“While not new, predictive analytics is an important factor in assessing a candidate’s fit and potential. What is new is its accelerating use in corporate America as a means to filter candidates in and out of consideration long before any personal assessment is made.” — Lou Adler
Lou Adler is a regular contributor to LinkedIn and has so much experience and authority in his perspective on the hiring process that it is worth taking the time to understand what he says about the way Big Brother is Now Determining Your Hirability. Today, a person seeking a position is filtered by all that is in their resume, and all that is in their online brand as well. There’s a list of characteristics that fit into a pattern; the pattern of the Achiever.
Here is what the “Achiever Pattern” that many companies look for consists of:
lower turnover with growing responsibility
quality of the years of experience rather than number of years
quickly being assigned (or volunteering) for important projects and/or teams
demonstrating same patterns of initiative & responsibility in every position
rehiring and being rehired by past co-workers
participation in expanding cross-functional teams
Why Are Certain Qualities Desirable?
If you look at the Achiever Pattern’s overall impression, you see someone who is willing and able to work within any setting and maximize the potential. They are good to work with, as evidenced by the fact they hire past co-workers and are hired by people who have worked with them in the past. There’s a pattern there of more than a self-centered trampling on the way to a shinier inflated ego — the achievement they consistently reach is an achievement that is good for everyone.
If you don’t have these qualities, you may be filtered out of the running before you ever get to the interview. It may be a good idea to carefully look at your resume and online presence and see how accurately they are portraying your own achievements. LinkedIn profile development has never been more important than it is today because it reveals a pattern that your next employer uses to predict your hirability.
6 Ways To Turn Your Social Media Savvy Into A Career
Did you know that many businesses are looking for someone to be their Social Media Manager? It’s true — because social media is fast becoming an essential part of marketing and customer relations, companies need somebody to devote a lot of time to doing it right. Scarlett Wilson recently shared the Top 6 Skills Employers Look For In A Social Media Manager on B2C (Business 2 Community) and the list is worth considering:
Experience in using social media tools — the more, the better.
An analytical mind-set — the ability to use analytical tools to interpret data and explain what the numbers really mean.
Ability to plan long-term social media strategies — understanding your particular market and trends, etc.
Ability to write quality content — this is crucial because search engines increasingly look for relevancy, and people insist on it.
Additional digital marketing skills — blog writing, keyword optimization, formatting, or anything in this category should be on your resume because they are in demand.
Communication skills — because social media is all about communication. So is business, actually.
Social Media Skills Are Marketable
It used to be that things like LinkedIn Profile Development were considered to be a good networking device for an individual career and that was all. Most business owners didn’t think about their business social media development unless reputation management became an issue. But today the reality of internet marketing means social media has to be an integral consideration.
If your company doesn’t do any social media marketing, and you have these skills, you could be able to convince your boss that it would be good to let you start doing something in this field. If you are looking for a job, make sure that you have any social media skills listed in your resume and can explain why they are there.
An old-school employer may not understand why it’s important until they are shown some facts. Any employer who is at all concerned about the company’s internet presence will be very interested in what you have to offer.
You want your resume to stand out, right? But not when it stands out as a shining example of what not to do on a resume. While there are many ways to make mistakes on a resume, one of the most ubiquitous is the plethora of unnecessary verbiage that accompanies attempts to impress. What???
That was an example of “Resume Speak“, or in more words, the fine art of “utilizing synergies and leveraging paradigms” seen at a popular Tumblr site of the same name. This site is just a steady stream of things said simply then translated into the kind of business-speak that makes communication bog down. And it is funny. In fact, if you work in the writing field and have anything to do with resumes, it’s hilarious.
For example, instead of saying “Got out prison with parole three years early for good behavior”, the site suggests “Successfully interfaced with governmental disciplinary system by modeling socially sanctioned behavioral metrics, significantly reducing duration of recommended confinement period.” That’ll look good on a resume all right — not.
Your Words Are Important
The language we use on a resume is more than a vehicle to transmit information. Our choice of words can alert an applicant screening system that we are a potential candidate by using the keywords it is searching for. The way we put our words together can confuse or clarify what we say about our qualifications — and using buzzwords or resume speak is not going to have the effect you are hoping for.
Even the highest level of executive resume writing has to be careful to avoid resume speak because it’s so easy to do. Business and industry have their own vocabularies and phrases. Some of that language comes pretty close to what you’ll see on that Tumblr site because Resume Speak began as a response to the overblown sentences seen far too often in the attempt to impress. As the site says, it’s useless. Don’t do this on your resume.
It’s that time of year when the holiday parties start popping up on your calendar. Some parties are going to be times to relax and let it all hang out (whatever your particular group of cronies likes to hang out and do), but the office party is a different kind of festive occasion.
Corporate Celebrations Are Career-Oriented
Don’t make the mistake of forgetting about Monday morning when you are in party mode. It’s important to know your etiquette for office holiday parties because everything that happens is remembered and discussed. The party is the company’s way of expressing appreciation for your hard work, but it isn’t an excuse to get drunk or act in ways you will regret.
If you are interested in improving your career, the office party is a great place to make connections with people you would not be able to talk to during normal business operations.
Office Parties Are Networking Opportunities
Think of this occasion as a fancy networking session.
You are dressed up — but make sure you still look like a professional rather than a party animal.
You might be drinking alcohol — but make sure it doesn’t negatively affect your behavior.
The rules are relaxed — so you can talk to the boss or others higher in the organization without an appointment.
You know that there will be memories of the party, so make sure the memories of you are good. Think about that classic 80/20 ratio and plan on listening 80% of the time. You don’t want to wake up the next morning, remember how you acted, and groan. Ask questions, make connections, but don’t monopolize the evening trying to get the boss to notice how great you are. This is a time to be enjoyed, but it also is a time that can be good for your career.
Networking is one of those activities that gets shelved because you are busy. Unfortunately, it’s also one of those activities that needs to be consistent in order to do any good to your career. This is because the nature of networking is relationships, and if you only connect with people when you need them, you are viewed in a negative light. You also miss out on a lot of positive things when you don’t connect, so it’s a good idea to put it on your schedule.
If LinkedIn Is A Garden, It Has Weeds
One of the most productive professional networking sites available today is LinkedIn, but that success means that there’s spam — the weeds of the web. It gets overwhelming if you don’t do a little maintenance every day. Since the average professional on the site gets far more stuff sent to them than they want, your contact attempts can get lost in the spam weeds.
Use the tools available to you and start with your profile. How do you rank? Who’s looking at your profile? Do you share any interests other than a career category? Think hobbies, non-profits you support, and anything that you share with those names and reach out on a personal level to turn the name into a person for both of you. This connection keeps you from being seen as one more weedy spam item choking their inbox.
Cultivate Connections For Growth
People are living things; they grow and change and need regular maintenance. Since networking is all about people, it makes sense that there’s a need for regular maintenance in this area. You don’t need to spend a lot of time on this, but even 10 or 15 minutes a day checking your LinkedIn page and deliberately reaching out to one person in your network on a personal level will keep that connection healthier.
As you develop these professional relationships by becoming acquainted personally, you lay the groundwork for a mutually beneficial networking experience.
If you are an executive, then you should be on LinkedIn. Don’t think of it as just another social media website because it is not. It is a networking site for business professionals, and simply having a presence can improve your visibility tremendously. Many executives are finding that out the easy way. Here are 5 solid reasons you should be on LinkedIn right now:
Many professionals find their next job through contacts they meet on LinkedIn. The social network used to be considered the place to go when you wanted to find a job. Today, it’s much broader than that, but the networking possibilities are endless. And they often lead to better employment prospects.
It’s a great place to generate leads for your business.
You have the ability to share your content with your target audience seamlessly. If you are a blogger or routinely craft content on third party websites, you can share it on LinkedIn and reach your professional audience easily. No fighting through the noise on Facebook and Twitter.
You can publish your articles on LinkedIn and give them wider visibility. You own all your content and can take it with you when you leave–if you ever leave.
LinkedIn profile page acts like a professional online CV. Every time you make a career move–whether you change jobs, receive a certification, take a career enhancement class, get published, or earn an award for your professional achievements–you can add that to your LinkedIn profile. People do read them, and they do take notice.
Every executive should have a presence on LinkedIn, from CEO down to the middle manager who wants to be CEO.
The Top Reason Professional Resume Distribution Works
Is anybody in your family interested in your family history? My mom is our family historian. She has our family tree going back to the 1600’s! It’s pretty amazing what she’s found out and who she has met along the way. One thing most genealogists will tell you is that researching a family tree is a lot like networking. Many families will have one person in the generation who is willing to keep all the photos and letters and information, and finding that person is like finding a treasure trove. Instead of laboriously working on finding one branch, suddenly you discover that they’ve got the connections to a whole bunch of branches and they know the people who are the keepers of the photos and letters and information for all of them.
If you are interested in finding the connections in your ancestry, you need to find the people who are already doing the research. They have already made connections you have no access to until you contact them. For example, if you never meet Great Aunt Irma, then you won’t get to see all the letters your grandma sent to her dad with the pictures of your dad as a baby.
Networking
Companies use recruiters to fill executive positions and many other types of openings. A professional resume distribution service has carefully maintained connections with many professional recruiters so that a resume goes to the right recruiters for that job seeker. The connections have already been made: These are professionals who rely on networking for their career and carefully maintain the connections between them. Instead of Great Aunt Irma keeping your dad’s baby pictures, they’ve got first knowledge of job openings, and you won’t find out about it unless you connect to the right one.
This networking is the reason professional resume distribution works so much better than a blind email blast to every company in the phone book or a hopeful query out of nowhere. If your resume is presented by a reputable distribution service, that reputation enhances your resume by association. Recruiters get untold numbers of resumes all the time. It makes sense to filter them for efficiency. The fact you recognized quality and respected professional standards weights your submission with authority.
LinkedIn is one of the most important places to have an online presence because it is currently the top networking site for professionals of many industries. This is where a potential employer will look you up to see if you are a good fit for the job opening and where many people find the connections that bring them a career. It’s a very valuable resource and worth taking the time to make sure your LinkedIn profile is complete and contemporary.
If your profile is out of date or incomplete, how is being on this vital networking site doing you any good? In fact, an out of date, incomplete profile will probably be doing your career harm because it reflects badly on you. So make the investment and get that profile in shape because good things will happen as a result.
5 Ways To Start Updating Your LinkedIn Profile
Turn off the notifications while you are editing. Nobody but you needs to know that you are updating your profile until you are ready to present it in complete perfection. Do you want to know when others are tweaking their stuff? I didn’t think so.
Be very, very picky about your profile pic. There are plenty of professional photographers or good amateurs who can do the job and give you a polished, professional photograph for your polished, professional profile. No selfies can match that.
Keywords are how the search engine finds you. That means your profile has to use the words you want to be found by. Put those keywords in your headline, your summary, and the various sections in a natural manner.
Add personal details. You are a unique individual and this is one place you can show that individuality with volunteer work, publications, and more. Look at all the possible additions to your profile and consider them carefully.
Create a custom URL that is easy to remember; it is an easy process on the right side of the page when you are editing your profile. Keep your name and lose the numbers and look like the professional you are becoming.
LinkedIn Profile Development is an ongoing process because you should be adding to your completed profile regularly as you progress in your career. It’s much easier to update a professional profile once you have done the foundation work.
