Solicit Yourself – April 8, 2008

We all know the job market is extremely competitive, and that it sucks to go through the process of redoing your resume, updating your portfolio, and going through endless rounds of interviews. I know this feeling all too well, as I just got finished moving jobs three months ago.

There’s nothing better than having people come to you with job offers in hand. Hey, what can I say I’m lazy sometimes. So, how can you make that happen?

Here are the must do’s:

- Actually let your friends know what you do

- Have a LinkedIn profile with a full description of your job and skills, which are supported with recommendations

- Link your Facebook and MySpace profiles (and blog) to your LinkedIn profile (but not the other way around)

Here is the one thing that will really draw attention to you:

- Share your expertise

o Answer LinkedIn questions (huge opportunity)

o Write a blog about your thoughts concerning your industry

o Become embedded in social media communities about your industry

o Start creating like-minded groups on LinkedIn and Facebook

o Publish your thoughts to industry focused sites

o Share your great presentations on SlideShare