Creating a Personalized LinkedIn URL

If you want to be found in your job search, you will need a LinkedIn profile and that profile needs a personalized URL. If you leave your profile as LinkedIn has it, it will be full of unnecessary letters and numbers.

Personalizing your profile is easy and once you do it, you can copy it onto your resume. 

Here's how:

   1. Go to your Profile Page.  

   2. Bring your cursor to your current URL (found under your photograph) and a gear will     appear. Tap the gear.

   3. Where it says “Enhance your personal brand by creating a custom URL for your LinkedIn public profile” you will see the blue edit pencil. 

   4.  Create your personalized URL; it is usually your full name and perhaps a number.

   5. Click Save.

 

Should LinkedIn Have a Dress Code?

What do you think about company dress codes? When I worked in the Human Resources department the dress code was part of the employee handbook of dos and don’t's. It offered the corporate version of “business casual” and was presented during the employee orientation or on-boarding meetings . The policy was revisited and updated if necessary. There has been a lot of buzz on LinkedIn about the "unprofessional" profile photographs making the rounds lately. Should LinkedIn enforce a dress code?

A dress code can be tricky business to write and enforce. According to a template offered by the Society of Human Resources Management, having a dress code “provides that department managers may exercise discretion in determining what is appropriate and may make exceptions for special circumstances. The policy sets out basic guidelines with examples of inappropriate attire and appearance and gives supervisors and managers the authority to excuse an employee from the work area to make changes to comply.”

I’m from the Baby Boomer generation. I came to age when women in the workplace wore, suits, dresses or pant suits. The men wore suits, button down collars and ties. It was stuffy. When I worked in the insurance and banking industries the criteria for business attire was even more stringent. Today there are generational differences of opinions dictating what people should be allowed to wear to work.

Let’s fast forward to 2016. Over the years the dress codes in most organizations have significantly relaxed. Business casual is the term used to describe a more comfortable, yet “professional” mode of clothing. Currently, many companies allow jeans, sneakers and other comforts that allow their employees to get their work done in a less formal, more laid-back manner.

On LinkedIn there are all kinds of  side discussions happening about the recent incidents of “unprofessional” (less clothing/more skin) photographs of men and women. Some of these people are models, fitness trainers and a few, “I overcame something and now I am stronger for it” people. There are arguments about the pros and cons of these photographs with some people loving them and some people crying foul.

I look at it this way, if you were to interview at an organization (and it can be anywhere; a bank, a retailer, a school, a fitness center or modeling agency), would you show up wearing the clothing that you are wearing in your LinkedIn profile?

LinkedIn is a business-oriented social media site. Your profile picture and your updates convey a message about you and are lasting visual representations to LinkedIn’s 414 million users of who you are. Is this the image that you want to convey?

Withdrawing a LinkedIn Invitation

Did you ever send someone a LinkedIn invitation by mistake? I have. I was giving a LinkedIn training session and wanted to show the group the way to personalize an invitation.  I clicked on the LinkedIn suggestions of "People You May Know" and went through the steps of personalizing the invitation (for someone I didn't know at all).  Then instead of hitting cancel, I hit send.  Hopefully I could withdraw it before the person on the other end ever saw it and wondered who I was.

In case you ever do the same thing, here are the steps to withdraw the invitation.  The main thing is that your invitation can be withdrawn just as long as the recipient hasn't seen it yet. Here's what you do; I've taken these steps directly from the LinkedIn Help Center.

1. Click the Inbox icon in the top right of your homepage.
2. Click Sent on the left.
3. Find an invitation without "Accepted" next to the name.
4. Click the subject line of the invitation.
5. Click Withdraw.
   • If the Withdraw button isn't there, the invitation can't be withdrawn. It may have already expired.
   • The recipient won't be notified about a withdrawn invitation.
   • If you change your mind, you'll need the recipient’s email address to send them another invitation.

Another LinkedIn Rant

I'm not a LinkedIn expert by any means.  I know enough to teach a two hour class on it though and I know enough to pass along a few tips on using it wisely to help you find a new career.   

This morning I checked my email messages and there were a few emails asking if we could connect on LinkedIn.  Of the four requests, only one person personalized his note. Guess who I connected with? Why would I accept an invitation to connect if I don't know why you are "reaching out" (I hate that term) to me? I deleted the three emails and ignored (LinkedIn's word) the three cookie cutter invitations that were also embedded in my LinkedIn messages. Here is an article I wrote on how to personally connect on LinkedIn.

I've also noticed that some profiles don't have photographs.  Why not? Why not ask someone to take a head shot of you using your living room wall as the background? Some people have posted "selfies"  and we've all noticed. If  you can't get someone to take your professional picture inside your house, perhaps someone will take your photo outside.  It doesn't matter really; just as long it is professional.  

That brings me to my third and final point.  If you do post a picture, save the one that you want to use for a dating site for just that.  Make sure that you're dressed and posed professionally. LinkedIn isn't the place to show your sultry side - it is a professional networking site.

If 94% of recruiters and companies are turning to LinkedIn to help them recruit it makes sense to give them what they want and need to help them make the best hiring decisions. 

LinkedIn and the College Student

I was helping a college student with her LinkedIn profile. She asked me if LinkedIn can help college students and of course I answered in the affirmative.  Why not have a leg up on the competition by having a LinkedIn account now rather than after graduation?  You can always update it to reflect your different experiences and skills.  So what did we do?

1.   We created a Summary or Background statement and wrote it in the first person; you know "I" and "My".  In it we showcased the skills that she has grown into as a student and part time employee.  We looked up the skills needed in her chosen (for now at least) professional and worked those into her statement.  For example, if the skills needed in a future job include problem solving and decision making, we used those words to describe some of her characteristics (as long as it's honest). We downloaded her resume here too.

2.   We added more to the Employment section than company name and title.  We completed a quick description of the position responsibilities.  We found some of those words by Goggling the company website. 

3.    We added Skills and Expertise: We added these as they related to the jobs she has had and the jobs she is interested in.  We also added some of her more technical skills such as Microsoft Office.

4.    We Collected Volunteering and Organizations: We added the names of the organizations for which she volunteers and a short description of what she does.

5.   We Searched for Groups:: We looked for groups in her college major, college groups, college internship groups and the college or university LinkedIn page.

6.     We Added Contacts: I showed her how to invite people using real words and not the canned invitation and left that to her.

7.    We Looked for Companies to Follow: I showed her how that worked and let her select those on her own.

      8.  We Selected a Photograph: We selected a professional looking head-shot from her "thousands" of  photos.

That’s it.  It took a couple of hours but at least this young college student can stand apart from the crowd with a professional LinkedIn profile.  It certainly won’t hurt her chances of finding an internship or professional position down the road.

Creating a LinkedIn Profile That Gets You Noticed

I had a meeting yesterday with a man who is an expert in his particular field. He is in full job search mode, his resume is good but he is having trouble getting noticed. He asked me for some advice on getting visibility. 

Linkedin®

1.  Develop your LinkedIn Profile. Go to YouTube for some easy to follow advice on the set up. LinkedIn also has a tutorial.

2. Join the group Linked Strategies on LinkedIn for even more advice on creating a profile to get you noticed.

3. Start a blog and write about what you know. Link the blog to your LinkedIn profile and then announce it on the “Activity” section of your profile. 

4. Get a Twitter account and Tweet about what you know. Follow other accounts that are similar to your own and retweet their posts. Attach your Twitter account to your LinkedIn profile.

5. Use the edit feature of LinkedIn to upload any presentations to your Summary or Experience sections. One you are in edit mode, click the icon that looks like a box with a plus sign in the corner to add links or upload files.

6. Upload a professional looking headshot. It doesn’t have to be taken by a professional but it shouldn’t be blank, a cartoon character or any other non-professional looking pictures.   

Here are some other tips:
} You can join 50 groups for free plus 50 sub-groups
} Your 50 connections make for a completed profile
} 300 characters are allowed for each invitation to connect
} You are allotted  lifetime 3000 invitations to connect
} You can send 50 people a message at once.
} You are allotted  140 characters for the Status field

On LinkedIn you will want to get noticed.  After updating your profile you’ll get the All Star Profile Strength icon. That should help you be seen.

The LinkedIn Invitation to Connect. Has it Disappeared?

LinkedIn has changed once again and while some of the changes have made it easier to navigate, there is one that still bugs the heck out of me.  It's the "Connect" button.  Now, if you want to connect with someone, you simply see their picture or name on the right side of your home page, click the "Connect" button and an invitation is immediately forwarded to them. Boom - it's done without giving you a chance to personalize the note.  The recipient will get an email message that says, "Name. It's good to see you on LinkedIn" and it's up to them to connect with you.

 I don't know about you but I don't like this new feature and every morning when I open my email there are several of them that I'll most likely delete because I don't know these people from a hole in the wall.  If their invitations let me know that we share a group or if they were in one of my classes it would be a different story.  Now I immediately think that they are trying to sell me something; especially those names that are in lower case letters. (Really? You can't edit your name properly?  But that's another blog.)

Here's how you can personalize the invitation to connect on LinkedIn in three easy steps:
1. Click on a name using the People You May Know" feature on the right-hand side of your Home page.
2. Once their profile opens, click "Connect"
3. The original "Invite Name to Connect" window opens.  Fill in the boxes, add a personalized sentence and send. Done.

I know it's easier to bang out a bunch of invitations to connect using the new LinkedIn feature but that doesn't make it better. Call me old fashioned but I'd rather read a sentence saying how we know one another or why you'd would like to connect than see, "Nancy, it's good to see you on LinkedIn."

New Class- Creating a LinkedIn Profile

LinkedIn® Image

I've been touting the benefits of LinkedIn for a few years now because I honestly believe that it is an important part of any job search portfolio.  That said, when I've given any of my job search classes, conversations always seem to turn to LinkedIn and the steps needed to create a powerful, complete profile.

It often amazes me, especially with the older job seekers in my classes, that less than half of the participants have a profile. Some may have gone on to LinkedIn and entered their names but that in many cases, is the extent of it.

It is for this reason that I have designed a new training program; Creating a LinkedIn Profile.  This two hour class will take the class participants through the various parts of the profile and most importantly, will allow the class members to create their profiles during the training.  Blackbird Learning Associates will also offer a new service; creating a personalized LinkedIn profile.  This service is a nice addition to our training, resume writing and job search coaching offerings.

Details about our new course (along with descriptions of our existing courses and offerings) can be found on our website; http://blackbirdlearningassociates.com/services/.

LinkedIn Rants

One of the things I talk about in my job search classes is the power behind LinkedIn and that if you’re not using it, you mostly likely will not be found.  Consequently, the Groups function of LinkedIn is a great way to network, ask and answer questions, join conversations and to generally demonstrate your knowledge about a certain topic. 

Something I’ve noticed on LinkedIn (or any on-line article that solicits feedback) is that people can be downright mean and argumentative in their responses.  Someone might ask a perfectly innocent question about something and various members within a group will go off on a mean spirited tyrant about the way the question was worded or the responses of the other people. 

As I skimmed the comments in a professional resume writers group this morning, I noticed a poll requesting feedback about the best type of resume format; chronological, functional or both.  Good, I thought; this should be interesting for me to read and share.  As I went down the row of comments though, I noticed that some of the comments were mean-spirited and pompous. It was uncomfortable and most of the people who were saying great things stopped commenting. I suppose that the person doing the ranting considers themselves an expert and that the opinions of the others in the group are meaningless. 

There’s no need for this and people seem to forget that recruiters and potential clients may be able to see many of the comments or questions. Personally, a know-it-all resume writer would turn me off and I’d go looking for someone with a better personality.

Customizing Your Public LinkedIn Profile URL

Nothing says "rookie" more than a LinkedIn Profile that doesn't have a customized LinkedIn URL. How do you change your URL? Like this:

1. Go to your name on the LinkedIn Home or Profile page and click it. Your name is towards the top of the page and on the right side.

2. A drop down menu will show several options including Settings. Click this (Settings).

3. You'll probably be asked to enter your LinkedIn password.

4. At this page, look for "Edit Your Public Profile" in the "Helpful Links" section. Click this.

5. Your LinkedIn profile will display and to the right of it you will see a series of suggestions to customize your profile. Down towards the bottom of these suggestions it will say "Your Public Profile" and show you what it looks like to the public. Like this:
• Your current profile http://.........

6. It will say, "Customize your public profile URL . View your public profile." Click this and customize your profile with your name according to the stated directions.

That's all there is to getting a polished LinkedIn URL. Next time you "Google" yourself, you will see your professional, customized LinkedIn profile.

Getting Noticed in the 2012 Job Market

I had a meeting yesterday with a man who is an expert in his particular field. He is in full job search mode, his resume is good but he is having trouble getting noticed. He asked me for some advice on getting visibility.

After checking his LinkedIn profile I saw that it was bare bones basic. After showing him a few profiles of people that are in a similar occupation as his, I suggested the following tips. I hope that they can help you too.

1. Develop your LinkedIn Profile. Go to YouTube for some easy to follow advice on the set up. LinkedIn also has a tutorial.
2. Join the group Linked Strategies on LinkedIn for even more advice on creating a profile to get you noticed.
3. Start a blog and write about what you know. Link the blog to your LinkedIn profile and then announce it on the “Update” section of your profile.
4. Get a Twitter account and again, post about what you know. Follow other accounts that are similar to your own and retweet their posts. Attach your Twitter account to your LinkedIn profile.
5. Consolidate any presentations, papers, etc into Box.com. Post that account to LinkedIn.
6. Use Slideshare.net to create any presentations you may have created or write up a few new ones. Again, attach these to your LinkedIn and Twitter accounts.
7. Contact a local community college and ask about giving a session or two about your subject matter expertise. These are the classes for the business community and not the regularly scheduled classes for the undergraduates. Post these sessions on your blog.

The gentleman I worked with yesterday has a specific skill set. We all do. You might not want to go through all of these steps but accomplishing a few might be all that you need to "Get Noticed".

Watch What You Say in Social Media

My friend John Fox, The Golden Rule Guy posted an interesting link today that reiterated the point that a whopping 91% of employers are using social media to screen perspective employees. He also stressed that what you post is out there for all to see. Please check out his blog – it is very thought provoking.

John’s post got me thinking not only of the employment process but also of the thousands of high school kids who are right now applying to colleges. Our family went through the college application process last year around this time of year. We had to remind our son that he had to be careful of his Facebook posts and pictures. It’s very easy for a college to look up someone. Even if the security setting protects the “Wall”, the pictures may be open for all to see. Is a college going to think highly of someone with a beer in their hand or openly displaying ummm, affection for someone? And while we’re on the subject, remind your kids that if they leave their Facebook or Twitter pages open and walk away, one of their friends may think it’s funny to write something really gross or inappropriate on the page. I’m probably preaching to the choir here but this is something you may want to stress to your children.

Of course the same rules apply to the internships and the job search. It’s best to look at your profile and ask yourself if based on what you see, you would hire yourself. If anything there makes you question yourself; take it down. While you are at it, take a look at your friend’s posts. If there is anything inappropriate and it shows on your wall, hide it (go to the post and towards the upper right of it, you’ll see a small downward facing arrow. Click it and then click Hide Story).

With social media our words and actions are out there for anyone to see. It’s hard enough to find a job or get accepted to a choice college as it is. Why mess around with it because of something you or someone else posted to a social media outlet?

LinkedIn Survey About Resumes

Yesterday I participated in a LinkedIn survey about the length, style and of course, content of a resume.  The results and comments are here.  Take a look.

The comments are very interesting.  The creator of the survey summarized them and a couple of themes emerged:
1. Length is also very important with 2 pages being ideal -
2. Accomplishments are the key to demonstrating whether or not a candidate "can" do the job or has actually "done" it previously - this is a huge difference -
3. If a candidate is unable to articulate their experience in a concise, compelling & memorable manner, how well will they communicate to others in the organization?

What do you think? What is the most important part of a resume?

Social Media: How Do I Know You?

Today I received an invitation to connect on LinkedIn from another person that I don’t know.  Now since they check the box marked “Friend” when they initiated the contact, I figured I must know them from somewhere, right? No, I clicked their profile, read their profile and couldn’t figure out how or where our paths had crossed. I’m sure that many of you get similar requests and can’t seem to figure out what to do with them.  Keep them in your inbox for a while? Delete them on the spot?  The same thing can happen with Facebook.  At least with Facebook, if the contact is a suggestion from another friend, you can contact your real friend and ask them how we both know this person.  So what are some of the social media connection rules?  I did a bit of research on this and found an article in CIO Magazine that provided some useful tips.  My personal tip? Always personalize your invitation – even if you know the contact.  If you use the boiler plate template, customize it to reflect your connection with this person.

Using Social Media for Your Development

When I was working full time with an organization, I never thought about social media. I guess it’s the same for most people steaming ahead at their respective workplaces. If someone asked to connect on LinkedIn I usually put it off because I was too busy doing something.  Plus, I didn't really know how it worked.  It meant that I would have to create a LinkedIn page, something that I didn't think I had the time or energy to do. Then I thought, "Hummmm, is that person leaving their job and letting people know that they're looking?"

Fast forward a couple of years, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Xing and other sites are common place and yes, people are using them to find a job. It’s been splashed all over the place that networking, including social networking brings up to 85% of new jobs. What I never knew back then, is how helpful social media is in keeping up with the newest trends, technology and even buzz words in the industry. There are groups for everything and if a free membership to LinkedIn allows you up to 50 groups, then why not take advantage of them? Here is how I see social media helping both the employed and the active job seeker:

1. If you work full time, it is sometimes hard to keep up with current findings in your field.  You're either too busy putting out fires, creating something, servicing something, attending meetings, etc. While you are toiling away for those 8 - 10 hours a day, your field is changing. By joining a couple of LinkedIn groups or on-line professional discussion groups, you can read/learn/speak of the current opportunities in your industry.  Here's an exmple.  For years I was the only learning and development specialist in my organizational unit of 4,000 employees. I didn't have anyone to bounce ideas off or share tips. I just designed, developed and plowed ahead. Attending a conference was eye opening since there were hundreds of other professionals just like me! I always came home refreshed, energized and excited to try something new.  The same can be said about social media (without the trip to Orlando). The ideas, concepts and sharing are energizing and you can apply tips and share the results immediately.

2. If you are actively seeking work, your deep understanding of the current state of your field and industry can only help you. Your ability to speak comfortably about your past use of certain skills and the future outlook for certain technology, services, and your particular area of expertise will not disappoint.

3. As an independent contractor these same strategies hold true.  Why work in a vacuum when you can research, share information and stay on top of your industry?

Times are rapidly changing and within the past few years social media has become more common.  By taking advantage of it, you can stay current and active and feel as if your are making a contribution.

Preparing for the Interview

A few weeks ago I wrote about creating a statement on your resume that speaks about who you are.  This Impact Statement is all about selling you as THE person that a potential employer would want to walk in and take on the position.  We also talked about the "Tell Me About Yourself" question and how uncomfortable that question is to both the interviewer and interviewee. We suggested asking the interviewer to provide you with direction to your response.
The other day I had to sell myself and answer the "Tell me about yourself" statement at the same time.  I was approached to do some instructional design work for a company.  It wasn't about job search skills training; something I can talk about all day.  No, it was about the cycle of designing, developing and evaluating training programs for a pharmaceutical company - something that I haven't done in several years. So what did I do and how does it relate to a job search?

1.    Did my homework: I looked up the company again and again to figure out what they do and what they offer their customers. I reveiwed the industry wording.

2.    Researched new trends and industry jargon: I went on LinkedIn and joined an instructional design group.  Here I researched new trends in the field. When I didn't see anything, I asked the group if they could help. I got a couple of responses and read up on these.  I also looked up instructional design in the Occupational Outlook Handbook and aligned that wording with my past activities and knowledge of industry buzz words and jargon. I finally reviewed the trends in the field by Googling several professional group discussion boards (you don’t always have to join the professional group to read and respond to these boards).

3.    Designed my elevator speech: I had to change it because the focus changed. This wasn't a meeting about teaching job search skills.  I had to revamp it to include my "Why I'm the best" statement in regard to instructional design. (Gulp!) I went to measurements and statistics. How many years have I been in the business? How many programs and types of programs have I designed, facilitated? How did I measure effectiveness? How have I done needs analyses in the past? What were my successes? Why? By the way, while doing this I also noted my weaknesses.  There are certain areas where I know I lack the skill set and should the customer want these skills, I have to let them know that no, I don’t have the experience for that.

4.    Wrote it out and practiced. I wrote my elevator speech with a slant towards “Tell Me About Yourself.” (In a prior email, the company said they wanted to know about my experience in instructional design).

My statement included my company name, industry, and why I am the best. It generally said, “I am the owner and operator of Blackbird Learning Associates where for almost two years I have designed and developed training initiatives for the New Jersey state libraries and various corporations and community colleges. I have over 25 years experience analyzing organizational needs and designing, developing, implementing and evaluating learning and development programs. I have successfully trained over 5,000 employees in the pharmaceutical, banking and insurance industries.  I follow the ADDIE method of instructional design and I thought that today I would take you through my experience as it relates to the ADDIE method.”

All this work paid off and I received a contract with this company. Every job has different needs and if you prepare and focus on the particular needs of each organization, the selling part beomes a bit easier.  Good luck!

LinkedIn Groups

If you are reading this, chances are pretty high that you have a LinkedIn account and I am just preaching to the choir.  If you don't have a LinkedIn account, it's something you should seriously consider, especially for help in your job search. The main reason is because more and more companies and recruiters are turning to this particular social media site to help them find qualified candidates.  If that’s not enough, LinkedIn is a fantastic networking source.

This week in one of my job search classes, a participant who happens to be a registered nurse asked if LinkedIn has a group for nurses. Yes, in fact there are 631 nursing groups.  (I just checked.)  Many of the groups offer job search assistance while others help keep the nurses inside the groups on top of their games.

Take a look for groups in your area of expertise or interest.  You'll be pleasantly surprised at the number of members to share information and network with.  There really is something for everyone!  Some general guidelines are:
1. Follow the stated group rules
2. Don't SPAM
3. Ask and answer questions
4. Join conversations
5. Share information that you think the members might find helpful
6. Learn the difference between Discussion and Promotion

Finally, if you are looking for a job, be sure to join the many job search groups within LinkedIn. The newest suggestions are posted and there is terrific advice for the entire job search cycle. It is also a great place to network.