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Are Skills Endorsements on LinkedIn Really Worth Anything?

Many believe that the endorsements, given by others, of your skills on your profile, are next to worthless. Following several acquisitions of companies in the artificial intelligence (A.I.) space, LinkedIn has been incorporating some of the technology into upgrades of its platform. This includes looking to make the endorsements of skills more relevant to those viewing your profile. We all appreciate the value of a solid recommendation from a colleague or client.… Read More »Are Skills Endorsements on LinkedIn Really Worth Anything?

Don’t Make the Mistake of Telling Your Boss Your Are Looking for a New Job

A big source of revenue for LinkedIn is it’s recruiter focused accounts. Naturally (as in the ad above) they want to make the platform attractive to recruiters. But not all candidates are public about their job searching intentions because they fear their boss may find out. Now LinkedIn has introduced a feature that you can turn on or off which privately advises recruiters that you are open to new opportunities.… Read More »Don’t Make the Mistake of Telling Your Boss Your Are Looking for a New Job

Don’t Leave Your Personal Brand to Chance – 5 Tips for Success

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“A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do.” – Bob Dylan

The Fall is a busy time for everyone. Many companies view the last 4 months of the year as an opportunity to spend the years budgets, or individuals look to make that all important career move, ready to start the new year in a new opportunity.

Recruiters are also very active, between now and the end of the year can make or break their commissions or bonus, and for some those payments can be significant. Unfortunately that can sometimes mean they lose sight of what is best for the candidate.

A word to the wise when you get that next headhunters call!!

I am reminded about a certain recruiter who I think only ever worked for one client and therefore when he was contacting people to talk about a great new opportunity he could really only have one ‘sales pitch’.

One September he called a friend of mine who had, to that point, a successful career in sales in consumer goods and proceeded to tell him that industry was dying, no future, consolidation was happening everywhere – to an extent it was true. He went on to say Now if you want to get in to a growth industry do I have the opportunity for you – I’m thinking of you and I’m thinking – aluminum extrusions, was how he described it – we knew it was double glazing!

Three years later, again in September, my friend, who had by then switched to the medical industry, had a call one evening from the same recruiter – his opening line after finding out what my friend was doing was “That’s a dying industry, lots of consolidation – now if you want to get in to a growth industry do I have the opportunity for you – I’m thinking of you and I’m thinking – aluminum extrusions……..!!!!!!”

You should not be leaving your next career move to the whims of anyone else, it’s up to you to own the definition of who you are.

Here are 5 ways to ensure you have better control of your career;

Read More »Don’t Leave Your Personal Brand to Chance – 5 Tips for Success

Is Your Personal Brand Like the iPhone 7 or More Like the Galaxy Note 7 ?

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In recent weeks we have seen two very different brand stories when it comes to the latest smartphones.

The launch of the iPhone 7 has been accompanied by all the pre-launch build up that Apple does so well and that leads to increased demand. We have seen images of the ‘Apple Junkies’, who have already secured their new phone by pre-order, but still queue up overnight to be one of the first to physically have their phone.

Contrast this with the total product recall of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7. There have been reports of a risk of it exploding and airlines have even advised passengers not to get on the plane in possession of one.

These events are accompanied by Apple dropping the price of its ‘older’ models, Samsung having to dispose of whole technology divisions to pay the expected $1 billion+ in compensation, and of course Apple’s share price rising.

Until the next launch or product recall.

After all, it seems like never a week goes by without another new phone hitting the market. Apparently the lifespan for a smartphone, before it becomes ‘obsolete’ and overtaken by a faster, sleeker, more buttons and gadgets phone from someone else, is between 3 and 6 months.

Is this same risk of obsolescence happening for you in your career?

Read More »Is Your Personal Brand Like the iPhone 7 or More Like the Galaxy Note 7 ?

Easy Marketing of Brand You Even a Newbie Can Do It

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One constant in today’s work world is change. Look at the jobs available now and in the future and the older you are then the more likely they have little relation to what you thought you might be doing when coming out of school. Making yourself a viable candidate in this changing landscape falls to you. You have to take charge of your own career, and own the definition of who you are because no-one else is going to do it for you.

Here are 8 steps to help you survive in the ever changing world of work:

Read More »Easy Marketing of Brand You Even a Newbie Can Do It

Will Volunteering Boost Your Personal Brand on LinkedIn?

Adding volunteer experience can be a great way of communicating your personal brand to your professional network. Three benefits to you of being able to see other peoples volunteer experience; You can see who in your industry, voacation or network has similar interests to you. Particularly if you are looking to connect with that person, it is another area of commonality in which to make that first approach. You can search by… Read More »Will Volunteering Boost Your Personal Brand on LinkedIn?

Get Noticed And Appreciated By Your Boss With These 7 Personal Brand Exercises

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It is critical to your success that others know about your personal brand and what it stands for, here are 7 ways to help you do that.

Jane was a Senior VP at one of the banks. She had been there for 15 years with regular career moves and promotions.  Now she was frustrated because  her last performance review made her realize that her desired promotion to the C-suite was blocked.

She came to me for coaching and we soon determined the reason why she was not being considered for this key move. She was invisible. Not to her colleagues or boss in the local office but to the people making the C-level decisions in New York.  The solution was clear. We had to raise her profile in New York even though she was not based there.

We put in place an action plan to raise her credibility and visibility with the decision makers.  Within 9 months she was promoted to the CFO role.

This was a classic case of the right people not knowing about Jane and her personal brand. This may be the very reason that you too are not progressing in your career or getting invited to join the latest project or team. More of the ‘right’ people need to know about your personal brand.

Here are 7 key things about your personal brand that you need to ensure everyone (who matters) knows about you;

Read More »Get Noticed And Appreciated By Your Boss With These 7 Personal Brand Exercises

Let’s Be Extra Careful Out There!

Firstly Happy Canada Day to all Canadian readers and Happy 4th of July for Monday to all my American readers. A new, unpublished Intel Security survey of 2,000 U.K.-based LinkedIn users found that nearly 24 percent of respondents have connected on LinkedIn with someone they did not know. Moreover, nearly 69 percent of survey-takers said it never even crossed their minds that the people they’ve connected with might be fictional online personas… Read More »Let’s Be Extra Careful Out There!

Lead, Be Free, Find Success at Work

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If you feel like a square peg in a round hole at the office, like the person who believes collaboration will lead to more success than competition, like people and passion come before transactions, and that your experience at the office can be different, then keep reading.

I’ve been invited to join an amazing lineup of experts who have come together to share their knowledge and strategies for how work can be done differently – both for you as an individual and for your company.

The Corporate Rebel Series is free interview training series for professionals who want to lead, be free, and find success at work – all at the same time.

It all kicks off tomorrow (June 15th) And guess what? (This is the awesome part!)

It’s free to join. Grab your spot here. 

This training series is for you if…..

Read More »Lead, Be Free, Find Success at Work

It’s Not What You Know, its Who You Know on LinkedIn

New Enhancements to the LinkedIn Job Board Experience Despite the increased amount of business development, networking and relationship and the many recommendations now to build a profile that is more than just a cut and paste of your resume, for many users of LinkedIn it is still predominantly used to help them find their next job. Even with lower unemployment numbers having the upper hand with some more insights can… Read More »It’s Not What You Know, its Who You Know on LinkedIn