January 2015

 

Hello!
Welcome to Driving Your Career Starts NOW/The Newsletter, showing you how you can manage your career.

Be in charge of your career. Don't wait for someone else to do it for you. Your career funds your life, so there's no parking allowed: drive it now!

And Happy New Year 
to you all!

            - Joanne Meehl, aka The Job Search Queen - Celebrating 11+ years shortening job searches
Why Executives MUST Network with Non-Execs
 
So often I hear company leaders in transition, at networking groups or similar, talk about how they need to meet other C-level leaders or executives for networking purposes, to the exclusion of other "levels". Here are four reasons why it will pay off for you to expand your network ...

In your LinkedIn profile's headline, 
do not include your current company's name
LinkedIn logo


 
The LinkedIn headline is the line beneath your name. This is the most heavily-weighted line in your profile so what goes here is vital.

In your settings, you can prevent any profile updates from going to all your connections -- except if you change your picture or your headline. LinkedIn will allow those changes to alert your network. 

Your photo is one thing, and it's actually a change that will draw your connections to your profile, and that's good. 

But if you change your headline, LinkedIn -- let's hope they stop doing this -- will announce to your network that you have a new job! Regardless of why you change any words in your headline, LinkedIn assumes you're telling everyone you have a new job. 

Clients in a job who have made such changes with no new job have to scramble to tell their connections (and coworkers!) they do not have a new job, they simply changed some words or the phrasing in their headline. And those between jobs have to race to alert their network that yes, they are still looking.

So what should go here, whether you're employed or not? Here's where I say: Your LinkedIn profile is your profile, it's your career presence online. Unless you have a special arrangement with your company, it does not belong to your company.

 

Thus I strongly recommend you use that line for your current and/or recent titles, and perhaps areas of expertise

Here's an example, for a Chemical Engineer:

Chemical Engineer | Control Engineer | Research Engineer | Research Scientist


New grad? I've urged those just starting their career to do this:

Future Financial Analyst, Management Analyst | Analytics, Statistics, Research

Using the keywords of your target position is critical, but these also must be true for you, backed by successes and achievements. It's what you're known for.

Finally, your headline is a classic statement about you, even when you do change your job. It's not "Vice President of Sales at ABC Company, worldwide provider of digital widgets", it's about you and what you do well and what is your work over time. As you move through your career, you will add to it and change it.

Let's hope by then, LinkedIn will have changed its assumption that you are announcing a new job. Until then, follow the tips above and your life on LinkedIn will be simpler. And more powerful!


 


 

"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."

             -       Anais Nin


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Connect

Next Face2Face Mpls  meeting is Jan. 8th!
The next meeting is
this Thursday, Jan. 8th:
*YOU Are the Star!* Want to do something to shake up your search and expand your network? 
Then come to the meeting so you can meet ALL attendees at multiple networking clusters! All info is at the site.
Career Tip from Joanne: 
Make sure your job search business card is GREAT quality. Most business cards are 12 or 14 pt in weight. These feel fine until you feel one that's heavier. Make yours 16 or more and your new contacts will know right away that you stand for only the best.
The Blog: People tell me they...
... learn a lot when they read my blog (and newsletter). I give a ton of info in each blog so  take a look at the latest AND the archives.

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The Job Search Queen and The Resume Queen are trademarks held by Joanne Meehl