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I interviewed at a company last week and had a great first interview. I was called back for a second interview this past Tuesday. I think it went well as they discussed salary, benefits, holidays, etc. They told me they had one other person to interview and I should hear back by the end of the week. Today, I got an e-mail that the main guy I've been talking to checked out my LinkedIn. I've never had that occur before, so I'm very glad that I have my LinkedIn up to date and good looking. Still, it makes me wonder if that is a good sign or a process to further decide between me and this other person? You’ve just spent hours slaving away at your keyboard. Your fingers ache, your eyes start to blur. Have you been working on the next great literary masterpiece? Or your PhD dissertation? Nope. Your LinkedIn profile is finally complete, thank goodness. Because nothing inspires stress in job-seekers quite like LinkedIn. After all, even 15 years into the company’s history, no one really knows how to master it, let alone what it’s used for. Just that they better have a profile – or else! So, as the person who LinkedIn charged with educating millions of students and recent grads on the site, let me see if I can shed some light on how to get the most out of your profile. Not just from a LinkedIn employee perspective, but from the perspective of someone who looked through thousands of profiles to hire his own employees. Step 1: Get FoundThe first thing to realize about hiring managers using LinkedIn is that they’re not omniscient – just because you have a profile doesn’t mean that they’re going to see it. And if they don’t see it, your profile isn’t going to do you any good, no matter how awesome it is. So the first step is to get found. Which means you have to think like a hiring manager. Now, as tempting as it may be, don’t overthink this one. Hiring managers are busy and they don’t have time to try a million LinkedIn tricks. Instead, if they’re looking to find someone for “X” role, they’re likely to enter “X” into LinkedIn’s search box. For example, a hiring manager searching for a marketer is going to search for “marketer.” Whereas a hiring manager looking for the perfect product manager is going to search “product manager.” And so how do you make sure you get found in that search? Simple, make sure that exact phrase is everywhere that LinkedIn’s search algorithm looks. In particular, you want to have it in your Headline and Summary (since those sections are character-limited and less easily gamed), but also your Experience and Skills sections. In addition, make sure to have as many connections as possible on the site as, all else being equal, LinkedIn’s algorithm prefers to show results who are more closely connected to the searcher (e.g., 2nd degree vs. 22nd degree). You can boost this number by importing your address book and specifically adding as many people as you know in your desired hiring manager’s industry. "The first thing to realize about hiring managers using LinkedIn is that they’re not omniscient" Step 2: Win the First ImpressionOK, let’s say you’ve finagled your way into the search results. But how do you actually get the hiring manager to click your profile? After all, a search like “product manager” returns over two million results. Well, the trick is to win the first impression. Given the sheer number of results out there and the hiring manager’s harried schedule, you’ve got to assume that she’s only going to spend a nanosecond looking at your result. And so, in that brief flash of time, you need to immediately wow her with your stellar presence. You can do this in two ways:
"The trick is to win the first impression... the hiring manager's only going to spend a nanosecond looking at your result." Step 3: Get the InviteSo you’ve gotten on the hiring manager’s radar, you’ve won her attention, and now she’s looking at your profile. What actually matters here? And what doesn’t? Again, go back to that rule of thumb about speed. No hiring manager is going to spend hours poring over your profile. Instead, they’re going to scan the whole thing in seconds. Which means that you need to win them over for good at the headline level, not the bullet level. Here’s what looks like:
"You need to win the hiring manager over at the headline level, not the bullet level." 1-2-3: Put It All TogetherAnd that’s it. The three critical steps that will help you show up to hiring managers, get their attention, and win their interest. Take special note of everything I didn’t mention: You don’t need to follow Richard Branson’s Influencer feed religiously. You don’t need 27 endorsements from your family for Teamwork. And you don’t even need to pay LinkedIn a cent if you don’t want to. Because, as with most things in life, only 20% of your profile is what’s going to get you 80% of your impact. So put yourselves in the shoes of your future hiring manager, focus on what really matters, and save all the stress for your dissertation! Want more tips for turning your profile into a total hiring manager magnet? And want to learn to use LinkedIn like company insiders do? Get the first LinkedIn course created by actual LinkedIn employees - all completely updated for the new interface. And grab the course this week to get a 51% discount. Just use code EARLYBIRD to get everything you need to know about LinkedIn - from how to build the perfect profile to how to get referrals for any job - for less than the price of a new pair of interview shoes! What does it mean when a hiring manager wants to follow up after an interview?They just want to make sure you're still interested in the position, and they're almost always going to take one last shot at getting you to disclose your desired salary. This is your final opportunity before they make you an offer *to make the case that you should get as much money as possible.
Is it OK to check your interviewers on LinkedIn?It is absolutely acceptable to check out your interviewer on social media platforms such as LinkedIn before your interview. After all, they will be doing the same to gain a sense of whom they will be meeting.
How long does it take to hear from hiring manager after interview?Typical waiting time after a job interview
You can usually expect to hear back from the hiring company or HR department within one or two weeks after the interview, but the waiting time varies for different industries.
Is it OK to contact interviewer after interview on LinkedIn?You may send one hiring manager a connection request after an interview and they are fine with it.
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