By President, SoftOneIT Associates

There is no question that LinkedIn has become an essential tool for anyone conducting a job search, from a C-Suite executive looking to change companies to a recent college graduate seeking his or her first position.

It’s not my purpose here to survey the many capabilities of Linkedin. Rather, my key point is that while many executives have created a LinkedIn profile sometime in their career, usually years ago, few of them understand the real power of this continuously evolving site and most of them have a LinkedIn profile that is inadequate for contributing to a first rate job search.

To help SoftOneIT Associates’ clients get the most from LinkedIn, we take a number of steps:

• After we create or recreate the client’s resume so it has a strong positioning and objective statement with a rich array of relevant supporting accomplishments, one of our LinkedIn coaches helps the client translate it into a revitalized client LinkedIn profile.
• We recommend that the client create a unique LinkedIn URL which is shown on the client’s resume and all other key documents.
• Additionally, twice a month we conduct an in-depth two hour small group seminar entitled “LinkedIn for Job Seekers”, where one of our LinkedIn coaches teaches clients, whether they are novices or reasonably skilled at using the tool, how to best employ LinkedIn for search purposes and how to find and target companies.  We also show them how to search engine optimize their profile to raise their chances of being “found” by a recruiter.
• Finally, on an as needed basis, we provide one-on-one coaching so clients understand and are making the most productive use of LinkedIn.

We view LinkedIn as an important networking and job search site that is here to stay.  That is why, at SoftOneIT Associates, it is part of an array of tools and techniques our clients utilize to maximize their chances of securing a job that is well matched to their experience, capabilities, and interests