Outsmarting Outsourcing Through Personal Branding

Frank, an IT support professional, enjoyed his job at a large global pharmaceutical company. Over a period of five years, he climbed the ranks, developed strong loyalty to the firm, and stopped updating his resume or keeping abreast of hiring activity in his industry. But in 2010, Frank received word that his department was going to be eliminated and that his job would be outsourced to a local IT provider. Frank, who hadn't looked for a new job in several years, realized that the job search was all about networking and upgraded to LinkedIn's Job Seeker Premium account for access to features like InMail and Who's Viewed Your Profile.

Frank started by making significant investments in personal branding. He took professional headshots for his LinkedIn profile picture, collected several LinkedIn recommendations, registered his own domain, and printed business cards with his credentials and contact information. “ essentially always pushed people to my LinkedIn profile. I like that it's the one place for everyone to find everything about me,” said Frank.

Frank also used LinkedIn to find common ground with potential employers. He looked up hiring managers before each interview to see which groups they were in, their interests, and their past companies. He then used that information as conversation starters to help build a connection and become a more memorable candidate. He also used the Amazon book list application to share the books he was reading. “ thought it would be a great way for people to find common ground with me,” Frank said.

Frank also used LinkedIn groups to get his “brain going on industry subjects.” “Seeing other people's questions got me thinking about how I would respond and helped me prepare for interviews,” said Frank. He responded to group discussions to showcase his IT expertise and passion to fellow IT professionals, including hiring managers that he was interviewing with.

Frank eventually found a posting for a job at Pearson Canada and immediately knew the job was a perfect fit for his skills and experience. After applying, Frank found the recruiter on LinkedIn and sent him an InMail reiterating his interest in the position. The recruiter replied within a day and forwarded Frank's information to the local hiring manager. Shortly thereafter, Frank went through a series of interviews and was hired as the Service Desk Supervisor at Pearson Canada. Frank shared, “I'm feeling empowered in my new position. My role is more aligned with my career aspirations and is allowing me to use my skills to make a real difference. It's funny to think that less than a year ago I was terrified of what the future may hold, and now I'm feeling more confident than ever.”