Finding the Jobs

When it comes to job security, most of us recognize that in the current economy, all bets are off.  Job security, if not an outdated notion, certainly doesn’t mean what it used to mean.  Today’s worker has to rely much more on his or her ability to make contacts that will get him or her to the hiring manager.

LinkedIn has made that process a lot easier for the job seeker.  Networking becomes a matter of cultivating relationships with our contacts.  That’s because earning their trust and belief in our competence and reliability means we gain allies in our job search, somebody who can vouch for us.

So in this, the month we celebrate romance, fall in love with LinkedIn.  Get started by making a list of your contacts.  Developing a robust network of people who are connected with others who can ultimately connect us  with the hiring managers–that’s the ticket.

So make LinkedIn a regular part of your routine.  Start by committing just a few minutes a day or each week, and then evaluate, asking, How much have I learned?  How much closer have I come to connecting the people I’d like to reach?

(To read an AARP Work blog post about LinkedIn, check out http://blog.aarp.org/