Boost Your Savvy via LinkedIn
Leaders and job hunters are judged by their savvy, and LinkedIn profiles are a pretty good indicator of savvy. How does your LinkedIn profile look?
Prospective employers will check out your LinkedIn profile and connections. They want to see your circle of influence, since your ability to get things done as an executive is often dictated by who you know. The number of your connections matters, but so does the quality. British anthropologist Robin Dunbar theorized that there was a cognitive limit to the amount of stable social relationships people can maintain–somewhere between 100 and 230 (with 150 often the value used). Make sure the top 150 or so of your connections are part of your network; after all, they may be critical to your ability to get a new and better position. According to a recent study by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., 80% of positions are filled based on personal relationships.
Your connections at your past firm may not hold much value to your new employer, so be sure to build a broad LinkedIn network. Reconnect with old friends or coworkers, who would speak highly of you and your work. You don’t have to resurrect the friendship entirely, but let them know that you could use their contacts and leverage in your job search.
If you’re not familiar with how to set up an effective LinkedIn profile, get started and get savvy. You can start here, and you might want to watch this video and read this set of instructions.
Related Posts:
Three Steps to Discover Your Values (Part 2)
Discover Your Strengths (Part 3)
Assess Your Leadership Style (Part 4)
Discover Your Hedgehog (Part 5)
Resume Recommendations (Part 7)
Creating a Personal Marketing Plan (Part 8)
An Avatar Is Worth a 1,000 Words (Part 9)
Resumes & the Art of Storytelling (Part 10)
Work to Do Before You Network (Part 11)
Put Facebook to Work (Part 13)
Increase Your Klout Score (Part 14)
4 Informational Interviewing Tips (Part 15)
Create a Personal Brand (Part 16)
