Linked: Conquer LinkedIn. Get Your Dream Job. Own Your Future
Genres: Business & Money
Book Preface
Get Ready
to Launch
The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.
—JOSEPH CAMPBELL
The Journey Begins
Congratulations! You’ve just taken a huge step forward in your career. Believe it or not, by opening this book, you’ve invested in yourself. Why? Because this isn’t your typical self-help book about finding yourself. Instead, it’s about manifesting yourself.
Becoming who you are is both the privilege and the adventure of a lifetime. And adventures are to be embarked upon—so we favor action. Our goal is to help you turn your dreams into reality; to bring you down gently from the clouds and find your earthly footing.
Plainly and practically, we’ll walk you through how to take advantage of the seismic changes to the job search. We’ll hold your hand through this new terrain, post-earthquake-and-aftershocks.
The promise of this book: finding, getting found for, and ultimately landing your dream job. The premise: believing both that your dream job awaits, and that there are concrete, actionable steps to attain it. Because putting yourself out there in the ways we outline will get you results. Your bravery will be rewarded.
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The way you find and land your dream job—and then vet it—is by adopting a posture of positive proactivity. This runs counter to the purely reactive approach that the vast majority of job seekers take. They merely browse job boards and company websites and apply cold to as many positions as possible. They cross their fingers and lose track of the best-fit opportunities as crickets chirp. They focus on volume and convenience instead of diligently assessing roles, strengthening their candidacy for the most exciting opportunities, and networking their way in.
Maybe this reactive strategy has been your tactic thus far. If so, it won’t be for much longer. You hold in your hands the guidebook to a proactive and productive job search, one that focuses your limited time on the information and techniques that truly matter and will bear fruit. We’ve seen it happen over and over.
Throughout this new job search process, remember that you make your future. You don’t just stumble into it; you create it. And if the notion of a dream job seems like, well, a pipe dream, we’ll help you bring it into focus. Or maybe your bar is a bit lower: You’re seeking escape from unemployment or are flexible and looking for learning opportunities. Either way, we encourage you to see the baby step of a good-enough job and the quantum leap of a dream job as non–mutually exclusive. The open jobs out there now, including those that only superficially seem like a good fit for you, are not an impediment to landing your dream job; you just need to learn to spin multiple plates at the same time. The job search is continual. Just like you, it’s always a work in progress.
Here’s an analogy from the tech world. Beta is the phase of product development that is full of testing and iterating. Because the product is not yet finished, Beta is all about experimentation, trial and error, revisiting assumptions, considering new information, and adjusting in real time. It requires an open mind and a growth mindset. As Reid Hoffman, who started LinkedIn in 2002
in his living room, writes in his book The Start-up of You (and told us often when we were on staff), you want to be in “Permanent
INTRODUCTION 3
Beta” when it comes to your career. You are never a finished product, and you learn by doing and trying.
When you think this way, you quickly realize that a better job is always around the corner—even if it’s not posted at this very moment or if it takes some intermediate steps to arrive at. You are simply accumulating experiences, stories, perspectives, and connections to position yourself for the next thing, then the next thing, then the next thing after that. At some point, probably without even realizing it, it will not just be a better job; it will be your dream job.
This is paramount: Think of your dream job not as a destination, but as a process. In this book, we help you navigate through that multistep process.
The New Reality: LinkedIn
The simple fact is that the employment landscape is wildly different than it was thirty, twenty, and even ten years ago. Whereas taking certain well-codified steps—getting a good education, writing a stellar resume, collecting impeccable references—used to all but guarantee you a job, we now find ourselves in uncharted waters.
And to make things even trickier, there’s now more competition Corporate job
openings attract
Only
Only
~250
4–6
1
applicants
will be interviewed
will get a job offer
Getting hired is about getting noticed and getting in. Not fitting in.
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than ever. Many online job postings get hundreds of applicants, and the most sought-after roles at the most sought-after employers routinely attract more than a thousand candidates.
The good news is that, like many things in life, the process of landing your dream job is a game. And when you understand how the game is played and learn to play it well, you’ll no longer be intimidated by it. What’s more, you can leverage this know-how to get a leg up on the intensifying competition—and put your dream job in the crosshairs. We’re here to help you do just that.
The key is knowing how to cut through the clutter and build your personal brand to get noticed, then to stand out from everyone else to get an interview and score a job offer. And the best tool for doing all of that? LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is where most every recruiter lives all day long. Their employers pay a hefty sum for the powerful access to candidates it gives them. This is true in every economic sector and every corner of the world, no matter the seniority of the open role.
Here’s why: LinkedIn changed the game for every organization that needs to hire (which is . . . wait for it . . . every organization). Now nearly the entire world of work relies on LinkedIn and plays by its rules. So too, then, must the job seekers.
97%
of recruiters use LinkedIn
to find job candidates
64%
use ONLY LinkedIn
for recruiting
You’d be hard-pressed to find a recruiter who doesn’t use LinkedIn.
Nearly two-thirds of them use it alone to source candidates!
Contents
Foreword Why Job Seekers Need Hedgehogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
by Lindsey Pollak
Introduction Get Ready to Launch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
The changing employment landscape • Introducing your job search guides •
What makes a great job great • Who this book is for • How to use this book
Chapter 1 The Old Game—and the New . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Understand the shifts to play the right game the right way Why you’re not alone • How hiring has changed • Old vs. new processes •
Introducing the algorithms • What recruiters have to say • Becoming a Job Search Hacker
Chapter 2 A Five-Step Framework for the Modern Job Search . . . . . 40
Know how hiring works so you can game each step The hiring process, explained • How to hack it • The five essential job search steps • Success, redefined • Staying motivated
Chapter 3 Get Focused: Exploring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
The journey begins with knowing what’s out there Understand your career options • Strategies if you didn’t go to college • Take your options for a test drive • Questions to ask alumni • Exploring an internal transfer
Chapter 4 Think Like a Recruiter: Positioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Job search success is all about honing your personal brand Inside the mind of a recruiter • Nonprofit job search tips • How recruiters use LinkedIn • LinkedIn for new grads • 12 steps to rock your profile • Your most important keyword • What to put in each profile section • Search engine optimize yourself • The mathematical advantage of showing up in recruiter searches
Chapter 5 Find Your Next Gig: Searching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Find the best next opportunity for you
How to win over the ATS • Get your resume template • Why you don’t need a one-page resume • Search and apply, the smart way • Get the best opportunities pushed to you • When to apply • Assessing other job boards • Deciding whether you need a cover letter
Chapter 6 Get the Ultimate Edge: Networking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Get in the door by putting yourself out there Why referrals are your secret weapon • How to get a referral • Why networking isn’t sketchy • The importance of friends-of-friends • Leverage the power of alumni • Recruiters: network nodes • How to find the hiring manager •
Networking amid the inequities of hiring
Chapter 7 Seal the Deal: Researching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Build your knowledge to land the job offer Get prepared! • Industry, company, and people: three key knowledge types •
Learn about any company • Researching diverse workplaces • Get to know the industry • Learn about company insiders • How to crush your interview • Tools for interview practice • Explaining employment gaps • Do a background check on your future boss
Chapter 8 Leveling Up: Advanced Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Keep learning and iterating
Exploring career options with data • Get industry and location insights •
Find in-demand jobs • What (and when) to post on LinkedIn • Jedi mind tricks for job seekers • Becoming your own boss • Decide if LinkedIn Premium is worth it • Get free InMails • Taking courses on LinkedIn
Conclusion Looking Forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
The journey never ends
Why the old job search game isn’t coming back • Playing the new game better •
Where things are headed next • Go get it!
Online Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Further Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
About the Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
| Download Ebook | Read Now | File Type | Upload Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Download here
|
Read Now | Epub, PDF | September 19, 2022 |
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