This post isn’t necessarily for students, except to say, if you want to find that perfect first job or internship, you need to be networking. The best place to network online isn’t Facebook. It is LinkedIn. LinkedIn is the “fb” of people in the work world. I established a group on LinkedIn called Student Career Coaching and Mentoring that is specifically for students to network with successful people for career exploration purposes (not to solicit a job).
For now, the rest of this post is for adults in career transition. I hope this helps many people. If you use this please leave a comment about how useful the information was. If you know someone currently UNemployed please forward, retweet, FB the link, etc.
There is a new group on LinkedIn called Linked: Unemployed at http://www.linkedin.com/groupRegistration?gid=3286490
This group is for anyone. If you are employed and on LinkedIn you might be able to help someone find a job just by being a member of the group. If you are a hiring manager or recruiter you might find that perfect candidate.
And best of all, if you are currently UNemployed or for whatever reason in a job search you can:
- Network with members of the group
- Take assessments that will help you better articulate your talents
- Access web resources that might just help you get the job offer.
Huh?! Take assessments? Articulate my talents? Why do I need to know more about my talents?
You know yourself. Right?
“Wait a minute. Is this a gimmick about self-help books and how self-awareness and emotional intelligence are connected to successful people. I don’t need that sh***. “
Does that sound like you?
Linked: Unemployed is totally free, has no hidden agenda, nor does the group owner otherwise gain in any way from anyone or anything in the group. This is a “give back” program made available through a partnership between Success Discoveries and TTI Performance Systems. So if you know someone who is UNemployed at the moment, get them on LinkedIn and get them to take advantage of Linked: Unemployed today.
Every day that goes by is one more day that could have been much better. Make it a great day unless you have other plans.
Carl Nielson is a professional career coach, creator of Career Coaching for Students™ and managing principal of The Nielson Group, a management consulting firm specializing in hiring and selection, team effectiveness and executive coaching.
Student Career Exploration and Planning Blog 
There is a goal to have 1,000 members in the Linked: Unemployed group by the end of August. Please help by forwarding this post, retweeting it, etc. The other goals are as follows:
Sept: 3,000
Oct: 8,000
Nov: 20,000
Dec: 40,000
Can we exceed these goals. The government says there are millions out of work that want to find jobs. I am curious how the unemployed are using free resources on the net. Show me you care. Show your friends you care too.
Well the Linked:Unemployed group on LinkedIn reached 1,000 a while ago but I am shocked that it hasn’t started growing exponentially given it has become a one-stop advice column with very little self promotion and has almost 50% of its members as active HR or Hiring Managers. Anyone know how to bring attention to the national press about this? If the unemployment rate in the U.S.A is really that bad (above 8.0%) this LinkedIn group seems like a really good place to be.
What is the Linked: Unemployed group about?
This group, started in August 2010, is open to anyone who is currently unemployed, underemployed, been given notice of impending layoff, contemplating quitting their job or for hiring managers who have a sincere desire to consider and pursue Linked: Unemployed members for open positions. As one group member coined it…this is for the “EMPLOYABLE”. No profit agenda. Free resources. Free assessments.
So what would make this a much more popular tool and grow the membership exponentially?
Do you think offering free tools and strategies and assessments and networking assistance is a neat idea to help the unemployed? Please post your short comment. The more comments, the higher the ranking within WordPress. The higher the rankings, the greater the possibility it will show up on the home page as a highlight. Please, just post a one word comment saying what you think. Say more if you like. Please comment.