Are Britain’s worst brands also the worst employers?

By Neil Patrick

Here’s a question for you. If a firm serves its customers poorly, does that also mean they treat their staff poorly?

According to a new piece of research, this is exactly the case. The research by Belinda Parmar of LadyGeek led to the creation of what she calls ‘The Empathy Index’. I also think it’s a useful way of deciding who you really don’t ever want to work for…

It used a UK nationwide poll of 1,000 members of the public, online feedback from 25 employees per company and analysis of 100 of each firm's tweets.

Whilst we have to be careful to not mix up cause and effect, I think it’s fair to assume that if a firm tops the index, it is almost certainly a better employer than one from the bottom. Moreover, whilst I have no direct personal experience of working for any of these firms, I know people who do and I also have experienced most of them as a customer. The index certainly ‘felt right’ to me.

These are the firms that topped the Index :

Congratulations to Linkedin! I was also pleased to see John Lewis coming in at number 4 – their employees are always exceptionally helpful and deliver great service. It’s no co-incidence that they all seem to be happy in their work.

But it’s the bottom of the list that I was more interested in. This hall of shame contained few surprises for me:

The bottom firms on this table are fully deserving losers in my view. At the very bottom are Carphone Warehouse who ignore data privacy requests and Ryanair who advertise cheap "no-frills" flights to secure bookings and then upsell us “options” at the airport when we have no choice. If you have a musical instrument with you, that’s an extra £60. Airport check-in fee - £70. More than one bag - £40.

Ryanair’s chief exec Michael O’Leary's disdain for his customers and "colorful" language makes for headlines of the wrong sort. He must subscribe to the idea that there's no such thing as bad publicity. In 2012 Ryanair got a pasting on social media for charging a customer £236 to print out five boarding passes. He claimed that “99.98 per cent” of Ryanair passengers printed their boarding passes in advance: “To those who don't, we say quite politely: ‘B***** off’”. Just how exactly is that polite Michael?

In 2013, Ryanair was also voted by consumer group Which? as having the worst customer service in a survey of 100 of Britain’s biggest brands. Angry customers took to Twitter to tell the Irish aviation boss personally what an ‘a***hole’ they thought he was.

‘I am an a***hole,’ he admitted. ‘But they still love me.’ Erm, I’m not so sure about that, Michael…

I’ve never been a customer of Carphone Warehouse, but here’s what Wikipedia has to say:

During 2005, customers who bought mobile phones from Carphone Warehouse retail outlets alleged that their landline accounts were subsequently switched without their consent.

On 15 August 2006, the Information Commissioner's Office issued Preliminary Enforcement Notices for breaches of PECR (The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations) against Carphone Warehouse and TalkTalk for making marketing calls to people who are signed up to the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) or people who have asked that the company make no further calls to them.

On 28 October 2006, in a Times interview, Richard Thomas, Britain's Information Commissioner, stated:

“We're taking action against some of the telecom companies, Talk Talk and Carphone Warehouse… because we've had a lot of complaints that they've been telephoning people with marketing calls, people whose name is on the telephone preference service. And then we do these prosecutions, particularly with private detectives. We've got a big case coming up.”

And finally we have BT. One of my friends worked for them and described the culture he experienced as “Daily agony.” A bullying culture that set unrealistic goals and punishing schedules. An expectation that people would work seven days a week and be grateful. The outsourcing of customer service to India where unintelligible workers in call centres would robotically read scripts to customers making helpdesk enquiries.

I think it’s fairly safe to say that the daily working experience for staff of the firms at the bottom of this index is just as miserable as it is for their customers. In fact probably worse, because they have to endure working with unhappy customers day after day after day.

In case you wish to discover how your current or potential employer performed on the Index, here’s a link to the complete document.

How to earn money while you look for your next job

By Diana Schneidman

There are millions of things you could do while you look for your next job.

• You could mow lawns or shovel snow. 
• You could return recyclables or take a metal detector down to the beach. 
• You could work breakfast shift at the local fast-food outlet or babysit your nephew. 

Here’s a better idea: You could practice your proven work skills as a well-paid freelancer or consultant working with businesses.

Why businesses? Well, because that’s where the money is. Businesses are more likely to have the funds to hire the assistance they need than individuals are, even if the individuals do have a need that service providers can fill.

This strategy is easier to implement than you may think, and if you have a little gumption, applied with forethought and taste, you can be earning good money quickly in a few weeks or less. 

The secret to success is to get busy with marketing efforts that directly connect you with valid prospects while postponing nice-to-have but optional brand positioning and internet marketing for later.

I’ve been unemployed several times and each time I followed the same three steps to land work as a freelance writer / editorial consultant serving the insurance and asset management industries.

These steps are:

Step #1: Offer a service as similar as possible to what you did in your last good full-time job.

You can jump into marketing with confidence because you understand which companies are most likely to want your services and exactly which benefits they desire. You also know the job titles of those most likely to hire you.

Also, it’s easiest to work independently when you have already polished your skills and can do the work without guidance from others.

Some may advise that you should do what you love and the money will follow. Sounds persuasive but this saying is not always true. Your hobbies and other “love interests” may be in overcrowded fields or talents that are challenging to monetize.

So why not start where you are and offer the service you know best?


Step #2: Contact the best prospects individually . . . and since today’s marketing gurus recommend developing personal relationships, why not start with a no-pressure, simple phone call?

Over the years I’ve made thousands of phone calls on behalf of my services and I only remember one person who hung up on me.

My calls are nothing like the nuisance calls you get at home while at the dinner table.

Since I only phone businesses, I call during business hours. I make the calls myself. I phone live - no recordings for me!

I only phone people who are likely to want my services.

I get to the point quickly and don’t waste time on useless happy chatter.

Sure, some people say “no,” but it’s all in a day’s work. I don’t consider a simple “no” as rejection.

Step #3: Get real! Let’s define getting work quickly as within 30 days, not 30 minutes.

Every marketing technique, from Twitter to advertising, relies on large numbers. So does phoning.


Why not give this simple three-step system a try? Access everything you need to know to achieve success with Diana Schneidman’s new book on Amazon: Real Skills, Real Income, A Proven Marketing System to Land Well-Paid Freelance and Consulting Work in 30 Days or Less.

(http://www.amazon.com/dp/0991015304)


Diana offers an informative blog and other free advice on how to market freelance and consulting services at www.StandUp8Times.com.

Why employers think job seekers are overconfident in their abilities

By J.T. O'Donnell 

'Get a mentor, you need it,' say hiring managers

The third annual Job Preparedness Indicator (JPI) spotlights differences in each group's view of the skills employees need to thrive in the workforce.

Some 72 percent of job seekers are confident they know how to present their skills and experience to an interviewer and more than half of job seekers (56 percent) are confident they know what employers are looking for in candidates today. Yet, only 15 percent of hiring managers say nearly all or most job seekers have the skills and traits their companies are looking for in candidates.

Employers to Job Seekers: "Get a Mentor, You Need It"

These gaps, along with the sense of self-confidence reported by job seekers may explain why many candidates have not taken steps to gain employment that hiring managers consider essential: 74 percent of hiring managers say job seekers should have a mentor, counselor or job coach to talk to about whether their skills and experience match those required for the jobs they are interested in yet, only 40 percent of job seekers report having a similar professional resource.

In fact, the proportion of job seekers who would rely on their own experience to decide what information to include on applications, resumes and cover letters rather than seek advice from others including career counsellors or instructors has grown from 58 percent in 2012 to 67 percent in 2013.

"Job seekers are doing themselves a huge disservice by ignoring the wealth of guidance and insight a mentor could provide," said Madeleine Slutsky, chairman of the Career Advisory Board and vice president of career services at DeVry University. "Cultivating relationships with individuals who have experience with the current employment landscape can be a tremendous help in the job search process."

Job Seekers Talking Trash = Denial There's a Problem

I have definitely seen evidence to support this study's findings around overconfident job seekers. Just take a look at some of the comments frustrated job seekers leave on articles dismissing the career advice being shared and you'll see that many think they know what they are doing. Yet, are they getting results? The answer is most likely "no" if they are reading the article in the first place.

The sad part is, while I don't mind sharing with people what is holding them back from getting the job (i.e. here are 10 things recruiters won't tell you, but I will), employers don't see it as their job to give you feedback like that. So, if you aren't figuring it out on your own, you could struggle to find work for a really long time.

Smart, Successful Professionals Know When to Seek Help

Getting help doesn't mean something is wrong with you. In fact, when you choose to get a coach or mentor, it shows you are investing in improving yourself. Pro athletes and C-suite executives all have coaches as a way to be at the top of their game. Why shouldn't you?

Given the study shows most job seekers think they know what they are doing when it comes to job search, these tips might fall on deaf ears. But, if you've been out of work for more than three months, you might want to have a heart-to-heart with yourself and consider the following:

1) You are a business-of-one that must actively sell your services. Don't get mad at the customer (a.k.a. employer) because they don't see your value. It's your job to build up your marketing skills and find a way to prove you are the right candidate for the job.

2) Applying online to every job you think you could do is a colossal waste of time. It’s also the lazy way to approach job search. 8 out of 10 times, your application is being tossed by the applicant tracking system. It's time to step up the efforts and learn to conduct a proactive job search.

3) Learn new, different techniques for writing cover letters. It's time to ditch the formal, outdated cover letter and learn how to write one that gets the attention of hiring managers. Otherwise, you are just wasting time because a boring, common cover letter doesn't get read.

4) Study up on social media and how to use it to connect with employers. Not only does it show you are tech-savvy, it is also where the recruiters are searching for top talent. If you aren't leveraging Linkedin and Twitter in your job search, you are missing out on a huge opportunity to tap into the hidden job market.

5) Make sure your resume doesn't read like an over-the-top infomercial. You've only got six seconds to capture the attention of a recruiter. Make the most of the top-fold of your resume. Stick to the facts and avoid subjective text that makes your resume feel over-stated.

6) Accept that you must network to get work. There is no way around it. You will have to do some form of networking if you want to land a job. These days, it's not who you know, it's who knows you. If you aren't having meaningful conversations with people in your industry, you won't be able to establish your credibility and get people to refer you to jobs. 80%+ of all jobs gotten today are done so via referral. If you are petrified of networking, you really need to get help. This isn't something that will fix itself. Mentors and coaches can be a huge support in this area.

Now, if you are reading these tips and saying, "I've done all that!" Then, you've got even more reason to consider getting professional help. Here's why...

There is a wise saying, "When the student is ready, the teacher appears."

It might be time to recognize you need to become a student and find your teacher. Don't let your pride get in the way of your success. The sooner you get help, the faster you can find new ways to connect with employers and land a job. The best part about coaches and mentors is they'll teach you skills you can use for a lifetime. And, since every job is temporary, getting up-to-speed on the best job search techniques will come in handy in the future.

This post originally appeared here:

http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2013/10/29/new-study-job-seekers-overconfident-in-their-abilities

How to Brand Your YouTube Account for Your Job Search

By Heather R. Huhman

YouTube is the largest video-sharing site on the planet, but it’s often overlooked as a platform on which to build your personal brand. Job seekers carefully craft their Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages to portray their professional selves, but often they overlook the power of the video.

If employers want to really get a sense of who you are, video is simply more effective at communicating this than words on a page. YouTube can be an excellent resource to point recruiters to you, so they can get to know you during the job search. Check out these tips for successfully branding yours.

Decide how to brand yourself. If you’ve already been branding yourself as an expert or professional in a particular field, continue with that theme on your YouTube page. Click on your username in the top right corner, and select “Settings.” From here, you can link your account to your Twitter and Facebook (ideal for video sharing), customize your URL, and manage your videos. Use this page to adjust your settings and learn the ropes when it comes to privacy, playback, and monetization.

Customize it. Click your username and select “My Channel” from the drop-down list. Select “Channel Settings,” where you can customize your bio and layout. Include a professional avatar and customize your page to make it consistent with your other social networking sites by uploading your own background image. Under the “Info and Settings” tab, give your channel a title, add a description, and include tags with keywords so others can find you, such as “marketing,” “finance,” or any other words to suit your personal brand.

Create quality videos. The most difficult part of creating a YouTube page may be coming up with the content, but chances are you already have a breadth of knowledge you could turn into an interesting and helpful YouTube video. Consider taping an introduction, offering advice in your field, or interviewing a fellow professional. Autoshare your videos on Twitter and Facebook, and link to them on your blog or website. Spend time promoting your videos, but also peruse YouTube for accounts similar to yours, and add relevant videos to your “likes” or “favorites.”

YouTube can be an excellent resource for beefing up your professional online brand, and can allow employers to catch a glimpse of the person behind the website, Facebook, or Twitter. For more information on creating your personal YouTube brand, check out YouTube’s tips here.

How have you worked with YouTube to enhance your personal brand? Share your tips below.


Heather R. Huhman is a career expert, experienced hiring manager, and founder & president of Come Recommended, a content marketing and digital PR consultancy for organizations with products that target job seekers and/or employers. She is also the author of Lies, Damned Lies & Internships (2011), #ENTRYLEVELtweet: Taking Your Career from Classroom to Cubicle (2010), and writes career and recruiting advice for numerous outlets.

http://www.personalbrandingblog.com/how-to-brand-your-youtube-account-for-your-job-search/

Mistakes People Make When Changing Jobs

Taking different turns in a career is not uncommon. According to research, an average worker switches jobs 6 times in his/her career’s lifespan. There are several reasons people switch careers – either for career advancement, avoiding job dissatisfaction or just job hopping; changing jobs may not seem a bad idea after all but there are several things people rarely pay attention to before deciding a job or career change.

Research carried out by Boris Groyberg and Robin Abrahams – both associates at the Harvard Business School – revealed very common mistakes people make in the job-change process. The survey covered more than 500 executives across 50 industries in 40 countries and HR heads in 15 Multinational companies.

Listed below are a few job-change mistakes people make.

Inadequate research

Often impelled by the need to settle bills and earn a living or simply avoid waiting too long doing a job search, many job candidates fail to do quality research on the companies and industries they are to work in; consequently, they miss important factors that determine job satisfaction like the specific functions required in a role, the companies’ cultural fit and how it affects their role, talent/skill, values or personality and company’s performance assessment methods.

Leaving for more money

The topic of money being important for daily survival undoubtedly overrides other important factors influencing a job change. According to the study, many job candidates claim to have money rank fourth on their priority list but jump on any job that offers more money for a similar role. This impedes job candidates from looking out for more information and also deciding what other things non-monetary packages can compensate for a lower pay. Small wonder many employees complain about experiencing job dissatisfaction despite the mouth-watering salary they receive.

Making moves under pressure

Many employees are recurrently unhappy with their present job positions; they make frantic efforts to get out. The co-workers are unfriendly, the boss is a devil’s incarnate, the organisation has nothing good to offer; and so candidates jump on any new job offer not considering the possibility of the next job being the worst career step they’ll ever take. Not only does this makes them do poor research, they also (to their detriment) miss out on available opportunities within their present organisation.

Impractical measures and decisions

The research showed that many job candidates are unrealistic about their skills, prospects, salary expectations and the levels of impact they intend to make; and by having an excessively optimistic view of themselves, fail to admit being a part of the problem when they begin experiencing job dissatisfaction; rather, they are quick to shift blames on the organisation believing they give more than what is required in their role and the organisation is under-utilising their skills or not giving them adequate opportunities to explore those skills.

Suggestions for Managing a Job Change

• Do not think short term: Rather than rashly deciding to leave an unbearable environment, think instead to search for a more comfortable work environment (they are two different things). Consider what benefits you’ll accrue overtime in your present job position, be wary to look out for immediate results.

• Is this company a good fit for you? Getting core information about a new job is extremely important to help you make smart decisions, ensure to do an exhaustive research on the next job, company/organisation while you are bearing up under unfavourable circumstances in your current position; the outcomes will sure outweigh the present pains.

• Groyberg and Abrahams suggest you ask recruiters tough questions during interviews to get clues on what their corporate culture is like. Find out what the hidden expectations are in the job. Find out who your potential employers are and the ways you can best work with them, get wind of the potential skills you can acquire in the new job and get as much inside information as you can about the job and the organisation as a whole.

• Consider seeking a different role within your current organisation. You are probably experiencing a career rut and perhaps will find working in a different department more fulfilling.

• You probably aren’t the only employee experiencing setbacks in your current organisation, observe and reach out to colleagues having similar experiences; find out how they manage in such situations. Ask questions about yourself; find out what your co-workers think of you and start working on the things you can to help facilitate a convivial working environment.

• Device several means to make your work more interesting: work and hang out with a different set of people, take up more challenging responsibilities and engage in fun activities outside work.

• Consider the non-monetary benefits in both your present job and the new job; decide which one you are more comfortable with. Also consider the sacrifices required and to what extent the respective job disadvantages might affect you- your present job ‘A’ may pay less but gives you more time while the new job ‘B’ may pay more but demand 60 percent more of your time.

What other job change mistakes should be avoided in a job search? Please share your thoughts in the section below.

This post originally appeared here: 

http://www.ventures-africa.com/2013/07/4-mistakes-people-make-when-changing-jobs/

6 Ways to Land a Job When You’re Over 50

By  Kerry  Hannonin

Are you kidding? Save for retirement? Seriously, there are far more pressing financial issues–like making ends meet right now and clinging to your current job, or worse, finding one, which I will help you with in a minute.

Financial advisors recommend socking away a whopping 15 percent of pay for retirement. Easier said then done.Backburner, baby.

The 2013 Retirement Confidence Survey published Tuesday by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Employee Benefits Research Institute once again told us what we already knew–workers and current retirees are less confident than ever in their ability to live comfortably in retirement.

That’s in large measure because most of us have no idea what that might cost.

Plus, retirement planning rarely has the pull of, say, saving to scoop up a vacation home on a lake, or socking money away for a sojourn around the world.

Few of us run the numbers about what we might really need to save in order to be able to stop working. We guess. We don’t seek out financial advice. We turn the switch. We wring our hands.

We justify our unrepentant lack of gumption to save and even think about saving to the rotten hand we’ve been dealt by the economy.

We need to save for living expenses today, not lock it away for the future. I hear this all the time when I talk to 50 + workers looking for a career transition, a new job, hope.

That’s what EBRI found: Asked to name the most pressing financial issue facing most Americans today, both workers and retirees are most likely to identify job uncertainty (30 percent of workers and 27 percent of retirees), debt and making ends meet (12 percent each). Just 2 percent of workers and 4 percent of retirees identify saving or planning for retirement as the most pressing financial issue.

The ‘what else can I do’ solution: We accept it. We’ll just keep working and never retire.

The age at which workers expect to retire has risen. In 1991, just 11 percent of workers expected to retire after age 65. In 2013, 36 percent of workers report they expect to wait until after age 65 to retire and 7 percent don’t plan to retire at all.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with that idea. I am a big fan of working not only for the money, but the mental engagement, at any age. And there are lots of ways to make that a reality with part-time, contract, seasonal gigs, and simply, more flexible options.



But the truth is my friends in their late 50s, who are out looking for work, tell me about roadblocks all the time.

They blame their age. And there’s more than a grain of truth to that.

But as I write in Great Jobs for Everyone 50+, there are jobs out there. And in my recent New York Times article, A Gray Jobs Market for All Ages, I highlight some jobs to ride the age wave.

There are plenty more to add to the list I mention there-senior fitness trainer, patient advocate, home modification pro and senior move manager. New ones are coming on line every day, but you need to look around you and use your imagination. And you probably need to add some skills and certifications to qualify for these positions.

Start now and ask: What goods and services are in demand by an aging population? What ways can those of us in our 50s, 60s and 70s tackle those needs for the 80 and 90+ set?

First, look to fields that are growing. These include healthcare (think a broad definition here), education, nonprofits, and even small businesses are eager to snap up an experienced worker who brings leadership, proven management, and problem-solving skills to the table every day.

The enthusiasm of youth only goes so far.

If job worries are what’s keep you from saving for retirement, here’s what to do.

1. Get physically fit. Employers worry about your future health. No need to blast out a fast mile, but when you are in shape, you exude vibrancy, energy. It’s positive juju. The real issue is not age, but oomph, curiosity, confidence and a desire to keep learning.Hiring managers are concerned that you may have age-related health problems, or are likely to, and that will be a problem if you take too much time off for sick leave. And, there’s the nagging issue that you’ve got an “expiration date,” and you’re not in it for the long haul.

2. Ramp up your techiness. Employers think you’re a Luddite. This is nonnegotiable. “Googling” should be a verb you use frequently. The best way to show a potential employer this is to have a social media footprint. That means a LinkedIn profile, an active presence in discussion group. LinkedIn can help you get job leads and seek advice. Stay active. Join alumni and industry groups. Build your professional network. A Facebook page and a Twitter account are often smart too, depending on the kind of job you are aiming for. In general, though, employers want a variety of ways to check you out beyond your resume.

3. Play up your knack for working with the younger set. Employers think you’ll bristle about taking orders from a younger boss who is probably making more than you. This is the time to weave your narrative about your mentoring skills. Use real examples of how you’ve worked successfully with younger colleagues and sought their reverse mentoring help with technology challenges and more. You demonstrate your willingness to learn and ask for help from someone younger, and how that relationship has worked in tandem with you coaching them on leadership and management strategies.

4. Spin your flexible nature. Employers think you won’t be open to change. You need to speak up about your flexibility in terms of management style, your technological aptitude, and your knack of picking up new skills. One of the biggest raps we 50+ get is our stubborn refusal to try new ways of doing things.

5. Find someone you know to hire you. Employers want someone else to vet you. People want to employ people they know, or someone they know knows. This reassures them that someone else trusts you. No one will tell you this straight out, but it’s true.

6. Seek out workplaces where you feel comfortable. Employers want you to “fit in”. Remember interviewing is a two-way street. Many employers want to hire someone who will be right for the culture and play nicely with others. If it’s a workplace filled with younger workers, and you really aren’t keen on the vibe, then move on.

If you really want to get motivated to save for retirement, I recommend you try out the Livingto100.com calculator. This tool, from the founder and director of the New England Centenarian Study, Dr. Thomas Perls, helps you estimate your life expectancy.

I discovered that my life expectancy is 93. Egads. But then again, my Irish grandmother lived to 98.

Looks like I’d better save even more for retirement.



You can follow me on Twitter, @KerryHannon I’m the author of Great Jobs for Everyone 50+: Finding Work That Keeps You Happy and Healthy … And Pays the Bills (John Wiley & Sons), available here www.kerryhannon.com. Check out my column at AARP. My weekly column at PBS’s NextAvenue.org is here.

http://kerryhannon.com/?p=2857

Simple steps to join the top 1% Linkedin All-Stars

By Andy Foote

LinkedIn has always encouraged its users to complete as many sections of the LinkedIn Profile as possible. “Users with complete Profiles are 40 times more likely to receive opportunities through LinkedIn”.

They do the encouragement bit pretty well. What they don’t do well is explain WHY having a complete Profile is a good thing for you professionally. Perhaps that’s the reason for the message not getting through?

LinkedIn’s own statistics confirm the completion gap when they tell us that ”Only 50.5% of people have a 100% completed LinkedIn profile“. This is problematic not just for users but also for the platform as a whole. LinkedIn thrives on data and specifically the ability to ‘link’ that data. If almost half of its participants are providing incomplete data, half the network is in a permanent data shadow.

4 LEVELS

There are 4 levels to attain 100% Profile completion or ‘All-Star’.

(1) Beginner
(2) Intermediate
(3) Expert
(4) All-Star

Though the graphic suggests there is another level beyond ‘All-Star’, it’s misleading. ‘All-Star’ currently equates to having a fully completed Profile. Here are the Profile Sections you need to complete to get to ‘All-Star’ (100%):

• Your Industry and Location
• An up-to-date Current Position (with a description)
• Two Past Positions
• Your Education
• Your Skills (minimum of 3)
• A Profile Photo
• At least 50 Connections 

VISIBILITY & SEARCH

The main reason to complete your Profile is to ensure that you will appear in LinkedIn search results. If someone searched on my last name and my Profile was incomplete i.e ‘Expert’, ‘Intermediate’ or ‘Beginner’, all of the other ‘All-Star’ Footes would rank higher and push me down the LinkedIn search rankings. LinkedIn’s search algorithm filters by relevance – it will also rank your search by Connections in Common, Connections by Degree (1st, 2nd then 3rd Degree Connections) and finally Groups in common. All searches conducted on LinkedIn are unique and relevant to you.

The search algorithm seeks and displays results in this order:

1. Profile Completeness (100% only)
2. Connections in Common (shared)
3. Connections by Degree (1st Degree, then 2nd, then 3rd)
4. Groups in Common (shared)

It’s important to understand that Profile Completeness is a trump card in the search game. If you don’t have a 100% complete Profile, your Connections or Groups don’t matter, you will be INVISIBLE when searched, game over.

CASUAL OBSERVER

Though the only person who can see Profile Completion (‘All-Star’ etc.) is you, the casual observer browsing your Profile will certainly notice if some Sections are missing key information (Photo, Past Positions, Education etc.). So it makes sense to be an ‘All Star’ to present well to anyone who comes to your Profile without actually searching for it.

Of course it’s possible the observer may not be ‘casual’ at all, they could be someone looking to fill an order, gap or role and your incomplete Profile just gave them a reason to keep looking. Unfortunately, you will never know how many opportunities you’ve missed because your LinkedIn Profile is incomplete.

GOOGLE PAGERANK

Let’s try an experiment – google your name. Are you on the first page of Google’s search results? Has your LinkedIn Profile appeared first? If the answer to both questions is no, it’s probably because your LinkedIn Profile is incomplete.

If you are not being found via LinkedIn searches, you are not being clicked and your LinkedIn Profile page stays comparatively dormant. That’s a problem when it comes to being indexed on the world-wide web. 1 Billion names are searched on Google every day. 94% of people only look at the first page of search results. LinkedIn ranks higher than all other profiles including social networks and website builders (http://mashable.com/2012/08/02/higher-google-search-results/).

If you’re not being found, you’re lost and in limbo.

Google loves LinkedIn when it comes to PageRank. Apart from being an ‘All Star’, you can significantly boost your Google PageRank by doing the following:

• Create a Public Profile and select ‘Full View’ in your Profile Settings.
• Customize your Public Profile’s URL to be your actual name.
• Use your Customized Public Profile URL generously on the web (i.e blog comments, tweets etc.)

QUANTITY v QUALITY

Many LinkedIn Experts will encourage you to use all of the available space on your LinkedIn Profile and to ‘stuff’ your entire Profile with as many of your keywords as possible to rank in LinkedIn and Google searches. I think that’s bad advice.

Keyword stuffing makes your Profile look bloated and insincere, far better to come across as a genuine and capable professional by effectively telling your story, not gaming the system.

A stunningly good LinkedIn Summary lets you put your best foot forward and could also help you get it in the door. Roughly 70% of the Profiles I view on LinkedIn are via browsing, if I run a search I usually find who or what I’m looking for without paying much attention to ranking. If I see a Profile stuffed with keywords it leaves a bad impression. Now tell me again why keyword stuffing is a good thing?

ORGANIC VISIBILITY

Here are some great organic ways to improve your visibility on LinkedIn (without resorting to keyword stuffing):

• Join Groups, start and engage in great Discussions, be helpful to those communities.
• Create original content and share it with your connections.
• Share relevant content and thank others when they do the same.
• Recommend and Endorse your Connections.
• Build your network by commonality and community.

LinkedIn makes it easy for you to discover like-minded folks, here are some examples of people that are a great match for me based on commonality and community (Groups, Skills and Location).

BE IN THE 1st PERCENT (NOT A WALLFLOWER)

A popular rule for internet participation holds that 1% create content, 9% edit that content and 90% read it. Though that last figure will fluctuate depending on the type of community and seems to be reducing as more people become accustomed to participating online, the 1-9-90 rule still represents an enormous opportunity for anyone who wishes to increase their web visibility, since the barrier to becoming noticed has been set so low.

My advice: step out of the shadows and create (or edit) your future. Complete your LinkedIn Profile then give people multiple ways to find you and compelling reasons to engage with you.

  

ANDY FOOTE is a LinkedIn Management Consultant, Community Builder and Social Business Strategist. I enjoy teaching people how to squeeze the pips out of LinkedIn. I'm the proud Founder and Manager of 9 LinkedIn Groups with over 25,000 members. I blog at Linkedinsights.com and I tweet at @linkedinsights1. You can also find me on Facebook, Google+ and of course on LinkedIn.

This post originally appeared here: 

http://www.linkedinsights.com/why-you-should-complete-your-linkedin-profile/

Want a recruiter to help you? Here’s what not to do

Connecting with recruiters is obviously an essential part of your job hunt. And Linkedin makes them easier to find than ever before. But you need to understand how they function and what they will do and won’t do, if you are to engage effectively with them.

You probably understand very well that they work for their clients, not for the candidates. But they need candidates right? So surely it’s a wise move to connect with lots of them and get them to help you with your jobhunt? Yes it is, but you must go about it in the right way or else you risk losing their goodwill and hence any value that your connection with them might produce.

This is a tricky balancing act to get right. And the truth is that many jobseekers simply don’t know what is and isn’t reasonable to ask for from a recruiter.

So I was delighted to find this excellent advice from Stacy Donovan Zapar that will help you from falling into the biggest traps for the unwary. Avoid these and you’ll have the best possible chance of getting recruiters on your side.

So here's Stacy's advice:

Lots of us in the recruiting world are very active on LinkedIn, doing what we can to be accessible to jobseekers. We love networking, meeting new people and finding great candidates to fill our openings. Many of us also like to give back to our networks, helping out in any way we can. While we may not be able to help with every jobsearch request that comes our way, many of us help jobseekers by passing along introduction requests, answering questions, sharing jobsearch tips, giving networking advice, volunteering our time to moderate networking groups, etc. LinkedIn is a great tool for helping others and I love to do my part.

That said, there are some requests that cross the line, in my opinion, and I think that jobseekers should be careful to leverage their network without taking advantage of it. Most have the purest intentions in mind and aren’t even aware that their request may not be received in the best light, so this list is written to help jobseekers make the best possible impression when networking with recruiters on LinkedIn. I hope it is helpful to you!

Here are ten of the mistakes I see most often:

1. Can you help me find a job?

This is the most common request in my LinkedIn inbox, but one where I’m least able to help. An agency recruiter or headhunter might be able to “shop” your resume around to a few of their clients, but at the end of the day, a recruiter is someone who finds candidates to fill jobs, not someone who finds jobs to employ candidates. This is a key mistake that many people make. Most recruiters are happy to share their advice for jobseekers, but a recruiter is not a professional “job finder”… Those really don’t exist!

2. Do you have any job openings that fit my profile?

Agency recruiters or headhunters might be a bit more open to this type of request, but before approaching an in-house / corporate recruiter with such an open-ended question, be sure to do a little legwork ahead of time. First off, remember that recruiters aren’t “job finders” (see #1 above). Secondly, companies often have dozens or even hundreds of openings at any given time. These openings are spread across a team of recruiters who only have real visibility to the openings they are personally handling. Thirdly, you are the best one to pinpoint positions that fit your interests, talents and career path. Be sure to first look online, find positions of interest, apply via the careers page and then approach a recruiter at that company with some specific positions of interest in mind. Most will do what they can to put you in touch with the appropriate decision-makers. Having done some homework on your end will not only speed up the process, it will also put less of a burden on the person you’re asking for help.

3. Can you review my resume and send me your edits / feedback / suggestions?

As much as we’d love to help, resume critiques would take up a full 40-hour workweek (or more!) if recruiters complied with every such request. Resume writing is a very time-intensive process that requires two-way discussion, in-depth knowledge of your past experience / career goals, extensive editing / rewriting, etc. Professional Resume Writers often charge big bucks for their services because it’s no easy task or quick process. Recruiters may be able to recommend a professional to you (or help you network to find a good one), but this type of request is something that recruiters simply don’t have the bandwidth to accommodate.

4. Can you please send me John Doe’s email address / phone number?

If a LinkedIn member wants their contact information to be public knowledge, they’ll be sure to post it on their profile (and many of them do, so be sure to check). If not, then it’s really not appropriate for their network contacts to give it out to others. (You wouldn’t want your network contacts giving out your email address and phone number, would you?) Instead, use the “Introduction Request” feature on LinkedIn. It’s a great feature that enables you to message your target contact without revealing either party’s email address. Most recruiters will gladly pass along introduction requests on your behalf and then your target contact can decide how he or she would like to follow up with you. (Or, if you prefer to go the direct route, you can do a little Google research, as explained in this previous blog post, and easily figure out that person’s email address.)

5. Do you know anyone at Acme Company?

Probably! A well-connected recruiter likely knows multiple contacts at your target company. Rather than asking that person to run a search of their network to find a list of all possible contacts at a company, you should instead run a LinkedIn search yourself and sort through the results. You can easily identify an appropriate target or two (recruiters, hiring managers, peers) and then send an introduction request. After all, no one knows better than you why you want to reach out, which departments fit your career goals and who the best contacts at that company might be.

6. I’m interested in a position at Acme Company and would like to apply for position #1234. Can we set up an interview?

Normally this type of direct contact is a great strategy after applying online, but be sure to read the recruiter’s profile carefully before reaching out. It’s shocking how many times I’m contacted about positions at my former employers! Oops! Always read the LinkedIn profile carefully before reaching out for help.

7. Can you endorse / recommend me?

Lots of recruiters are open networkers, open to meeting new contacts and connecting with them for mutual networking purposes. These recruiters are typically very active on LinkedIn and will often do what they can, but if they’ve never met you and have had zero interaction with you thus far, please don’t ask them to write a LinkedIn recommendation for you. I’d like to think that an endorsement means a little bit more than that! It’s always best to get a recommendation from actual coworkers, colleagues or clients who know you well and can provide feedback that is authentic, meaningful and specific.

8. Let’s chat on the phone, grab coffee sometime, meet up for lunch, etc.

While this suggestion sounds all well and good, email communication is generally preferred due to the volume of candidates a recruiter handles in a week. These options might make sense down the road, but it’s best not to jump the gun. Recruiters are usually booked back-to-back with phone screens, onsite interviews, interview feedback meetings, resume sourcing and gobs of administrative tasks (tracking, metrics, record-keeping, reporting, etc.). Not to mention all of the after-hours calls that recruiters make to accommodate working folks who can’t phone interview during the business day! So please don’t be offended if the recruiter can’t take you up on your offer… We would if we could!

9. Hi Tracy / Hi {FirstName} / Hi trusted friend / Hi James
When reaching out to contacts on LinkedIn, please be sure to get their name right. I’m not super picky about people misspelling my name “Stacey-with-an-e” (unless it’s a technical writing, quality assurance or similar detail-oriented profession), but “Tracy” is pretty far off, “{FirstName}” is clearly some mass email error, “Trusted Friend” is obviously an impersonal email spam blast and… “James”? Well, that’s just plain wrong! An incorrect name makes a poor first impression and is the quickest way to turn off your recipient since the mistake appears right at the top of your message. Be sure to personalize the note and get the recruiter’s name right!

10. Wow, love your picture / What a nice smile / Hello there, Beautiful…

Last but not least… remember that LinkedIn is a business networking site, not Match.com. Jobseeking or not, always be professional!

Stacy Donovan Zapar is a 15-year recruiting veteran and CEO of Tenfold Social Training, a training / consulting company for recruiters and hiring teams. She is also the Most Connected Woman on LinkedIn with more than 36,000 first-level connections. She served as Technical Editor for Wiley’s LinkedIn Marketing: An Hour a Day and is a regularly-featured contributor on The Undercover Recruiter. Feel free to follow Stacy on Twitter @StacyZapar and connect with her on LinkedIn.

3 Simple Steps to Get Found by Recruiters on LinkedIn

By Joshua Waldman

 

If you’re looking for a job, and you are reasonably smart, there are recruiters out there who would benefit from talking to you. The problem is, they simply can’t find you. Or if they do find you, something about your LinkedIn profile turns them away. In either case, you have more control over this situation than you think. Getting found by recruiters doesn’t have to be a passive strategy.

Here is a three part active strategy for getting found.

First, Get on Search Results

The first step to getting found by recruiters is to simply show up. Like me, recruiters are using keywords to search LinkedIn profiles. Results will show up based on degree of separation and presence of the search term. 

Tip 1: become 1st degree connected to as many recruiters as possible. They are the ones making the most searches. Having recruiters in your network increases your chances of popping up based on your degree of separation.

Tip 2: describe yourself as specifically and as accurately as possible. The well known social media strategist Christopher Penn uses his own profile as a great example of this: 

My job is simple: get qualified leads in the door using Inbound Marketing methods such as social media, search, and email. 

Not terrible, but it doesn’t show results. Here’s an improved version:

My job is simple: get qualified leads in the door using Inbound Marketing methods such as social media, search, and email. In the first 8 months, I’ve helped to create a 10x increase in the number of inbound leads through organic SEO, social media marketing, email marketing, and other marketing methods. 

Tip 3: Adjust your profile for an upward trend in search appearances. Most LinkedIn users have access to a graph called “Appearances in Search.” You can find it by going to your Home page and clicking on “Who’s Viewed Your Profile.” This is an area on the right side of that page.

On this page you’ll find the “Trends” box with a graph in it. Click on “Appearances in Search.” By filling out your profile with specific and accurate information about yourself, you should start to see an upward trend in this graph. The better you write about yourself, the more this graph will grow. If you're struggling with writing about yourself, there are plenty of LinkedIn profile writing services.

Make Them Click

Think of your profile not as an advertisement rather than an online resume. Once you start to show up on search results pages for recruiters, your next job is to get them to click on your profile.

Just like with other paid ads online, just showing up on the page isn’t enough. The ad headline and description text needs to compel you to click.

On LinkedIn your photo, headline and recommendations have the greatest impact on click rates (from my own experience). 

By making small changes to these three elements, you will begin to see increases in the number of times your profile was actually viewed. This is the graph called “Views” from the page we just visited.

If you're not seeing an upward trend, the fix your photo, headline or try to get more recommendations.

Be an Internet Marketer

Simply by shifting your perception of LinkedIn from an online resume to an online advertising platform, you can approach your career opportunities from a quantifiable perspective. First you have to show up on search results for the right people, then you have to compel them to click. Using LinkedIn’s two graphs, “Appearances in Search” and “Views” allows you to make measurable improvements and increase your chances of getting recruited to that dream position.

 Joshua Waldman, author of Job Searching with Social Media For Dummies, is recognized as one of the nation’s top authorities in Social Media Job Search Advice. To learn Joshua’s secret strategies for shortening the job search and getting the right job right away, watch his exclusive video training: Using Social Media to Find a Job.

http://blog.simplyhired.com/2013/05/how-to-get-found-by-recruiters-on-linkedin.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+feedburner/qrPI+(SimplyBlog+-+SimplyNews)#ixzz2ShnMg1TB

Linkedin Story : How I Became a Jobs Magnet

This story from Dave Mendoza’s great blog, http://sixdegreesfromdave.com/ really highlights so many key points that I just had to share it with you. My thanks go to Dave and Erik for these really valuable insights into today’s jobs market and how we can use Linkedin to turn our personal prospects around.

By Erik Pettit
Director of Facilities Management at The Sterling Group

It was 10pm on crisp March night. I checked my bank account, looked through email, caught up with friends on Instagram and Facebook and confirmed a connection with an executive on LinkedIn, all from my phone! I knew it all, right? I’ve used social media for years, met my wife via MySpace in the height of its’ day but I had much to learn about using social media to find my dream job; LinkedIn is where my story begins!

Outside of my second story brick home, master bedroom window, I can see and old fashioned, iron street lamp cutting a dim path of light through the soft falling snow. I reminisce back one year earlier when I had a slim chance at owning a home, a subpar job with a less than average boss and mediocre income.

I’m confident I did my job well but found my bosses to lack leadership foresight and out of touch with other departments within the organization. I grew more and more dissatisfied with where I would end up in the role I was playing. Did caring and wanting to excel within the department prove to be over achieving and frowned upon by upper management? That may sound funny to some people or even arrogant but to contrary, I understand arrogance well and stay far away from it, as a rule of thumb. I was simply unhappy, stuck in an unproductive role and wanted more for my personal story.

The 2007/2008 economic disaster was just that for me and my new family, a complete disaster. My 11 year old construction business had just collapsed; I was a new husband and an even newer father. I was responsible to be the provider for the first time in my life and I found myself unable! It was clear I needed my first job, ever!

A property management/investment company, Holland Residential, offered me a low/mid-level corp. position and I was thrilled; the learning curve was huge but doable. The position gave me a new lease on life and I found myself very humbled, appreciative of the folks that I worked with.

I was quietly ashamed though because what they didn’t know was that my humble salary wasn’t paying for 1/2 of my bills, not to mention the finer things in life, like lunch. My dreams had died with the economy and I was trying my hardest to feed my family and simply survive.

I may sound a bit dramatic but life was tough. I was on the cusp of losing two homes due to foreclosure, meeting with the IRS in my living room for months on end, dodging the repo man just to keep my vehicle and I can’t count how many sleepless nights my wife and I endured. The position with Holland was amazing and like all amazing things, it had to come to an end. A year later I was laid off and looking for my next survival adventure.

A long 7 months later and an unemployment receiver, I landed a similar position in Colorado. With the homes and IRS dealt with, we packed up and headed a mile high! It didn’t take long for me, in my new position to realize that I was capable of much more in my career. One year in and three bosses later I was ready for a new chapter. Looking at Monster and Craigslist ads, I began to seek a new direction; my main motivation, responsibility and creativity.

Internet job searching took me nowhere and the job response was dismal. Time slowly went by and the job front was stalled; then it happened. It was a chance meeting and a chance conversation that would change my life.

It was my 3 year old son’s birthday party and Dave Mendoza, attended the party with his wife and daughter. While standing in a group of dads, I mentioned that I was on the job hunt. Dave quickly looked over at me and asked me, in what industry and what methods I was utilizing in my search. I rattled off the usual, Monster, CareerBuilder and Craigslist and hit a couple of other job sites. Dave peaked my interest when he told me in other words that I’ve wasted the last 6 months and should of come to him for advice sooner. Dave took it a step further and invited me to his home for a Sunday afternoon “lesson” on job finding! For the next 24 hours I contemplated what I could be missing and I couldn’t think of anything, I knew it all, so I thought.

At Dave’s home the following day, we sat down in his regal office where his Apple computer screen glowed with my very own LinkedIn profile. I knew very little about LinkedIn and in one hour’s time, Dave had me requesting connections with people throughout my industry all the while using Linkedin to create my personal brand. My profile was a close copy of my resume, detailed and to the point.

Dave worked with me to set up my profile with key words and showed me how to search for key terms such as “Vice President” and “recruiter” to reach hiring managers. By the time Dave was finished explaining the ins and outs, I had my first connection and found myself excited to continue marketing myself! My job seeking world had changed.

As I left Dave’s home that day, he asked me to make 100 connections in the first week. “It’s doable” he said. I was eager and blessed to have someone like Dave pushing me deeper into the unfamiliar.

That first week of connections I had four phone interviews! The next week I had four more. The third and fourth week I had a Chicago flight booked, all the while connecting with folks, seeking my dream job and making progress in creating my personal story. I went from a silent job market to an explosive one!

In the back of my mind I couldn’t let go of that position in Indiana. “LinkedIn” I thought! I did a quick search and found several people in the organization to connect with. It wasn’t long before I received an email back requesting a resume and more information.

Thanks to Dave Mendoza, I learned how impactful social media was. It helped me find my wife, and it took a friend to show me it would just as effectively connect me to gainful employment, let alone my ideal dream job. Instead of sending out as many resumes to mass, general email accounts as I could, I was able to find key people and send resumes with precision and the age old saying, “aim small, miss small”, was once again relevant! The position would be giving me a huge promotion including freedom and the chance to explore business creativity I’d been longing for.

Thanks to Linkedin, I was now connecting with hiring managers and recruiters across the board and I was in the driver’s seat accepting or declining second and third interviews. It was me who was evaluating employers, picking and choosing where I went and when!

I had thought I knew it all. A 30 something, low level manager with a passion to do my job well and to be the best! What I didn’t know was that I was lacking the knowledge that would put me over the edge; the knowledge of Linkedin and personal branding. For me, I landed that Indiana job thanks to Dave and Linkedin. My advice, whether you are job hunting or not, begin to put together a Linkedin profile and like me, create your personal story, one connection at a time!

This post originally appeared here:

http://sixdegreesfromdave.com/linkedin-as-dream-job-catalyst-erik-ettits-how-personal-branding-enabled-my-story/2013/02/25/

12 Tips to beat the recession and sell yourself to any company

By Neil Patrick

Today’s job market is brutal. I don’t need to tell you that I know.

But this terrible recession has created new opportunities if you know what they are and are equipped to exploit them. How can that be if so many companies are cutting back you may ask?

The answer is simple. In a recession, companies need two things more than anything else. And that is more revenue and less cost.  More revenue and/or less costs equals more profit. Simple.

You may be great at what you do, but unless your personal proposition can be presented in a way that is clear about how you will improve the profits of your future employer, you are going to have a hard time getting hired.  Unless you can do this, you risk being seen as a pure cost. And no-one wants more cost right now.

Ah, but I’m not a salesperson or a marketing person, you may say. So I don’t create revenue and profits in my job.  Well, it’s time to think differently. You need to think and act like a salesperson. Whatever function you carry out in a company, you DO affect profits. It may be through revenue, or costs, or both.

If you are in sales or marketing, what you do drives revenue. And more revenue equals more profit. If you are in another area, what you do affects cost.

So think hard about how what you do will increase the revenue or reduce the costs of your next employer. And think about how what you have done in the past can be used to provide the evidence that you know how to do this in the future. And write down the numbers you can use that prove this.

Once you’ve done this, these points must be included in your resume and your online profiles such as Linkedin. Does your resume and Linkedin profile go on and on with lots of prose about all the things you’ve done in the past,  or does it also show the numbers  that prove how what you do improves profit? Your resume and Linkedin profiles must demonstrate how what you’ve done improves profits.

But remember, your resume and online marketing won’t actually do the selling job for you. They are important for one thing only – getting doors open for you so that you have opportunities to get in front of decision makers and sell yourself. So you need to prepare your personal proposition to reflect not what you’ve done in the past, but what you can do for your employer in the future.

One last key point for anyone reading this that isn’t in sales or marketing. I guarantee that if adopt the approach I describe here, you’ll be ahead of just about every other candidate that’s going after the job, because chances are not one of them will have prepared their pitch like this.

These points and more are explained here in this punchy video by Grant Cordone.