Some estimates say there are more than 650 million LinkedIn users. To find and connect with the person or people who can help you land your next job might seem like a daunting task, but don’t fear.Perhaps you’re looking for the hiring manager at one of your target companies, or an alumnus who can provide sage advice, or a corporate recruiter. Finding the person with whom you need to connect requires a focused search.A great tool to narrow your search is All Filters. To use this tool, you must have a plan of attack.
Following are the steps I would take to look for recruiters, using the following criteria:
2. So I jump right to All Filters; no sense in wasting time. Note: in All Filters, there’s an option to choose Industry. A practical choice would be “Staffing & Recruiting,” but the string I typed in Search gives me more options with which to begin. 3. I Hone in on my first company, IBM, which is one of the companies listed under Current Companies (see diagram below) . I have 5,317 2nd and third degree connections at IBM. 4. If I want to connect with a recruiter at IBM, I should narrow the list down to 2nd degrees (see diagram below), as they will have other LinkedIn members who are connected to people in my direct network. This is important because I’ll want to mention our common connections in a personal invite . This brings the number to 348.
5. One of my criteria is Location (see diagram above). The Greater Boston Area is one of the choices LinkedIn gives me. Other choices include India, the Greater New York City Area, and the Dallas/Fort Worth Area. I choose Greater Boston Area, which brings the number to 42 recruiters. Note: you might have to type in your desired location.Related: Winning the Sport of the Job Search
6. I’m almost there. I have to find recruiters who attended the same college I did. I have to scroll down in All Filters and write in my alma mater, the University of Massachusetts (diagram above.) I am left with only two recruiters that have met all my criteria (below).
7. Finally, I need to choose a common connection who will either introduce me to one of the recruiters or allow me to use their name in an invite I send. I know just the person I would like to ask. He was a former customer of mine and a real stand up guy.