Accelerate Your Search™ Now

Here are five tips for improving your online visibility with your personal portal profile:

1.  Have a plan.  Think about your brand, what you want to communicate and how do you want to show up online.  Be consistent.  Stay on message and stay on brand.  Start with one site, use it and maintain it. Don’t know where to start?  Explore about.me.

2. Add your photo or branded background.  If you just started your search you may not be ready to do that, so until you have the photo you want to use on your page, or your branded background ready to go, select one of the many backgrounds in a gallery that is a good fit for your brand.  There are many for you to select and use.  You can change and update your background easily in the future.  The prior background photo is saved giving you instant flexibility.  I suggest you add a high quality personal picture that captures you and your brand.  But if you are not ready to do this, or your appointment with the photographer is next week – the background gallery is fine for now and helpful.

3. Personalize your page.  Selecting the font that is right for you and on brand.

4. Add your brief bio. It is easy to go to your Branded Bio file, copy and paste.  Style the page to fit you, be sure to view and proof.  The features on most sites allow you to select color and location of your brief bio.  These features help you stay on brand.

5. Add links to tell visitors to your page where your web content is – make it “one click” away.  Consider adding an email link so visitors can email you directly from your page.

Do you still have a question?

Post it below or join the next Q & A and ask your question or contact me.

A week from Thursday is my favorite holiday – St. Patrick’s Day! 

The celebrations have changed over the years.  I rarely wear shorts on St. Patrick’s Day, as it is still too cold in New England for shorts in mid-March, and my networking reach is far beyond J Patrick O’Malley’s, but you can bet I will be networking, enjoying the day and hope you will be too.

In the days of JPats, I tracked contacts with paper and ink, I had no real strategy for networking, or managing my career,  there was no LinkedIn, or online relationship management systems  – WOW – what if there had been – who knows?

For those of you are in the Boston area, next week you can tap into one of my network contacts, Jason Alba at one of several events.  In other areas connect with Jason’s blog as he speaks throughout the US and internationally.

Mark your calendars, register, and go hear Jason Alba speak.  You will be glad you did.

Jason gets career management.  He was an IT Manager who got laid off in 2006.  Jason is street-smart, has great stories, an engaging smile and like so many, he figured out career management is critical.     

Our connection, Don Huse at Venturion introduced me to Jason Alba.  Jason is the author of three books, and someone I looked to for update to date information on relationship management systems, LinkedIn, and other social media.  He is also a certified personal branding strategist – yet another connection!  We are also talking about his returning to New England in the early fall, but don’t wait till then to connect with Jason Alba.

Do you have questions?  Contact me.

Recently, a former client called to share an experience and ask what I thought.  He was interviewing candidates for a newly created position in his division and called one of his top candidates to clarify some data as he prepared to check references on each candidate.

The candidate had only listed the LinkedIn Public Profile address for each of his references and when called for detailed contact information the candidate responded with “I suggest you go to LinkedIn read all my great recommendations, then if you feel you still need to talk to my references Send InMail and find out if they have time to talk to you, or check with your trusted connections and see you can introduce you to my references.  I look forward to reviewing your offer soon …”, then the call ended was a pleasant good-bye.

Somewhat taken aback by the response from the candidate, my former client had paused to ask himself several questions.   Was he behind the times in how LinkedIn was being used?  Was this candidate just a poor match for the job and the organization with this approach?  Should he invest time in checking the references of this candidate?

What do you think?

How does this differ from your approach?

Are you still attempting to learn the rules of the road on LinkedIn?

On Friday, Andrea J. Stenberg shared a great story in her post,  “LinkedIn Invitations – Why hitting I Don’t Know This Person is a bad idea”. It is a post worth reading and thinking about before you select the “I don’t know this person”.

The rules on of connecting on LinkedIn and the rules of connecting via other social media sites are important and can make or break you in business.  Do you know the “rules of engagement”?

Almost weekly, I see people fail to connect at networking events, social gatherings, or business meetings because they don’t know the rules, don’t understand the nuances of connecting with others or simply don’t think about the consequences of their actions.  Do you need to brush up on these skills?

Play to your strengths, learn the rules and help others learn what you know.   You’ll be surprised at the benefits and the connections you’ll make.

In early December 2009,  Kristin Burnham, Staff Writer for CIO.com in the article 5 Ways to Get More from LinkedIn in 2010 provided tips on how to get more from LinkedIn in 2010.  She noted that using five features could help you gain more from LinkedIn.  Ms. Burnham recommended participating in Groups, finding and connecting via Events, using the Advanced People Search for seeking new connections, discovering relevant trends about companies of interest, and seeking Recommendations to enhance and validate your profile.

All these are solid tips and helpful suggestions, as I talk to those who use LinkedIn and get results I always ask “What do you do and what features to you use?”  I find that the specific features vary from person to person, however the common thread among those who get results is that each person has a specific strategy for using LinkedIn and how much time is spent using, connecting and researching via LinkedIn.

One savvy user,  who has landed four (4) interviews via LinkedIn connections since mid-November told me that it took him about 20 days to figure out the best ways to use LinkedIn.  Then he could connect with those who could hire him and make the most of all the company information available via LinkedIn.

He noted initially he spent a couple hours a day just learning what information was on the site, setting up his profile and inviting connections.  Then he decided on a plan with clear action steps.  Now he uses LinkedIn less than a couple hours a week with great results.

Do you have a plan for using LinkedIn?

What is working for you?

What results are you getting?

“Go to work harder on yourself than your job. If you work hard on your job you can make a living, if you work hard on yourself you can make a fortune.” Jim Rohn

What action will you take today to propel you toward the things you want, the goals you have and why is that important?

If you have been attending the LinkedIn sessions this week you are already focused on your LinkedIn Profile so here is your action step for today.

Read your LinkedIn Profile and ask yourself the following questions.

Does it show my personality?

Does it highlight my top three skills? These are the things you not only do well but also the things you love to do and would rather do than anything else in the world.

Now, look at your resume. Ask yourself the same questions. If these things are missing from either your LinkedIn Profile or your resume add them.

That is your quick action tip for the day. I agree with Jim Rohn “…if you work hard on yourself you can make a fortune.”

To your accelerated your search and success,
Cindy