- A close friend is good for a lot of things,

but helping you find a new opportunity

isn't one of them.

According to one of the most influential

research papers on sociology,

84% of respondents got their job

through a "weak" relationship, myself included.

In this video,

I show you three LinkedIn tips you can use today

to connect with relevant LinkedIn professionals,

you have a "weak" relationship with,

but who are more likely to help you

than your close connections

in getting your next job.

So, let's get started.

Hi, everyone, it's Jeff from Google.

If you're new here,

this channel's all about practical career

and interview tips.

So if you're a current student or young professional

consider subscribing for more actionable content.

I'm living proof that the strength of weak ties,

a concept first explored by Mark Granovetter from Stanford,

is a real thing.

His research revolved around the idea

that people whom you spend a lot of time with

swim in the same pool of information as you do.

So, we depend on friendly outsiders

to bring us information beyond our immediate circles,

which makes a lot of sense.

My buddy at Akash,

who's an amazing human being

helped me land a job at Google four years ago.

And although we're tight now,

or at least I think so,

Tip 1 - Use Filter feature to find relevant Alumni

back then we were acquaintances at best.

So, how do you find these useful "weak" connections

on LinkedIn and more importantly,

get them to help you land a new one opportunity.

Tip number one,

use a Filter feature to find alumni

working in specific fields.

Connecting with a fellow alumni as a no brainer,

but make sure to take it a step further

by being very purposeful in your search.

If you go to the LinkedIn page of your college,

you then click the alumni button

to see everything one who has associated their profile

with the school,

yes, they're all your alumni,

and you already had that in common with them,

but instead of blindly sending requests to everyone,

you can use a filter feature to narrow your search.

There are three ways to use this search field.

Number one,

you already know the general field you wanna be in,

and you wanna find someone who's more experienced

or knowledgeable,

so, you can learn more from them.

Let's say, you know, you want to be in sales.

Then you might wanna type in account manager

in the search field,

and LinkedIn will output a list of alumni

who have account manager in their current title,

or in their previous job experiences.

The second way to use a search field,

is when you want to learn more about a position and company,

and you wanna connect with someone who is familiar

with the role that you're applying for.

Let's say you're in retail

and applying for a marketing position at Nike.

In that case, you'll type in Nike marketing,

separated by a comma,

and you'll see a list of alumni

who are currently working at or have worth at Nike.

Finally, if you're looking for inspiration,

or just generally curious,

as to where your fellow alumni have ended up,

you can click to expand where their work section,

to see the companies with the most alumni from your school.

Pro tip, this filter feature

works for company alumni as well.

Simply go to your company page

and click on People to run similar filters

Tip 2 - Message anyone on LinkedIn for free

to and even more relevant connections.

Have you found this first tip helpful?

Let me know by dropping a like and commenting down below

which industry you wanna learn more about

using this feature.

Tip number two,

anyone on LinkedIn without being directly connected to them.

As you probably know,

you're only able to message someone directly on LinkedIn,

if they're a first degree connection,

or if you have a premium account.

Fortunately for us,

the LinkedIn Groups feature

provide us with a small loophole.

For example, if I go to the EY group,

a group I'm part of

because I used to work at Ernst and young,

I can click the See All button here

and message any one of them

without being connected beforehand.

So, if I wanted to apply to Accenture,

I might just message this person right here directly.

Of course, this only works if you're already in the group,

if you're a current student,

I highly recommend you join your school's official group

and any related alumni groups.

If you're a working professional

and you wanna branch out to other areas,

I definitely don't recommend you disguise yourself

as another company's employee,

but rather join a group where you share similar interests

and background with existing members.

For example, for me,

I might search up product marketing in groups,

and request to join this group

I see a few of my first degree connections are already in.

Hopefully the admin will see my current role

is in product marketing and approve my request,

and then I'll be able to network and connect

with product marketers who have since moved on

to other roles I may be interested in.

Pro tip, other than using the group to message people

you're not yet connected to,

you can also post a request for career advice,

but be specific about what you're looking for.

For example, I recently saw a post

from a current senior at Emory University

saying that given the whole COVID situation,

he's very interested in pursuing a career

in business continuity consulting,

a very niche field of consulting,

and what classes he should take to prepare beforehand.

And within 24 hours,

he got multiple responses from alumni,

even though it's a very niche vertical.

And guess what?

He's just expanded his network by posting this question,

because if he follows up with those alumni,

Tip 3 - Write custom and thoughtful messages

he'll probably end up learning about specific opportunities.

By the way, I have a community of my own,

a Facebook group where I post exclusive weekly tips.

Consider joining if you haven't already

I'll link it down below.

Tip number three,

connect by sending out custom thoughtful request.

So, whether you're connecting with someone

you found through tip one,

or messaging someone directly via tip two,

you wanna craft a thoughtful message

in order to get an engaged response.

In my experience,

three types of messages help you leave a strong impression

on the other person.

Number one, you write something relatable.

Number two, you compliment them.

Number three, you try and add value.

If you look at this message I received a few weeks ago,

"Hi, Jeff came across your Q and A video on YouTube,

"I've really enjoyed learning about career trajectory,

"especially about the EdTech from management consulting part

"I'm an Education student,

"interest in exploring opportunities in consulting.

"Would love to stay connected."

So not only do I feel good she watched my YouTube video.

But she mentioned something very specific from that video

and relates her career directory to mine.

Or take this other example from a high school friend

who I haven't caught up with up until a month ago.

"Jeff, been viewing your videos on YouTube,

"hope you keep up the good work,

"sending you greetings from Korea.

"Also a thought.

"I think you could also try content on LinkedIn

"and job searching.

"Tried and true topic, see if your audience likes it."

If you're watching this video,

you know that I took his advice.

He didn't come off as a nodder,

but as someone who genuinely wants to help me

and he definitely has.

Bonus tip

Pro tip, if you're using a LinkedIn app on mobile,

you have to click the More and Personalized invite

to send a custom connection requests.

So, definitely don't use the default Connect button.

Finally, you wanna make sure your LinkedIn profile

is ready to passively receive traffic

when these people check you out before they respond.

So, make sure you check out my LinkedIn profile video

as well to fully optimize your LinkedIn presence

before sending out those connection requests.

For example, one of my tips was to use free online tools

to create a more professional profile picture

and LinkedIn banner.

After following the step-by-step instructions,

one of our viewers, Connor, actually took it a step further

and added his own tagline to his new and improved banner.

This is the before, and this is the after.

Ending

As you can see, he states his value proposition

in a concise and easy to understand way

to grab the attention

of potential employers and clients.

And there you have it.

Three practical tips you can use today

to leverage your weak connections on LinkedIn.

Of course, if you find success with this,

don't forget to pay it forward

when someone reaches out to you as well.

I hope this video helped,

subscribe if you haven't already,

and comment down below, if you have any questions,

see you on the next video,

in the meantime (clicks) have a great one.

(soft music)