How to use LinkedIn to do creative Full time Job Search by References

One of the challenges that we face in current economic situation with too many people looking for jobs is how to get our resume selected and get it through the door. As all of you know, the best way to find a job is by references. If you have a reference, your resume is most likely to be picked if you have the right skills. I will show you a feature in LinkedIn that you can leverage for this. If you do not have a LinkedIn account get one. You will need this for effective job search. It is like Facebook or Orkut for professional network. If you are a H1B, L1 or any other visa holder, you may want to find the list of H1B sponsoring companies in an area before you get to this.

How to find a reference in a Company to get your resume in :

One the things I like about LinkedIn is they give you a hierarchy or your connection map listing how you are connected to someone by listing the levels. If you do not know, there is something called Six Degrees of Separation, where everyone on earth is connected to other person by at most six steps. Anyways, it is the same concept of finding the common link here.  Check the below steps and screenshots.

Here are the typical steps for using LinkedIn Network :

1. You must have a company name you are interested in applying to. You search for the company name in LinkedIn by using navigation on top right hand side by selecting Companies.
2. You get the company with the list of people in your network on the left hand side. If there are any 1^st level people, you do not need to do anything. You are already connected to them. If not, Your key is to use the first level person to get introduced to the second level person.
3. You have to click on the persons in your network. Typically, it shows 2^nd or 3^rd beside their name. Your key is to see who is in Common. Once you do that you will be taken to the persons profile page.
4. Now, If you look under right, LinkedIn shows the relation diagram on how you are exactly connected.
5. You just need to talk your first level friend or network and get introduced. In case you cannot get hold of the first level person, on the top right , there is an option called “get introduced through a connection”, you can enter all the details about you and your friend and introduce yourself to them.
6. Once done, you can just email them or call them and tell the situation, they can forward the resume to direct contact or help you how to get reference, as they work in that company.

Check screenshots below.

First, Build you network on LinkedIn for Job Search :

The above tip will only work if you have big network. If you have 5 or 10 connections it will not work. Your goal is to find your friends or colleagues and add them to your professional network. The larger the network, the easier you can get introduced to others. So, first focus on building your network on LinkedIn.

Screenshots of Linkedin for Job Search