Rita Ashley, Career Coach. Field tested advice for executives.

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By rashley, July 28, 2009 3:11 pm

Is Your LinkedIn Profile Working?

Working, you say.  What is it supposed to do?  I just want people to know what I do and my job history.

Your LinkedIn profile is often the first thing prospective employers and gatekeepers see regarding your background.  You know yours is working if you are getting introductions, invitations to chat and even interviews. You can check to see a sample of who read your profile.

Go to your ‘Home’ page and view the right side:  ‘Who’s viewed my profile,’ Click on: ‘see more.’

If you have connected with or were referred to some of the organizations listed and you did not get the results you wanted, chances are, you need to change your profile.  If you didn’t contact the organizations listed, chances are, they thought they were interested but didn’t see any reason to follow through.  Something is missing on your profile.

Most people believe a LinkedIn profile is just a truncated version of the resume.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  It can be the single most important job search tool you have. Linda Tancs, an employment writer for NJ.com states: A successful LinkedIn profile takes effort.

Your Profile is a marketing piece. Your profile is a tool, which when used correctly, will entice the reader to learn more.  A tool that tells the hiring authority and people who refer candidates to them, exactly why they want to talk to you, immediately.

That’s a huge job for such a small bit of media.  But think about your own behavior.  How often do you ‘research’ someone before you talk to them or when you only think you may want to talk to them?

Where do you start? First off, let readers know how to contact you if they are interested.  Use your public email address (hotmail or gmail, for example) and insert it close to the top of your profile.  Need some ‘air’ around it?  Type a period/enter to create a blank line above and below your email address.

Most common mistake? Your LinkedIn profile is precious digital real estate; use it wisely.  If you want viewers to know how old you are right out of the gate, say, “19 years experience managing new product designs.”  Don’t tell readers how old you are.  Tell them the most important accomplishment in which they would be most interested.

“Launched seven unique products in six seconds with no budget and one hand tied behind my back.”

What it is not. Your profile is a marketing tool, not a biography.  You do not need to list all your jobs or all your positions.  It is neither a resume nor a legal document.

If you want to list previous companies to attract certain populations, go ahead, but only list those.  Leaving lots of white makes for a more pleasing viewing experience.  Leaving lots to the imagination encourages people to contact you.

Your opinion does not count. Readers are not interested in your own view of your work.  “Successful marketing executive with impressive history of product launches” may be true, but your readers need proof, not your opinions.  Try to give examples of your success and let your work speak for itself.

Other people’s opinions count a lot. Use the ‘references’ section eagerly.  Invite folks who have worked for you, with you and managed you to make comments.  Notice the first line is visible. Recraft them to be punch lines (ask permission to modify) to encourage readers to click to read more.

Invite references over time so your updates appear constantly in your network’s radar.  Nothing better to help them recall what a swell person you are and keep you in mind when they hear about a job or person you should know.

Resist the urge to respond immediately to those who give you a reference.  Space out your responses over time to appear in the updates sections and also to get around the appearance of quid pro quo on references.

More white space. Unless your groups memberships are germane to your profession, leave the logos off your profile.  Go to the membership section of each and click off the ‘show logo’ box.

Do you have a blog? I encourage all my clients to create and maintain an industry specific blog to enhance their personal marketing efforts.  If your blog titles are not spot-on to your professional job search efforts, write some new ones.  These headlines are an effective way for viewers to learn more about you.  Use them wisely.

It goes without saying, though you’d be startled to know how often I am forced to say it, check for spelling and grammar.  One mistake can turn viewers off because they immediately jump to, “Not detail oriented” or “careless” or worse, “illiterate.”  Invite someone to review your profile before you publish because we often can’t see our own mistakes.

When you are truly delighted with your profile, when you believe it is compelling and an excellent personal advertisement, incorporate your profile address in your email signature and use it anytime you write a blog or answer a blog online.  Broadcast this marketing piece and you become your own advertisement agency.

For more advice on using LinkedIn for Job Search download your free copy at www.jobsearchdebugged.com

For a job search tune-up read Job Search Debugged, an insider’s guide to a compelling job search.

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By rashley, July 27, 2009 3:34 pm

If wait just four more weeks I will be very wealthy…or not.

Last week a friend joined me on a journey to Crater Lake.  She is about to transition from one well known company to another and is balancing many variables, most of which are unknowns.  Our visit gave us plenty of time to talk about her new job and the issues she faces, both real and imagined.

She accepted the job feeling reluctant to ask for a sign on bonus because she wondered if the current economy would make that a deal breaker.  Of course she had no way to know one way or the other and decided to err on the side of caution.  No sign on bonus. The ease with which she negotiated a higher base salary made her wonder if she made the right choice.

Her start date was postponed because her stock will vest end of the month and she doesn’t want to pass up on her year’s worth of extra compensation.  She has no way to know what the stock price will be the day it vests so her planned delay could result in anywhere from $90k to $200k.  The delay affects when her new company stock will vest.  In either case, it seemed right to postpone the new job 4 weeks to obtain the award.

Rumors abound and she fears there is a near-term lay off in which case instead of just leaving for another job (a significant career move) she will lose out on another possible $250k or so.  She has no way to confirm either the layoff or the amount.  The temptation to wait another four weeks haunts her.

Job search is filled with many unknowns; all of which the candidate is expected to weigh immediately and well.  Yet the stress of a job search and the wishful thinking of the unemployed corrupt decision making.

Rather than tell my friend what to do, I invited her to role play what she would tell someone facing her dilemmas. Once she removed her self from the equation, she was able to see there was more risk waiting for something that may or may not occur than the smaller risk of not getting a severance package.

I certainly hope there is no lay off, but even if there is, my friend is now certain she is making the wise choice.  There will be no woulda, coulda, shoulda in her future.  Only the beginning of a splendid new job where her manager and peers await her arrival so they can embark on the new projects her presence promises.

None of us can see the future.  All we can do is make the best decisions we can based on the actual data we have…in spite of the wishful thinking and rumors.  It is difficult not to imagine and anticipate but when it comes to the job search it is always best for morale and sanity to deal only with what is.

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By rashley, July 1, 2009 4:04 pm

This is the second installment of Seattle job search resources for executives.  Go to Job Search Debugged for the first installment.

If you know of other resources, please share them with me so I can post them.

Listings of current openings in Seattle:  http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/jobs/

seattle24×7.com Is the newest site to catch my eye thanks to Dan Lotito (Dan, Please contact me if you can. No way to get you throught LinkedIn.)  Mostly non executive spots, but comprehensive listing of some management and individual contributor jobs. I am impressed.

Tech jobs in Seattle: http:// WWW.eggsprout.com

TechFlash Summer BBQ & Ping Pong Tourney is July 23rd:
http://bit.ly/fhULk

Conference for small business:  http://www.smallandspecial.com/

Interested in the Mobile space?  http://seattle.tie.org/TGS/EM/viewevent/viewEventPT?id_event=3468&from_where=chapter_homepage

Fancy yourself as an entrpreneur?  Than this is a must read publication:  http://seattle.tie.org/homepage

For a calendar of events for TIE (Entrpreneurs)  http://seattle.tie.org/chapterHome/events/viewListEventPagePT

Info on biotec funding:  http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008388848_accelerator14.html

In case you missed the last installment of Seattle resources for technology leaders and executives:  http://www.jobsearchdebugged.com/blog/?p=328

Are you interested in early stage or startup companies?  If you haven’t already set your RSS feed from John Cook’s PSBJ Venture column, Tech Flash, now is the time.  http://www.techflash.com/venture.

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