Quick Guide to Optimizing Your LinkedIn Profile

Perhaps you got suckered into LinkedIn after receiving so many invitations from colleagues and friends to join and only haphazardly completed your profile. You are just beginning to realize it's value to your personal brand, your ability to manage your professional network, and keep up with today's industry trends. Yet, you still haven't gotten around to updating, completing, and/or taking advantage of all the enhancements that your profile has to offer. 

A complete profile is a great sign to potential employers, clients, customers, and business partners. It shows that you're open and ready for business. So handle your business! Below is a short slide presentation via +SlideShare I created to help you do just that. Learn how to make the best of your headline, personalize your LinkedIn URL, create an eye catching summary, and more!

Quick Guide to Optimizing Your LinkedIn Profile from Cathy Francois, MBA

Moving You Forward,

Cathy Francois, MBA
Career Coach
Founder of Rezume Forward

P.S. If you still don't feel like updating your LinkedIn profile, let a professional handle it. Click >> Email me to schedule a free consultation. 

Creating Y.O.U. - Launch Your Personal Brand in 2014

Do you remember your high school’s senior class superlatives? I remember categories such as, “Most Likely to Succeed,”  “Best Dressed,” and “Class Clown.” Maybe not class clown, however I think what’s most interesting about superlatives is that there is never any official campaigning before the voting begins. However, the superlative winners have been subconsciously campaigning all along; most since freshman year. Even as teenagers our self-perception impacted how others perceived us based on the attributes we displayed.

How you are perceived by the rest of the world matters and the information you are providing to promote those perceptions is even more important. Today you do not need to be a celebrity like Kim Kardashian or entrepreneur like Tony Robbins to be concerned about your personal brand.  Even cats manage their personal brand these days, why not you?  If you are connected to any social media network you may be building one without realizing it.

You create Your Own Universe.

Everyone has talent to offer the world. Even if you’re not sure what that is yet, be mindful about what you’re projecting to the universe while you discover your passion. (That way you’ll have to do less damage control later.) If you've discovered your special niche, it’s time to show it to world. Think about the skills and knowledge that you possess that may appeal to others and the best way to display it. This will help bring value to your brand, also known as brand equity. As a career professional, that translates to why you’ll get hired over someone else. Here are some tips to get you started with your personal brand launch this year.

Create a Domain. Create an address on the worldwide web where someone can find you. Consider purchasing a domain such as yourfirstandlastname.com. If designing a page sounds like a little too much right now. Just purchase one and park it for later use. A free alternative is creating an About.me page. You can find mine at http://about.me/cathy.francois. The template is simple and yet very customizable and can be linked to any other website or social media platform.

Social Media is a Must. This may seem obvious, but I have met some very reluctant souls. However, if you’re just starting out I recommend having a Twitter and LinkedIn account at the very least. They are not only great platforms to showcase your brand, but a fantastic place to connect with others who share similar interests. Other great social media outlets to consider are Pinterest, Instagram, +YouTube, +Facebook, and Google+. I personally use all of them. You can call me a social media junkie if you want to, but guess what? You’re reading my blog now :).

Share Your Knowledge Freely. Sharing your passion or expertise can be as easy as sharing a status update with links to relevant content or photos of your work. You can take it a step further through blogging or vlogging (video blogging). There are many platforms where you can quickly design a blog and start sharing such as Blogger, Typepad, or Wordpress.

Have Marketing Material. What’s a brand without marketing material? If you’re in the business of taking your career to the next level have a business card whether you’re entry-level, mid-level or C-suite level. Not a corporate card for an organization that you work for either. Your personal brand is one that you will take with you no matter who you work for. Think of the companies that you’ve worked for as your clients. Update your resume with key skills, knowledge, and accomplishments that your clients benefit from and develop a portfolio to showcase your best work.

Dare to Be Different, but be Yourself. As you figure out the best way to build your personal brand it’s easy to get caught up in the way others do things. You might be even intimidated by the knowledge of others. That’s okay; learn from them, but stay to true to what’s unique to you. If you have an idea to showcase your brand that’s different from what others are doing, go for it! Incorporate the right marketing and your audience will find you and appreciate your uniqueness.

Now imagine getting an invitation to your high school reunion today. What would your colleagues say about you now?  What would you want them to say? When it comes to your personal brand remember you create Y.O.U. (Your Own Universe).

Moving You Forward,

Cathy Francois, MBA
Career Coach
Founder of Rezume Forward

P.S. I provide professional and personalized career consulting. Available services include strategic career planning, résumé writing, interview preparation, LinkedIn profile optimization, and more. Email me to schedule a consultation. 

Creating a Strategic Job Search: Rise to the top like C.R.E.A.M.

Are you ready to start job seeking? Before you start aimlessly applying for jobs, understand that in today’s competitive market developing a strategy for your job search is essential. Here’s a road map on how to create a strategy to get the job you want and becoming like the C.R.E.A.M. (Career Ready Exceptional Applicants of the Millennium) who rise to the top.

Know What You Have to Offer. In order to successfully sell a product, it’s important to know the features and benefits as it relates to the buyer. As a candidate for a position, begin with an entrepreneurial mindset. View yourself from the eyes of an employer and think about the skills, knowledge and experience that you possess that employers would find valuable. Develop an elevator pitch; that’s who you are and what you do in 3 sentences or less.

Optimize Your Resume and Social Media Presence. Your resume is like an ad for your services. Will it immediately attract the attention of a potential employer? Does is clearly state your qualifications, how you will meet employers’ needs and free from errors? It’s important to have a focused resume, otherwise employers will not be able to figure out how you may be a benefit to their company and pass. Make it easy for them.

And let’s not forget your social resume. LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook are tools that companies use to market their presence online to help potential customers find them. You need to do the same to help employers find you. Don’t be incognito about it either (i.e. setting your profile to private or not including a legitimate professional profile picture); these are your media outlets. Sounds overwhelming? There are tools such as CareerCloud to help you manage it all. Be seen, be heard, and be discoverable!

Target Companies. Now that you know your product and created some great “ads” it’s time to search for your target market. Search for companies that are seeking your services and create a plan to connect with them directly (direct marketing). This may include searching through your connections on social media (prospecting) to find out who knows someone in your companies of interest (Jackalope Jobs makes that easy). Ask for an introduction or attend an event where employees of those companies will be present (this is when you use that elevator pitch). Follow your companies of interest on all their social media platforms. This may give you insight into their corporate culture or first dibs on an employment opportunity.

Be Interview Ready. After you've gotten the attention of potential employers be ready to close the sale. There’s nothing like getting a product that doesn't deliver on its promises.  It’s important to research the company in preparing for the interview, but if you have been connecting and following them on social media most of this work has been done. This will make it easier for you to readily match what you have to offer with their needs and share ideas on solutions you can provide.

Not having a proper plan and strategy in place is where many fail in the job search process. It’s like throwing darts without a target and hoping something will stick. Applying a strategy will take you from being a career ready applicant to a Career Ready Exceptional ACHIEVER of the Millennium. Know your value, know what you want and be intentional in getting it.

Moving You Forward,

Cathy Francois
Career Coach
Founder of Rezume Forward

P.S. The job search process can be complicated. Thankfully, you do not have to create a plan alone. Let’s team up to create a personalized plan to help you achieve career success today. Email me at cfrancois@rezumeforward.com

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Getting Your Connections Up: Networking Simplified

The New York Times recently published an article¹ on how larger companies are increasingly using their own employees to find new hires through referrals. This trend makes good business sense as it saves time and money. And it left me to think that the life of a hermit crab is going to get really tough in today’s job market. According to the Department of Labor, the average unemployed worker today is jobless for 38 weeks. Besides being a call to get your emergency savings up, this is a call to get your connections up; meaningful ones.

However, the thought of building connections through “networking” may make some people cringe. Some people may view this as hobnobbing, schmoozing, or down and dirty brown-nosing. This is deeper than the superficial “friends” you have through social media. However, I’m not discrediting social media, just stating it is merely a link to a possible meaningful connection.  Here are some tips on building your connections up.

Start in your natural environment. Do your neighbors know who are and what you do? Have you taken time to get to know coworkers outside your department? Do you know other parents at your child’s school? If you answered no to all 3 questions you have some work to do. Start with a smile, a wave hello, say good morning, and take little opportunities to strike up a conversation without expecting anything in return. Connections are much easier to build when you’re not looking to receive, so build them before you need them.

Warm your cold connections. The next time someone accepts or sends you a connection request on social media send them a thank you message. Send birthday and congratulatory messages whenever possible. This gives an opportunity for people to remember who you are. You can also add an open-ended question to encourage a two-way conversation, such as “How do you like your new job?” These simple gestures take a little time, but may lead to a rewarding meaningful connection.

Be Likable. (Not a people pleaser or pushover) Making connections is pointless if you turn around and burn them. That’s called building walls. There must be a good reason why Dale Carnegie’s book “How to Win Friends and Influence People” is still a popular book since published in 1936. This is long before Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. It’s about getting back to the basics and applying it in the new millennium.

Give. What do you have to offer? At career fairs people are always drawn to the booth that’s giving away the cool knick-knacks.  Give to open yourself to the opportunities to receive.

In this fast paced world, it may be challenging to find time to build relationships. For some it comes natural and it shows by their success and for others not so much. Thankfully this is a skill you can learn. Research and finds ways to build relationships and make connections in a way that comes natural to you. Remember, in today’s job market, keeping your connections up means keeping your money up.

Moving you Forward,

Cathy Francois

Career Coach
Founder of Rezume Forward

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¹http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/28/business/employers-increasingly-rely-on-internal-referrals-in-hiring.html?hp&_r=0

Are you LinkedIn yet? What you’ve been missing

If you’re like me, you’re never the first to jump on social media sites because you don’t want to be part of a fad and have another long lost profile. A year ago, I finally created my LinkedIn profile because I was relocating and looking for new opportunities.  And my only regret is that I did not create one sooner. So if you are thinking, “I’m not getting on the social media bandwagon” or “I’m not looking for a job, why do I need a profile?” I suggest you reconsider quickly. With over 200 million users strong LinkedIn is more like a freight train than a bandwagon and you better get on board. Whether you’re new or fell off the wagon now is a better time than any with LinkedIn’s new profile design.

One-Click Endorsements. You can now endorse people in your network and others can do the same for you in just one click. This can be done by adding your skill sets to your profile such as project management, sales, customer service and more.  The easiest way to get an endorsement is by endorsing others in your network, which in turn they will receive a notification of your endorsement and LinkedIn will suggest that they endorse you.

Establish and Maintain Your Professional Identity. Does your network really know what you do? Do you have valuable information to share? Have you recently completed any special projects or certifications? Keep your profile fresh by updating information as they occur, which will make updating your resume a breeze when the time comes. However, be careful not to overdo it or turn off your activity broadcast through your privacy settings if necessary. That way if you need to do an overhaul on updates, people don’t get a notification for every change you make to your profile.

Follow Global Luminaries. Now you can do more than follow industry information, groups and companies. In addition, you can gain professional wisdom by following any one of 150 influential global leaders, such as Tony Robbins, Richard Branson and a bunch of other people you may have never heard of, but may want to know based on your interests.

The new and improved LinkedIn profile is streamlined, visually appealing, and helps you connect or reconnect with others better than ever. But don’t take my word for it. Find out for yourself and discover opportunities that may await you this year.

Cathy Francois

Career Coach
Founder of Rezume Forward

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Reality TV: Trashy TV or Lessons to Treasure?

Yes, reality television is one of my favorite guilty pleasures; Real Housewives of Atlanta, Chicagolicious… and Shahs of Sunset might be growing on me. I don’t get a kick out of the cat fights or the wig tugging. But, I do have an appreciation for the more subtle moments where career and business transactions are being made, and lessons are being learned. I’m especially more interested in the characters that are driven entrepreneurs and live for the actual real moments, even if it’s just some nuggets of knowledge. Oh, and the drama… just keeps it interesting. So I’ve taken some snippets of real moments that you can apply in real life to achieve career success.

Make Real Connections.  No, the faux friends you have on Facebook don’t count. Not to discredit social media (love it!), but remember it’s a bridge for real connections to be made. Please do not get confused, I’m not necessarily talking about rubbing elbows with Donald Trump or Bravo TV’s Andy Cohen, who both by the way attributed themselves to Real Housewives of Atlanta star, Nene Leakes’ success (she stated otherwise). What I am saying is, foster positive relationships by starting with the people around you, like your neighbor across your cubical and in your community. Because you never know where a real connection may lead you. 

Be Likable. Again, not as in the 20 “likes” on your photo planking on top of the stove. Being likable goes hand-in-hand with making real connections. It’s hard to keep connections with an "all-about-ME” attitude. We all know there’s no “I” in TEAM and you’ll need a great one around you to achieve success like the team at AJ's Salon of Style Network's Chicagolicious. Even if you’re confident in what you do, embrace your talents graciously or end up in the NFL (no friends left) zone.

Give Back. Let’s keep it real, not all of us need to start a foundation at once, because you know that’s popular in Hollywood. We can all give back in small ways, such as sharing best practices with your team, giving a colleague a good referral, and sharing your gifts with the underserved. Some people may remember and one day return the favor, but do not give to receive, which goes back to the first point about making real connections.

So the next time you're getting ready to have your reality TV fix, put down your smartphone, bring out the pen and paper, and get ready to be schooled. It's lesson time!

Moving you forward,

Cathy Francois
Career Coach
Founder of Rezume Forward

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