“It’s all about who you know.” If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard this during my young adult life, I could’ve paid for a first-class international plane ticket by now, en route to someplace far, far away from this crazy economy. Instead, I’ll hang onto those proverbial nickels, say a prayer for the job market, and recount what I’ve experienced as an Alstin Intern – and job seeker – on an effective way to make good on a situation that needn’t be as desperate as it seems.
Spending a few months as an Intern has added invaluable dimension to my previous one-sided idea of networking. At first, I saw networking as a narrow two-way street: an awkward exchange of business cards and resumes between seasoned professionals and anxious college students, making their way through crowded job fairs and nerve-wracking interviews. When a close friend and working professional clued me into LinkedIn almost a year ago, I blindly registered and due to my narrow-minded idea of networking only displayed highlights of my resume and connected with immediate friends and family.
Thanks to being exposed to the latest recruiting trends here at Alstin, I can report that taking advantage of LinkedIn’s potential truly is an excellent means of networking - a plethora of opportunities to find the most appropriate talent, find decent work, expand skill sets and meet interesting people – with awkward intimidation at an all-time low.
I went ahead and added more detailed content to my profile and was thrilled when someone found me based on the information I provided. That person ultimately presented me with an opportunity to do PR work for a new non-profit. The position (which I still hold) was legitimate, interesting, and fitting for my demographic and level of experience. That single Linkedin connection immediately opened multiple doors for me while pinpointing the talent my supervisor set out to find – an overall win-win.
If Alstin wasn’t so good at retaining employees, we’d be considering Abby McKeown for our team. For the recruiters out there that may have an entry level position related to Marketing, PR or Communications, we encourage you to connect with Abby via her LinkedIn profile.
And for recruiters out there who are not sure where to begin when it comes to using LinkedIn to connect with talent, email us at blog@alstin.com.
