Why LinkedIn Instead of Job Sites?
London, 1812. Michael Faraday is twenty and nearing the end of his apprenticeship in a bookbinder's shop. Since the age of fourteen he has been binding other people's books, and reading the scientific ones among them. One of the shop's customers, William Dance, notices this curious apprentice and gives him tickets to the last four lectures Humphry Davy is to give at the Royal Institution.
Faraday goes to the lectures and takes notes. Back home he writes them up neatly and, as his trade demands, binds them into a book hundreds of pages long. Then he sends the volume to Davy. In the accompanying letter he writes that he wants to leave trade and devote himself to science.
Davy replies with a kind note on 24 December 1812. In February 1813 William Payne, the Royal Institution's laboratory assistant, is dismissed after a brawl in the lecture theatre. At the board meeting on 1 March 1813, Davy reports that he has found a willing candidate for the vacancy. His name is Michael Faraday.
Faraday didn't apply for a job advert. Nor did he say "I'm looking for work". He put what he had learnt and what he could do in front of the person who would make the decision. Years later, he was the one lecturing in that same institution's theatre.
Why LinkedIn Instead of Job Sites?
For a long time this article was a list of "the 5 best job sites". Now there is just one recommendation: LinkedIn. Kaan Gülten explains why in the "LinkedIn Devri" ("The LinkedIn Era") chapter of his book Girişimci Kafasıyla Düşün (Think Like a Founder). According to the book, capital isn't only money. Knowledge, experience, a team and business connections are capital too, and the address for business connections today is LinkedIn.
Your CV Lives There
CVs filled in on job sites are usually written once and left untouched, even when your job changes. On LinkedIn, you keep your achievements, certifications and skills up to date. That's why the book describes LinkedIn as the modern CV, the CV of the future.
Connections, Not Followers
Most other social networks are built on following. On LinkedIn, a connection is mutual. Every connection you make with people in your industry means wider reach and the chance of direct contact.
The Decision-Makers Are There
Another difference the book highlights is access. Company CEOs, CTOs and CFOs, the executives of many brands in Turkey and investors are all on LinkedIn. What got Faraday's letter into Davy's hands was a ticket from a customer. Today you can build that bridge yourself.
It Opens Doors Beyond Borders
If you're thinking of working or doing business in another country, you can connect with people there and explain what you're after. Thanks to automatic translation, your posts reach readers of other languages in their own language.
The book sums it up in one sentence: you can use LinkedIn not just to look for a job, but to be discovered, invited and headhunted.
Five Steps to Finding a Job on LinkedIn
Keep Your Profile Complete and Alive
Your profile should be complete, detailed and up to date. Your photo should be professional and in keeping with business norms. The book also notes that these rules can flex depending on the industry and the nature of the work. Avoid over-the-top posts; LinkedIn is a platform that carries the sensitivities of the business world.
Start Your Network with People You Know
Add your inner circle first, then the people you've met. When sending a connection request to someone you met at an event, add a short note such as "We met at such-and-such event". Add the people you email for work, too; it strengthens your contact with people you might do business with directly.
Get Closer to the Companies You Want to Work For
Connect with people at companies you'd like to work for in future. Explain in a short note why you're connecting. Make sure your projects and ideas are visible on your profile so that your connection request means something.
Join Groups and Get Noticed Through Comments
Groups are a place to exchange ideas and meet new people. Comment on posts from people you know and posts you like. Through your comments on popular posts you can show what sets you apart and build genuine rapport.
Say "I Delivered", Not "I'm Looking for Work"
This is the book's clearest piece of advice. Instead of an "I'm looking for work" post, talk about what you've done: the roles you've held, what you achieved in them and the results you got. The sentence template Kaan Gülten suggests goes like this: "I've done this work in this area of expertise, and I'm looking for a new role where I can achieve new successes." Or draw attention to your search by sharing a piece of technical knowledge or an experience from your work that not everyone knows. That's exactly what Faraday's bound notes were.
The Course of a Life
"Curriculum vitae", which we use for a CV, literally means "the course of life" in Latin. Curriculum comes from the verb currere, "to run"; it means a run, a course, a race, and was also used for a fast racing chariot. The word "career" comes by a similar road: the French carrière means "road, racecourse", and its root goes back to the Latin carrus, "war chariot". According to etymological dictionaries, the word only took on the sense of the course of someone's working life around 1803.
A CV printed on paper is a single snapshot of a race still being run. LinkedIn shows the race itself: which road you've taken, where you are now and who you're running alongside.
Be the One Who Offers
Kaan Gülten closes the advice in his book with this sentence:
"The way you communicate matters enormously. Communication that offers rather than asks will be accepted far more easily."
When someone looks at your profile today, do they see what you're looking for, or what you've done?
If you're wondering where to start building your network, take a look at What Is Networking? How Do You Build a Network?
