Google says there are 4,780,000 results for the search term “how to request connections on LinkedIn.” An additional 10,600,000 results pop out using the search term “default request LinkedIn.” Despite the millions of articles on LinkedIn connecting basics, I continue to receive the dreaded default request to connect on LinkedIn every day.
Don’t be one of those — read more here and connect with me on LinkedIn, using a personalized request.
UPDATE: Classroom is now Children’s Building, Room “Extreme” but is subject to change. Check the following LinkedIn Groups for last minute changes: Above The Rim Executive Career Management and Saddleback Career Coaching & Counseling Ministry.
Every Thursday night, from 7 pm to 9 pm Pacific time (except major US holidays): Free LinkedIn Workshop in Lake Forest, CA and worldwide (online).
Learn the the best practices, etiquette and strategies to optimize your profile to get more visibility. These days, what you know is not enough. Who you know no longer applies. It is now Who Knows You.
Location: Saddleback Church, 1 Saddleback Pkwy, Lake Forest, CA
More information on the career workshops.
If you are out of the Orange County, CA area, send an e-mail message to me and I will send connection details.
(LinkedIn® is a registered trademark of LinkedIn Corporation.)
Photo: Lacey Calvert, Orange County Regional Program Manager of Core Power Yoga in an eight-angle pose called Astavakrasana.
A cubicle neighbor – brainwashed
Mind Share, Customer Awareness, Top of Mind Whatever You Call It – Who Knows You?
Like a lot of folks, I work in a cubicle office space. One of my cubicle neighbors has an irritating habit of humming, whistling or singing jingles and quoting commercials about athletic shoes, junk food restaurants and car dealerships. This guy is completely brainwashed with these messages, and consciously or unconsciously, spreads his junk knowledge to others around him. I usually tune this audible garbage out by focusing on my work, or putting my USB headset on.
By the way, sometimes I have music on, sometimes I am on a conference call or net meeting, but often I just have the headset on without listening to anything, so people won’t bother me. If you are in a similar noisy situation, you may want to try this “do not disturb” technique. The “commercial guy” is a little less irritating than “the nose whistler,” but that is another story . . . .
In any case, as I tried to ignore this audio pollution and tried to focus on editing a CAD model, I thought about this from a job search point of view. Companies and advertising agencies love people like my office space neighbor: Their messages are always at the top their minds, and their brand images and marketing messages are getting through – and are broadcast to potential customers.
If you are new to the idea of personal branding, consider how long and how much money it took Nike, McDonald’s, Burger King, Toyota, BMW and other companies to establish and achieve their brand recognition. Corporations have money, agencies and time to create, maintain and protect their branding. For the rest of us, our resource is time. And we can leverage the power of LinkedIn to broadcast our personal brand.
Putting this in the form of a question from a hiring manager, recruiter or company headhunter, their thoughts could go like this:
“Who is the best person in my network that can become our new (fill in the blank with a job function or title)?”
The interesting part about this question is that the person selected may or may not be the best qualified or best experienced person in their network. It is more likely to be the very first person they can think of.
And this is where we want to be: All of us should do everything possible to earn that same place in everyone’s head. We want to be the first person people think of when they are seeking advice or trying to fill an opportunity.
While you don’t necessarily need to make up a jingle about yourself, your personal brand must communicate who you are, what you do and why you do what you do in simple, easily-understandable language. As you craft this message, always think about this from the viewer’s point of view – your “elevator speech” is not for you, it is for someone looking for your skills and expertise.
The next step is to edit your personal branding message into language your grandma can understand. You must be able to answer the famous questions, “Why should I hire you?” and “What is it you do here?”
Creating and maintaining your personal brand takes time, and the messages must be consistent and positive. Why not start today and optimize your LinkedIn profile summary with a simple, powerful and memorable personal branding message?
For more posts like this, visit my LinkedIn Publish page – and connect with me on LinkedIn – just remember to personalize your request so I know how you found me.
Here’s an example of a re-purposed item. An ordinary Phillips head screwdriver became something new by adding a few bends in its shaft. The bends were transferred from some other screwdriver ideas . . . .
Everyone has a set of skills and expertise, no matter who they are or what they do. Think of your skill set as a collection of things you learned from your earliest memories to present day. This is especially important when contemplating your next career move: All of us can jump from one career or position to another, but the jump must be realistic and make sense to anyone looking at your profile and work history. I call this our inventory of transferable skills.
Take a close look at everything you do and everything you know, including any personal, time-off activities such as sports and hobbies. Make a list of your skills and knowledge, then think about how these elements can transfer into your next career. You may discover more possibilities as you examine your list.
While helping my friend Peter decorate his boat for a Christmas parade, we talked a little bit about work and career events over the last year. Of course, I had to mention LinkedIn and how it helped me. Peter is not on LinkedIn (yet) but I hope he decides to give it a try.
Peter’s extreme Christmas decor aboard his boat includes thousands of individual lights, four microcomputers two generators and hundreds of feet of wires.
Connecting all of these elements together and making them work on a short schedule is a demonstration of Peter’s knowledge and skills. Many, if not all, of these skills are transferable to several career paths.
Here are just some of the skills and expertise needed to create an award-winning Christmas boat entry:
Project planning/project management
Advertising and marketing
Public information/public relations
Computer/microprocessor programming
AC circuitry
Ocean navigation
Electronics
Programmable logic controllers PLC
Electrical safety
Computer software and hardware
The list is impressive, and it is even more impressive when you remember this is just a short list of things based on one hobby-type of activity.
So as this year comes to a close, I encourage everyone to make a list of transferable skills and expertise, and remember to include both work and non-work activities.
Learn more about leveraging LinkedIn as a career management tool at the LinkedIn workshops at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA. If you are out of the area, watch for postings about our live, online sessions. Check the “Calendar & Events” page for dates and times.
Connect with me on LinkedIn and see my other LinkedIn Publish posts.
As 2014 comes to a close, I’d like to thank the special people who have either supported me in some way, or taught me new skills or life lessons. These are folks that really rock, and deserve some recognition.
My You Rock Awards for 2014
I report to Yosh Coy at Agility Fuel Systems. I always learn something new from him each time we have a conversation. Yosh has an incredible depth of knowledge on LNG and CNG technology. Yosh rocks!
Dave Crowley is a technical instructor at the Natural Gas Vehicle Institute (NGVi). His session on CNG inspections were informative and included plenty of hands-on demonstrations during the class.
Sabrina Dodd and Jamie Johnson, both from the NGVi, deserve special recognition for their support and customer care before, during and after the NGVi classes in Long Beach, CA.
Paul Pate (then training manager at NGVi), lead an excellent class on natural gas vehicle technology – from the fuel storage cylinders to the exhaust tailpipe, his session was interesting and informative.
Here is an update on Paul: Paul now has two careers, first joining a family business called CNG Elite Inspection Services, an inspection and compliance company for CNG vehicles and is also the Technical Training Director at Automotive Research and Design (AR&D) and Panoptic Training.
Here’s a Look at Past Winners of the You Rock Awards
2013
A special award goes to Colleen Jones, then a counselor at the Orange County, CA One Stop Center. Colleen presented her views and explained how the applicant tracking systems (ATS) in widespread use work. Learning about these systems proved to be a huge asset in my job search toolbox. Colleen is now the Human Resource & Talent Acquisition Leader at Go Rentals, Inc. Click here to see the original special award post.
Debra Faris is a career coach and LinkedIn expert. She is known as “Ms. LinkedIn.”
Greg Johnson is a career coach, his company is called Above the Rim Executive Coaching.
Sven Johnston is Partner Sr VP Business Development at GigaSavvy, an advertising agency with a core focus on search engine optimization (SEO).
Ted Robison is now retired and enjoying life. But he is still leading workshops on LinkedIn, and is known as “Mr. Link-Me-In.”
These four talented experts taught me how to optimize my LinkedIn profile for maximum effectiveness. It must have worked, since LinkedIn said I am among the Top One Percent most viewed profiles in 2012.
Take a look at my other LinkedIn Publish posts for more information on careers, technology and other things.
All of us should continuously be aware of new developments, trends, competitors and technologies in our fields of expertise. This “career maintenance” is a way to prevent skills obsolescence. Some people may call this a way to demonstrate passion for what they do, taking the time to keep their skills and knowledge well-honed. I call this trait curiosity, and one should enjoy this “extra work” not because it is mandatory or forced, but because it is enjoyable. In other words, one should enjoy the work they do, since work enjoyment benefits the employee as well as the employer.
One of the most memorable public television promotions was “Stay Curious,” a series of spots directed by filmmaker Errol Morris. In one spot, a young girl wakes up before dawn, grabs a flashlight and goes to a chicken coop. She sneaks up to the window and shines the light inside. The rooster wakes up, thinking it’s a new day, and crows. In another spot, another young girl wonders about raising fish. She goes into the kitchen, grabs a jar of caviar, and dumps it into a fish bowl.
Here’s a wildly non-job skill, non-work related example of my curiosity. Earlier this summer, I wanted to know whether or not a bunch of really big, fat, ugly worms in my compost pile were hazardous to garden plants or the compost. I could have smashed them, or I could have just ignored them. But I decided to find out whether or not the grubs were helpful or harmful to my compost. So I typed “big ugly worms in compost” into Google, and found several links to describe what these things are. In case you are curious, the worms are soldier fly (Insecta: Diptera: Stratiomyidae) larva, and are aggressive composters, a good thing.
We should apply this idea of curiosity and fresh excitement to everything we do, including keeping up with the latest trends and technologies in our professional field. In addition, if you can find a way to apply multiple ways of learning to your everyday activities, you will increase your expertise even further.
As you learn something new, patience is the key to success. Since this is learning for pleasure, there is no hurry to get up to speed — the idea is to get to whatever level you want. This is an important point. There are some folks who are satisfied with having as much knowledge as they have right now, and have no need or desire to expand their knowledge. And that’s okay. But consider what can happen to your career if you don’t adapt to new things, and get left behind…
Learning by Teaching Others
Did you know that when you teach others something, it reinforces your knowledge of the topic? When I was a tutor for non-native English speaking (ESL) students, I had to twist my way of thinking to understand what they were talking about. Their questions made me think about various topics in a completely different way, and I had to use my knowledge of the subjects-at-hand to answer their questions. When you have the power of knowledge, you can teach others something new. And their questions will make you think about the topic or topics in new and different angles, reinforcing your knowledge even more. Sometimes a question can confuse you, which is okay. This just means that you have to search for another expert to supply knowledge, and the teacher (you) becomes a student.
Reading and Research
This method isn’t as exciting as some other ways to learn more about industry trends or new technology, but is certainly valid. In fact, with Internet access, there is almost no limit to the information you can find. However, like a lot of things in life, there is nothing like old fashioned, hands-on experience and learning by doing.
Making Mistakes, and Learning from Them
Making mistakes is one aspect of learning. I always say, “I know what not to do in this case. . . ,” since I make mistakes all the time. But the only way to turn mistakes into useful knowledge is to learn the proper way of doing the task. In other words, if we goof, we have to find out why we goofed, fix the goof, and remember the correct way of doing something to prevent the same goof in the future.
The Concept of Continuous Improvement
Continuous improvement is the search for excellence and perfection. And since nothing is “perfect,” we should always be on a quest to improve our skills and knowledge.
Here are some helpful books on networking and job-seeking skills, there are plenty of others. Do some research and find some more good ones.
Ferrazzi, Keith, “Never Eat Alone,” a great story about the networking process
Lathrop, Richard, “Who’s Hiring Who,” an old book from the 1980s, but has some useful information and words of encouragement
Yate, Martin, “Knock ‘Em Dead,” a whole series of books for each part of the job seeker
For more posts like this, visit my LinkedIn Publish page.
Colleen Jones earned a You Rock Award for her outstanding seminar on “ATS.”
I attended a seminar on ATS at the Orange County (CA) One Stop Center last year. It was the most useful and informative one hour session I attended, and so Colleen Jones gets one of my “You Rock” awards.
<<< Take a look at my LinkedIn update post to see the award >>>
Wait a second. What’s ATS you say? ATS means “applicant tracking system” – the filter used by companies to find potential employees. An infographic for the ATS is posted on the HireRight blog site.
I wouldn’t call the resume robots “smart” or “friendly” – but you must create a resume that is smarter and friendlier than the robot scanning your qualifications summary.
Like all weapons in today’s job market, the ATS is a double-edged sword – it can help or hinder companies seeking people to fill job opportunities, and it can help or hinder job-seekers looking for work.
The best advice is to understand what and where the resume robots are looking for – and then fill your resume or curriculum vitae (CV) with what the robots are looking for.
If this sounds a lot like SEO – search engine optimization – it is because it is. Placing the proper key words in all the proper places is what you need to feed the ATS – and get that interview invitation!
Debra Faris, Greg Johnson, Sven Johnston and Ted Robison – My LinkedIn Mentors – Rock!
In February 2013, LinkedIn said that I am among the Top 1% most often viewed profiles in 2012. I thought, shoot, I bet they said this to all of their members. . . .
In any case, I could not have done it without these great people sharing their expertise.
Now I am “paying back” as a volunteer LinkedIn instructor at the Saddleback Career Coaching and Counseling program in Lake Forest, CA
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