Google + Linkedin + 2 Other Sites = Job Search Mash-up

Today’s post will illustrate one of the reasons I love blogging.

I call it the “mash-up factor.”

It’s what happens when you combine a couple of ideas from other sites or blogs and create something really special.

To wit, this article will revolutionize the way you use Linkedin.com to connect with employers by using Google to let you in through the “back door” and meet more people.

Here are the key points of the story:

The idea is to use a Google “advanced search” to mine the entire 20 million people who now use LinkedIn, instead of just the hundreds or thousands of people you’re individually connected to through the site.

Click on the “advanced search” button on Google.com. Where it says: “Find Web pages that have …” go to “all of these words” and type in the name of the company you’re searching.

Where it says “this exact wording or phrase” type in the geographical area you want to search within LinkedIn. Note that different parts of the country have specific names, such as Greater New York City Area. You can find the proper phrase for your area by using LinkedIn’s “people” search function. Type in the city you want and find someone from there. Then use that same description for the “exact wording or phrase” field.

In the field that reads “but don’t show pages that have,” type the word “directory.” This eliminates internal telephone directories that bog down your search.

Skip the other fields until you come to the last box, “search within a site or domain,” and enter “LinkedIn.com.” Then, click “advanced search” and your results will appear.

Now that you potentially have dozens of people who can help you, the next step is to contact a few of them by telephone. Don’t send an email, Webb said.

“People will listen to you on the telephone,” he said, “primarily for one reason: They’re thinking you’re calling them about a job you have, so they’re all ears. That’s the biggest reason someone calls from LinkedIn … because recruiters are the biggest users of LinkedIn.” As a job hunter, you can use that to your advantage.

Do a bit of sleuthing and you can usually come up with a telephone number. Then, follow a specific script, Webb said. “The very first sentence you say is, ‘Hi Bob (or Joan, or whomever), you don’t know me, but I found you listed on LinkedIn. My name is …’” Then, pause a moment to let the person you’ve just called absorb that information.

The script is the key to this networking strategy. You are basically cold-calling someone and you want them to respond to your request.  Telling the person up front that he doesn’t know you immediately lets him stop wondering who you are.

And the second strategy of saying, “I found you on LinkedIn” kicks in the networking connection. Anyone who understands that LinkedIn is all about networking is usually interested in helping you.

From that opening salvo, you then tell the person you heard they might be hiring for such-and-such a position and ask if they can help you reach the appropriate hiring manager. Or ask if they could pass your resume and cover letter onto the right person.

If you get voice mail, or a secretary or an assistant, don’t leave a message. There’s no incentive for the person to call you back. Just keep trying to reach him or her, and use the script once you have the person on the phone.

But … that’s not enough. 

You need to get phone numbers from profiles in LinkedIn. But how? The story doesn’t tell you — it just says, “Do a bit of sleuthing and you can usually come up with a telephone number.”

So, here’s how to find those phone numbers of people you want to call.

Visit Zoominfo.com or Jigsaw.com, which are both used by recruiters every day for this purpose. By plugging names into either web site, you should be able to get a phone number. If not, try searching on Google for the name and city where they’re based (you’ll find both in LinkedIn).

Want more ideas on what to say when calling people for job leads? You can get a complete phone script from my colleague, David Perry — free. It’s in Chapter 9 of his book, Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters, and you can download it as part of 3 sample chapters from GM4JH.com.

That’s it. Nice mash-up, eh?

Now … happy hunting!!

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 9th, 2008 at 11:09 am and is filed under job search tips, networking. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.