[Closed] Redundancy: LinkedIn etiquette?

However, what’s the etiquette on posting a “hello recruiters” message on LinkedIn,

Bollocks to etiquette.

Do whatever you need to to get a job.

As a recruiting manager, I agree, go for it...talk to anyone in your field, advertise yourself...

Excellent - directly after posting this I came to the same conclusion and posted something up. At least I'm used to interviews and applications!

I think the only etiquette is "don't be disrespectful/unprofessional to the company that you are leaving", just crack on finding a new role.

No harm in a post along the times of “after 18 great months at XYZ, the team is being made redundant and so I’m looking for a new role in ...”. Worked well as ensures you don’t come across bitter, makes sure people know it’s not just you going and also keep things professional.

Don’t be afraid of putting the odd bit of personal stuff on there, It makes you come across more human. I got a new job in the middle of lockdown by doing just that, put something interesting and personal out there and got huge amounts of interest, if you send me a PM @potheball and I’ll show you what I wrote.

Bollocks to etiquette.

Do whatever you need to to get a job.

☝️ This.

I think the only etiquette is “don’t be disrespectful/unprofessional to the company that you are leaving”, just crack on finding a new role.

☝️ This too ...

Lunge has it.

As above, it's unlikely HR are going check/be bothered about it. Plenty of people in freelance/contract roles never bother to change it from "looking for roles in........." because you never know when it'll end anyway.

Cheers @lunge, I've sent you a wee PM.

I approached it with "I love my current job, but sadly it's no longer viable"

It's the truth, can't ask for much more than that!

It is like 'dating' in the student union back in the day - it is a simple numbers game. Approach everything whether you really want it or not. You never know what it might lead to and even if the one you approach ain't great, she might have a pretty mate

This is my world in many, many ways.

Surround yourself with the nice people you know and think as each as connection as a doorway to more nice people. Then ask the person you know to open the door to the person you want.

Don't connect to anyone that asks, it really doesn't help, it is not a numbers game (unless its an ego stroke?), the algorithms punish you for it and you shut the doors to nice people. Worse than that if you connect to anyone (everyone?) then you could connect with a load of idiots that make you look like one of them - really not cool.

Don't hesitate to make a post about leaving, missing colleagues or whatever - that is a good move and also ask all those ex colleagues (that you like and are connected with) to write you a recommendation as they will be useful later.

Good luck on the new path.

James

As an ex engineering recruiter in the North West and LinkedIn veteran I should probably reply...!

Your status on LinkedIn isn't that important. If you say you're open to opportunities then you will be contacted but not necessarily by the cream of the crop. It will mainly be opportunistic recruitment consultants looking for a free candidate/information/leads.

You will get the most success from contacting companies and recruiters directly.

Put together a list of the top 5/10/20/whatever companies you'd like to join and get on the phone. Find out from LinkedIn who is in their internal recruitment team and call them. You're selling yourself, so be direct, honest and upbeat and ask what they're looking for. This is what recruitment consultants will do but they would also charge a big fee that makes you less attractive to hire.

Then pick maybe three recruiters based on the adverts they have out. If they are recent specific adverts that appeal then call the company direct. You'll become a "hot" candidate if you come across well, are proactive and give the impression you'd boss an interview. Remember not to give away any info about other processes you're in. They're just looking for leads to wing their own people in against you. Recruitment consultants have non public roles and the ability to sell you into things you wouldn't have known about.

And of course....

Apply for roles directly. But... Follow up with a call if you can. Again, if an internal recruiter knows there is decent person behind the CV then an interview is more likely. You just put yourself at front of the queue.

But yeah, your LinkedIn status? It might help but will probably just land you a load of average recruitment consultant attention. You're not a headhunt candidate, you're selling yourself.

You'll be grand. Just remember to be the brightest, approachable and most professional person you can be to everyone. Sometimes you'll have the job before you go in because of the expectations an interval recruiter/consultant has given the line manager.

The best people will always get a job regardless of how the economy is.

Good luck!

Good luck!
Our son is about to graduate, also with MEeng though somewhat different slant - mechanical with aerospace. He had applied for a number of posts, but none really came good or quick enough. In hindsight that might have worked out OK - he's now about to embark on a PhD - something he swore he'd never do!

[ 1 year out of university - pah 🙂 - I managed 5 weeks at my first job before it went into liquidation - along with @donald and 20 others ]

Hugo isn’t far off there either, though I’d say that whilst the internal recruitment team is useful, they only react to roles that are live, line management can make roles for the right people so I tend to talk to them.

All really helpful posts, cheers guys! Somebody mentioned PhD to me today, similarly it's something I swore I wouldn't consider... Everything is on the table again now though!

I think the hesitation - understandably - over the PhD came from the perception of it being a bit open-ended, "see where it leads research" perception. Someone he knows and trusts had already started one early though (jumped from his MEng year 4 with a BSc and started the PhD) and was able to reassure him that they were often industry directed with clear milestones and objectives.

Also in one of his preferred topics (3D materials welding whatever that is). All good. May yet return to his preferred employment after 3 years once dust settles and armed with extra qualification. He quite fancies the Dr. title as well (I have a grandfather who was a research cereal chemist).

Isn't this basically what LinkedIn is for, what gits in suits like to call "networking"?

I regularly get random contact requests from people I've never heard of and 95% of them are from recruitment consultancies. Granted, most of them want to sell me staff rather than headhunt me because I was stupid enough to have the word "manager" in my title for a while, but still...

Oh, and,

Good luck. The best time to find a new job is when you already have one.

I'd perhaps consider not mentioning the redundancy thing. It's only really relevant if you're actually made redundant which hasn't happened yet and won't happen if you hand your notice in first. Saying your job is going will weaken your hand - a prospective new employer will have more incentive to offer you a higher salary if they think they have to attract you away from a current job you enjoy rather than knowing that your alternative is signing on.

Don't worry about the etiquette - there are going to be huge numbers of people in the same boat due to circumstances beyond their control. However, try and be professional as it might help discriminate yourself from those that take it a bit too personally. I'm at the end of my career and I've been made redundant 3 times and been "at risk" countless times. Keep it positive and looking forward as frankly there's not a lot you can do about your current circumstances.

However, from someone who worked in HR in a large corporate, I would simply ignore all the LinkedIn requests because much as I'd have liked to help, there's nothing I could do. Register on employers websites, post your CV because even if there's not a current role, there's always stuff coming up.

Depending on your career objectives, consider things like PhDs carefully as getting into areas of deep specialism at this stage in your career may limit your future options. Engage and network with people in areas of interest, e.g. professors / academia to validate your choices.

On the subject of LinkedIn, engage with companies and people.
Connect with line managers of firms you’d want to work for. When they post something engage with it, make an interesting comment, add some value.
Post relevant articles or write your own, and tag people in them.
You’re trying to get to the point where, when you apply for a job, you’re not just another CV, they’ll recognise your name and know you’re credible.

I know nothing about linkedin but have read the profiles of my friends. The most successful have the lowest profile, maybe they are very modest. My old md just wrote a block of text with no punctuation.

Sorry for your job btw, my neighbours son does something with wind turbines, he works in Amsterdam, he s Spanish.

Whenever I got a job we must chatted about rugby in the interviews. They and me knew I had the technical skills, they were just seeing if I would fit in. I did.

LinkedIn is useful, got me my current job, because of the sector (we're not very popular with the public although the company culture itself is a million miles from public perception) they don't advertise openly, they use a consultant to find candidates. In my case it was a complete change of role and industry, something I'd never have applied for if I'd seen an advert.

Other than that it is full of idiots flogging their crappy consultancy businesses and people over publicising themselves. It's no substitute for getting applications out there which puts you in front of consultants. Every job I've had over the last decade I've been found rather than applied, despite applying for a lot. Worth using other sites as well, consultants trawl sites like Reed for CVs.

I think the others have covered the etiquette, just don't bad mouth your previous company, it doesn't look good. In your case redundancy given the current climate is not going to raise any red flags.

Rather than a PhD, do you have any ideas of your own? The field you are in is ideal.

Innovate UK are always pushing money and grants towards projects that are low carbon / green energy / lightweighting / ageing population. The 3 and 6 month proof of principle stuff has very little financial reporting or auditing hassle - all they want is you do something and spend the money.

The application and finding partners (ex uni contacts?) would fill any time you are out of work and short term so you could probably finish a project alongside any new job.