LinkedIn: That's nice, but "Are you hiring?"
Credit to Nick Power for introducing me to this LinkedIn dialog format.
Now that I have your attention, let's talk about LinkedIn.
We're here, so we must love it.
But we also hate it...
As seen by LinkedIn-bashing posts popularity.
Let's complain a bit more, then I have tips below.
LinkedIn needs some major feature updates.
(Search is soo clunky!)
LinkedIn could prioritize better
(Games? AI comment suggestions? In this tech job market?)
But it's still the best tool for networking and job searching.
(But most use it so poorly.)
I've been teaching Networking for Alex Rechevskiy's Product Career Accelerator since December. These are the moves that help top PMs land interviews at companies like Google, Meta, Amazon, Uber, and many other public tech firms and hot start-ups.
1. Build your connections. Revolutionary, I know.
Strive for _at least_ 100-200 connections per year of work.
If my teens can connect with 1000 people on Snap... c'mon.
2. Use search better.
- Go to "My Network" > "Connections" > "Search with filters"
- Click "All Filters" > Keywords > "Title"
- Type in your role (For me it's "product manager")
- Or search for "talent" or "recruiter"
Then reach out with a warm DM.
Now search those people's first degree connections - your 2nd Degree - and ask for introductions.
(This is why you build your first degree. And no those weren't m-dashes)
3. Find your superconnectors.
These are people you've helped who are well connected and willing to make intros.
They are usually in sales/biz dev, teachers, community leaders, or journalists.
Search their connections. Request the intro.
Here are a few other tips as you job seek:
1. Mindset - As a job seeker, you are often helping others as much as they are helping you when it comes to cold outreach, introductions, and referrals.
2. Messaging - Don't sound transactional, especially not at first. Would you like it if a stranger walked up to you with no introduction and demanded help?
3. Consistency wins - It's a numbers game. If you're not putting up big outreach numbers, don't expect strong results.
4. Follow-up - If you find someone interesting or make a new connection, follow-up 3 times and then close the loop.
People are busy. I often get responses the second time I make contact.
One student told me they heard back from a Meta recruiter on the 3rd email
I have other tips that I will start sharing. What's working for job seekers out there?
What do you want to know about using LinkedIn for finding jobs or sourcing candidates?
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I'm David Speigel 🔮. I don't have an offer right now.
But maybe one day soon I will. Probably in career management or PLG.
And by that time, I might have an audience!
In the meantime, I comment and make some pretty cool friends in DMs.
Like, comment, repost, and follow to see more. 🙏
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