I was sitting at a celebratory dinner a while back, and the host started telling a story. His story. How he had become the professional he was, and why he was moving in the direction he was going. He could have spewed facts, or statistics, or bullet points. But no-one would have remembered them. Those […]
Where Your Resume and Your LinkedIn Profile Should Differ
October 20, 2015 By 2 Comments
I’ve worked with dozens of professionals on improving their resumes, and LinkedIn profiles, during career transitions (and, at times, in advance of potential career transitions). And here’s one question I get all the time: how do I handle my self-presentation on LinkedIn and on resumes? One of the most important parts of your professional self-presentation […]
Career-Transition-Ready is The New Black
May 5, 2015 By 1 Comment
How many people do you know that have been with the same company for for 20+ years? Probably very few – right? I’m always amazed when I find someone that’s been in one place for 15 years or more. In fact, how many job roles have you had? How long have you spent at any one company? […]
Are You “Results-Oriented”? Don’t Be…
April 22, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Have you read any LinkedIn profiles lately? I have, and I’m astonished by how many people are “results-oriented.” I mean, it’s the very first phrase on about 83.2% of all LinkedIn summaries. I made that number up. Because I’m results-oriented, and needed a statistic quickly. What does that phrase even mean? That when you do your […]
How (NOT) to Fail at LinkedIn: Your Photo
December 2, 2014 By 1 Comment
I use LinkedIn quite heavily as a way to build and maintain my network, and I must admit that I am continually appalled at many of the profiles I see. It’s almost as if they were designed to fail. Then, there’s the occasional exception – clear wording, attractive picture, succinct purpose statements. With my career clarity […]
Please – Any Job Will Do
September 29, 2014 By Leave a Comment
From a LinkedIn profile I came across last week: “I am a qualified professional with a diversified skill set seeking employment that will allow further career enhancement and personal growth. I am highly adaptable with excellent communication skills. I am able to develop and implement project plans with attention to detail to ensure timely project […]
Sold on You
June 30, 2014 By Leave a Comment
You have something vitally important to sell. You. We’ve all heard that familiar expression, “we’re all in sales.” And it’s true. While we may not have the title “Sales Representative” on our business card, and a sell sheet for some product or service we’re pushing, we’re still responsible for selling our most important asset. Ourselves. Your resume (and/or […]
Four Ways to Get Out of Someone Else’s Box
May 13, 2014 By Leave a Comment
I remember, a number of years back when working with another company, the intense frustration I felt (along with my colleagues) when a certain pharmaceutical client – a very important customer spending a pretty fair chunk of change with us – refused to even hear of some expanded business offerings we wanted to promote. No! You […]
Searching For A New Job? Define Your Bullseye
April 17, 2014 By Leave a Comment
It’s a great idea to define your own professional “sweet spot“ when looking for a new job. But don’t stop there – also define a best-fit target role and company. Talking to a friend this week about his job search, it became clear rather quickly what his sweet spot is: he’s a deeply experienced IT infrastructure manager. […]
A LinkedIn Summary to Love
May 31, 2013 By 5 Comments
I had the privilege of meeting Dawn Kristy at the SOBCon conference a few weeks back, and we had a long talk about her career (and life) path. Turns out that Dawn is quite a writer, and I love what she did recently with her LinkedIn summary: Here’s what I like about Dawn’s approach: Excellent […]
