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Get Linkedin: Strategy Guide for Accounting & Finance Professionals Jonathan Milligan Executive Recruiter Player Financial Resources www.jonathanmilligan.com © 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

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Page 1: Get Linkedin Strategy Guide

Get Linkedin:

Strategy Guide for Accounting & Finance Professionals

Jonathan MilliganExecutive Recruiter

Player Financial Resourceswww.jonathanmilligan.com

© 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

Page 2: Get Linkedin Strategy Guide

Table of Contents

Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Build an Online Network page 4

Why You Should Consider LinkedIn page 13

Linkedin Step #1: Optimize Your Profile! page 17

Linkedin Step #2: Grow Your Network Fast page 18

Linkedin Step #3: Value Your MIC’s (Most Important Connectors) page 26

Linkedin Step #4: Develop a Game Plan page 28

Linkedin Step #5: Track Your Progress page 30

Conclusion page 31

© 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

Page 3: Get Linkedin Strategy Guide

If you haven't looked for a job lately, you might have a rude awakening. Job search is not like it used to be. I have had the fortunate opportunity of being an Executive Recruiter for accounting & finance professionals for the last seven years.

Even in that time frame things have changed a great deal. When I started in the recruiting profession, looking for jobs in the local newspaper even for mid to high-level positions was a common practice. Today, it has almost become extinct.

Now more than ever you need to know how to leverage the internet in your favor. Most people do not have a plan when it comes to a job search. They do things at random hoping that random activity will get them closer to a job. So, they go to Monster, Careerbuilder, HotJobs everyday and look and see if there is anything new. If nothing is new, they think, "Well, must not be any jobs out there."

When in reality, there is a hidden job market outside the big job boards. For example, I would say that on average 30-40% of the positions our firm works on is exclusive. Meaning, the company was not actively advertising and they were using other methods to conduct the search.

Not only that, but there is a hidden job market on the social networking sites. Of course, recruiters are using social networking to find solid matches, but employers are using it too. Here is an example taken right from the LinkedIn blog:

© 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

Page 4: Get Linkedin Strategy Guide

Amanda Sundt

“I found my new job through participating in an industry group on the professional networking site LinkedIn. The CEO saw my resume and sent me a note as I mentioned before saying he had heads up about the layoffs at my former employer and wondered if I was interested in the open position at his firm.

Once Amanda found her new job she recounts her aha moment, how it made her a believer in professional networking and the importance of building your network before you need it.

I will continue to be active on LinkedIn, and will accept and extend invitations to networking lunches and other events because I have realized that you cannot turn your network on and off depending on your job status. At the end of day, we all really work for one employer—ourselves. So it is essential to make time to maintain and grow your network to prepare for whatever may lie ahead.

At the end of the day, I realize that I had to pursue all channels available to me to find my next opportunity. And after this experience, I am determined that I will continue to invest time and effort in growing my network and assisting those who need help finding their next opportunity.”

Which leads me to my next point...

© 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

Page 5: Get Linkedin Strategy Guide

Why it is Critical That You Build an Online Network

I am going to list for you what I believe to be the best reasons as to why you should consider building an online network. Now, keep in mind, you do not have to be in an active job search mode to benefit from growing a network. As you will see there are many reasons why an online network can benefit you and your career. Here are a few of the top reasons:

1. You should dig your well before you are thirsty.

Simply put, develop a support structure before you need it. The professionals that get this concept have their careers on the fast track. They understand that you do not get where you are going without the knowledge, insight, perspective, and help from others.

By “always” building your network, you allow yourself the opportunity to make deep connections outside your company. This support structure can assist you in finding your next ideal position. Here is a scary statistic and probably the number one reason for building a network: experts now say that the average professional is making a job change every 3.5 years! Some of these are by choice and others are a result of the times we live in where companies are downsizing and restructuring for growth on a regular basis.

Remember this: those who are on the fast track in their career understand the importance of being connected to a solid network of professionals that can help get them where they are going.

© 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

Page 6: Get Linkedin Strategy Guide

2. You can be known as an expert in your field.

Developing an online network will also give you the opportunity to be noticed and recognized for what you specialize in. More specifically, LinkedIn gives you opportunity to showcase your knowledge and establish yourself as an expert in various niche fields. More on that a little bit later. But remember this; people are searching for professionals who have a certain expertise. For example, gone are the days of people relying on a general practitioner (doctor) to do all the work. The Doctors that are making the money are specialized and known as experts in a particular field.

What do you know and have learned in your head that the average person may not and you can impart guidance, knowledge and wisdom on?

3. You can be aware of what is going on outside your cubicle.

When you are able to review the questions, activities, and comments of others in your network it really gives you a good sense of what is going on out there in the big world of career and commerce. This can help you with better understanding what the “big picture” is and allow you to stay ahead of the curve in your career.

It is good for you to every once in awhile give yourself permission to rise above the “runway” level of your daily tasks and take a look at your career from a “20,000 Foot” view. In other words, what is going on outside my cubicle/office?

© 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

Page 7: Get Linkedin Strategy Guide

This reason alone is why many workplace professionals spend $1000’s of dollars every year to attend conferences and meetings in their industry and while those are important, having an online network can help you keep a pulse on a daily basis.

4. You can be a resource for others, which will return ten-fold

Like Zig Ziglar always says, “You will have everything in life you want, if you just help enough other people get what they want.”

Even in the recruiting industry I have seen this un-fold in my life time and time again. If I take a few moments and help give someone insight on their resume; dispense interviewing tips; or help them understand a company’s culture for an interview they got on their own, it always returns to me in someway and benefits me down the road.

I’m not saying that you should always have a hidden agenda when helping others, but what I am saying is that when you show sincerity you get sincerity back.

One of the top networked professionals on Linkedin is a 28-year old MBA Finance student named Steve Burda. He has over 43,000+ 1st level connections. He uses his network to help others find new clients, find jobs, etc.

He is not in “active search mode” but I guarantee you one thing. If he ever is, he has plenty of people ready to help all because he chose to get involved with others and be a giver.

© 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

Page 8: Get Linkedin Strategy Guide

5. You can stay on top of the latest trends

On online networks, such as LinkedIn, there is a ton of information being shared on a regular basis. Just spending 10-15 minutes a week browsing through the various discussions in your “niche” group will give you a good sense of what the latest trends are in your industry. This valuable knowledge alone will make you appear to be the expert with your company and/or your competitors.

In essence, Linkedin can be a great learning tool for your career. You can become the “go-to” person at your company because you are staying up to date on the latest information in your profession or industry.

6. You can have your ideal job find you

This is one of the most powerful reasons for having a profile online. By showcasing your background and expertise, you allow opportunities to find you. This is much different then posting your resume on one of the major job boards. When you post your resume online, you tell everyone (including your boss) that you are somewhat unhappy and want to make a move.

On LinkedIn this is much different then posting your resume on a job board somewhere. Everyone post their experience and build their profile online for all to view. Once you have done that you allow others (recruiters and hiring managers) to do a keyword search and identify you as a possible good fit.

© 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

Page 9: Get Linkedin Strategy Guide

Now you can control privacy settings and choose the level as to which you want your information out there. For example on LinkedIn, your name can be hidden unless someone is in your network.

If someone outside your network thinks they have the ideal position for you, they can send you what is called “Inmail.” Users on LinkedIn are limited to the number of Inmail they can use so getting one is viewed as very important in the eyes of the receiver because it costs money.

“The best opportunities come when you are not really looking.” Have you heard someone say that before? It is true! Why not make it easier to let the best opportunities find you?

I actually just used this technique to identify a candidate in Pensacola, Florida. Our client asked us to work on a position for a business unit of theirs. We previously did not have an established network in that region.

However, after doing a keyword search using my network on Linkedin I identified a candidate who was connected to someone I knew well.

The candidate had just been laid off just weeks earlier and was looking for an opportunity. After, a few interviews the job was offered to him. Now think about this for a moment, if he had not joined Linkedin, he would have not heard about this opportunity. I cannot stress this point enough; get your career information online for others to see!

7. You can stay in touch with former colleagues.© 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

Page 10: Get Linkedin Strategy Guide

This concept is very powerful. As you get further and further into your career, you have more colleagues that know what you have to offer and they are spread out among the marketplace. Keeping in contact with them can be a major effort. However, when you develop a network on a social networking site you make it easier to stay in touch with them and them with you!

Next time that CFO position comes available, you may just cross their mind and they will throw your name in the ring of possible candidates. All this for just keeping a “marketing presence” online!

One professional shared a powerful story with me about this concept. He used LinkedIn to locate some old colleagues of his. There was one in particular that he sent an “invite” to in order to join his network.

The next day his old friend immediately sent him an email stating that he had an extra ticket to an NFL playoff game and wanted to know if was interested in going. So, he went to the game, met some people AND landed a new account with the new company (they were in need of someone with his expertise). How about that for catching up with an old colleague!

8. You can build instant rapport.

© 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

Page 11: Get Linkedin Strategy Guide

By growing your network online, it will show who you know (only if you choose to make it public) and who you are connected with. This can give you instant credibility if you both know the same person and that person can speak for you.

I have had this happen many times on both sides of the coin. I have had people contact me because they saw that I knew a former colleague of theirs and they now wanted me to work with them in their job search. I have also used it as a way to get introduced to people that I wanted to know. Building rapport and credibility is very important if you want to build a network that can benefit you in the days to come.

9. You can have a built-in support structure for starting your own business.

This is an area that most people do not realize can be a huge benefit for them. Once you have grown your online network, you can use that network to “super-charge” your own business. Need a solid but affordable web developer? Ask your network! They will recommend solid people with a good reputation and you can develop a short list very quickly. From there you can decide which one would best fit your need and budget. In other words, you take everyone else’s hours of research and boil it down to a few really good choices. You can use this tactic over and over again for things like:

· Finding a good CPA

· Locating the right Ad Agency

© 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

Page 12: Get Linkedin Strategy Guide

· Identifying a specialized Executive Recruiter

· Getting answer to business related issues

· Finding the right type of Lawyer

· The list goes on and on!

10. Having an online network is doing networking on your time

Physical networking (i.e. going to events, mingling with people, attending networking socials) can be very time-consuming. Now, while I believe you should be somewhat involved in all of it to be really successful, your career or personal life may not always afford you the opportunity to physically attend the networking events that you would like.

However, networking online is available on your time (and how much time that you have at the moment). Also, online networking gives you such a further reach. As I am writing this, my network grew an additional 1 million professionals by just getting connected to 15 new professionals. Needless to say, these professionals are well-connected. The statistics are amazing!

Attending one social event (that would have taken considerably a lot more time and effort) could not give me that type of reach. If the 6 degrees of separation is true, then I am much closer to finding my answers as my network grows.

© 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

Page 13: Get Linkedin Strategy Guide

Why You Should Consider Using LinkedIn

I want to share with you some insights from Guy Kawasaki (blog.guykawasaki.com). These are some great reason for using LinkedIn to build your career.

LinkedIn has over thirty-five million members in over 140 industries. Most of them are adults, employed, and not looking to post something on your Wall or date you. Executives from all the Fortune 500 companies are on LinkedIn. Most have disclosed what they do, where they work now, and where they’ve worked in the past. Talk about a target-rich environment, and the service is free.

Here are ten tips to help use LinkedIn to find a job. If you know someone who’s looking for a job, forward them these tips along with an invitation to connect on LinkedIn. Before trying these tips, make sure you’ve filled out your profile and added at least twenty connections

1. Get the word out. Tell your network that you’re looking for a new position because a job search these days requires the “law of big numbers” There is no stigma that you’re looking right now, so the more people who know you’re looking, the more likely you’ll find a job. Recently, LinkedIn added “status updates” which you can use to let your network know about your newly emancipated status.

© 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

Page 14: Get Linkedin Strategy Guide

2. Get LinkedIn recommendations from your colleagues. A strong recommendation from your manager highlights your strengths and shows that you were a valued employee. This is especially helpful if you were recently laid off, and there is no better time to ask for this than when your manager is feeling bad because she laid you off. If you were a manager yourself, recommendations from your employees can also highlight leadership qualities.

3. Find out where people with your backgrounds are working. Find companies that employ people like you by doing an advanced search for people in your area who have your skills. For example, if you’re a web developer in Seattle, search profiles in your zip code using keywords with your skills (for example, JavaScript, XHTML, Ruby on Rails) to see which companies employ people like you.

4. Find out where people at a company came from. LinkedIn “Company Profiles” show the career path of people before they began work there. This is very useful data to figure out what a company is looking for in new hires. For example, Microsoft employees worked at Hewlett-Packard and Oracle.

5. Find out where people from a company go next. LinkedIn’s “Company Profiles” also tell you where people go after leaving the company. You can use this to track where people go after leaving your company as

© 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

Page 15: Get Linkedin Strategy Guide

well as employees of other companies in your sector. (You could make the case that this feature also enables to figure out which companies to avoid, but I digress.)

6. Check if a company is still hiring. Company pages on LinkedIn include a section called “New Hires” that lists people who have recently joined the company. If you have real chutzpah, you can ask these new hires how they got their new job. At the very least you can examine their backgrounds to surmise what made them attractive to the new employer.

7. Get to the hiring manager. LinkedIn’s job search engine allows you to search for any kind of job you want. However, when you view the results, pay close attention to the ones that you’re no more than two degrees away from. This means that you know someone who knows the person that posted the job—it can’t get much better than that. (Power tip: two degrees is about the limit for getting to hiring managers. I never help friends of friends of friends.) Another way to find companies that you have ties to is by looking at the “Companies in Your Network” section on LinkedIn’s Job Search page.

8. Get to the right HR person. The best case is getting to the hiring manager via someone who knows him, but if that isn’t possible you can still use LinkedIn to find

© 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

Page 16: Get Linkedin Strategy Guide

someone inside the company to walk your resume to the hiring manager or HR department. When someone receives a resume from a coworker even if she doesn’t know the coworker, she almost always pays attention to it.

9. Find out the secret job requirements. Job listings rarely spell out entirely or exactly what a hiring manager is seeking. Find a connection at the company who can get the inside scoop on what really matters for the job. You can do this by searching for the company name; the results will show you who in your network connects you to the company. If you don’t have an inside connection, look at profiles of the people who work at the company to get an idea of their backgrounds and important skills.

10. Find startups to join. Maybe this recession is God telling you it’s time to try a startup. But great startups are hard to find. Play around with LinkedIn’s advanced search engine using “startup” or “stealth” in the keyword or company field. You can also narrow by industry (for example, startups in the Web 2.0, wireless, or biotech sectors). If large companies can’t offer “job security,” open up your search to include startups.

© 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

Page 17: Get Linkedin Strategy Guide

5 Step Action Plan to Building an Online Network Fast

Linkedin Step #1: Optimize Your Profile

I am going to show you in the next few pages how you can quickly grow a network on LinkedIn and be “super-connected” fast.

After joining Linkedin, the first thing you need to do is fill out your profile as much as possible. See your profile just like your resume. The more detailed you are in your job description section the better. Why do you say? Because it is all keyword searchable! In other words, if I am on the hunt for a Director of Revenue Recognition, I will search for a few key words and those who have the key words on their profile will rise to the top.

Filling out as much info as you can on your profile will work in your favor.

Linkedin Tip: Take your resume and plug in you accomplishments and job responsibilities. Do not make the mistake that many people make and just place the name of your company. Copy and paste your resume info so that it is all keyword searchable for hiring managers and recruiters.

Another great way to build your profile and presence is by using your Linkedin profile link. This is fast becoming the internet business card for professionals online.

© 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

Page 18: Get Linkedin Strategy Guide

With your unique link, you can quickly and easily get your profile and contact info to people for them to review.

LinkedIn Tip: Reset your public profile link in your settings and replace the numbers with your name. Then, you can place the link under your email signature and put something like: "Join my network of accounting & finance professionals."

By default: www.linkedin.com/in/37938128192

Change to: www.linkedin.com/in/JohnSmith

Then place it in your email signature:

John Smith, CPAShareholderSmith & Smith, CPAJoin my network of accounting & finance professionalshttp://www.linkedin.com/in/JohnSmith

Linkedin Step #2: Grow Your Network Fast

Now I am going to help you get "super-connected" quickly and easily. Why is this important? Well, just like in real life...sometimes it is all in who you know. Once you are connected with someone on LinkedIn you are able to view up to 3 levels down from them. For those that are in your

© 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

Page 19: Get Linkedin Strategy Guide

first group you can send email and communicate with them more easily.

In the 2nd and 3rd levels, you will need an introduction from someone in your 1st level or let me give you two tricks of the trade:

Tip #1: Call the contact directly.

If someone is at the 2nd or 3rd level, you can still view their name, title, and company they work for. For example, if someone has Sally Smith, Director of Human Resources at ACME Company in their network. You can simply call them up by name and tell them who you are and that you wanted to introduce yourself. Also take a minute to brag about the company and that you would like to get your info to her and see if there are any potential opportunities.

Tip #2: Email the contact directly at work.

Most of the time an email address is not going to be visible to you. By doing a little research you can usually find out the email pattern of any company online. Do a quick Google search and you will find the pattern.

Here is a sample email script that I would send (you can always come up with your own as well).

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear _________,

© 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

Page 20: Get Linkedin Strategy Guide

My name is Jay Mills and I am a CPA with 8 years of accounting experience working with publicly-traded companies. I have heard great things about ACME Company over the years from people in my network and I would be very interested in speaking with you. Attached is a profile of my background and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Thanks!

Jay Mills, CPA

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Then I would possibly follow up with a phone call (which in many cases is much warmer since they noticed your email). I realize some of you might be saying, "won't they wonder how I got their email address?" Truth is email is such a common practice it honestly doesn't bother people to get email at work from someone they did not know before-hand. Even if it was an issue, just let them know that you knew the email pattern and it wasn't too hard to figure out.

Ok, back to growing a network fast. There are essentially 3 steps for you to do to grow a large network fast.

1. Extract all of the email addresses from any of your current email contact list.

LinkedIn has a really cool program that will allow you to pull your contact list from Outlook, Gmail, Yahoo and many other email systems. From there you can decide who you would like to send an invitation to. It will also show you which of the people from your contact list are already on

© 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

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LinkedIn. For those that are not you can still send an invitation for them to join. For those that might not be in your contact list think of all the names of people at your current or last company and send them an invite.

2. Join Speciality Groups inside LinkedIn.

This is a great feature that can really work well for you. Let's say you are CPA in Jacksonville, Florida. Well, there is a group called "Jacksonville Accounting & Finance Professionals" which last I looked there were over 160+ members. The great thing about groups is that you have something in common and if you send an invite to connect you could say, "We are both in the Jacksonville accounting & finance group and I just wanted to network with you."

Another great group to join beside people in your specific industry niche is HR groups. This will give you access to people who assist in the hiring stages at various companies

LinkedIn Tip: Be careful of sending too many "invitations" to connect on LinkedIn unless you know that the person will accept. If too many people reject from being connected to you LinkedIn will put you in a probation period in which you will need to know someone's email address to send an invitation to them.

If you are sending an invitation to someone and you are a little unsure if they are going to accept it use this script when you send the invitation:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

© 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

Page 22: Get Linkedin Strategy Guide

"I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn. Please feel free to utilize my network! I have a variety of connections throughout the country!

If you don't wish to connect, please archive the invitation!"

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By asking them to "archive" the invitation it does two things:

1. It allows them to get rid of the invitation

2. It does not count against you as a reject invitation would.

Now onto the third and what I consider to be the most powerful way to "super-charge" your connections. When I started using this feature my entire network grew from 2 Million to 6 million people in my network in the matter of 2-3 weeks. If you believe in the six degrees of separation theory then this is the ticket to your next position.

3. Join [LION] Groups

If you are on LinkedIn for very long, you will come across people who put [LION] next to their name on their profile. Simply put, LION stands for "Linked In Open Networking." In other words, people with this next to their name are telling you two things.

1. They WILL accept all invitations whether they know you or not.

© 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

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2. Their network is wide open for you to use once connected

Now here is where it really gets exciting! After you have joined a LION group, you can do a detailed search for people in that group. By the way, there are several different LION groups but start with the largest members. Do a search inside the LION group starting with your geographical area!

Get connected with the people (regardless of profession) that live close by where you want to work. These people are the "super-connectors" in your area and probably know a lot of people and are the friendliest.

For example, a Realtor might have several thousand connections in your metro area. By connecting with them you will have access to these people. Do this process over an over again and within a few weeks you will have a large network quickly!

4. List of groups I recommend that you join!

Below is a list of groups that I recommend that you join. A few of these groups are “Open Networkers” and a few are not. Remember the difference is that “Open Network” groups will accept all invitations regardless of how well they know you. The more your network grows, the more your network grows.

At the time of this writing I have over 2,000+ 1st level connections and over 10m+ in my network. Meaning I have name and contact info to over 10m+ professionals.

© 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

Page 24: Get Linkedin Strategy Guide

Of course, you can also join groups and discussions with non-open networking groups and still grow your network.

Linkedin Tip: Join a group like “accounting & finance professionals” and then post in the discussion that you are open to accepting invitations from other accounting & finance professionals. You will be amazed at people who will send you an invite. So, you do not have to join, and “open networkers” group to grow your network fast.

Here are some of the groups that I am a part of:

LIONCPA – Linkedin Open Network for Accounting & Finance Professionals

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1882706

**This is a group that I recently created on Linkedin. Upon joining this group you can send invite requests to all of the members. The group does consist of accounting & finance professionals, but they are all across the country.

Top Linked Accounting & Finance Professionals

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=143749

Another Open Networker Group for accounting people

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© 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

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American Institute of CPA’s Network

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=76246&trk=anet_ug_hm

Large network of accounting & finance professionals

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Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Network

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=51826

Another large network of high-level accounting professionals

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Finance & Accounting Professionals

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=39259

One of the largest groups on Linkedin created by Steven Burda (one of the largest networkers on Linkedin)

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IFRS Discussion Group

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=129994

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------© 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

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Tax Professionals Group

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=42838

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Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA)

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=107948

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Young CPA Network Group

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=160705&trk=anet_ug_hm

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Now, there are many more groups that I would recommend that you look into on LinkedIn. These are some of the largest and most productive for accounting & finance professionals.

© 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

Page 27: Get Linkedin Strategy Guide

Linkedin Step #3 : Value Your MIC’s

(Most Important Connectors)

Once you have grown your network. The next step for you is to begin identifying who the M.I.C.'s are in your network. M.I.C. stands for Most Important Connectors. This is not a term LinkedIn uses it is just something that I came up with. Anyways, all of us know that there are some people who just seem to know everyone. Your goal is to identify who these people are and then begin to develop rapport with them.

Here are some things you can do:

1. Send them an email and let them know what you are trying to accomplish.

2. If they are local, ask them if they would be open to meeting for coffee and that you would like to get their input and insight on your job search.

3. If not local, ask them if they would be open to chatting on the phone for just a few minutes and that you would like to get their insight on your job search.

Once you are in front of them either by phone or in person, have a list of either companies or a few of the contacts that they are connected with and ask them if it would be a good idea to reach out to them.

You will be amazed at how many people are ready and willing to help. You never know where that opportunity

© 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

Page 28: Get Linkedin Strategy Guide

might come from so always be ready to give 30-second pitch about what you do.

Once you have identified who the MIC’s are then you will want to develop a game plan.

Linkedin Step #4: Develop a Game Plan

Ever been to the circus? Remember the spinning plates? Well, networking is a lot like those spinning plates. You need to do a little bit of all of it in order to keep things going in a positive direction.

Here is the game plan that I recommend (the spinning plates):

1. Use the Status Bar on a Regular Basis

If you are familiar with Facebook or Twitter then you know what the status bar is. It is located on your profile page and it is under your name it says:

“Jonathan is…..”

Then you are allowed so many words to place your info.

For example:

“Jonathan is searching for a Sr. Financial Analyst opportunity in the Southeast. Please review my profile.”

© 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

Page 29: Get Linkedin Strategy Guide

Your status saying will show up on hundreds and possibly thousands of different profile pages that are in your network. This is a great way to market yourself.

2. Reach out your M.I.C.'s on a routine basis

I will give you some specific examples in the following pages, but once you identify your MIC’s you will want to develop a game plan for how to stay in touch with them on a regular bases. Remember, these are the outgoing, happy people who thrive on relationships and know a lot of people in the community or industry of your profession.

3. Use and participate in the industry specific groups discussion section

Once you join the groups on Linkedin make sure you use them. Look quickly a few times a week at the recent discussions and learn and participate in the process. Post and get your name out there. It is just another method of people seeing who you are and what you are all about.

4. Check the Jobs in the groups you joined regularly

Linkedin does have its own job section, but the real action is inside the groups. It is free to post jobs and companies and recruiters like it because it is for a “targeted audience.”

In other words, if you are an Internal Auditor, I would join every Internal Audit group on LinkedIn and view the jobs section in the group on a regular basis. Companies and recruiters will be posting positions out there on a daily basis.

© 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

Page 30: Get Linkedin Strategy Guide

5. Participate in LinkedIn Answers section

Linkedin has a section on its website called “Answers.” It is where people go to post questions about various topics. Visit these sections every once in a while and post answers to questions that you know. A hiring manager or recruiter may find you post and contact you. A one time action and it stays on the internet forever.

6. Reach out to people and see if they are on LinkedIn

Linkedin is well-known now. So, if you are at a physical network meeting, ask people you meet if they are on Linkedin. You then can connect with them and stay in touch with them.

If you do these steps on a regular basis, you will be amazed at the results that will begin to happen.

Linkedin Step #5: Track Your Progress

You might even want to develop a spreadsheet with the items I mentioned above. So that you can easily rotate this process and see how it works for you.

Let’s say you have identified 15 MIC’s from our earlier drill. I would then list the names down one column. Across the top you could list various ways to reach out to this person. Some of those categories might be phone call, email, meet for coffee, write a note, etc.

© 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

Page 31: Get Linkedin Strategy Guide

Then, you can “touch” this person at different levels and at different times. Now, you don’t want to accomplish all of this in one week, but over time it is a great way to keep your name out there.

What you don’t want to do is call this person every Friday to see if they have heard of any openings.

You also might want to use a Calendar system like Outlook and create reminders so that you keep all these plates spinning. Over time you will know which connections are beneficial and which ones are not.

Another Tip: When dealing with recruiters, call each of them on different days. Most people make the mistake of calling their recruiters every other Friday and see what is going on. I would spread them out and call one on Monday, one on Wednesday, and one on Friday. That way you really have a feel for the local marketplace at all times.

CONCLUSION:

I know this is a lot of information to digest (especially if you are new), but if you will just implement 50% of what I suggested you will have more of a chance at tapping into the “hidden job market.”

I believe that social media will begin to dominate that job boards as the method of choice for conducting a job search.

Social media allows for interaction and discussion with other people and can be a great resource to find you next opportunity.

© 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

Page 32: Get Linkedin Strategy Guide

Stay tuned to my blog as in the future I will be giving you the tools and strategies for using other social media outlets.

I hope you have enjoyed this free report. As always, feel free to reach out to me if I can ever be a help to you in your career.

To your career!Jonathan Milligan http://www.CPACareerCoach.com

© 2009 CPA Career Coach http://www.CPACareerCoach.com