights look in response. Not only do they have no answer, but they’re also furious at themselves for being this far along in their careers without knowing what they want to be when they grow up! 

Overwhelm coupled with an anvil of pressure to “do it all” is standing in the way of creative ideas about your next career move. When you keep pushing through the slog, you feel like a shell of your pre-kids self. Remember those (still Type A but) healthy dreamer people? They’re in there, I promise! They had hobbies and unscheduled time where they could disappear for a few weekend hours, be completely unproductive and it didn’t matter. In fact, after they had that time, they showed up to work the next day energized, alive and dare I say, brilliant. 

Let’s reconnect with that carefree-ish person and unpack your overwhelm with the Roles and Responsibilities Experiment I use with working parents:

Roles and Responsibilities Experiment: 
1) Its brain dump time, friend. Break out a piece of paper and create three columns: Work, Parenting and Household. 

2) For each category, write a list of the tasks you’re responsible for on a daily or weekly basis. For now, we’re going to focus on the Parenting and Household categories because my guess is that you do this type of exercise at work regularly. Don’t hold back…put it all on there. Gifts for friends and family take time to purchase. Lunches take time to make. Managing childcare, paying bills, budgeting, scheduling play dates—it’s all fair game and it adds up. This part of our lives is what I call—“The Third Job” and it often puts my working parent clients over the edge. 

3) Now that you have your list, put:

• a “heart” next to all of the tasks you love doing
• a “star” next to the tasks you think are a high priority in your life
• a “D” next to all of the tasks that could be candidates to delegate to your partner, your kids or someone you can hire if you have the means.
• an “S” next to all of the tasks you feel you “should” do, but you’re not truly connected to them. (This group has it’s own exercise that’s coming soon so hang on to it!)

4) Review your list and note what comes up for you. Are there any D’s and S’s on your list? IF NOT, REPEAT STEP 3! Don’t think I don’t know this trick! You’re holding onto control and that’s a surefire way to stay exactly where you are. If you want to move forward, you need to create space and that means letting go of some things. 

5) For those with partners, ask them to do the exercise as well. You can use this as a starting point for a conversation about shifting some roles and responsibilities. Last summer, I took on all of our personal finance tasks including budgeting, bill paying, investing and projecting annual expenses while my husband took on grocery shopping, meal planning and much of the cooking. It’s not perfect (and it will never be), but our kids are trying new foods and we’re more on top of our finances than ever before. It’s an exciting shift. 

6) If you do decide to shift roles, remember there’s a learning curve! You’ve been making lunches and managing the babysitter for years—give your partner some room to make mistakes and learn without judgment. Resist your instinct to take back control after one or two mistakes. When you say things like, “I’m the only one who can put the baby to bed.” you tighten your handcuffs and remove any chance of having a weekend away in your near future! 

As you begin to create space by removing your “should” tasks and delegating, start to fill that space with things that bring you joy. It’s in this time when you’re doing the things you love in the space that you’ve carefully guarded for only you, that you will begin to find clues about your next exciting career move.