How to export the email addresses of your LinkedIn connections

UPDATE: LinkedIn will still let you export your LinkedIn connections into an Excel spreadsheet, but it will no longer include all of your connections' email addresses in the spreadsheet. (The column is blank except for the very few people who opt in to let you extract their email address). I have not tried it, but according to its site, GPZweb.com can export your connections email addresses and their locations and much more. -- Kathy

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Want to compile all of your LinkedIn connections’ email addresses onto an Excel spreadsheet so that you can send a mass email message? 

You can! You can also export your LinkedIn connections’ email addresses into your email contact list.

Here’s how:

How to add bullet points onto your LinkedIn profile

Want to add bullet points or other symbols to your LinkedIn profile to make your information pop? It’s easy! In fact, there are two ways to add symbols: The easy way and the Word way.

Like the triangle bullet point that I use on my profile? Visit my profile, highlight and copy one of the triangles and then paste it into your profile. Feel free to invite me to connect while you are there. I'm the Kathy Bernard in St. Louis, MO (USA)

 The easy way

• Find an attractive symbol on someone’s LinkedIn profile.
• Highlight the symbol with your mouse and then while it is highlighted, click Control + C to copy the symbol. (Mac: Command + C)
• Go to your Edit Profile page and then click Edit into a section in which you want to add the bullet point.
• Click Control + V to paste the symbol. (Mac: Command + V). Begin typing your sentence after the symbol. Press Enter to make a hard return.
• Click Control + V (or Command + V) again to paste your next bullet point. Add text and continue the steps until you have entered all of your information. Click Save.

The Word way

Find the Symbols section of Word under that Insert tab.

Find many symbol choices on Word.

• Open a Word document, visit the Insert tab and then select Symbol. (You may need to insert a text box before you can select a symbol)
• Click the More Symbols link if the bullet style that you want is not featured in the default options.
• Select a symbol. When it appears on your Word document, type a word (any word) next to the bullet point.
• Copy the word (Control C) and then paste the word into your profile template (Control V). By doing so, not only the word, but the bullet point will copy to your profile.
• Replace the word with the sentence that you want to feature on your profile.
• Hit a hard return after each sentence and then paste the symbol again to start the next line. 
• Click Save when you are finished. 

BONUS TIP: Keep the length of each of your bullet point sentences to about 100 characters or less (including spaces) so that your text won’t wrap to the next line. Your entries will look clean and easy to read.

With a few quick keystrokes, you can add bullet points to make your LinkedIn profile information stand out from your competition.

What tips or questions do you have about using symbols? Share them! Thanks, Kathy

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Look to WiserU
WiserU provides LinkedIn training and services and career training and services for individuals and organizations that can transform your future or grow your business. Visit WiserU.com to learn more.

• Businesses arrange for WiserU to maximize their use of LinkedIn for sales, marketing, and fundraising through training and services. Learn more 
• The unemployed and miserably employed hire WiserU for career training, coaching, interview preparation, and LinkedIn profile and resume creation services. Learn more at wiseru.com/services/
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How and WHY to follow companies on LinkedIn

TWO UPDATES TO THIS POST: 
1) The LinkedIn company page search function is NOT as good as it used to be. You can no longer sort by company size or Fortune 500. It also no longer lets you search by industry and the results are not sorted by the largest companies first. 

2) Companies can no longer see the list of its followers, which seems stupid on LinkedIn's part because companies used to find job candidates and customers from the list. LinkedIn said that it made the change to protect followers' privacy, but you can see someone's followed companies, simply by visiting the person's Interests section and clicking "Companies". 

Since companies can't see that you are following them, like comment and share their articles on your LinkedIn home page and apply for their jobs on LinkedIn. Their articles and job posts are featured in both places because you followed their company page. 

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ORIGINAL ARTICLE:

You may know that you can follow companies on LinkedIn, but do you know WHY doing so can dramatically improve your job search or sales efforts? 

Simply put, following LinkedIn companies can help you find and impress companies where you want to work or sell your wares. 

Here is how and why to follow companies

For example, say that you wanted to work at, or sell to, marketing/advertising agencies in Kansas City.

Use categories on the left side of the Search Companies page to narrow your search to your target companies.
In this example, I sorted by Location and Industry to learn about Kansas City marketing/ad agencies.

To find and follow multiple companies ... 

• Visit Interests … Companies … Search Companies.
• Click the Add link under Location (on the left side of the page). Type your city into the search box.
• Under the Industry tab, select your industry from the list or add a different industry by clicking the Add button).
• Search the results and follow your preferred companies, or use the tools on the left, such as Company Size, to narrow your search.
• Click the Job Opportunities link to view only companies that have open positions.

To follow one particular organization’s Company Page, type the company name into the LinkedIn search box and select the company from the search results. Click the yellow Follow button.

Visit all of the sections on an organization's Company Page to learn as much as you can.

Why follow companies? Company Pages can contain a ton of useful information for job seekers or salespeople. For example:

1. On a Company Page HOME PAGE: Read company news updates and then scroll to the bottom to find general company information (street address, web site address, company size, industry, and more). Use such news and information to impress company representatives.
2. On a Company Page PRODUCTS PAGE: Discover all the products and services that a company provides. Because these entries are brief and include a picture, you can quickly learn more about a company’s product or service than you could by wading through a company’s web site.
3. On a Company Page CAREERS PAGE: View all of the jobs that the company has posted on LinkedIn in one convenient place. Also read what employees say about their company, and view a video about the organization. (Not all companies feature job postings or videos, but many do).
4. On a Company Page INSIGHTS PAGE: Learn interesting facts about an organization's employees, such as who you know, its competitors (listed in the People Also Viewed box), top skills and expertise that the company seeks, and its most recommended employees (so that you can reach out to these top people or learn what type of employees excel at the company).   

Visit Interests ... Companies. Click the Companies Home page to check on all of your target companies at one time.

How to benefit from following companies

• Quickly view all recent updates about your target companies (including company news, job openings, new hires, and recent employee departures). To do so, hover over the Interests tab and select Companies from the drop-down menu. Click the Companies Home tab. On the left column, view Followed Company Updates, or type a company names into the “Search for Companies” box to learn what a specific target organization is up to.
• Opt to “Like” or positively “Comment” about your target companies’ updates. The company will appreciate the positive attention!
• When on an organization’s Company Page, look for the “How You Are Connected” box on the home page to see who you know at the company. Click the “See all” link to observe your 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd degree connections at the organization, as well as former employees. Use this knowledge to ask key people to help you land a job or make the sale.
• Recommend a company's products and services on its Product page. Providing recommendations makes the company look good on LinkedIn and shows them that you care about their success. 
• Realize that a representative at each target company can see who is following his/her company (by clicking the followers link on their Company Page Home Page). By being on their followers list, you’re telling companies that you are interested in them, which could be huge plus for you if they are seeking to hire someone like you, or if they are interested in the type of product that you sell. [SADLY, THIS BULLET IS NO LONGER TRUE]

A client of mine, an experienced, Phoenix-based health care communicator, landed a job specifically because he followed companies. Here’s what happened next:

1. A representative at a Phoenix hospital viewed her hospital’s Company Page follower list and saw that John was following her company. (The list not only includes followers' names hyper-linked to their profile, but also their picture and LinkedIn headline).
2. She clicked to his profile and learned that he was qualified and available.
3. She contacted him because he had included his phone number and email address in the Contact Information and “Advice for Contacting NAME” profile sections.
4. Voila! He got called for the interview and talked his way into the job.

Try the same simple steps that John did to improve your job chances or sales opportunities using LinkedIn. -- Kathy

Did these tips help you follow companies? Share your comments! 

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Look to WiserU
WiserU provides LinkedIn training and services and career training and services for individuals and organizations that can transform your future or grow your business. Visit WiserU.com to learn more.

• Businesses arrange for WiserU to maximize their use of LinkedIn for sales, marketing, and fundraising through training and services. Learn more 
• The unemployed and miserably employed hire WiserU for career training, coaching, interview preparation, and LinkedIn profile and resume creation services. Learn more at wiseru.com/services/
• Subscribe to WiserUTips.com for weekly LinkedIn and career tips!

Diagram of an easy AND effective resume [INFOGRAPHIC]

Want to create a resume that GETS RESULTS without a ton of work? It's easier than you think. Follow these specific steps to transform your resume (pay close attention, these tips are golden.) 

12 tips to make applying for jobs online easier

Carefully complete online job
applications!

Many companies insist that you complete an online job application form to apply for their open positions. Trouble is, many such online application forms are terribly challenging to complete.

To apply as easily and effectively as possible, try these tips: