LinkedIn

12 Easy Things to do to Get Your LinkedIn Ready for the New Year

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While things are slowing down at work, you can use your time to get your LinkedIn Profile ready for 2018! Here are 12 simple ideas you can use to freshen up your LinkedIn profile, and to take advantage of LinkedIn’s latest changes.

  1. Profile images are now displayed in a circle. Check that yours looks good and adjust it, if necessary. Use the LinkedIn Photo Editor function to zoom, crop, and/or straighten — and, if desired, apply filters.
  2. Create a new background image for your profile page. The size should be 1536 x 768 pixels – Canva.com has templates that you can use.
  3. Double-check your privacy settings. Go to “Privacy & Settings,” then click on “Privacy” and check each setting.
  4. Re-populate any information that may have been removed with the change to the “new look” — for example, putting your contact information at the bottom of the Summary section, or adding information to the “Volunteer Experience” section.
  5. Check the first 2-3 sentences of your Summary. Are they attention-getting? Would they entice someone to read further?
  6. Review your Work Experience section. Do you want to re-arrange what is showing up as your current position?
  7. Get familiar with where you can find your “Groups” now — either bookmark http://www.linkedin.com/Groups or explore the “Work” tab on the main navigation menu.
  8. Try the “new look” LinkedIn search function on the main navigation menu. Type in a person’s name, company, or Group and explore the filter functions.
  9. Visit the Notification area and update your connections. It’s much easier to manage now.
  10. Familiarize yourself with the Messaging function. Respond to messages with a personal response, instead of a “canned” reply.
  11. Proofread your entire LinkedIn profile carefully!!
  12. Make a point of visiting LinkedIn and using your account on a regular basis.

BONUS: Take a minute right now and backup your LinkedIn Profile (both “Save to PDF” and creating a full data archive). You want to make sure you have a copy of all your hard work!

10 Ways to Improve How you Network

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We have all heard that networking is important but most of us would rather not do it. Here are 10 easy things to make networking easier

  1. Attend conferences and meetings that really interest you. This way you’re more likely to interact with people who have similar interests which will make it easier to talk to people.
  2. Organize your thoughts first. How will you answer questions about your interests? What specific talents, skills, and connections can you bring to the table? Practice saying those things out loud.
  3. Help others. Once you listen to what others have to say, you may begin to see how someone you know may be able to help that person. Be a connector!
  4. Follow up and follow through. Do what you said you would do; if you told someone you would be in touch, do it. If you said you would introduce people, do it. Send people you meet LinkedIn connection requests (with a customized invite, of course).
  5. Be approachable. Smile and be pleasant. To everyone. Enough said.
  6. Listen more than you talk. Everyone likes to be listened to. Listen actively, while looking at the person talking and not over their shoulder. Ask questions. Put your phone away.
  7. Always have business cards. If your organization won’t give them to you for free, buy them yourself—they’re not expensive. If you meet someone, offer your card and tell them that they are welcome to follow up. You’re likely to get one in return. Follow up on LinkedIn.
  8. Use people’s names. When you meet them, as you are separating, and throughout the conversation as appropriate. This helps make your connection more personal and you’re more likely to remember them if you run into them again.
  9. Network in different ways. These include casual contacts at official network events, professional associations, and online networks. Each serve their purpose and you’ll be more effective (and get to know more people) if you explore different networking venues. Be visible.
  10. If you’re still not sure, check out these resources (and of course, there are many more available as well): How to Work a Room, Susan RoAne; Never Eat Alone, Keith Ferrazzi, and Networking Like a Pro, Dr. Ivan Misner.

BONUS: Networking doesn’t have to be a special event. Any conversation you have has the potential to be a networking opportunity! Its about establishing and maintaining connections with people, not just meeting them.

Do These 10 Things to Get that Federal Job You Want

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As we get closer to the holidays, everyone gets busy and distracted on personal matters. However, you can take advantage of the slowdown to up your government job search game.

Here are 10 easy things to do that won’t take much time but will pay dividends!

  1. Double-check your USAJOBS Profile. Make sure it is up-to-date in terms of your contact information, your eligibilities, etc. Veterans, this is especially important as you want to ensure that your eligibilities count.
  2. Understand your eligibilities. Do you have veterans’ preference? Do you have status? Are you eligible for reinstatement? Are you Schedule A eligible? A military spouse? Understanding your eligibilities and what they mean will help ensure you apply for jobs for which you are eligible.
  3. Turn on the feature that automatically notifies you when the status of your application changes. Under what was known as “hiring reform,” agencies are supposed to notify via email: A) when your application was received; B) whether you were rated qualified or unqualified; C) whether your application was sent to the hiring manager; and D) when a selection is made. While it is true that agencies don’t always take these steps (or the steps aren’t always taken in a timely manner), you still want to sign up for this feature.
  4. Create a search agent on USAJOBS to automatically send you job postings that meet your criteria.
  5. Make sure your resume is up-to-date so that you’re ready to apply for the job postings which have quick close dates.
  6. Add accomplishments to your resume, at least for your current job. You should include at least one achievement for each year in your current job. If you’ve been in your current job less than one, apply the concept your prior job.
  7. Get rid of jobs on your resume that are more than 10 years old. Employers want to know what you have done recently and be assured that you’re not resting on your laurels. If you were the hiring manager, would you want to pick someone who had not done the job in 20 years or someone who is doing it now?
  8. Apply for jobs for which you are qualified for. This is more than having time-in-grade; you need to have the specialized experience too.
  9. Review the questionnaires associated with each job posting before deciding whether or not to apply. You can review the questionnaires without applying; most postings have a link to view the questionnaire. If you cannot provide the highest and best answer to the vast majority of questions, you may not be rated as best qualified.
  10. Make sure you use key words from the job posting in your resume; make it easy for the HR people to see that you’re qualified.

BONUS: Still not sure you know what to do? There are many free training sessions offered on using USAJOBS and applying for a government job. Bookmark: https://www.usajobs.gov/Notification/Events/ and keep checking!

10 Things You Can Do Right Now to Improve Your LinkedIn Profile

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I am constantly surprised about the pushback I still get about LinkedIn. While it is certainly true that the private sector uses LinkedIn more than the government, in my experience, government agencies are getting onboard. In fact, at one agency where I recently conducted training, I was told that people who didn’t have LinkedIn Profiles didn’t get interviews—even internal candidates! Whether that is right or wrong, good or bad, is not the point. If you don’t have a LinkedIn Profile you need one; if you do have one, it can probably be better. So, here are 10 things you can do right now; keeping with our theme for the month, together these should take less than 30 minutes:

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10 Mistakes You’re Making on LinkedIn

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Mistake 1: You’re not on LinkedIn. If you’re not, you need to be—even if you’re working for the government! While LinkedIn is used more in the private sector than in the government, the US Army has the largest number of “employees” of any company in the world. And in some agencies I work with, if you’re not on LinkedIn, you won’t get an interview.

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Develop a Social Media Plan for your Career, Part 2

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LinkedIn is the most important part of a social media strategy in terms of your career, but let’s look at the last part of a strong social media plan.

STEP FOUR: Update Your Other Social Media Profiles 
Take some time to make sure that your other non-LinkedIn social media platforms are up-to-date. Review your profile photos and background images. For consistency, consider changing your profile photos on all of your social media accounts to the same (professional) photo. This can help the person looking for you to identify that they have the right person — especially for social media accounts that you want them to be looking at.

Also review any photo galleries associated with your account (for example, on Twitter and Facebook). Delete any controversial or offensive photos. (Remember, they won’t be gone entirely from the Internet, but at least they won’t be as easy to find.) Do the same for any potentially offensive content you have posted.

STEP FIVE: Deliberately Cultivate Your Online Presence 
One of the best ways to boost your online profile is to curate your profiles. For the platforms you have decided to concentrate on, develop a schedule for adding new content that will enhance your social media presence.

For example, if you can commit to it, a personal blog is an excellent way to establish thought leadership and enhance your career prospects. However, you must be willing to post regularly — for example, once a week, or twice a month.

The first thing to do is to pick one platform to be your “home base.” This is where you will spend the majority of your time and effort. For many jobseekers, that’s LinkedIn, because it offers the best opportunity to connect with potential hiring managers and recruiters. Others may be more comfortable with Twitter, Facebook, or a blog. It doesn’t matter so much which platform you choose as that you choose a platform.

Set goals for yourself — what do you want to show up when you Google yourself? If you want your blog to rank higher in Google’s search results, you’ll need to spend some time developing and curating content, populating the profile, and engaging in activities that will increase the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) of the blog.

If you’re not engaging in a confidential job search, use your social media profiles to let people know you’re looking — and to ask for specific help in identifying your next opportunity or employer.

If you identified any “gaps” in your online presence as part of your social media audit, join those social media networks and set up your profile and begin adding content to your account.

Finally, make engaging on social media a daily habit. You don’t have to spend hours each day building your online presence. You can spend as little as 15 minutes a day — or an hour a week — on your social media.

Here are some daily activities to consider:

  • On LinkedIn: post a status update, check out the activities in your relevant Groups, make 1-2 new connections, “follow” a company you’d like to work for, and reach out to 1 existing connection (either by commenting on their status update, sending a message, or using LinkedIn’s “keep in touch” reminders to “like” or “comment” on your connections’ activities.
  • On Facebook: post a status update, “like” the page of a company that you’d like to work for, and friend someone you used to work with (or send a message to someone you’re already friends with who might be able to help you with your job search).
  • On Twitter: follow a company you’re interested in working for, tweet something job-related (make sure it’s positive in tone, not negative!), and retweet something interesting.
  • On Pinterest: see if there are any boards related to your industry and follow one or more of them; research to see if a company you’d like to work for has a board, pin something career-related to one of your own boards, and connect with two new people.
  • On your blog: Write a blog post, respond to comments, add a resource, or find a previous blog post that you can share to one of your other social media platforms. Research relevant blogs in your industry and sign up for email or RSS notifications for new posts. Comment on a blog post.

These are just a few of the possible activities you can consider each day. Another thing to consider is pre-scheduling content. You might write your blog post for the week on a Saturday, but schedule the post to publish on the following Tuesday morning at 10 a.m.

Remember this advice: “It doesn’t matter so much what you do, as that you do.” Don’t substitute social media activity for other actions related to your job search, but recognize that social media can help you build your network and keep yourself “top of mind” with people who are in a position to hire you, or help you identify possible job opportunities.