Teaneck–Social media have been known to wreck people’s lives, but also to improve them. More than 30 people braved the weather to attend a special seminar on how job seekers can hook into LinkedIn and other social media. They came to learn how to use LinkedIn as a resource for business and employment.
Jeff Mendelson, Project Ezrah’s Director of Employment, said the seminar was a departure from Project Ezrah’s usual format, which usually followed the lunch-and-learn model for mid-day. He said an evening program worked to their advantage, and the turnout was much higher than before. “The seminar provided tools for community members to leverage LinkedIn to help their business, sales and job search,” Mendelson said.
“LinkedIn works as a tool in everyone’s favor, as evidenced by the range of experiences in the audience,” explained Rich Gans, the Director of Social Media at a top tier financial services company. “Whether a small business owner is looking to leverage his own identity, or an accountant is looking to expand his or her network of like-minded professionals, or even if someone is out of work and looking to reach out to other professionals, proper use of LinkedIn can help support their professional branding needs.”
As Gans shared tips for maximizing one’s presence and job opportunities on LinkedIn, he told the audience how he found his current job through the LinkedIn job search. In the process of searching for a job, he saw an opening in the LinkedIn database. He applied through the platform, contacted the hiring manager through LinkedIn, and they set up the interview–all through LinkedIn.
His story is not unique. According to data from the 2014 Jobvite survey, 79% of recruiters and hiring managers have hired through LinkedIn. As LinkedIn grows in popularity with job seekers and job recruiters alike, “Not being there could be more harmful to your brand,” claimed Gans.
According to Forbes magazine, “A personal or professional brand is the total experience of someone having a relationship with who you are and what you represent as an individual; as a leader.” Gans led an interactive discussion of tips and tools that would help users create a brand for a LinkedIn presence. He discussed what types of photos to use (and not use), ways to aggregate content, how to have an active social presence, and wording of key phrases in a profile.
With practical and actionable information presented to the audience, “Every person walked away with nuggets of information they will be putting to use immediately–and that is what makes a seminar like this successful,” said Mendelson. He encourages people to join the Project Ezrah group on LinkedIn to stay informed of upcoming events, announcements and new seminars.
Robert Hoenig, the Executive Director of Project Ezrah, came to hear Gans as well. “It was nice to see the large turnout for an extremely professional and interesting presentation; I believe that much was gained from this evening.”
By Jenny Gans
