Use LinkedIn Recommendations!

I discuss this question with three of my recruiter friends. My hypothesis was that "yes, being one of the first applicants matters a lot." The recruiters proved that there's more nuance to this question than I thought.

LinkedIn Recommendations stand out to hiring managers. Want proof? Listen to the episode.

Build your personal board of directors, create your own opportunities, and find a career before the 11th hour.  Highlights: 3:15: How Colton got his foot into the tech industry 6:50: How to create your own opportunities 10:00: How recruiters and hiring managers make decisions about candidates 10:35: Is networking the right word? 13:00: Build a personal board of directors 16:00: The best recruiters try to create a great candidate experience 18:50: How to partner with a recruiter to prepare for the interview process 22:25: Early career professionals need a strong executive presence and hunger 24:00: Find a career before the 11th hour 26:50: Don’t wait for it to fall into your lap. Go get it!

Want to know exactly how to format your resume? I’ll tell you in about 5 minutes

Google and Southwest Airlines Alumn Marcelo Menezes and I discuss: How Marcelo used a gameplan and narrow focus to get an internship with Southwest Airline 3:57 Talking to the employees of a company is much more helpful than going to a career page. 5:47 You can use LinkedIn to talk to anyone. 7:47 Using the LinkedIn Alumni tool to find employees of the companies you want to work for. 8:47 Be respectful and clear about your purpose and many people will talk to you 10:17 Three things Marcelo tries to learn about in his informational interviews: 11:27 The book: how to put what you learn in informational interviews into practice: 12:37 Don’t use slash and burn as a networking strategy! 14:30 How Marcelo gets employers to reach out to him. The holy grail of job searching! 17:17 Flip the “job search funnel” upside down. 20:17 An employer’s perspective: why Marcelo’s method works 22:00 How Marcelo broke into Google by learning the hiring process inside and out 25:45 Even Marcelo sucks sometimes 32:45

Senior Corporate Recruiter McKay Richins and I discuss: The biggest problems McKay sees with entry-level candidates (5:35) How he evaluates candidates/weeds out those who are not worthy and important resume tips (8:00) LinkedIn is absolutely critical. You need one if you don't have one (10:30) How to nail interviews. (Hint: prepare!) His worst candidate story (22:30) His best candidate story (26:00)