Part 2: Are you hiding in plain sight? Getting noticed as a five to ten year professional

A pearl of wisdom that I didn't invent:


The best jobs are rarely, if ever, advertised.


Want one?


Get found.


You may think you're in plain sight by using modern social media tools, but you're not--unless you've put some real effort and thought into what's in your profile. If you want a new challenge, more money, and more authority--you need to become findable in the right ways. Let's look at the options for getting found by a recruiter:


Facebook
Everyone's on it, we're not supposed to use it as a recruitment tool, but everyone does; and it falls near the bottom of the barrel in that department. Why? Because it doesn't lend itself to keyword searches, or Boolean logic (a key component in the way Google, Bing, and other search engines find things). If we know your name (example "Jane Doe"), we can find you on Facebook--and every other "Jane Doe". Let's say we know Jane lives in metro Seattle, WA. If Jane indicates she lives in Tacoma, WA, we won't likely find her on Facebook if we're looking in Seattle, even though Tacoma is basically just one city away. Besides this shortcoming, most people put very limited (if any) professional information in their Facebook profile. If we don't know your name (how would we?) and we try searching on professional accomplishments, education, workplace, etc., we're not usually going to come up with much on Facebook. I won't even get into Facebook's movable feast of profile privacy settings, or the goofy comments your friends may leave on your wall after "last call". My crystal ball says your future employer will find you on Facebook after you're located on LinkedIn, or through a more technical search.

LinkedIn
This is where you should be, and where you should put your efforts. Take some time and craft well-written statements of what you've accomplished--and say them as if you're proud of the work you've done and are equally proud of your employer. Be truthful, and pack as much information and (this is important) keywords into your structure. Almost everyone you work with (including your boss) will read your LinkedIn profile, so make sure it reflects well on your current status. If you're worried about appearances, don't list "career opportunities" in your LinkedIn interest field. Trust me, a good recruiter will contact you anyway if they're looking for you.

Here are some examples of how the same professional experience could hypothetically be described in your profile. I'll choose something in process engineering, but note that the logic applies to posting information on LinkedIn for any professional career path:

Bad example: "Currently producing products."

Better: "Developed process improvements in hydrochlorination for silicon / polysilicon production."

Way better: "Developed process controls, process improvements, and process engineering methodology for silicon / polysilicon production for Siemens reactor technology. Involved with trichlorosilane, HSiCl3, TCS process control, hydrochlorination, Fluid Bed Recovery, and FBR operations."

You get the idea...
Why is the last one superior, even though it's full of jargon? Well--it's not jargon to a recruiter or VP trying to track down their next Senior Engineer. Simple keyword searching, or Boolean logic will allow you to be found anywhere in the world if you have enough relevant information in your LinkedIn profile. If you want to make it pretty, that's a bonus--but the idea is to make you "findable".

Rome was not built in a day, and neither should your LinkedIn profile be hastily composed. Take some time to develop your profile information in a Word document--then paste it in your profile. Note that LinkedIn does not currently have a spell checker...the value of which should be apppararentt (sic) to most anyone.

Side bar: If you're ever posting a resume to a service (e.g. Monster or Job.com), this sort of key wording is equally important, but resume posting is another subject.

Clubs, professional, or service organizations

Make sure when you join an organization, the bio you give them has enough information for people to actually figure out what you've done and what you're currently doing. You might not want to include as much info as in your complete LinkedIn profile, but you get the idea. Many of these organizations post member bios, and therefore they're searchable. Hint: You can usually scrape and paste segments of your LinkedIn bio for these applications. Make them pretty.

Presentations and publications

If you give a presentation, make sure your contact information (email and phone) is listed somewhere in the document, preferably the title page. If you have a list of publications or technical reports, make sure they're listed in the back of every presentation you give. Many professional presentations given at conferences are searchable. You won't get much, if any spam from doing so and it makes you much easier to find by your next employer while still basically keeping you under the radar. Make sure you add your publications and presentations in your LinkedIn profile, too.

Keeping yourself fresh

If you receive a promotion, or are transferred to a new branch or division within a company, make sure you submit the information to the local business newspaper or magazine. It will likely end up online and make you that much more visible in a good way. Again, throw some keywords in, but make sure it reads well or the general public will think you're a jargon-wielding dork.

Last but not least

Figure out what the most successful, stereotypically sought-after people in your field wear, purchase the outfit, put it on--and go sit for a professional portrait. Add it to your professional profiles and bios. If you're male, ditch the wife-beater, sunglasses, and large fish. If you're female, the halter top and cowboy hat probably don't add to your professional image. Again, you get the idea.
As the saying goes, "If you build it, they will come". You've worked hard to get where you are professionally. Now it's time to be rewarded. Continue the hard work, but make sure you're findable when the right people go looking.


Will Baumann is a recruiter specializing in difficult to fill technical and leadership positions.



LinkedIn profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/willbaumann


Company site: http://www.anrgroupinc.com/

Part 1: Are you hiding in plain sight? Getting noticed as a five to ten year professional

The most difficult position to fill (even in this economy) is an opening for a five to ten year professional with current experience on key projects, in-demand systems, or processes. I'm not talking about pulling someone out of the bread line--because most employers don't want that kind of employee. I'm talking about finding a stellar performer with five-plus years of directly relevant experience, currently performing at the highest level. Most employers (and recruiters) want them, most have a really hard time finding them.

If you're a five to ten year degreed professional, you're probably confronted with two of life's little ironies. The first is that you've worked very hard to get where you are--and are probably not adequately compensated for the value you provide. You continue to put in those 50-hour weeks, the occasional weekend, reschedule your vacations around new deadlines, and basically continue to bury yourself in your career. Your employer probably loves you, but still thinks of you as being a bit more junior than your time-in-grade should allow for. You're not looking for a job (seriously, who has the time?), but you might consider a new opportunity if someone contacted you with something golden. The second irony is that you, and your peer group are the most difficult people for recruiters to find--and we're all looking for you.

There is a third irony as well. The senior people in your organization are likely receiving credit for all your hard work. It's probably even noted in the bios for the "management team" posted on your company site.

Yes, we have no trouble finding them. Have you ever thought about that?

Guess what? If we do contact them, they're not likely to give up your name, number, or email address--because you make them look so good. They are usually quite happy to talk to us about their accomplishments and any openings we might have for persons of their professional stature, though.

If you fall into this five to ten year category, we typically can't find you because you're hidden. You may think you're in plain sight on social media, but you're not--unless you've put some real effort and thought into what's in your profile. If you want a new challenge, more money, and more authority, you need to become "findable" in the right ways. Part 2 will explore ways to accomplish this while still staying under the radar.

Will Baumann is a recruiter specializing in difficult to fill technical and leadership positions.


LinkedIn profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/willbaumann


Company site: http://www.anrgroupinc.com/