Why LinkedIn Matters
When’s the last time you went on LinkedIn? Do you have many connections? Is your profile picture a good introduction to future bosses? The answers to these questions say a lot about your current preparedness for the job market.
Frank Dolan spoke with Joe Mullings for this edition of the ARSENAL Leader Lab series. As CEO of the Mullings Group Companies and Chief Vision Officer for MRINetwork, Mullings had extensive knowledge to offer.
Below, you’ll learn more about why LinkedIn matters, and what you can do if your LinkedIn is getting in the way of your job search.
Why is LinkedIn Important?
If you’re of a certain age, you may not see the importance of LinkedIn. Maybe you don’t like social media, maybe you think your resume is enough to get hired for high-power positions. Joe Mullings’s advice is simple, “Nobody cares if you like it, but it’s the way that you’re going to get your future interview.”
Mullings explains that when he sees when someone doesn’t have a picture on their LinkedIn, he’s seeing someone who’s “not taking time to get on a social platform and be relevant in the world that we’re living in today. That’s giving me a lot of insight as to what you’re thinking about and you’re probably thinking about and playing from a game book that’s five 10 15 years old.”
Especially in the life sciences field, companies need talent who’s ready to adapt to present day realities. LinkedIn has been around for a long time. It’s how many people are hired, and not using your LinkedIn properly can make you seem stodgy when compared to other candidates.
Improving Your LinkedIn Presence
If your LinkedIn isn’t helping you get job interviews, Mullings suggests that you make sure your profile picture is designed to present a good impression to future employers. Once you’ve done that, you want to improve your outreach efforts.
This starts by looking for people who share connections with you. If you’re not connected with someone who shares five or ten connections with you, there’s a good chance that stranger is a valuable networking opportunity.
From there, you want to take the time to engage with people you’re most interested in connecting with. Mullings explains: “Every single one of you, when you put a posting up, you sit there and you wait for people to come in and comment on it or like it. And if you don’t know that person who liked it immediately, you click on them, they’re like, Oh, who’s that? And then you go, what do you do? You go look at their LinkedIn profile and now you just had a warm introduction.”
This is simple networking, optimized for the power that social media offers.
Are You Prepared For Your Next Job Search?
Joe Mullings is the expert to turn to if you have any questions about personal branding in the life sciences field. He’s been a headhunter since 1989, and over that time his firm has led the way on over 7,000 placements.
He’s always looking for people to connect with on LinkedIn. You can also see him in trueFuture.tv, a docuseries where he has in-depth, interesting conversations with life science companies. It’s designed to do for the life sciences industry what Anthony Bourdain did for cooking.