Are you visible to recruiters?

As a recruiter, I love the thrill of the hunt. I get excited when I type search strings into Google and find great candidates. Creating an amazing Boolean search string to me is like being a little kid in a candy shop. But recently, I was conducting a search and wasn’t finding very many qualified candidates. I was able to go into cyber sleuth mode and find a couple, however, I wondered how much easier it would have been had these couple of candidates optimized their online presence. Creating your online brand and persona is the buzz right now and not just for HR.

The adoption of social media is on the rise and individuals are using it on a regular basis. In other words, we are embedding it into our daily or weekly routines. So I began to wonder about the four big new media tools, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. I’m sure in due time someone will come up with a return on investment formula to calculate the amount of effort needed to go into your online brand in order to be found. But for now take advantage of the sites were you have created a profile to better position yourself to be found and take full advantage of search engine optimization and keywords.

Most individuals, including myself don’t take full advantage of creating profiles that are meaningful to our network while also allowing those outside our network to find us.

Help recruiters find you:

1) Create complete profiles that have targeted keywords. (i.e. fill in all of the blanks and not just the required ones) Tips for your LinkedIn Profile

2) Post a digital resume somewhere on the internet and create links back to it from various sites (Facebook, Twitter, etc.).

3) Make new connections online with individuals with similar interest and not just friends to expand your network.

4) Be a reference for someone and let them list you. Sometimes recruiters may not be interested in a particular individual but they will be interested in one of the references listed.

5) Be active and engaged with new media tools and don’t be afraid to branch out into something new.

I would be interested in hearing about some of the ways recruiters have found you online.

It’s never to early to learn to network

My oldest child started kindergarten this week. He has been excited about going to school and making new friends. But he seemed to fall into the routine that most of us do when we are put in social situations with unknown people. We tend to clam up or only speak to those that we know. What I did observe are some practical ways to make networking easier for you if it doesn’t come natural.

Learn a persons name and use it: My little guy wanted nothing to do with his new teacher even though she seemed like the nicest person in the world, until she used his name. The minute she called him by his name he immediately perked up and began to listen to what she had to say.

Learn something about them: After his first day of school, we were getting ready for the next day and he said he wanted to wear something purple because it was his teacher’s favorite color. When you are willing to share information about yourself, people are willing to make the connection and sometimes help you out.

Have an agenda: In the days leading up to the start of school there were several planned events for the kids. I challenged my son to come back with the name of one new friend from each event. He didn’t know it but I was helping him to set an agenda and get out of his comfort zone to meet new people.

Have an introduction: I would always introduce myself and then try to get my son to introduce himself. This was the toughest part to him because; he didn’t have a connection to the teacher, parents or other kids. To him they were all strangers and like most kids, they don’t talk to strangers. For him, his introduction was simple, first and last name but in most situations you need to make it a little more exciting. Who are you and what are interested in or what is on your agenda.

Starting kindergarten is big life transition but my little guy got off to a great start by just being himself. Networking requires the same effort; you just have to be yourself. For some it comes more natural but for others it requires getting out of your comfort zone and that’s okay.