I've mentioned frequently that LinkedIn is an excellent tool for job searching, as well as for building your career and keeping track of your connections. I thought it would be good to share some LinkedIn success stories to show how effective LinkedIn can be when you're looking for a new job - or even when you're not actively seeking employment.
Krista Canfield, PR Manager at LinkedIn, shared the following stories that provide good examples of how helpful LinkedIn can be.
Evan Gotlib of NYC
Evan is currently the Advertising Sales Director at TravelZoo and literally stumbled upon his dream job through LinkedIn. He was on the site and expanding his network when he happened upon the Advanced Job Search section of the website even though he wasn't currently on the lookout for a new position. Evan figured he'd just do a search for "Advertising Sales Director" and out of curiosity see what popped up. When he did the search the position at TravelZoo popped up. Evan was speechless. He has always had a passion for travel. He had actually spent two years at Concierge.com and five years at Conde Nast Traveler, both in sales. Then he spent two years out of the travel industry at Time Inc., and when he found his current job on LinkedIn, he was so happy to be able to get back into the travel industry. Not only did Evan find his dream job on LinkedIn, he was also able to get back into an industry he loves.
Liz Manning of Seattle, Washington
Last November Liz saw an article in the paper about a new company and she said to herself, "I want to work there." She went to LinkedIn and found one of the founders of the company and sent him an InMail. He wrote back and appreciated her interest, but they had no openings at the time. Then she saw an ad on Craigslist for an opening at this company couple of months later and this time the LinkedIn toolbar on the side of her screen showed that she was a 2nd degree link to the co-founder. One of her old co-workers had just added him to her network. She sent him another InMail (and mentioned their common connection) and got a call for an interview within a day and landed the job. The company provides "senior transition coordination." This was exciting for Liz because she just worked on "transitioning" her mother into a retirement community, so helping other people transition their parents was a perfect personal fit for her as well."
Steve Weinstein of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
The recruiter for Cooper (Steve's current employer) did a search for marketing communications people in the metro Milwaukee area, and found Steve, among others, who fit the bill for the open position that Cooper had open. Steve went in, interviewed for the job and landed it. Now he's the Manager of Marketing Communications at Cooper Power Systems and he also is a member of the LinkedIn Milwaukee Group.
Chuck Hester of Raleigh, North Carolina
Chuck's connections on LinkedIn helped him land his current job. After relocating his family to North Carolina from California, Chuck began using LinkedIn to reach out to marketing professionals in the area. Among them was the chief executive of iContact, an e-mail software company where Chuck is now the corporate communications director.
How to Successfully Use LinkedIn
You can have success on LinkedIn, too. Here are tips and suggestions on how to effectively use LinkedIn to job search and network:
