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When I finished writing my critically-acclaimed series “The Unemployment Diaries” after five weeks, I got a lot of messages asking me how I managed to land a job in such a short amount of time. Well, the answer is really actually quite simple: I took the skills I had finely honed stalking perspective boyfriends on the internet and applied them to my job search. Or, in other words, I used my powers for good instead of evil. How did I do it, you? Here is my step-by-step guide to help out all of you fellow job-seekers.
Step 1: Make sure your LinkedIn is air tight.
LinkedIn is the linchpin of my entire stalking-for-a-job strategy. But LinkedIn does one thing your other social media sites don’t – it lets people know that you’ve viewed their profile. Since the people you are going to be looking at could potentially be the person you want to hire you, you need to make sure your profile is, in the words of Brooklyn 99‘s Jake Perolta, “toit,” in case they view you back.
So what does your profile need to be its best? First, make sure all of your information (work history, education, memberships, etc.) matches your resume. Your LinkedIn is basically an online version of your resume, so it needs to reflect it. Second, a baller headline is necessary but tricky. If you’re looking while employed, you obviously don’t want to put anything in there that may tip off your current employers, but you also want to put your best foot forward. Your best bet is to go with something descriptive about you that doesn’t scream “I’m Looking For Job!”
Next is the picture. It would seem like a no-brainer that your LinkedIn photo should be professional, but I’ve seen so many ones that had no business even being on the internet, much less a professional representation of someone, so I’m just going to put it out there.
The last part of making sure your LinkedIn profile is ready for prime time is to start sharing content relevant to your field, so it looks like you are out there keeping up on what’s current. But remember to actually read whatever it is that you share; it would be a bad look to show up at the interview and get a question about a piece that you shared without reading.
Step 2: Find the Hiring Manager or Human Resources.
When I was looking for jobs, I personally utilized the job postings on LinkedIn, for one reason – most of them have the person who posted them right there on the job page, which makes this step super easy.
But you should still do this step even if you find the posting elsewhere – it’s just going to take a little investigative work.
First, start by searching LinkedIn for the person that the role you are interested in would likely be reporting to. For instance, if you are applying for Operations Manager, search for the Director of Operations. If that fails, look for people that the firm in Talent Acquisition or Human Resources – even if they aren’t the right person to connect with for the role, they will know who is.
Step 3: Connect.
But you can’t just hit the connect button. No one likes to get a request to connect from a random with no context. Instead, after you click on connect, you should get a pop up with the open to add a note. This is not optional unless you want to be viewed as some kind of a random weirdo.
And because I am a super kind person, I’ll even give you the exact wording the message you should send in your note:
Hi [Name],
I hope all is well with you! I had hoped we could connect regarding the [Job Title] position at [Company]. If you aren’t the appropriate person to discuss this role with, I’d appreciate it if you could point me in the right direction!
Kind regards,
[Your name]
Step 4: Follow up.
Sometimes people will accept your connection and send you a message, which is great. But sometimes they accept your connection and don’t send you a message, which can be a bit awkward. Should you send another message? Or is that too pushy? Here’s my personal method – I make a note of when they accepted by connection and if I don’t hear from them within three days, I send a follow-up note.
Again, because I love you:
Hi [Name],
Thank you for connecting! I had hoped we could discuss the [job title] at [company]. I look forward to chatting soon!
Kind regards,
[Name]
Step 5: Believe in yourself.
Yeah, all of this is pretty awkward and occasionally disheartening, I know. But trust me, it works – I’m gainfully employed now, aren’t I?
And if you need more help, feel free to hit me up because I’m obviously an expert at this. .
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Jenna Crowley
Jenna used to be known as 2NOTBrokeGirls, but then one of the girls actually went broke, so she's struck out on her own. Jenna spends her free time saving the world, one sorority girl at a time (usually while wearing yoga pants), questioning why she decided to get a doctorate, documenting her love of all things cheese related, and hosting the new PGP podcast Don't Take It From Us. You can ask her anything you want about football, using your boobs to get what you want, and pizza at @JennaLCrowley on Twitter or via email at JennaLCrowley@gmail.com.
@JennaLCrowley
@donttakeitfromus
Bookmarking this so in 6 months when have a have a mental breakdown and quit my job, I have somewhere to start.
Step 6: Give up on trivial pursuits and pivot to black market “business development” because everyone knows you make way more money than doing anything else which is why the CIA does it alllll the time
Great article! This would have served me well when I was job searching a few years ago.
Question for Jenna. I know you worked/work in HR. If you know the name of who you are interviewing with is it okay to stalk them on Linkedin? When I was job searching and would know the name of who I was interviewing with I would look them up under my spouse’s profile (we have different last names). I did this because I wasn’t sure how acceptable “Your profile has been viewed by ‘job candidate'” would look.
Also, headlines are so hard to write. If you are looking for topics to write about, for future articles, I would read an article on linkedin tips, and maybe faux paus you’ve seen in your field.
Private mode allows you to view profiles without your name showing up
As a hiring manager, I think it’s totally fine for people to look at my profile before we have an interview. Shows me that they care enough to do their research.
Agreed. When I’ve hired people in the past it was never a negative when they viewed my profile.
I was a recruiter at my company for a while, and someone looking at my LinkedIn was the least weird/cringeworthy thing you could do. I’ve received unsolicited texts, InMail, and late night vm’s about being late to their interviews, questions about pay, tips/advice, etc..
Basic social skills will get your surprisingly far these days.
As a recruiter, it is ALARMING to me the lack of social skills some people have.
I think it’s fine, if not expected. Doesn’t bother me whether it’s private mode or not, I get their interview schedule before they do and look at theirs. Just don’t connect with me before or after.
Its Peralta
The best thing you can do is try and get a warm lead IMO. Whenever I’ve tried to do this, I’ve just been told to apply through the ATS (if they even reply)
And by warm lead, folks, they mean sleeping your way to the top lol
Do you guys know of a website where breweries list their corporate jobs on? I’ve heard rumors of such a site but can’t seem to find it on the interwebs.