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17 Steps to Ensure You Ace Your Next Video Interview

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This past week I was a guest for an experts interview series called Corporate Rebels. It was a Skype video interview and half way through the connection was lost, my hosts picture was frozen and I was talking away to myself (which can happen at other times occasionally!).

Luckily we were able to reconnect, finish the interview and with the wonders of editing the end result will hardly show a cut.  But it struck me how many steps I had to take to ensure that the 30 live minutes were the best they could be.

I thought this experience would be useful to help you the next time you are getting ready for a video job interview or podcast;

SET-UP

It is important to have everything set up way ahead of time. The last thing you want to be doing, when you are trying to get ready for an interview is stumbling and fiddling and not thinking about the task in hand.

Light Source

Natural light is ideal. If not, then ensure that there are lights casting enough illumination on you from more than one angle. You do not want only one side of your face showing or to find that the sun is shining right behind or across you, and the interviewer cannot see you. Windows or any source of light should be in front of you. If they are behind you, the viewer may only see your silhouette.

Backdrop

You want your interviewer to be focused on you so do not have anything like last weeks laundry hanging up in the background that could distract them. Stark blank walls are too bare. Plan for a pleasing backdrop like, perhaps a plant or tidy book case.

Set Design

You might use this set-up for future interviews or business meetings. Use set up marks for your computer, lighting, and chair or standing position. That way for the next call, you can set up quickly.

Read More »17 Steps to Ensure You Ace Your Next Video Interview

Build A Branded LinkedIn Header Image You Will Be Proud Of

Paul Copcutt

Unless you are one of those fake profiles, you would not want to use a stock photo for your headshot on your profile. So why are you doing it with the most important piece of visual real estate you have?

One area of a LinkedIn in profile that is really under used is the header image. LinkedIn offers you a few stock photo options, but once you have seen a few of the same one on a few profiles that loses its effect quickly.

This probably more than any other area is a perfect place for you to communicate your personal brand.

Some of my clients have uploaded pictures of their personal passions, hobbies or pursuits. Alternatively some have used it as an opportunity to highlight parts of their personal brands from a professional perspective.

Part of the image area is covered up your profile but with some clever editing and a little trial and error you can get a very effective representation of you, your message and your brand, like mine above.

First here is the template to use so you know which areas are visible all the time and which ones may be covered depending on the device.

Read More »Build A Branded LinkedIn Header Image You Will Be Proud Of

After the LinkedIn Password Hacking – 3 Important Steps to Take NOW

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You may have missed the news, after all it was back in 2012 – but LinkedIn was hacked and what initially seemed to be ‘only’ 6.5 million passwords being compromised now appears to have been a breach of over 100 million passwords – that is a around a quarter of the total LinkedIn membership.

This week LinkedIn acknowledged that these passwords and other information such as emails have been offered up for sale on the ‘dark web’ black market.

Regardless of whether you think your account may have been one of these 117 million you should login to your LinkedIn account right now and do these three things;

Read More »After the LinkedIn Password Hacking – 3 Important Steps to Take NOW

Are You Running Up Against the Commercial Use Search Limit on LinkedIn?

Commercial limit

BUT I want to do more searches! With a number of changes over the last several months LinkedIn has also appeared to be playing with how many searches you can conduct. This has always been the case with free accounts but now it seems the same applies to some of the Premium accounts too.

What is more frustrating is that there does not seem to be any definitive number, I have found with my own Premium account that I can run up to this limit just before my renewal date is, but other months it can be in the first few days and I don’t seem to be doing anything different!

Here are some solutions …..Read More »Are You Running Up Against the Commercial Use Search Limit on LinkedIn?

Are You Using the Mini-Profile Feature in LinkedIn Groups?

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Is That Commenter Someone You Want to Know?

If you are regularly involved in Groups (if you are not you should be), often you will see a comment by someone in a post and want to know a little bit more about them but are not ready to look at their full profile, or you do not want to navigate away from the Group.

Now there is a solution! 

Now if you hover…..Read More »Are You Using the Mini-Profile Feature in LinkedIn Groups?

Find Any Email Via Social Media Profiles

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As you go about your daily activity on LinkedIn (you are doing that daily aren’t you?), you come across a profile of someone that is of interest to you. They might be a hiring manager, a recruiter or someone you think you might be able to do business with.

But the challenge is they are not a connection. You look through their profile and find you have no shared connections. They are too far removed from you to send a Message and you have no InMails you can use.

How do you get in touch? 

The answer could be……Read More »Find Any Email Via Social Media Profiles

STOP Damaging Your Personal Brand & Reputation on LinkedIn With Fake Connections

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There have been a number of articles and press reports about the increasing use of LinkedIn by spammers and other types using false LinkedIn profiles.

If we are honest most of us have been there. Taken in by the deceptive profile that wants to connect on LinkedIn we accept, we might even take time to thank them.  Almost immediately the spam or phishing message comes in and we either ignore it, delete it or wish we had been more vigilant.  Maybe next time we will be.

Don’t worry, you are not alone. Many of the most connected and most professional on this network are doing the same, without knowing or perhaps, I hope not,  caring.

The profile above was…….Read More »STOP Damaging Your Personal Brand & Reputation on LinkedIn With Fake Connections

How to spot a fake profile looking to connect on LinkedIn

You might be doing the same, without knowing.  A well taken and professional looking headshot is the first thing you notice when someone reaches out to connect on LinkedIn.  But just a cursory glance often makes you realise it is from one of the stock-photo services or a magazine which immediately makes me suspicious. Now not saying I am perfect and there may be a profile or two in my network that… Read More »How to spot a fake profile looking to connect on LinkedIn

Emoji’s on LinkedIn – What Were You Thinking?

Don’t hit return too soon! On September 1st this year LinkedIn began rolling out a completely re-designed messaging feature on its platform. Their official blog announced it“New Messaging Experience Comes to LinkedIn”. After a few initial glitches and confusion, as expected with most new product features or upgrades, it now seems to be embraced and used more regularly than its previous versions. In general the messaging on desktop and mobile… Read More »Emoji’s on LinkedIn – What Were You Thinking?

The #1 Mistake (Nearly) Everyone Makes on LinkedIn and What to do About It.

If someone is going to search for your name on Google are they going to type in First Name, Last Name and a series of random letters and numbers?  Of course not! Then why do you continue to label your professional profile on LinkedIn this way? What most people do not realize is that you can custom the web address where your LinkedIn profile is placed, it is like your… Read More »The #1 Mistake (Nearly) Everyone Makes on LinkedIn and What to do About It.