I’m in a contract job until June 30, but I’m staying active on LinkedIn. I keep running across posts like this (copy and pasted as is, identifying information removed)
*Dear Friends,
I am looking for a job . It would be really helpful if you could help me out for the same. I have 21 years of experience in Store ,Warehouse & Vendor management.
Do let me know if you have any openings or you can refer me .
With warm Regards,
Name
City
Phone Number
Email*
How do these things come across? Effective, needy, whiny? Would a recruiter or hiring manager consider this if they had an opening? Is this something I should plan to do come July 1? I did see one post that had several responses to it, stuff like “PMed you” and such.
I’m guessing that anything CAN work, and nothing works all the time. People find jobs by all sorts of strange connections, and also there’s no one SURE way to find a job. People join LinkedIn for the purpose of being, well, lin**ked. Part of being networked is to know about jobs (opportunities) that come up so you can pursue them or tell your friends about them. As Jonathan Chance said, be factual, unapologetic, un-whiny. What do you have to lose?
ETA: Why do you call this by the demeaning term “begging”? I’d figure that out and change that way of thinking.
In my experience it has. Just be out there and up front. You’re not desperate or fearful, you’re just being upfront that you’re looking for work. People expect that on LinkedIn. If they don’t they haven’t been paying attention.
I don’t know that it has, but I don’t see any reason why it shouldn’t. There are a number of people I might have made offers or pointed out job opportunities to over the last few years, had I known they were actively job-seeking. I’m assuming most of your network doesn’t know you’re on a fixed-term contract, and it may be that some of them would be interested in hiring you if they knew you were looking. I agree with JC’s point that it’s what LinkedIn is for so announcements about your job-needing should not be seen as odd.
That said, I would instantly block anyone who uses unnecessary “the sames” because it reminds me of the evil office manager at my old job.
What are you looking for, since you’re in my neck of the woods?
I don’t see those kinds of notes as begging or inappropriate, but I think something more targeted and specific would probably be more effective. For example, I have had people ask me for introductions to the manager in the area where the person would be interested in working, which I was glad to do.
I think a better approach is to connect to as many recruiters as you can on LinkedIn and PM them individually. If you’re on LinkedIn, you’re probably already connected to several. If you post a public plea as soon as one person says “I PM’ed you” others might say, well that’s that she doesn’t need my help. Plus, your PM’s will definitely be read. Your public post is more likely to be glossed over.
I always thought asking for jobs was literally the point of LinkedIn. I suppose most users are employed and just maintaining their network for some future opportunities, so it wouldn’t hurt to identify yourself as actively looking for a job. One of the themes I see repeatedly from Alison on AskaManager.org is that people seem to be embarrassed or intimidated to ask for things or say what they want and so they end up missing opportunities.
The alternative is… What? Stand near somebody and just hope they notice you? Didn’t work in High School.
Well, caution isn’t idiotic because being too desperate or pushy can put people off and potentially do more harm than good. I’ve heard bad stories about people getting TOO personal or aggressive seeking contacts on LinkedIn, and that’s never a good look.
But, yeah, putting out a simple message that you’re in the market for opportunities isn’t too much. Based on my experience, it may not yield much but can’t hurt. I’ve gotten a couple interviews through LinkedIn contact recommendations.
See, that’s why I post here. For people to slap me upside the head and say, no, your thinking is wrong. Look at it this way.
RNATB, it’s been difficult for me to see how my skills are transferable, seeing as how I worked 20 years for the same company. After talking with the career coach, I’d say I’m looking for a management level position in Sales Operations, with focus on Inventory and Revenue Management.
My dream industry areas would be hotel, health, legal, travel and tourism, advertising, and restaurants at the operations/corporate level.
I’m glad that you found a way out of this type of thinking. It took me a long while to after spending 11 years of my first 13 post-college working at the same place. Fortunately I got more confidence when I saw a posting for my current job during my last job hunt and realized that I’d been thinking too narrowly about what my skills were - virtually all of my skills needed for this job had been acquired from hobbies (website construction, video editing) and not from previous work experience, and that was okay. After that epiphany I wrote way more confident cover letters and got offered interviews for 3 of the 4 last jobs I applied for before accepting this position.
I could learn from you. A girlfriend told me at lunch yesterday that I was too snappish and aggressive. Who me? yes