Back in March 2008, David T. Stevens signed up for LinkedIn, hoping the professional networking website would help him organize his contacts in his new sales job at KEZR and KBAY radio in San Jose, Calif. Seven months later, the economy was heading into a ditch and Stevens’ employer told him he would no longer get a salary and benefits; he could stay on and collect commissions if he chose. So Stevens packed up his things in a cardboard box and got set to head for home. But before he left the office, he decided to update his LinkedIn status. “I’m up for grabs,” he wrote. “Who wants me?”
In the car, Stevens’ phone rang. It was one of his LinkedIn contacts, who said he thought he knew of an opportunity. That contact reached out to another of Stevens’ connections, who in turn, recommended Stevens for a job as a program and events manager at the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce. Stevens called and scheduled an interview that day. Less than two weeks later, Stevens started his new gig. “I was like, this is awesome,” recalls Stevens, 31. “That was a miracle, but I had my doubts it could happen again.”
Two years later, Stevens started to feel restless in his Chamber job, so he began scouring his LinkedIn contacts for people who had the kind of position he might want. One of his contacts worked as a meeting planner. Stevens emailed her and said he wanted to learn more about her job. She wrote back and asked him why he was inquiring. Over the phone, he told her he was thinking of changing jobs and she said she knew of an opportunity. The next week, Stevens got a call from Emeryville, Calif. corporate event planning company, streamlinevents. He sent in his résumé, did a phone interview and then an in-person interview and within days, the company made him an offer. Time from start to finish of his job search: two weeks.
I’ve written several stories about how useful LinkedIn can be as a job search tool, but I realized I had yet to interview a real live human who had gotten a job using the site. So I got in touch with a contact at LinkedIn, who put me in touch with Stevens. “I’m not getting paid by them,” he assures me. “But honestly there are not words for how much I love LinkedIn.”
Is Stevens’ story a fluke, or are there lessons here for the rest of us? One of the most valuable is the one my colleague Deborah Jacobs wrote about in her popular post, “What To Say On LinkedIn When You’ve Been Laid Off.” Stevens’ up-for-grabs update is a case study in how it can help to come clean about your employment status.
Stevens also says he has a rule about making connections. He only links with people with whom he’s worked, had personal contact, and whom he feels he could recommend to others. “I believe in quality over quantity,” he says, though in the nearly four years he’s been on the site, he has accumulated more than 500 contacts. He also has gone to the trouble of accumulating recommendations from people with whom he’s had positive interactions. He has 31 “recommendations,” where other LinkedIn users have written positive things about his performance.
What is Stevens’ advice about starting a job search? He suggests looking at jobs posted on LinkedIn, and then noting which of your connections is linked to the employer. Reach out to your connection and ask if he or she can make an introduction for you before you apply.
Stevens has also put energy into keeping his profile up to date, collecting recommendations, writing status updates, and filling out the experience section in detail. My inner editor wants to tweak and trim some of his wording. But Stevens’ energy, dedication and drive comes through in his descriptions.
I’m especially impressed by how frank he is in describing the radio job that laid him off. “Don’t knock it until you try it right!? Well I tried it, I can knock it!” he writes. “MAJOR kudos to all of those amazing people who have been able to make it in that world. . . . Would I do try it again…nope. =)”
You can check out Stevens’ profile here.
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