One thing that’s been sorely missing in my job search is NETWORKING. That’s what I learned last week when Dave J.P. (D. Fish) Fisher of RockStar Consulting visited our team at No Boundaries and jjslist.com. D. Fish works with corporate managers to help them make that most of LinkedIn networking (did you know that LinkedIn has 220 million users and 2 more join every second?) With stats like that, I was ready to learn from D., who has helped all kinds of people, including LinkedIn employees themselves, some of whom had even less impressive LinkedIn pages than I did.  D. Fish has a new way of looking at LinkedIn that I’d like to share with you:

Networking is the process of connecting with people and organizations on-line and on-land.  LinkedIn is useful in finding people for companies that are looking to hire people or for people looking for jobs.  I have used it to research companies that I’ve applied for jobs with and to find names of people to address cover letters to.

Now, a few tips from D.Fish:

• Know why you are using LinkedIn.  What’s your goal? Are you looking for a job?  Are you looking to get into a new industry?

• Know your audience. What are they interested in?  Why?  What message can you, or should you, send to them?

• Post a good photo. The photo is the first thing that people will see when they look at your profile, so it’s important to make a good impression with your photo. My original LinkedIn photo was taken in my kitchen with the dining room table showing in the background….definitely not the professional image I was going for.  I want to get into the financial field, so I re-posted a polished photo.  p.s. It’s never a good idea to have no photo.

• Have a good headline:  Viewers will judge your page by your headline and it will always show up when someone searches for you.  D. said it’s good to have what you are seeking in the headline. Two possible formats for the headline, either “Helping…with” or “Professional seeking…”.  My headline falls into the second category, “Insurance Professional seeking actuarial position.”

• Remember to post a good summary.   Tell people what you do in one or two sentences.  Then tell people what makes you better or your “special sauce.”  Finally, make a “profersonal” statement.  “Profersonal” is a word invented and trademarked by D. Fish’s company.  A “profersonal” statement is a personal statement that connects to your professional life.  D.Fish talks about his experience playing drums in a band. I suggested that the next step is to get Webster’s dictionary to recognize it as a word!

D. Fish said a number of things that I need to be reminded of, such as considering my audience and having an appropriate picture.  I can now use LinkedIn much more effectively for my networking.

* This blog was written by our NO BOUNDARIES – Train for Work, Train for Life participant Dan Geiger.