LinkedIn Groups Dont Have Regrets - Melissa Llarena

LinkedIn Groups Dont Have Regrets LinkedIn Groups: Dont Have Regrets Stop ignoring your LinkedIn groups!  Yes, you can join up to 50 LinkedIn groups. However, dont stop there.  Ignoring them can mean missing out on desirable opportunities that you may later regret. For instance, if you had paid closer attention just last week (the week of June 18th, 2012) to these few groups, here is the activity you could have capitalized on.129 comments were made in the “Harvard Business Review Readers Forum.” This group’s membership has more than 12K senior managers i.e. influencers. You could have joined key discussions, shared an informed viewpoint, and impressed a reader all this could have led to an interview97 jobs were called out in the “American Association of Advertising Agencies” group. You could have figured out who you knew within these hiring companies, reached out to them, and applied to a job all within one tool7 promotions were announced within the “Cosmetics and Beauty Network” which means that th ere are jobs to be filled. You could have congratulated those who were promoted and asked them directly if they knew of other opportunities within their team…namely if they had already been replacedHere are ways to prevent you from missing out on the opportunities that will surface within your LinkedIn groups next week. Make it a priority to try these ideas on your top three groups.Listen â€" Incorporate reading group discussions within your workflow.   Select at least one day a week and read open discussions.  Drill deeper on discussed topics through other websites to increase your content expertise. Learn about the authors of these discussions. Notice trends. Use this knowledge to inform your professional job hunt strategies, the discussions in which to participate, and the conversations to follow.Participate â€" Strategically  provide your viewpoint by considering the audience as well as your objective. If you are a job seeker, then use a group discussion as your chance to dem onstrate how you think to prospective employers. Alternatively, as an established professional, then use a group discussion as a way to share your expertise with your peers and open yourself to unadvertised opportunities i.e. the jobs made for you not the jobs made for the masses.Follow â€" Once you hear about new companies or notice that there are a few top influencers then follow them. You can follow firms within LinkedIn or via Google alerts. On the other hand, introduce yourself to the discussion leaders within your top groups because they can serve you well during your job hunt or even when you need a viewpoint to inform a decision down the line.Dont miss out on next weeks opportunities! Let me know what you stumble upon.