High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: Promote Yourself, Networking, and LinkedIn

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share these every weekend so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

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• How to Give Yourself a Promotion: "No matter what your job title is, you can get creative, choose to see your role differently, take on new tasks, and make a huge positive impression on customers, prospects, colleagues, and bosses."


• Simplify Networking: Apply the 70-20-10 Rule: "First of all, we should enter with the right frame of mind - calming our nerves - and approaching networking as a huge conference where we control the invited guests. Secondly, to impose order, we could apply the 70-20-10 rule."


• Simple Techniques to Increase Your Likeability at Work: "Every behavior in a human interaction is a moving toward, neutral, or moving away behavior. A moving toward behavior increases the bond between you and your conversation partner."


• 8 Mistakes You Should Never Make on LinkedIn: "If you leave a networking event with a handful of business cards, intending to follow up on LinkedIn, it’s much harder for you to remember who’s who without pictures. A missing photo can easily lead to missed connections."


• 5 Ways You're Doing Yourself a Disservice on LinkedIn: "The more hits you get on the terms used by recruiters to source candidates, the higher volume of traffic your Profile will receive – and the more likely you are to be contacted for an opportunity." 

Are You Making One of These LinkedIn Mistakes - Part 3

In this third installation of common LinkedIn mistakes, I want to evaluate your communications that take place through this valuable social networking tool. Let's look at two facets of communication - within the LinkedIn site itself and outside of LinkedIn.

Communication Within LinkedIn
The creators of LinkedIn were so generous when they launched the site. Any time you go to communicate with someone within LinkedIn - sending an invitation, requesting an endorsement or simply sending an email - the website generates an automated communication. However, if you want to truly use LinkedIn to its full potential, never send the automated communication.

• Always customize your communication with a personal note - even if the contact is someone you work with on a daily basis.

• If attempting to connect with a recruiter or establish a networking contact within a company, preparation is key. Research the company's needs, problems, and values to identify how you can be of assistance to them.

• Reach out to human resources or hiring manager contacts by sending a customized invitation to connect. This invitation should state your background and skill set and convey your desire to keep on top of what is happening in that company's industry by making connections via LinkedIn.

Communication Outside of LinkedIn
Use the connections you form on LinkedIn to take that online relationship outside into the "real world." Don't rest on your laurels and revel in the number of connections you have established on LinkedIn. Instead try to form real human relationships using your LinkedIn connection as a launching point.

•  Request informational interviews where you can either meet in person or speak on the phone for 15 minutes and get the chance to pick your contact's brain for additional inside scoop.

• Think of LinkedIn as a resource that you can proactively use to build your network. Be willing and available to make recommendations and endorsements when requested. In order to expect assistance and referrals from your network, you must be willing to make the effort to help them as well. 

Are You Making One of These LinkedIn Mistakes - Part 2

Last week, I wrote a blog post about making mistakes with your profile on LinkedIn. Heaven forbid you should go to the trouble of creating an online profile, just to have it come back against you because you did not properly manage the process.

Just like you reviewed and edited your resume and researched and prepared for your job interview, your LinkedIn profile is a work in-progress. It is not a set it up and forget it type of entity. If this is your approach to LinkedIn, it is unlikely to produce positive results for you. On that note, let's look at how you can remain active on LinkedIn and the mistakes you may be making.

Your Connections
There are two schools of thoughts on connections - the "more is better" and the "only connect with strategic partners" theories. Being the rule breaker that I am, I believe you can combine the two to have the best of both worlds.

• Connect with as many people as you can, including your competition. As a business owner, this was hard for me to wrap my mind around. I was afraid my customers would see my competition in my connections and they would take my business. However, this is a two-way street and I am amazed at what I have learned about my industry by connecting with my industry peers.

• Be strategic in your partnerships and connections. Who are the movers and shakers in your industry? Seek them out and make connections - you might just find a mentor. Who are your customers - or potential employers? Connect with them and you may have a way to network your way into a job.

• Use LinkedIn connections to put a name to the face when networking your way into a company. Just last week, one of my clients reached out to a recruiter with the company she is targeting and connected with her online. On a whim she stopped into their corporate headquarters and ran into the woman on LinkedIn. She introduced herself in person and had an interview within 24 hours, thanks to the social networking connection she made.

• Evaluate who is looking at your profile and consider reaching out to them to make a connection. Be careful how you word your introduction - you don't want to appear desperate - you simply want to come across as a savvy networker.

This brings me to our last category of mistakes, communication and activities on LinkedIn. Check back on Thursday for the final Part 3 of this LinkedIn mistakes series.

Are You Making One of These LinkedIn Mistakes?

I have talked at length about how important LinkedIn can be to your job search. The last statistic I heard was that 80% of employers will look you up on LinkedIn before calling you for an interview. Just in the last week, I have spoken to a handful of clients who have been contacted through their LinkedIn profile for career opportunities.

Hopefully, you have taken the advice and have created a LinkedIn profile. However, like all social media there are positives and negatives that can go along with LinkedIn. Review your profile and how you use LinkedIn to be sure you are not making errors in one or more of these areas.

Your Profile 

• You should ensure your LinkedIn profile is as professional and polished as possible. Ensure your profile is 100% complete. 

• Your summary section should not be too lengthy. Offer your value proposition and set yourself apart from the crowd with a 2 to 3 small paragraphs or 5 to 7 bullet points.

• The default on LinkedIn is to use your current job title as your headline. To distinguish yourself from the competition, customize your headline with a personal branding statement. Mine says "Resume Writer - Career Services Trainer - Outplacement Consultant - Personal Branding Advisor - Military Transition Guru." Another example is "Customer Service Enthusiast with 10+ Years' Experience Building Repeat Customer Relationships." What do you want people to know about you?

• Whether we like it or not, people make judgments based on appearance. For this reason, you should take extra care with your profile picture. Your picture should be professional - no kids or dogs involved. It is a good idea to have a professional photo taken for a nominal fee. This will ensure the photo quality and setting are professional as well. Your photo should look welcoming and friendly. Don't forget to smile and be sure to wear professional attire, not "going out dancing" clothes.

Check back next week when I discuss the mistakes you may be making with your connections and your communications on LinkedIn.