{"id":2073,"date":"2010-12-14T08:58:27","date_gmt":"2010-12-14T12:58:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/executivecareerbrand.com\/?p=2073"},"modified":"2025-09-11T04:38:58","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T08:38:58","slug":"linkedin-guide-for-executive-branding-and-job-search","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/executivecareerbrand.com\/linkedin-guide-for-executive-branding-and-job-search\/","title":{"rendered":"LinkedIn Guide for Personal Branding and Executive Job Search"},"content":{"rendered":"

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No question that LinkedIn is THE place for executives to re-connect with co-workers and colleagues, connect with new faces (including recruiters and hiring decision makers), extend their brands and ROI value, find job-hunting advice and resources, and uncover leads and opportunities to land their next great gig.<\/p>\n

Did you know that most recruiters and hiring authorities\u00a0count LinkedIn as one of their best sources for top talent?<\/p>\n

They even use special applications to search LinkedIn for people like you. If you\u2019re not there, with a fully fleshed out profile, you may be invisible to them. See my post, Executive Job Search: How Recruiters and Employers Find Candidates on LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here are the basics to leverage the best LinkedIn has to offer:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Brand Your LinkedIn Profile<\/strong><\/p>\n

Make sure your LinkedIn profile is branded<\/a>, searchable, and 100% complete. For\u00a0the specifics, download my free e-book, Executive Branding and Your LinkedIn Profile: How to TransformYour Executive Brand, Resume, and Career Biography Into a Winning LinkedIn Profile<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Monitor your profile views regularly. Keep an eye on who is viewing your profile and consider adjusting it if it\u2019s not getting many views.<\/p>\n

Stay current with events listings. Hiring professionals troll the events section to search for talent and to see who is attending certain industry events. They often make initial connections with candidates directly through the lists of events.<\/p>\n

Control your privacy settings. Change the defaults if they\u2019re not right for you. For instance, if you don\u2019t want people to know that you\u2019re viewing their profiles, change this setting to “Anonymous”.<\/p>\n

Build Your Network<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unless it\u2019s really important to you to have a huge number of connections, be selective about who you connect with. Choose quality over quantity. You should have some affinity with these people. The idea is to surround yourself with people you can help, and who will help you reach your career goals. More help in my post, How To Write a LinkedIn Invitation to Connect<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Make inroads positioning yourself in front of and connecting with key decision makers within your list of target companies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You may be sitting on a lead right now that you haven\u2019t leveraged. Make a list of everyone you know at work and in your personal life. See if they\u2019re on LinkedIn and connect<\/a> with them. If you’re not in a confidential search, let them know about your career plans and the companies you’re targeting.<\/p>\n

Take advantage of LinkedIn\u2019s Company Follow. See my post, Executive Job Search: Using LinkedIn\u2019s Company Follow<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Update Your LinkedIn Network<\/strong><\/p>\n

Get yourself into a regular routine (say, once a week or a few times a month) of posting status updates to your profile. Your updates sit at the top of your profile, so will likely be one of the first things people see when reviewing your profile. Your LinkedIn network is notified of your updates, if you set this up in “Settings”, keeping you top of mind with them.<\/p>\n

More in my post, Update Your LinkedIn Network<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Get and Give Great Recommendations<\/strong><\/p>\n

Get relevant recommendations from the right people. You want their recommendations to reinforce your brand and the value you offer. It\u2019s okay to let them know what points you\u2019d like them to mention in their recommendations. More in my post, How to Get the Best LinkedIn Recommendations<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Write recommendations for others. People looking at their recommendations usually view profiles of those who make recommendations.<\/p>\n

Join and Get Busy on LinkedIn Groups<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

See what groups your connections and target list of decision makers belong to by looking at their profiles. Join if they’re open and start contributing. Position yourself as an industry thought leader and subject matter expert, while rubbing elbows and staying top of mind with your target decision makers. See my post, Power Your Executive Personal Brand with LinkedIn Groups<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Tap LinkedIn for Jobs and Company\/Industry Research<\/strong><\/p>\n

LinkedIn has many exclusive job listings. Check out the “Jobs” tab in the main menu along the top of any page for links to job descriptions (through LinkedIn and\/or Simply Hired) and application capability, along with links to the LinkedIn profiles of people who work at those companies.<\/p>\n

Thousands of top companies have profiles on LinkedIn<\/a>, providing a wealth of valuable information to gather market intelligence on your target companies for due diligence and interview preparation, and to identify the key hiring decision makers you need to position yourself in front of and connect with.<\/p>\n

What you\u2019ll find on the Companies pages:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n