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In Canada, networking is taken seriously and most job positions are filled via referrals from contacts to recruiters. As a newcomer who barely has connections or relationships within the country, how can you get your resume to the top of the pile? The answer is simple: by leveraging technology as your tool for networking.
In a previous article, we detailed a step-by-step approach to perfect your LinkedIn profile for the Canadian labour market. In this article, we’ll be sharing how to reach out to recruiters using your stellar profile you have been able to build on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is a powerful tool that if used properly can help make your job search successful and this post will definitely show you the tricks. It’s a simple method that many people overlook, but that’s why we are here to bring your attention to these tricks!
Case study:
John’s goal is to find a Technical Support Specialist role over the next 4 weeks. In this post, we’ll be showing screenshots and giving examples based on this. However, you can apply the same tips to any role you will be applying to.
1. Determine how many jobs you’ll apply for in a day
When finding a new job strategy is key and networking is second. So first thing’s first, how many jobs will you be applying for in a day? A minimum of 10 jobs per day is advisable.
Let’s be honest, applying for a job is a job in itself, if you’ve made it this far in this article, it means you want a change in your job search method. We’ll be sharing how to also use technology to your advantage!
Basically, know how many jobs you will apply for in a day and stick to it.
2. Begin the job search on LinkedIn Job board
There are a number of Job boards to use for your job search but we recommend that you start out with 2 job boards. LinkedIn Job Board should be your primary focus since you’ll be contacting recruiters directly from here.
Other Job Boards you can check out are Glassdoor, Indeed, Workopolis, Zinny Factor Board, Career Builder, Monster, etc. A quick search on Google for: ‘Job Boards in Canada‘ or ‘Job Boards in [Name of Your City]‘ should give you a starting point.
Step 1: Navigate to the Job tab on your LinkedIn page. See the screenshot above.
Step 2: After you have researched the role you are targeting using the tips shared in this post, search for the job title. In this use case, we are searching for a Technical Support Specialist.
Step 3: You’ll notice that for almost all job postings on LinkedIn, it highlights the recruiter who posted the job position. Refer to the screenshot above.
Step 4: There is a Premium feature that gives you the ability to send an InMail. This is basically a direct message you can send to the recruiter even though you are not connected to the person on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn works in degrees of connections. As a result, if you are not connected (basically, the person hasn’t accepted your invitation), there are restrictions/ limitations on your communication with the person. InMails removes this barrier, however, it’s available on LinkedIn Premium only which is a paid feature.
Step 5: Try Premium for free. As a new LinkedIn user, you are offered free membership for a month which provides you with some extra helping hands during your search. For example, you can directly contact a recruiter when applying for a role at the company.
Apart from this, when you apply for the role, you’ll actually see how far you rank in comparison to other applicants and what type of qualifications they have compared to you. You’ll see the number of applicants, etc. It’s such a great way to stay on top of the application as well because LinkedIn will recommend you as a top player if your ‘Skills’ section matches with the required skills listed on the posting.
We recommend that you try out the feature at least since there’s a free trial. However, note that you will have just one month of membership so take full advantage of it and use it to the fullest!
If you have already used up your LinkedIn Premium membership and don’t want to pay the monthly fee for some reason, there’s more you can do as provided below.
3. Contacting the recruiters
For every role that you apply to, you need to make an extra effort to contact the recruiter who posted the job position and at least one person who is a decision-maker at the company.
For example, if John is applying for a Technical Support Specialist role at ABC company, he should do the following:
a. Submit a resume while applying for the role and share his LinkedIn profile with the recruiter when applying (there will be a pop up that appears when you click ‘Apply’ and you want to flaunt your profile because you put some work into it!).
b. Include a cover letter when submitting his application. It’s recommended that you attach a PDF version of your resume to the application as this is properly formatted and not all companies use LinkedIn as their Applicant Tracking System, so you want to get your formatted resume in the pool irrespective.
c. Reach out via InMail. Simply send a quick note to the recruiters and hit Send. However, if you don’t have access to LinkedIn Premium you can ;
d. Manually connect with the Recruiter and add a note. To do this:
- Search for the name of the recruiter in the search bar of the LinkedIn page > Click on Connect
- A pop up will appear. Click Add a Note to attach a short note. There’s a limit to the characters you can send if you aren’t previously connected to this person.
This note will serve as a brief introduction and sort of a cover letter. See the screenshot below.
e. Finally, John can do a search on LinkedIn for who works in the Technical support department in the company he is applying for. John should reach out to the Manager of Technical Support as this will most likely be the hiring manager and the decision-maker.
f. Manually connect with the recruiter even if you’ve sent an InMail. It never hurts and could work out something for you in the future.
4. Sample email/ template
As for the note to add in your InMail or when you connect manually with recruiters or the manager of the department. See a short and sweet sample below for our use case, John:
Subject: Technical Support Specialist Role at [Name of Company/ Job Posting]
Hi [First Name of Recruiter/ Decision Maker],
“My name is [Your First Name]. I applied for the Technical Support Specialist role at [Name of Company]. The job description of this role totally aligns with my career goals and what I am currently working to achieve.
I am passionate about growing technology and customer relationships, and I have had extensive experience in customer service & project management. I have knowledge of HTML, CSS and SQL, I am currently learning JavaScript at the moment and will continue to grow my technical skills [Add any technical skills you currently have or working on]. I believe that I can apply such experience to the technical support team at [Name of Company].
If you can review my resume attached and possibly refer me for the role, that will be very much appreciated. I look forward to hearing back.
Regards,
[YOUR NAME]”
5. Repeat the steps on a different Job Board
Not every job position is advertised on Linkedin Job board, so you can go to other job boards. The only difference is that after applying to the position, you’ll need to send a follow-up note to the recruiter and connect with the recruiter or decision-maker on LinkedIn.
This might sound like a lot of work, but 10 job applications a day is achievable. You don’t need to feel shy to reach out to recruiters. Think of it as a simple email you’ll be sending at work.
Homework:
- Confirm the role you want to apply to. Remember there might be variations to the Job title. For example a Technical Support Specialist role may also be called a Customer Support Specialist role in another company, etc. With some roles, you may want to review the job description for more information on its requirements.
- Apply to 10 job positions on day 1 and reach out via email to the respective recruiters who may have posted the job position on LinkedIn or the manager for the department. Yes, you’ll need to do a quick search for the right contact.
Awesome! We are rooting for you. Remember our goal is to give you a self serve approach to consulting in order to make your Canadian career goals a long term success. After completing this short assignment, you can search back here on ZF Prime for your next information to help with your job search.
If you need help with how to actually search for the top jobs in your city, refer to this article which has so much information on How To Find a Job even with competition.
If you have any questions while practicing these steps, please use the chatbox to drop us a message, and someone will be in touch with you shortly. Feel free to leave a comment below if you enjoyed reading this article, we’ll love to hear from you.
