Emily Worden • Next Act Career

Hi Emily,

It's Friday! If you're employed, the weekend is a relief. If you're unemployed, Fridays can be depressing as you've seen another week go by with a job offer.

To those of you in the latter category, I see you and I am sorry. Please unplug this weekend and be kind to yourself. You have my permission to step away from the job search - the job boards will be there Monday morning. Do things that make you feel great and recharge your batteries. You're exhausted - take a break! 

Today's newsletter covers three topics: 

1) Q&A thanks

2) LinkedIn course starting next week

3) Popular LI post about recruiters

Let's dive in ... 

Q&A GRATITUDE

Ooh boy, did I have FUN yesterday! It was my first-ever Q&A and you all showed UP. I was so nervous, but the group made it quite enjoyable!

It was a great crowd, tons of enthusiasm, and some fabulous questions to boot. I am still processing the recording (hah! Literally and figuratively) but I will send it out in an email next week.

To those of you who attended - your presence meant the world to me, thank you.😊 I hope you learned something new. 

NEW COURSE: LINKEDIN FOR JOB SEEKERS

An optimized LinkedIn profile is essential to your job search and career development, especially in this tough job market. If you know you need to "do more" with LinkedIn, but you don't know where to start, I've got you.

LINKEDIN FOR JOB SEEKERS is a four-week intensive course. Each week, you will watch a video, do your homework, and meet with me for a live Q&A and group workshopping session. 

WEEK 1 (October 1): Find your keywords + personal brand statements. This is the foundation of your personal brand and an optimized LinkedIn profile. 

WEEK 2 (October 8): Write effective bullet points for your resume and LinkedIn profile. Communicate your results with compelling bullet points that include numbers and impact statements. 

WEEK 3 (October 15): How to write your LinkedIn profile. We'll cover every section of your LI profile, especially useful if you're a jack-of-all-trades or generalist who doesn't know how to market yourself. 

WEEK 4 (October 22): What to do and say on LinkedIn. LinkedIn changed its algorithm and it now rewards knowledge and engagement. Learn what to say, how to say it, and when to say it to maximize reach. (The more people who see your profile = the higher you rank in search results = the easier it is for recruiters to find you. It's great for networking too!)

Click here for more info about the course

LI POST: HOW TO GET RECRUITERS TO FIND YOU ON LINKEDIN

Speaking of LI, I posted this yesterday and it got quite the response. I thought you might enjoy it too:

How do you get recruiters to contact you?

1) Optimize your LinkedIn profile and 2) Make it easy for them to contact you ...

Recruiters use LinkedIn like we use Google. That is, they search using keywords. Here are the top keywords they search for... 1) Job title 2) Location 3) Skills. So you want your LinkedIn profile to reflect these keywords.

1) List your ideal job title in your Headline. (I wrote an article about how to write your LI Headline, link in comments.)

2) List the location(s) where you're willing to work in your "Open to Work" profile setting. You can list up to five locations.

3) Incorporate the top skills for your ideal job all over your profile. These are your keywords and you want them in your Headline, About section, and especially the Skills section. I wrote an article about how to maximize your Skills, link in comments.

4) Make sure every section of your profile is complete and publicly visible, too. Go to your Settings, click on "Visibility," then "Edit your public profile." Now you see what recruiters see - is your photo visible? Are all the sections turned on and visible?

5) Make it EASY for them to contact you. Recruiters get a limited number of InMail messages each month, so they have to be selective about whom they contact. Make it easier by including your email address in the About section of your LinkedIn profile.

BUT, don't list your personal email - create an email specifically for your job search and post that on your profile. I like [your name][ideal job title]@gmail.com. For example, EmilyCareerCoach@gmail.com, or JaneSmithHR@gmail.com.

6) Be active on LinkedIn. LI prioritizes active profiles. That means you have recently updated your profile, you're logging on to the site regularly, you are leaving comments (aim for 10 comments/day), and you are writing posts and/or articles.

If a recruiter does contact you, I have a few more tips ...

1) Check the LinkedIn profile of the recruiter, the reputation of the recruiting firm, and the company they are recruiting for - does it look legit? Sometimes scammers will pose as recruiters from real agencies too - please note, a real recruiter would never ask you for personal information like your birthday, SSN, or bank account.

2) Reply quickly. Recruiters are juggling dozens of roles and contacting hundreds of people at once.  The recruiter is on a timeline so they’re lining up job candidates and screening them, and will move on if you don’t reply.

3) Keep your expectations low - Some recruiters contact hundreds of people in a day. They simply don’t have time to respond to every message, and you often won’t hear back from them. It isn’t personal … they’re just juggling too many things at once.

Have a wonderful weekend,

- Emily

--