Newsletters  Calendar  Donate FAQ

Osborne Village Resource Centre

OVRC Career Insights

5 Top Reasons for Using LinkedIn as Part of your Job Search

By

By: Lianne Stephensen – Career Counsellor and Workshop Facilitator – Osborne Village Resource Centre

As a workshop facilitator and career counsellor, I have come increasingly aware of some commonalities with some of my participants and one-to-one clients. Most seem to have fairly good research skills when using the internet and searching various websites as part of their job search. What I found interesting, however, was some of the fear of using Linked In, perceiving it to be a place where managers or business professionals are. I do believe after further discussion with my participants was that a lot of it had to do with not wanting to be on those platforms for personal reasons or fear of networking with people. What I try to do in these instances is educate them on the increasing benefits of using Linked In as the job market can be extremely competitive particularly when applying for advertised jobs.

Here are my 5 Top Reasons for using LinkedIn as part of your Job Search Success:

1. Linked In – The Hidden Gem

Even though LinkedIn has grown in popularity over the last couple of years, it is still a fairly new platform used by many job seekers for a variety of reasons. For those of us that have, it is a great way to network and build connections. As someone who is also a small business owner, I have had several contract work leads come from people I connected with on Linked In. The current job I am in as a Career Counsellor was also advertised on Linked In. I just happened to be checking that day and came across the position. Had I not, I may not have seen it advertised.

Update profile

With Linked In you want to be make sure to develop and update your profile that highlights your skills and experience in a way that attracts people in your field and potential employers or associations to want to find out more. Under each job you can add a brief description (use point form) what you did and only go back 10 or 15 years similar to how you format your resume. Make sure to include all your relevant education, certifications, courses, and volunteer experience. The beauty of LinkedIn is that you can add a lot more to your profile than you could your resume. I even suggest to job seekers to add their LinkedIn URL link to their resume as another way for employers to review your job application.

Check Job Tabs

There is a section on Linked In where you can click on a Jobs tab to search for jobs. Instead of advertising through the newspaper or large sites like Indeed, more companies are trying to save money posting their job ad on LinkedIn. The benefit of that is when you become a Linked In member, you will automatically be referred to people or organizations that are in your field or area of interest. Employers and recruiters know this and may even reach out to you about a position before they advertise it as there is no cost to them. As well, you may have already started a conversation with them or know them through social networks or conferences you have attended in past positions you`ve held.

2. Get Involved By Building Your Contacts

It’s also beneficial to get involved in LinkedIn Groups or Forums to stay abrupt to topics in your field. You will also be able to identify professional groups in your area and get involved. This will expand your network and show your expertise. LinkedIn Groups allow people to get to know you without selling yourself. You are able to post articles, blogs or share other people’s articles. In addition, you also want to be actively engaged on a regular basis on Linked In at least once per day reading posts, blogs, and asking questions as your network continues to grow. You will start to be a recognized professional in your field. It is also okay to ask for “recommendations” from former or current colleagues and contacts and provide recommendations in return. This adds creditability and enhances your profile further.

3. Research Companies of Interest or Those In Your Field

In addition, click on the search tab and research companies or individuals in your field or career of interest to find out about what their qualifications are, their work history, events, and any testimonials they may have to get to know more. Sometimes company websites are not always up-to-date and so Linked In may be one way to find out the ins and outs of a company. You can also send personalized greeting/messages to new contacts who work for companies or in your ideal job to introduce yourself and possibly set up an informational interview to find out more about what they do. This will help you establish relationships and build your network of people you know that work in your field of interest or company. You also will to want to send a “Thank You Message” to new contacts that connect with you and keep a Linked In Contact List the same as you would your for your job search for future reference.

You will notice that as you develop your LinkedIn network the context for your home page will start to include many special events or conferences are posted by companies. Events such as: career or job fairs, free or low cost classes, and volunteer opportunities. You will want to check out these further and consider participating to add to your knowledge and skill base, particularly if there are gaps in your employment history.

4. Update Your Headline

Make sure that you have a professional current looking photo with your name and headline that will “stand out” and highlight what type of position you are looking for. For example, “Chemical Engineer in Civil Service Sector.” It is also good to include in your headline that you are “Currently Looking for New Employment Opportunities.” Consider your LinkedIn profile like the first impression page that potential employers will view to get an idea of who you are, your qualifications, skills, education, and work experience. Always keep in mind what your new contacts would want to know about you first.

5. Effective Summary Page

In addition to your headline, your Summary section should tell your personal story and be written in the first person using “I.” Instead of Summary I also like to use the words, “Vision or Mission” and talk about the type of clientele I help, successes I have in my current or past jobs. In addition, I like to include my interests and what I am passionate about using statements like “I love seeing people reach their goals and discover a life they love living!” I have had people comment to me when sending me a personalized message something they read that resonated with them in my Summary section of my Linked In. I call this my personality section as well where I can go more in depth than I could on my resume describing my strengths, skills and attributes in greater detail.

And that is it for an introduction as to why I believe using Linked In as part of job search is crucial. Who knows? Your next job may be awaiting you very soon!

References:
Top Resume. (2019). Are You Using Linked In to Its Fullest To Get A Job? [Blog Post]. Retrieved https://ca.topresume.com/career-advice/14-ways-to-leverage-your-linkedin-profile-during-your-job-search
Kelly Wellness Consulting Inc (2017). LinkedIn 4 Workplace Wellness [Online Course].

The Money Question: Five basic steps to figuring out how to answer salary questions

By

By: Betty Punkert, Employment Facilitator/Computer Instructor

“Please provide salary expectations in your cover letter.” Cue terrified scream.

Money. We’re taught not to talk about it, most of us have no idea what we’re worth, what we actually need to make to survive, or even what the going rate is for the work we do. This question in a job ad causes the most panic of anything I encounter in my appointments.

Breathe, young padawan. We’ll get you through this. wise and reassuring Jedi nod I walk people through this all the time and the basic framework is the same.

1. Figure out how much you need to survive.

Okay before we even apply for jobs, we should know, more or less, how much we need to earn to make the bills. You can think of this as a per hour figure or an annual salary, but this is what you need to pay all your bills, keep a roof over your head, and eat at least a couple of square meals a day. Yes, I am making you figure out a budget. Yes, I am a terrible human being. Don’t care, get on with it. In all seriousness, this absolutely must be your first step. Because if you can’t survive on less than $13.00 an hour, you need to know NOT to apply to jobs that only pay $11.50. Got it? (To convert hourly wages to an annual salary, multiply by 2080 for 40 hour workweeks and 1920 for 37.5 hour workweeks.)

2. Add 10-20%

Because who wants to be just surviving? Seriously, you deserve dinner out once in a while and a movie. All work and no play yadda yadda yadda.

3. Figure out what the going rate is for that kind of work in Manitoba

You should have a figure. The next step is to figure out what people are actually paying for that kind of work in Manitoba and see if there’s even remotely any kind of alignment there. If you need to make $17 an hour to make ends meet, you’re not going to get that salary as a fresh out of high school administrative assistant with no experience. You might need to adjust your career goals or your budget (check steps one and two).

To get an idea what the going salary is for your line of work here in Winnipeg, go to the Canada Job Bank (jobbank.gc.ca). Click on the Menu button, and on the right under Labour Market Information, click on by Occupation. Type your job title in the box, or something close (e.g. legal assistant) and pick the closest match from the drop down list. Type your postal code in the box below, choose the location from the list provided, and click Search.

Click on the second tab, which says Wages, in the search results. Information specific to Winnipeg is usually at the bottom of the list. There’s a low and a median and a high. High salaries tend to be government jobs or really extreme qualifications. Most people are going to be suggesting a wage in between Low and Median depending on their qualifications or the complexity of the job.

Calculate that number for yourself. Is it in line with the figure you have in section two? Great, let’s continue. If your section two figure is astronomically higher than the number you’re calculating here, this might not be a financially viable line of work for you unless you have some really good reason to demand that kind of salary.

4. Provide a range of values

Nobody likes an ultimatum, so once you’ve done all your math, you need to give the employer some wiggle room in this conversation. Typically, I will give a range that is around the X+10% to X+30% range (where X was your section one baseline), rounding to make it easier to look at.

Here’s my real world example:

For me, it doesn’t make sense to accept much less than $30k per year. I can’t meet my financial obligations on less than that. But since I do like the occasional movie, I’d like to make MORE than that. Given my usual lines of work (communications, mid-level admin, high end customer service), that isn’t out of line with any of them in terms of regional salary averages. Therefore, I would probably start from a salary of $33k (that’s X+10%) and go to about $38k (this isn’t quite X+20%, but a five thousand dollar range is normal and provides us with some space for conversation).

Given my experience and the current labour market in Winnipeg, I would be willing to discuss a starting salary of $33,000 – $38,000 annually.

5. Leave an escape hatch / olive branch / fig leaf (pick your metaphor)

What if the job is so awesome you can’t even get your heart around it, BUT they don’t have enough to afford you? This happens a lot, especially with smaller companies and non profit agencies. So it’s always important to express that you would be open to discussing the issue – remember, we don’t want an ultimatum. You often don’t know what the benefit package is like, or how much vacation you’re going to get, or if there are on the job perks. (I spent YEARS trying to get on with Great West Life because hey, on-site fitness facility and it’s two blocks from my house!)

Money isn’t everything. By showing you’re willing to be flexible, it eases the reader’s mind a little bit if you’re just out of range. But be careful, know what your bottom line is and don’t cross it (see section one) because you don’t want to not be able to pay your bills.

This is, of course, open to negotiation at the interview depending on the scope of responsibilities and other benefits available.

That is basically how you decode the salary question. The most critical piece is that you need to start with knowing – not guessing, KNOWING – what your bottom line, will not budge, figure is. Everything else grows out of that. Sometimes later in your career that number ends up high enough to eliminate a lot of jobs for you, but you might as well be honest with yourself and employers about that.

Stuck on step one? Here’s some budgeting software for you:

Mint for Canada (Free): Designed to integrate with your banking information automatically, owned by Intuit (the same folks who make Quicken and TurboTax)
https://www.mint.com/canada

MoneyStrands (Free): Phone app, there are several great e-books that teach basic budgeting skills on their website, even if you don’t decide to go with their app
https://moneystrands.com/

Toshl Finance (base plan is free, others $$): Light and playful approach to budgeting
https://toshl.com/