Get LinkedIn to More Opportunities in Your Field

Words: Jon Thompson

It’s hard to find any kind of job opportunity these days, but almost impossible to find opportunities in the field YOU want to pursue.

Fun, right?

Almost everyone who has joined the unemployment line has used sites like careerbuilder.com and monster.com at some point. It’s not impossible to find a job on those sites, but people who have used these job boards have more than likely been frustrated at the lack of responses received after applying for jobs for 2-plus hours a day.

Trust me, I was one of those people. Recently, however, I switched up my approach to find opportunities in sports marketing.

Being unemployed is very frustrating; but if you really want to find a job, don’t be afraid to ask for help. That’s exactly what I did. Last week I asked PRC, “What can I do to increase my chances of getting a sports marketing job in NYC?”

One of the first resources he told me to use was LinkedIn. Somehow I had never gotten around to creating a profile, so last Monday I took half of my day to do just that.

It’s only been one week since creating my profile, and I have already gotten more responses and better results than I have from most of the resources I’ve used in the past. Although there are many ways to find job opportunities on LinkedIn, there are 3 simple ways to use this social networking tool to find more opportunities in the field you want to pursue:

1) Use the Job Board

The job board on LinkedIn looks pretty standard. First, click on the Jobs tab at the top of the page. Type in a keyword, in my case, Sports Marketing; then select a location and finally click Search.

So what’s the difference between this job search and other job searches on the web?

The first thing I noticed was that the first 3 companies shown with an open position are all companies that I have heard of before, or can be easily looked up and researched. On other job boards, many times the Company field shows up as “Confidential,” or a company that has likely never been heard of.

The biggest difference with this search, in my opinion, is the 'Posted By' column. In addition to the company named, it shows an actual employee at that company who is either in charge of hiring or some part of the hiring process. From being in sales for a year, I learned that nothing moves forward until you have talked to a decision maker.

The same thing goes with trying to find employment.

It is your job to sell yourself and your credentials to the employer, so knowing who the decision maker is and anything about that person will increase your chances of getting hired.

2) Import Email Contacts

On the left side of the screen, under the Contacts tab, is an “Imported Contacts” option. When you click on that option, a screen pops up with all the people you’ve ever emailed (Pulled from my Gmail account). Take a look at this list of people and see if there is anyone that could help you in your job search. If a person’s name shows up in blue, that person is on LinkedIn and you can click on their name to view their profile, or if you know them well enough you can add them to your network.

When I did this, I recognized someone who I had met while cold calling at my last job and she happens to be a corporate recruiter. After adding her to my network, I sent her a message asking about a job opportunity I saw on her company’s website and she responded quickly with positive results.

FYI: Yodle, Inc. is looking to hire sales reps in Charlotte, Scottsdale, Philly, Boston, and NY! If you're interested, send your resume and cover letter to Heather Sorrels: HSorrels@yodle.com

Just like that I was able to get my resume in the hands of the decision maker and all I have to do is wait. I may or may not be contacted to move forward in hiring process, but I know my resume is in the hands of the right people and that’s the best I can do at this point.

3) Find Groups and Organizations to Join

Earlier I said to seek help from anywhere, and joining Groups and Associations in your field is a great way to network and find help. LinkedIn has thousands of groups and associations that you can join. Here, you'll find people like myself who are looking for employment, people who are already in the industry that can help with your employment, and also people who are just there to offer advice and encouragement.

After completing my profile I started my search for groups and associations to join. Remember that LinkedIn is more professional than other social networks so joining any and every group that interests you is not the way to go. First off, it will make you look like you don’t know what you want to do and you have no real purpose for being on the site. Second, you need permission to join most of these groups so make sure your profile and credentials match the group you want to join.

By clicking on the Groups tab on the left side of the page, it will take you to a page where you can search for groups. The first group I joined was UNC Alumni, because being a UNC alumnus, I know people are always willing to help in some way. The next group I joined was iMMpact Sports Careers Network.

Within hours of joining the group, I received a message from the Director of Recruiting at iMMpact Talent Partners. The recruiter told me she had some great opportunities in Charlotte and after telling her I was looking for employment in NYC, she told me that was not a problem.

FYI: iMMpact Talent Partners is hiring for some very exciting media sales opportunities in the Charlotte, NC area! If you’re interested, contact Lexie Horner: lexie@immpactsports.com

I was able to speak to the recruiter later in the week for about 30 minutes and she was a great help. I sent my resume to her and it’s now being passed around NYC. All she asked for in return was for me to try to find any friends who are looking for jobs in the Charlotte area and to send them to her, which was simple. Remember, most recruiters get paid for every placement; therefore, they’re willing to help you if you’re willing to help them.

Now what are you waiting for??? Start searching for your career!