How LinkedIn got me a job that I never knew it existed

This post is about how LinkedIn helped in my recent job search. Obviously, there is no silver bullet. Follow what works for you, but here are some ideas that can help you on the way.

As with everyone, I started with a resume. A simple 2 pager. I reached out to someone who does content marketing as her day job. She helped me to cut down all the unnecessary stuff & showed me how I can write the resume the way it reflects my character. I copied the same content into my LinkedIn page. I can now give my LinkedIn page URL as my resume. (Hint: you can edit your LinkedIn page URL as you wish). Step 1 - Decent Resume.

I thought of uploading it to job portals. But then there were a couple of problems. It might attract so many unwanted calls & also, my current organization (that time) might get to know about it. I didn't want a regular Mainframe architect/project manager role. Nothing against these roles. Just not my cup of tea. I wanted to work on a specific area of zDevOps. But I realized I didn't have any idea about teams doing this in our competitor places. All of them are huge organizations. It is like searching for a needle in a haystack. LinkedIn was the only place I was able to identify practitioners/experts. I immediately converted my account to LinkedIn premium. Best decision of this entire episode. Till then what I had known about "Mainframe DevOps" was a narrow view clouded by my assumptions. It is nowhere close to the full view of how other teams view/implement it. The moment I converted my account to premium, I started conversations with leaders/practitioners in the area. (You get 5 InMails per month and if someone responds, that InMail doesn't count against the 5) They gave me a totally different perspective. Many of them were receptive and there were many wonderful conversations that happened in messages. Step 2 - Linkedin Premium. Worth every penny.

I shortlisted a set of organizations/people whom I wanted to work for. I skipped recruiters/talent acquisition personnel. I reached out to people who were leading the group at a high level. The advantage that I had with premium was that I was able to reach them directly. It was not a referral. It was not a common friend or a colleague passing the resume to them. I wrote to them directly. I tried to write a cover letter talking about my passion for the area and why I wanted to join them. Remember my resume is the same as my LinkedIn page. So no attachments or lengthy emails. My cover letters were 3-5 lines at max. Step 3 - Find the right contacts in organizations and reach them via LinkedIn InMail.

I didn't know that time about my current team. Someone (actually a competitor) mentioned about my current company doing some amazing work in this area. Till then my focus was on service companies and Mainframe CoEs in them. This opened a new door for me. I tried reaching out to my friends in that product company, but none had an idea on it. Again thanks to LinkedIn Premium, I was able to do an exhaustive search, and thanks to InMail, I sent a note to someone who was leading that group and he (30+ year experienced veteran in IT) responded positively on the same day. I attended interviews and the next day I saw key leaders of Mainframe DevOps looked up on my LinkedIn profile. I knew I have hit the right spot and that increased the confidence in me to convert this opportunity into an actual job offer. Step 4 - Keep your eyes and ears open. You would never where you will hear about an exciting opportunity. 

I today spend more time on LinkedIn. I see a lot of value in taking part in professional conversations across companies and learning from others. So I would suggest using LinkedIn to build your professional image rather than just using it only during the job searches.

Thanks for reading and All the best.