Jennifer McClure`

Equipping people leaders to navigate change — and design the future — with boldness and purpose.

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What’s New(ish) With LinkedIn

Last week, I was fortunate to be invited to speak at a Cincinnati Social Media Group event on the campus of Northern Kentucky University at their gorgeous new College of Informatics facility – Griffin Hall.

I was pretty stoked to be presenting in such a visually stunning and engaging environment – and in front of a 15 feet by 25 feet presentation screen made up of  digital micro tiles! It was also great to see so many in the Cincinnati Social Media community that I follow and learn from each day. Thanks to several of the participants for taking some cool photos. These will definitely go in the scrapbook!

photo by Kevin Dugan
Photo By Mike Boehmer

For my presentation, Cincinnati Social Media Founder, Kevin Dugan (someone I learn a great deal from in regards to social media and marketing communications – and also quite the Instagram pro) asked me to share what’s “new” on LinkedIn and some new ways of utilizing basic aspects of the site with a generally social media savvy audience – as well as NKU students who were invited to the event.

It was fun to try to create a presentation for a mixed audience – many of whom are LinkedIn experts in their own right – and I’ve embedded a copy of my attempt below. Email subscribers can click this link to view on SlideShare.

What’s New(ish) With LinkedIn – March 2012

View more presentations from Jennifer McClure

A couple of things that get lost in translation when uploading PDF files to Slideshare – any animation used or videos embedded don’t show up. So here’s a link to the video on Slide 35 about LinkedIn’s mobile application – CardMunch – which CEO Jeff Weiner says will help LinkedIn to “replace the traditional  Rolodex” in the future: Digitize Business With LinkedIn’s CardMunch App

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Anything new in the presentation that you plan to look in to or implement – or anything you’d new(ish) you’d like to add in the Comments? I’d love to learn from you!

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LinkedIn Is King In Social Recruiting, But Facebook & Twitter Also Important

The folks at Bullhorn Reach recently took the time to summarize the social media actual activity of recruiters and job seekers in the Bullhorn Reach user network in 2011 (over 35,000 recruiters) across the “big 3” social recruiting platforms – LinkedIn, Facebook & Twitter. The results, while not surprising, are certainly interesting.

A few interesting findings included in the report include:

  • Recruiters are connected to all three social networks, but are using LinkedIn and Twitter much more than Facebook to recruit talent.
  • LinkedIn is driving the most views and applications per job posted on the three networks.
  • Twitter followers are much more likely to apply for a job than connections on LinkedIn or friends on Facebook.
  • 21% of recruiters are connected to all 3 of the “big 3” social networks, but 48% use LinkedIn exclusively.
  • Agency and corporate recruiters exhibit slightly different connecting and social recruiting strategies across the networks.
2012 Social Recruiting Activity Report
View more documents from Bullhorn Reach
I’d recommend taking a few minutes to review the entire report, but for those of you with a short attention span (like me), Bullhorn summarized some of the results in a handy Infographic as well.

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LinkedIn Recruiting Trends 2011 – United States [Slideshare]

Recently, I came across this presentation on slideshare.net summarizing LinkedIn’s Global Recruiting Trends 2011 survey for the United States and I thought I’d share it with you.

Some interesting stats from this report include:

  • Over 6 in 10 companies in the US plan to hire more professionals in 2011 than in 2010.
  • Although 63% of US respondents expect hiring to increase in 2011, only 45% expect their hiring budget to increase.
  • Finding better ways to source passive candidates is the top recruiting trend in the US, while using social and professionals networks is a close second.
  • 59% of companies in the US report social professional networks are a minor source in their recruiting efforts, while 29% indicate it is a major source.
  • 35% of companies are worried that their competitors will learn to use social networks and social media more effectively than they will.
  • LinkedIn is the most popular social network for recruiting, used by 96% of respondents.
Check out the presentation uploaded by SBG Media Group below.
LinkedIn Global Recruiting Trends

Report Summary:

  • Hiring is expected to increase in the US, but budgets are not keeping pace.
  • Social professional networking is seen as one of the most important, long- lasting recruiting trends in the US and most companies are already using it to some degree.
  • Sourcing passive candidates is a key trend.
  • The use of talent community-building and employment branding tools is expected to increase.
  • Employee referral programs are anticipated to grow.

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LinkedIn Profile Overused Buzzwords – Also Found On Job Postings Near You

After analyzing data from the more than 85 million member profiles on their site, LinkedIn has released a listing of the Top 10 most overused words and phrases found in LinkedIn Profiles (in the US) and they are:

  1. Extensive Experience
  2. Innovative
  3. Motivated
  4. Results-oriented
  5. Dynamic
  6. Proven Track Record
  7. Team Player
  8. Fast-paced
  9. Problem-solver
  10. Entrepreneurial

If you’re a job seeker, it’s a great time of year to update your resume and online profiles, remove any overused words or phrases and get creative and original in marketing yourself and your experience.

If you’re a recruiter or employer, it’s time to stop playing Buzzword Bingo with your Job Descriptions, Job Postings and Career Site as well.

Check out this helpful white paper – Improving the Candidate Experience: Can You Put Yourself in Their Shoes? – from the folks at NAS Recruitment Communications to get some great ideas.

Or, take the less cerebral approach -> Improve Your Job Postings: Write For People Who Fart.

Let’s just make the process better.

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LinkedIn and Web 2.0 Still Need Networking 1.0

Online_business_networking_3It’s LinkedIn week here in my world, and I’ll be speaking to three different groups this week about using LinkedIn. The first presentation will be to a group of job seekers who are participating in a 10-week Job Search series sponsored by a community group, the second at a local Chamber of Commerce to business owners and professionals, and the third to a group of senior executives in career transition working with an outplacement firm.

As a LinkedIn fan and avid user since early 2006, it’s not hard for me to talk with all types of individuals about the benefits of using LinkedIn and share some tips and strategies to maximize its potential for job search, personal branding, employment branding or business development. (By becoming a regular reader, RSS or email subscriber to this blog, I’ll share that information with you as well!)

However, I’m always careful to point out that using LinkedIn – or any social networking or online tool – does not replace the need to get out and meet people, build real relationships and help others. I like the way Jason Alba, author of I’m on LinkedIn – – Now What??? lays it out in chapter 2 of his very informative book:

While LinkedIn is a networking tool, it is not a networking silver bullet. Timeless networking principals such as “givers gain”, etiquette, long-term relationship nurturing, and investing time and effort in others are critical. LinkedIn is not a replacement for your networking efforts (online or offline); rather, it is an excellent tool to facilitate some facets of your networking strategy.

That’s right – using LinkedIn is only ONE part of any job search, business development or networking strategy – so don’t forget that! It’s definitely important in today’s world to understand how to effectively utilize LinkedIn and other social networking tools, but some of the old-fashioned 1.0 tools – the telephone, a drop in visit, face-to-face meetings, handwritten Thank You notes, are still the best ways to make a meaningful impression and to build rich relationships.

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