Category Archives for LinkedIn

You Say You Are Results Oriented; but Does Your Summary and Experience Support Your Claim?


Does Your Profile Say You Are Results Oriented?

If So, Does Your Detail Support Your Claim? I’m amazed at the number of times I see someone make the statement “Results Oriented” but in reading the remainder of their summary or work history; there are no specifics of the results achieved.

You Cannot Make a Positive Impression if You Cannot or Do Not Support the Claim

Some say they are avoiding stating some or all of their accomplishments, because it’s the process of “tooting your own horn”, but they are wrong: you must do it! You can’t simply expect the reader to believe it solely because you said “results oriented”. It just doesn’t work that way! You must explain the value you brought and the results you achieved otherwise it’s simply a couple of unsupported words.

Humility Has No Place in Your Resume and Profile!

It’s nice to be humble and it’s a great trait to have; but you cannot allow your humility to overshadow your accomplishments! As long as you are honest in your statements and details and if you have worked hard and set yourself apart from your peers; you must tell the recruiters, hiring managers, prospective business partners, clients, prospects and customers.

If you fail to support your claims the people you want to join with will not pay attention. They are looking for people with the answers and abilities they need; they do not have time to try to figure out the missing information. If the information is missing, they will move on!

Other Frequently Unsupported Statements

The statement stating “Results Oriented” is just one example of a frequently unsupported claim. Some other common claims include:

  • Motivated;
  • Excellent communicator;
  • Creative;
  • Passionate;
  • Clear Thinker; and
  • Team Leader.

You may be one or all of these things and whether you are or not; is not my point. My point is don’t just say it; show it! Give examples in your summary and experience; get people to write meaty, meaningful recommendations describing your talent and how you were able to use those skills and the outcomes. Go back to the old PAR strategy; Problem identified; Action taken; and Results achieved.

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Has LinkedIn Hijacked Some of Your Profile?


LinkedIn Hijacked His Profile

This is a story of what recently happened to one of my LinkedIn connections! To top it off; this connection is a PREMIUM MEMBER, meaning they are paying LinkedIn! If it was a free account, it would still be unacceptable, but much more difficult to complain!

The content is a letter written to this connection by someone at LinkedIn. My connection chose to post the letter on his profile and I have chosen to write about the experience.

The letter is true to form, however, I have chosen to put some headings on the section using my normal heading process.

This could happen to you!

And the letter/posting begins

LinkedIn Customer Support Message

Subject: xxxxxx-xxxxxx

Hi name omitted,

Thanks for Contacting Us and I Will Assist You, but Truthfully There Is Nothing I Can Do.

Thanks for contacting us back. My name is [LinkedIn respondent’s name omitted] and I will be assisting you.

Someone at LinkedIn Has Decided to Test Your Profile; without Your Permission

It appears the activities section on your profile is currently being tested. Since this feature is being tested, it has been temporarily removed from your profile page.

Someone at LinkedIn Has Removed Your Activities Section, So… Not Only Can You Not See the Information; Your Connections Can Not See Your Recent Activities As Well

Since this is removed from your profile, your members will also not be able to see this feature for you.

Oh, By the Way There Is No Way for You to Opt Out.

There is not a way to opt out of our testing program.

However If You Jump Through This Hoop You Can See Your Recent Activities

However, anything that you do on your account, which would normally display in your “activities” section, you can view through your homepage under “your updates.” If you go to your home page and change “All Updates” to “Your Updates” you can see what you have done only.

Continual Testing and Your Account May Be One of the Beta Sites; without Your Permission

We’re continually testing the usage of product features by removing certain features temporarily. Periodically, these are tested on a limited scale to ensure correct data. To get the best results and control distortion of the results, our test participants are systematically chosen from a cross section of members. Because of this, you may become part of a test program before a full roll out to our mass membership occurs.

We Don’t Need Your Permission, but We Want Your Feedback!

Feedback from members like you is extremely helpful in shaping how features are changed or enhanced.

We Can’t Offer You the Option to Opt In or Out; it May Impact Our Results

We understand that some people might prefer to opt in or out of these feature tests. But since it could distort the results and would require a lot of extra tracking, the ability to opt in or out of this feature is not available.

We Apologize for Any Inconvenience, but We Really Don’t Care

Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. If you have further questions, please feel free to reply to this message.

To Bad, So Sad; but Have a Wonderful Day, Anyway!

Thank you and I hope you have a wonderful day!

What Do You Think; Is this what You Expect from LinkedIn? Speak Up!

Why You Want to Add the Most Connected People on LinkedIn… to Your Network


Why You Want to Add the Most Connected People on LinkedIn to Your Network

Have you seen those people on LinkedIn bragging about their 20 or 30 THOUSAND connections? Is it a little off-putting and lead you so say so what? We all know there is no way they can know or stay in touch with all these people so what’s the value?

Depending upon what they do there is value to them; but there is also value to you; but only if you are connected!

Grow Your Network Value 1 – Millions of Connections

We can say all we want about these massive connectors and how they can’t do this and they can’t do that; but there is something they can do, which may have massive value to you. They are connectors and because they have 20 or 30 THOUSAND connections; connecting to them will bring 20 or 30 THOUSAND people one degree of separation away from you. It will also bring millions of people just two degrees of separation from you. Do you know of any other way you can get one or two degrees of separation away from millions people?

Grow Your Network Value 2 – Millions of Current Addresses and Contact Information

Have you ever bought a mailing list? If so, you know there can be issues with the accuracy and how current the information. On LinkedIn your connections are responsible for keeping their information current. With mailing lists you are depending upon some organization, which is periodically surveying the people on the list, to get updates. Which do you feel is more reliable?

Grow Your Network Value 3 – Increase the Number of Times You Show Up in Search Results

Although I’m not necessarily big on SEO with LinkedIn; I feel it is important to identify the importance of a large network if you are hoping for SEO results.

I see many “LinkedIn experts” constantly talking about SEO and showing results of how tweaking your profile can improve your search result. I don’t disagree, but when they take these results and try to project them to massive results; I take issue. You can only show up in the search results when it is a first, second or third level connection or someone who is a member of one of your groups. If you have a small network you can spend an eternity improving your search terms, but it won’t make much difference; you will still get limited exposure.

Grow Your Network Value 4 – A Simple Acknowledgement of One of Your Posts or Comments Can Go to Thousands and Potentially Millions

Massively connected people have some or in cases a lot of influence over their networks. It’s like the E.F. Hutton commercials; when the person on TV says, “My Broker is E.F. Hutton and …” Everyone in the picture stops and leans in and then the voice over comes on and says, “when E.F. Hutton talks, everyone listens.” Some of these massively connected individuals have that kind of sway with their audience and it can work to your advantage if your message is GREAT!

Grow Your Network Value 5 – You Can Put Yourself in Front of this Person’s Connections… Frequently!

Would you like to be in front of Brian Tracy’s, Mark Victor Hansen’s, Jack Canfield’s, Les Brown’s, Robert Allen’s, or some celebrity’s audience on a regular basis; it’s possible with LinkedIn and all that’s required is their accepting your LinkedIn invite which, by the way, is not that difficult to get.

Once connected you can get in front of their audience through recommendations, your endorsements of their skills, comments and likes of their posts, birthday wishes, congratulatory notes, etc. The possibilities are endless and the opportunities are great.

Massively connected people can bring you massive exposure. If you have a GREAT message and you can get the attention of a massively connected individual you have the potential to reach a massive audience with their implied endorsement. There is more power in these individuals than any mailing list. Build your network with well connected people and see your sphere of influence grow!

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My name is Tom Staskiewicz and my goal is to help everyone do a little better, get a little further and reach the success they are destined to achieve!

Do you need help with your message? Are you struggling for people to know you and what you have to offer? If so, I can help. My contact information is below or Email  Me Now! and lets get started.

Whatever I can do to help you or anyone to move forward in reaching your goals; I’m all for it. Connect with me on LinkedIn, Like me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.

Check out the UPPROACH site and sign up for our newsletter of career tips and ideas for job seekers, small and medium business owners, self-employed individuals, contractors, consultants or whatever; anyone wanting to move their career forward!

Is Closing Your LinkedIn Account the Answer to Annoying Calls?


Is Closing Your LinkedIn Account the Answer to Annoying Calls?

I saw a friend of mine the other night and after exchanging some pleasantries I asked if he had closed his LinkedIn account because I was no longer seeing him on LinkedIn. He said he had. He was finding many of his unwanted calls were from people who found him on LinkedIn. He didn’t like the calls, so he closed his account. Was this a good idea?

People Expect to See Your Profile On LinkedIn

The expectation today is you WILL have a profile on LinkedIn. LinkedIn started as a place for business professionals to network but it has rapidly grown to become the professional/business networking site for all walks of life. “If you are not there; you are square.”

Your co-workers, customers, vendors and others expect to find your profile on LinkedIn. If your profile is not there; the conclusion is you must have a problem. Either you are hiding something, hiding from someone or you are a really poor networker and do not understand the value and importance of a network.

Who Are You Attracting?

If you are receiving annoying calls because of your LinkedIn profile; maybe it’s the way you’re advertising yourself! The reality is many unsophisticated networkers search LinkedIn for “C” level executives, directors, purchasing agents and numerous other high profile positions solely to promote their products and services. People in high-level positions play into these searches by listing their current title as their headline or tag line.

LinkedIn even exacerbates the problem because, by default, your current job title automatically becomes your headline unless you uncheck the box “Update My Headline To” when it appears. You DO NOT want your title as your headline! Listing your current title serves no one other than a person looking for someone in your position.

The Funny Thing About Titles

Many people get caught up in the importance of their own title and want to display it proudly; maybe even brag a little. The truth is if you are the CEO, CFO, COO, CIO or any other “C” positions of Podunk, Inc.; no one cares! Most likely the people seeing Podunk, Inc. have no clue about the company and until they have more information: do not care! Not only are you making yourself a target for marketers; the information you provided tells your audience absolutely nothing about the value you offer!

However, if you are the CEO of Coke, Proctor and Gamble, Macy’s Department Stores or some other large easily recognized company; your title will mean something and it will also draw a lot of attention – unwanted attention. So unless you are with a large company using the C-level title has intrinsic value; otherwise it is wasted effort.

Your Headline Should Be Your Value Statement; Not Your Title!

This is where people go wrong with their profile and invite the unwanted attention. If you have a title in your headline you are making yourself an easy target. Your headline should tell your reader about the value you offer. Your headline, next to your name, is your most prominent piece of information – as a headline should be; so make sure it draws the attention you want!

When You Do Your Headline Properly the Unwanted Phone Calls Will Be Reduced and May Stop

Because your headline is prominently displayed and has high value as searchable information; you must focus on your value proposition. What is it you offer that people want and will search to find?

I can have a headline which says I’m a Realtor or my headline can say Realtor Specializing in West Linn, Oregon Homes; which tells your audience more? I could go further and say “Realtor in West Linn, OR specializing in high end homes.” If I’m not interested in people searching for low end or starter homes; I am filtering them out with my headline. Some may call regardless, but I’m doing my best to get the prospects I want.

Deleting your profile is a solution to unwanted calls based upon your LinkedIn profile, but it is a drastic response to a fixable situation. Before you take this action; look at your profile to identify the cause of the unwanted attention and make some changes.

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My name is Tom Staskiewicz and my goal is to help everyone do a little better, get a little further and reach the success they are destined to achieve!

Do you need help with your message? Are you struggling for people to know you and what you have to offer? If so, I can help. My contact information is below or Email  Me Now! and lets get started.

Whatever I can do to help you or anyone to move forward in reaching your goals; I’m all for it. Connect with me on LinkedIn, Like me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.

Check out the UPPROACH site and sign up for our newsletter of career tips and ideas for job seekers, small and medium business owners, self-employed individuals, contractors, consultants or whatever; anyone wanting to move their career forward!

How to Be a Great Networker and Stay Top-O-Mind


How to Be a Great Networker and Stay Top-O-Mind

The other day I made a profile change adding a current project. It showed up in the news feed of over 1500 people; yet, only 4 people made a comment or clicked “Like”. My issue isn’t wanting more attention. The issue is are you an effective networker. LinkedIn provides you many opportunities, which take a minimal amount of time, to acknowledge members of your network. Don’t miss out on those occasions!

Be Part of the .3%

Have you ever wondered what it takes to stand out with your network? The simple answer is paying attention! The four individuals who responded are .3% (that’s 3 tenths of a %); 99.7% of my network paid no attention!

You want to be part of the .3%; not the neglectful 99.7% and you can stay Top-O-Mind.

Nightly Notices from LinkedIn

These individuals knew I had changed my profile because LinkedIn told them in their nightly update! The update sent directly to your primary email address. It is so easy to be a more effective networker and acknowledge your contacts. Take a chance!

You can be Top-O-Mind with your network and your contacts provide you the opportunity every time they do something on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or any other Social Media Platform. All you must do is be in tune for the opportunities to acknowledge and stay Top-O-Mind.

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My name is Tom Staskiewicz and my goal is to help everyone do a little better, get a little further and reach the success they are destined to achieve!

Do you need help with your message? Are you struggling for people to know you and what you have to offer? If so, I can help. My contact information is below or Email  Me Now! and lets get started.

Whatever I can do to help you or anyone to move forward in reaching your goals; I’m all for it. Connect with me on LinkedIn, Like me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.

Check out the UPPROACH site and sign up for our newsletter of career tips and ideas for job seekers, small and medium business owners, self-employed individuals, contractors, consultants or whatever; anyone wanting to move their career forward!

Have You Backed Up Your LinkedIn Connections Lately?


Have You Backed Up Your LinkedIn Connections Lately?

My previous two posts Don’t Lose Access to Your LinkedIn Account – Create a Backdoor and Why LinkedIn Gives You Five Email Addresses discussed the importance of protecting your work. Jim Ange commented on the post and said this is your personal IP (Intellectual Property) and he was right on target. This is your IP and something you should be protecting.

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You Have Invested a Lot of Time and Effort

Whether you have 100, 200, or 30,000 connections you should be periodically backing up your LinkedIn connections. As Jim Ange said this is your IP and it is up to you to protect your information.

Why Do You Need to Backup Your Connections

Some may question the need to backup their connections; however, there are at least four excellent reasons:

  • LinkedIn looks to be a solid organization, but things change especially with the Internet – you can’t take it for granted;
  • Periodically someone crosses the line with LinkedIn, not saying you will, but something you do or say may be misunderstood and all of a sudden you have no access;
  • Your account becomes corrupted or somehow inaccessible and you can no longer see your connections; or
  • The LinkedIn network gets spammed, destroyed (they are on the West Coast remember), or some other catastrophe strikes.

We have all been subject to computer errors human or otherwise and suffered the loss of information. LinkedIn is the Rolodex of the 21st Century; can you afford to lose your Rolodex?

Why Has LinkedIn Made it Easy to Export Your Connections

The people at LinkedIn are no dummies after all; they included the export feature so, if something were to go wrong, they have the escape clause of saying you could have exported all of your connections. If you didn’t perform an export that’s a choice you made! It’s not their fault.

The Steps to Export Your Connections

  1. Go to your LinkedIn contacts page
  2. In the upper right corner of your contacts page it says “Add Contact” and “Settings”, click on “Settings”;
  3. In the right hand column is the option to “Export LinkedIn Connections”, click on this option;
  4. You have several format options to choose from, select the best option for you and then click “Export”; and
  5. At this point you have a file saved on your local computer with all of your contact information.

You can stop and know your information is residing on your computer or you can take it a step further and import the file into your address book, MS Excel, MS Word, a CRM application or any number of other applications.

JibberJobber Contact Management Software

First to make it clear I have no financial interest in JibberJobber and I am not compensated for this recommendation!

My personal favorite is a product from my friend, Jason Alba at JibberJobber.com. Jason has a web based application which allows you to import your LinkedIn contacts. Initially Jason designed it for job seekers, but I see it being much more. I particularly like the feature which allows you to build your contacts into a hierarchical tree showing who connected you to whom.

If you have ever read Malcom Gladwell’s “The Tipping Point” he talks about connectors, mavens and salespeople. Using the hierarchical tree you can identify the connectors in your network who have worked on your behalf to help you build through introductions and referrals. Surprisingly you will find a handful of people who have been particularly instrumental in the process.

LinkedIn provides you the ability to backup your connections. I encourage you to take action and protect your IP!

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My name is Tom Staskiewicz and my goal is to help everyone do a little better, get a little further and reach the success they are destined to achieve! Whatever I can do to help you or anyone to move forward in reaching your goals; I’m all for it. Connect with me on LinkedIn, Like me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.

Check out our career site at http://toyourcareersuccess.com and sign up for our newsletter of career tips and ideas for job seekers, small and medium business owners, self-employed individuals, contractors, consultants or whatever; anyone wanting to move their career forward!

Why LinkedIn Gives You Five Email Addresses


Why LinkedIn Gives You Five Email Addresses

In my previous post I discussed the importance of having a backdoor for your LinkedIn Account. I also mentioned you can have up to five email addresses associated with your LinkedIn account. This post explains why LinkedIn allows you to link up to five email accounts.

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Why Five Email Addresses

LinkedIn gives the capability but they don’t do a very good job of explaining why. I’ll clear the air in this post.

Some people actually have five or more working emails because of their involvement in the company where they work, the place(s) they volunteer, the self-employment they do, their educational pursuits, board of director positions or their personal account. Each activity may have an associated, active email address. For some people even five accounts may not be sufficient!

The Problem with Not Linking All Your Email Addresses

If someone attempts to connect with you using one of your email addresses and the email is not tied to your LinkedIn account; you will be told to create a LinkedIn account. LinkedIn doesn’t provide the option to connect to a different account, therefore you are stuck with these options: multiple LinkedIn accounts, sending your own invitation for this person to join you on LinkedIn, ignore the invite or the best answer is to add the email to your current LinkedIn account.

In my previous article Don’t Lose Access to Your LinkedIn Account – Create a Backdoor
I explain the steps for creating or adding an email account. You can also designate which account is your primary or preferred account where all LinkedIn messages should be directed.

LinkedIn provides many free features; sometimes they are not very good at explaining the purpose and sometimes I believe they think it’s a good idea, they may not know why, but they put it in anyway hoping someone will figure it out.

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My name is Tom Staskiewicz and my goal is to help everyone do a little better, get a little further and reach the success they are destined to achieve! Whatever I can do to help you or anyone to move forward in reaching your goals; I’m all for it. Connect with me on LinkedIn, Like me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.

Check out our career site at http://toyourcareersuccess.com and sign up for our newsletter of career tips and ideas for job seekers, small and medium business owners, self-employed individuals, contractors, consultants or whatever; anyone wanting to move their career forward!

Your LinkedIn Profile Is it a Bridge to Nowhere?


Your LinkedIn Profile: Is it a Bridge to Nowhere?

Does your profile get your audience from point “A” to point “B”? Can your audience connect the dots from your skills to the value you provide and the accomplishments you achieved? If not, then your profile is not doing the job and it is time to change!

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The Purpose of Your Profile Is Two Fold

Your profile has two purposes:

  1. To inform and educate your audience on how you have used your skills and abilities to benefit your employers; and
  2. To entice members of your audience to contact you or tell others about you.

When someone, and I mean one because you are only talking to one person at a time, you must engage them with your profile. You were able to get them to your profile; the question is what are you going to get them to do once they are there?

Some Profiles Are Like the Bridge to Nowhere

We have all heard of the bridge to nowhere; what about the profile to nowhere! You click on an individual who wants to connect to review their profile and when you get there: nothing. They have no summary, a couple of companies where they worked and the dates of employment, a title and that is it!

The amazing part is their expectation this is a good representation of themselves and who they are. Nothing could be further from the truth. The profile says, “I am lazy, I really don’t care and I am definitely not giving you any detail!”

Your Profile Must Educate Your Audience on the Value You Bring!

What you need to do is to educate your audience on the value you offer to an employer. You don’t do this by listing a bunch of skills, you do this by demonstrating, in story form, what you have done for others. You want to explain how you used the skill in such a way your audience can relate what you have done to what they need to have done. When you can make this connection, you impact their mindset, you draw them in you are now engaging your audience and that is when success occurs.

It’s Who Knows You that Counts

We have all heard the old adage “It’s who you know” or the adage “It’s how many you know”; I contend the power is in “Who knows you?” In fact you can find my group on LinkedIn It is who knows you and you are welcome to join.

Just because you know someone doesn’t mean they know what you can do or have to offer. Just because you know lots of people doesn’t improve your opportunities. However, when they know you, that is when things can start happening.

A few years back I met a gentleman over lunch. I read his resume and he filled in the blanks. A couple weeks later a friend told me of a company which was hiring. I called and after a few questions I learned this man, I had met over lunch, was perfect for one of the open positions. I made the introductions and the rest is history. The gentleman was hired as the vice-president of manufacturing.

Because I had the opportunity to get to know him; I was able to connect the dots.

My question to you is where does your LinkedIn profile lead your readers? Who and how many people do you know who can connect the dots on your behalf? How many can hear of opportunities and realize you are a candidate? How many are willing to assist you in making the connection?

When you have individuals, who know you, working on your behalf; doors will be opened!

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Does 20 Years’ Experience Tell Your Audience Anything

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My name is Tom Staskiewicz and my goal is to help everyone do a little better, get a little further and reach the success they are destined to achieve! Whatever I can do to help you or anyone to move forward in reaching your goals; I’m all for it. Connect with me on LinkedIn, Like me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.

Check out our career site at http://toyourcareersuccess.com and sign up for our newsletter of career tips and ideas for job seekers, small and medium business owners, self-employed individuals, contractors, consultants or whatever; anyone wanting to move their career forward!

Making “Small Talk” Using LinkedIn Interests


Making “Small Talk” with LinkedIn Interests

If you are like many people making small talk, especially with someone you do not know, can be painfully difficult. LinkedIn has provided a tool, when used correctly, to move us past this hurdle.

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Have You Ever Had Difficulty Making Conversation?

Unless you are the absolute bore who cannot stop talking about him or herself; you will answer yes! This is especially difficult with people you have just met or hardly know. What’s a “safe topic?” How do you strike up a conversation? LinkedIn is coming to your rescue!

Using LinkedIn Interests to Rescue You When the Conversation Is Lagging

The LinkedIn interests section is at the bottom of your profile and for most people it is an afterthought. Don’t make that mistake! This poorly used section can make or break you when it comes to conversation or “small talk”. In this free-form section you can put those things, outside of work, which interest you.

Tell people you like:

  • To play golf;
  • Watch golf on TV;
  • Watch baseball;
  • Run in marathons;
  • Visit historic sites;
  • Read biographies;
  • Crochet;
  • Sew;
  • Take long walks;
  • Listen to the sounds of the ocean;
  • Go on cruises;
  • Go camping;
  • Work with youth groups;
  • Play in a band;
  • Sing, and as you can;
  • See the list goes on and on.

Why Do You Do This?

The purpose of this exercise is to get you through the awkward moments without you having to do all or most of the talking. If you meet someone who is on LinkedIn and you need conversational material ask what they wrote in the section. If they wrote little or nothing, tell them about this article and what you did as a result with your Interests Section. You can then ask knowing what you did, what would they put in their Interests section. Your objective is to make yourself look like the smartest conversationalist there is by getting them to talk about themselves.

The smartest and best conversationalist is not the person who does all the talking; it’s the person with the ability to get the other person talking!

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My name is Tom Staskiewicz and my goal is to help everyone do a little better, get a little further and reach the success they are destined to achieve! Whatever I can do to help you or anyone to move forward in reaching your goals; I’m all for it. Connect with me on LinkedIn, Like me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.

Check out our career site at http://toyourcareersuccess.com and sign up for our newsletter of career tips and ideas for job seekers, small and medium business owners, self-employed individuals, contractors, consultants or whatever; anyone wanting to move their career forward!