One of the most powerful tools for job searching in todays job market is LinkedIn. It is a cost effective sourcing tool for employersas many revise their routes to hire given the current climate.

LinkedIn is the leading social networking site for professionals. There is so much you can do on LinkedIn, and while it is not the only effective tool available to you in your career search, it really deserves some of your time, attention and investment. To make people more accessible you may want to consider investing €50 per month for an upgraded account. This will give you more ways to reach or be reached by the right people on Linkedin

FIVE WAYS TO USE http://www.linkedin.com FOR JOB SEARCHING
1. Profile
Whether you have just created your profile or already have one, make sure to follow the suggested steps to complete your profile up to the 100% level.  Make sure to fill in as much professional, academic and skill-based information – make it similar to your CV! This will optimize your profile in LinkedIn as recruiters do word searches similar to Google

Completing your profile 100% will require getting 3 recommendations. Ask for brief recommendations from as many managers, peers, subordinates etc as possible. Offer to write one for them in return.Update your status weekly to post your availability and career goals

2. Groups
Click on Groups link and search for LinkedIn groups related to your company, or career-related interests and request to join. Remember who you are targeting EG A systems administator maybe targetting recruiters & IT Managers, so join Groups where you can gain access to those individuals. While quantity is not as important as quality, groups with more members allow for more potential contacts ( 2nd degree of seperation )

Check to see what the group discussion and board guidelines are, and if permitted, create a post introducing yourself & your career ojectives.  Network with group members by offering insights and answers to questions in the discussion board and posting questions or discussion topics yourself.

3. People
With an increasing network of connections and fellow group members, search for current employees of your preferred companies and if possible, message them. Be discrete in your introduction and request to connect. Make you introduction a warm one and refer to your mutal contact.

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Company Figures
More than 350 million active users
50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day
More than 35 million users update their status each day
More than 55 million status updates posted each day
More than 2.5 billion photos uploaded to the site each month
More than 3.5 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each week
More than 3.5 million events created each month
More than 1.6 million active Pages on Facebook
More than 700,000 local businesses have active Pages on Facebook Pages have created more than 5.3 billion fans

Averages
Average User Figures Average user has 130 friends on the site
Average user sends 8 friend requests per month
Average user spends more than 55 minutes per day on Facebook
Average user clicks the Like button on 9 pieces of content each month
Average user writes 25 comments on Facebook content each month
Average user becomes a fan of 2 Pages each month
Average user is invited to 3 events per month
Average user is a member of 12 groups

http://www.careermentors.ie  Mairead Griffin, Career Coach & Outplacement Specialist

Read on for more stats…..

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“Jobseekers Ireland” is a new, Group here on LinkedIn that has 110 members in 48 hours! It provides a platform for Jobseekers, Business Management, HR, Recruiters & Career Advisors to share experiences and informed advice in areas such as…….

Read More……

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Facebook  - Some good news for Dublin!!

Mary Coughlan, Taniste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment officially opened the EMEA HQ of Facebook based out of Dublin. Facebook currently employs 70 staff with the expectation that this will double as the operation continues to expand into Europe

Facebook’s HQ has been in operation a year in Dublin. With the expectation that it will double in size, there is finally some good news out there for jobseekers. Key roles that Facebook will be hiring include User Operations, Online Operations, Advertising Sales, Advert Campaign Delivery, Finance & Engineering.

All facebook jobs in Ireland can be found at http://www.facebook.com/jobs

The Dixons Stores Group (DSGi) has launched an investigation into staff caught insulting customers on social networking site Facebook.

The unofficial Facebook group, “DSGi Employees”, which says it is for people who work or have worked for the company, has around 3,000 members.

Posts referred to customers as stupid, and recounted unflattering shopfloor conversations. Many of the comments had been left by staff using their real names, the BBC reported.

DSGi said: “We have clear guidelines for staff and will investigate any alleged abuse of customers.

“We are very disappointed that a small number of our colleagues have made these comments. We will take the necessary action with any staff found to be acting inappropriately.”

Earlier this month, Portsmouth City Council outlawed Facebook for its 4,500 staff after it discovered that they had spent 572 hours – the equivalent of 71 working days – on the site in just four weeks

To Read More Click On the Link Below

http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2009/09/08/52048/dixons-staff-insult-customers-on-facebook.html
www.careermentors.ie

Mairead Griffin

Use http://www.becomed.com to keep track of where your CV is going!

Nowadays jobseekers are applying to multiple jobs through many different mediums. As a result, they can lose track of what roles they have applied to and where recruitment agencies are sending their CVs.

Why manage your job applications?

- It will cause problems with the agencies if companies already have your CV on file and it is also submitted through an agency. It will damage your relationship with your consultant and reflect poorly on your with the organisation

- It helps you track the progress of your job searching process. What medium is creating the most responses to your CV? Do you need to re-channel your efforts in another direction?–

- You need to be prepared for interviews that may arise. The job spec may have been removed from the web by the time interviews progress.

Try http://www.becomed.com to manage your job applications. It will add time to the process, but it will give you a sense of achievement

Check out www.twtterjobsearch.com for your job search. Another tool you should be using for job searching .

Mairead

Job Searching Using LINKEDIN.COM
Friday, June 26, 2009 at 4:13pm
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WHAT IS LINKEDIN?

Linkedin.com is a online worldwide network of experienced professionals with 42 million users across 200 countries.

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SOME STATS….

141,000 Users in Ireland ( Mainly Qualified Professionals), 42 million Worldwide

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IRISH USERS

16,054 – IT, Telecoms & IT Services
21,376 – Banking & Finance
1,219 – Staffing & Recruitment
6,997 – Engineering
1,671 – Marketing / Advertising
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WHO USES IT?
Professionals, Executives, Jobseekers, Headhunters & Recruiters, HR + copmanies such as EBAY and Microsoft
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WHY USE IT?

- Potential Employers search against relevent skillsets
- You can be accessed by 1,219 Recruiters in Ireland
- 1600 companies have “company profiles” on Linkedin in Ireland
- Expand your network using your current network
- Send updates to your network eg. Project work, jobs, Advice
- Reconnect with ex-colleagues
- Accessible to consultants who may need Associate Consultants to support them in   Projects
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Job Searching in Ireland and Worldwide has totally changed and jobseekers need to adapt. One of the key tools that we recommend as Career Coaches, is LinkedIn – a professional networking site ( www.linkedin.com )

The more effort you put into Linkedin, the more you will get out of it. Below are some tips on how to get yourself noticed to potential employers

1. Use critical key words from your field and profession in your profile. Your profile should read like your CV

2. Customize your URL to use your name.

3. Update your profile regularly – this keeps you visible to your network.

4. Use a photo. Linked In is a NETWORKING tool, so use it that way.

5. Make and seek recommendations.

6. Add applications to create a more interesting profile.

7. Display appropriate work product or work samples (see adding applications).

8. Adjust your privacy settings so people can see you entire profile and NAME when you view other people’s profiles.

9. Join groups and participate in discussions.

10. Ask and answer questions.

Millions of professionals are using LinkedIn to share professional advice and experiences, company details and contact information, often for recruiting purposes. HR Managers & Recruiters have turned to online forums, email lists and message boards to sound off on information related to their industries

Increasingly, as job searching in Ireland evolves , more and more recruiters ( internal and recruitment consultancies ) are using online professional networking sites such as linkedin to source new talent. In my opinion, the more you put into Linked In, the more you will get out of it. It takes time and tenacity when job searching, but I would highly recommend it as a tool for job searching and identifying outplacement consultants