I want you to think of LinkedIn like your personal White Pages. The more first degree connections you have, the larger your phonebook. I’ve written before about my philosophy that out of quantity, quality is born. The tool I highly recommend to all my clients for building a vast 1st level of likeminded networkers is OpenNetworker. After signing up with them, you will see your connections grow exponentially…as well as your ability to find the people with whom you want an audience. In my case, simply by signing up, my connections went from around 1000 about 24 months ago (which took me almost 4 years to build) to 19,869 as of this blog…connecting me to under 22,000,000 LinkedIn users.

What I am going to walk you through today is only one of the techniques I teach in my Job Search 2.0 Bootcamp.  Adopting this approach, I want to show you how you can get in front of more hiring managers and take control of what they are hearing and seeing about you:

1. Getting Started – Here are the basics that you need:
• The name of the company,
• The role (you can select more than one, if you are uncertain) to which you would be reporting. You are looking for decision makers here – not HR or recruiters. In the video, I walk through this step-by-step (there is more information on this below).

2. Searching on LinkedIn - Using this criteria, conduct a search on LinkedIn to find the right point of contact – who you would be reporting to in your ideal role. Write down their full name. If you are on the fence about who your ideal contact is, take down all the possible options you can find in LinkedIn.

Tip: I recommend starting your search as broad as possible. Run it by company only, and then start adding in criteria like location, title or keywords. It’s always better to cast a wide net to begin with and then narrow your search.

3. Googling the Email Format – Since you are going to be reaching out to this contact on your own, we are going to move from LinkedIn to Google. If you think you might have a good contact to use instead of making your own introduction, that's fine. But, I recommend using my “Litmus Test” in the tip below before relying on someone else to get you in the door. You need to know exactly how good an advocate they are going to be.

Tip: When trying to decide whether you should use a connection for an introduction or go it alone, use this easy litmus test. Ask your connection if they are willing to make a call to the contact you are trying to reach. If they are reluctant to do so and only offer to email – or worse yet, put your resume in front of someone in HR – politely thank them and go it alone. Someone with a solid relationship that bears weight won’t hesitate to pick up the phone. Anything else is simply an introduction with no teeth and a missed opportunity to make a meaningful first impression.

Using Google, add the “@” sign in front of the URL of the company in the search box. In the video, I use the example of Applied Robotics. You can see below what that search looks like.

You may need to dig through a page or two of search results to find the format. I also share some secrets on uncovering hard-to-find email format in the video walking you through this technique. If you enter your name and email below, I will send you a link to the short video that includes more tips and walks you through this process step-by-step.

As always, share your comments below. I always want to hear that you think!

This week’s question isn’t so much a particular one as it is a collection of questions I’ve been getting around one central theme: recruiters. How do I work with them? When should I work with them? Why aren’t they calling me back? Are they a waste of time?

In today’s Q&A column I’m not only going to tackle many of these topics, but I’ve created a video for you that will help you figure out when its most beneficial for you to work with a recruiter and how to get the most out of the relationship.

Between this article and the video, we are going to cover a lot of ground when it comes to recruiters and arming you with the information to get the most out of your relationships with them. This isn’t a bashing session. I am a huge advocate of developing strong relationships with a handful of top-notch recruiters. But, all recruiters are not created equally. I spent almost a decade in the recruiting business having managed at a Fortune 1000 search firm, owned two boutique search firms (one of them actually specialized in placing recruiters – crazy, I know) and consulting on talent acquisition and internal recruiting for Fortune 100 companies. I share this so you know where this information is coming from. Frankly, there are very few parts of the recruiting process that I haven’t touched.

So, here are a few tips…

All Recruiters Aren’t the Same – There are corporate, contract, contingent, retained, permanent and temp/consulting recruiters. Know who they are and their relationship to the position in question are extremely important in determining if you are going to move forward with them. Do you know the difference and how it can impact your chances for an interview?

Unemployed? Proceed with Extreme Caution – It’s not news that a hiring bias against the unemployed exists in some circles (see 2009 WSJ and 2010 Yahoo Finance). With search firm fees running between 20-30% of your base salary, you have to ask, “If a company wouldn’t look at me because I am unemployed, how does an additional price tag help my cause?” Simply put – it doesn’t. In the accompanying video, I explain why this happens and how to find out if the recruiter call is representing a job that is the exception or the rule.

Litmus Tests – Do you have any? Let’s face it – there are no barriers to entry in becoming a recruiter. As my first boss used to say, “All you need is a phone.” As a result, the field is a mixed bag (as are most professions). Finding a great recruiter is tough. You not only need a plan to figure out who the good ones are, but how to build great rapport once you identify them. I explain a few techniques you can start using today to do just that in the free video.

Can't Get Them to Call You Back? - Remember, they don't work for you.  So, just like with any networking, you need to start with "What's in it for Them?"  Instead of sending endless emails and voicemails asking if they have anything, give them a reason to call you.  Position yourself as a hub for information.  Let them know you have been actively networking and you are happy to be a resource.  The good ones will take you up on this.  What do you get out of it?  Every time they get a search that's close to your space - they will call you to talk about it.  Win-win.

Is it a Real Job or Not? – This is one of the biggest rubs is that many times the jobs represented by recruiters aren’t real. “Real” can be defined a number of different ways: It’s not open, they don’t have a chance of getting you an interview, you aren’t really qualified, etc.. You might think, “What’s the harm in giving it a shot?” Well, there is a huge downside that can keep you from being considered for future opportunities. The good recruiters will let you know this up front, but remember – all recruiters aren’t created equally. I explain in the video how to protect yourself here.

What did you think about the video? Want more advice? Please share your thoughts below.

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