#linkedinjobsearch Archives - Page 2 of 2 - First Sun Consulting, LLC | Outplacement Services and Career Transition Firm

Posts

#CareerAdvice : #JobSearch -How to Respond to a Recruiter’s InMail on #LinkedIn . #MustRead !

August 19, 2019/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

With a healthy labor market, record low unemployment and steady wage growth, U.S. job seekers are in the driver’s seat of their careers. Employers are eager to show you more than the basic job description. They are beefing up their employer branding, benefits, perks and insights into their company culture to attract you to their open jobs.

And one of the ways recruiters will reach out to you is via LinkedIn InMail.

InMail messages are private messages that allow recruiters, hiring managers and head hunters to contact you on LinkedIn without an introduction or contact information.

Receiving an InMail from a recruiter can make you feel special and in-demand, but like so many things in life, you only get one shot to make a great first impression. Sure, your profile and maybe your resume caught their eye on the social platform, but how you communicate when a recruiter reaches out to you is key.

Like this Article ? Share It !You now can easily enjoy/follow/share Today our Award Winning Articles/Blogs with Now Over 2.5 Million Growing Participates Worldwide in our various Social Media formats below:

FSC LinkedIn Network: www.linkedin.com/in/fscnetwork

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/First-Sun-Consulting-LLC-Outplacement-Services/213542315355343?sk=wall

Twitter: Follow us @ firstsunllc

Question: Want the ‘the best/current articles/blogs on the web’ on Job Search, Resume, Advancing/Changing your Career, or simply Managing People?

Answer: Simply go to our FSC Career Blog below & type job search, resume, networking ) in Blog Search: https://www.firstsun.com/fsc-career-blog/

What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

Continue of article:

Seasoned recruiters have a keen eye and can spot red flags like dishonesty, misrepresentation and job seekers who are “wishy-washy” on whether they’d consider the opportunity. Therefore, whether you’re interested in the job or not, how you respond can speak volumes. Here are some tips on how to best respond to a recruiter’s InMail message.

If You’re Interested in the Opportunity:

Hi [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][Recruiter name],

[Insert commonality or compliment here, such as, “Thank you for reaching out with this awesome opportunity” or “It’s great to connect with someone at XYZ company — I’ve admired your work]!”

I’m interested in [company’s] open [job title] role, would be interested in [hearing more about the opportunity, learning the specifics of the role, applying formally]. I’d love to get your thoughts on [your experience at the company, what the team is specifically looking for, why you felt I’d be a great fit]. Would you be open to [hopping on a call, answering 3-5 quick questions]? It would be so appreciated.

Thank you,

[Your name]

Why This Works: With this response, you show genuine interest in both the company and the role and show that you are proactive about suggesting next steps. Sure, it’s a job seekers’ market, but there’s no need to play hard to get. If you’re interested, then show it and don’t hesitate to share your interest and preferred mode of communication.

If You’re On the Fence:

Hi [Recruiter name],

Thank you for your InMail.

I’m pretty happy in my current role at [Company name], but I’d be open to discussing this opportunity with you. This role and company look to have some exciting potential and I never turn down a chance to chat about [insert compelling aspect of the jobs/company/industry].

Would it be possible for us to connect via phone next week?

I look forward to speaking!

Best,

[Your name]

Why This Works: Sure you’re satisfied in your current job, but if you’re open to the right opportunity, this response allows you to be both honest about your current feelings and leaves room for the possibility of a new role. It signals to a recruiter that you’re open to being sold on the role and considering a new company.

**If You’re Interested in the Company, But Not the Role:**

Hi [Name],

Thanks for reaching out to me for this role! I am actively exploring new opportunities, but would ideally like to find a position that would allow me to [work from home, expand on my marketing experience, step into the nonprofit space, earn at least $X annually, etc.]. It sounds like this particular role isn’t quite what I’m looking for, but do you happen to know of any other opportunities that may be a better fit? If so, I’d love to connect! [Or include a sentence with a link to another job opening at the company.]

I’ve attached my resume for your review and can be reached directly at [your email address and/or phone number] moving forward.

Best,

[Your Name]

Why This Works: If your dream company reaches out to you for a role that’s less than ideal, get your foot in the door by sharing exactly what you’re looking for. Don’t be shy about telling them you’re interested in the company and use the introduction as a way to explore alternative opportunities.

**If the Company & Role Are Not Interesting:**

Hi [Name],

Thank you for your note about [insert job title]. While the role seems interesting and the work your company is doing is impressive, I really love the company I currently work for. That said, if I am looking to make a change in the future, I will certainly be in touch.

Thanks again,

[Your Name]

Why This Works: For the sake of your professional brand and to show common courtesy, do not just ignore the recruiter. Even if the opportunity isn’t a right fit now, being humble and thankful are important traits when turning a recruiter down. There’s no need to dwell on why you’re not interested, or to provide excuses. Be direct and clear with your position, and like any smart professional, leave room for continuing the relationship down the line.

If Your Dream Job & Company Present Themselves:

Hi [Name],

Thank you for your note. Based on your description of the role, it sounds like a great job and aligns with where I’d like to take my career. I’m eager to learn more.

As you may have seen on my profile [or resume], I have [number of years] experience in [field/industry]. I’ve been consistently committed to [specific goal, skill or trait the new job entails]. In my current role at [Name of current employer], I recently [impressive accomplishment that relates to the new job] and [add mention of management experience or soft skills.]

Could we discuss this opportunity in more detail? I’d welcome the opportunity to learn more about the role and share how my skills and experiences would benefit [Name of potential employer].

I’m available to talk by phone on [List of dates and times you’re available]. I look forward to speaking with you.

Best,
[Your name]

Why This Works: While you may be jumping up and down with excitement because your dream company and job appeared in your inbox, there are better ways to convey your excitement than by sending a response full of exclamation marks and smiley-face emojis. Demonstrate your enthusiasm for the role by responding with a carefully crafted note that reflects both your skills as well as your understanding of the company’s business needs. This combo will show the recruiter that you’re absolutely worth an initial interview.

Remember, when speaking with recruiters on any medium, here are a few general tips:
1. Spark their interest.
2. Be natural.
3. Be direct.
4. Share insight into your decision.
5. Customize your templates.

It’s easy to get overconfident when a recruiter reaches out to you, but it is very important to leave a positive impression in every interaction.

GlassDoor.com | August 16, 2019 | Posted by Amy Elisa Jackson

[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

#CareerAdvice : #LinkedInTips – 9 Mistakes you’re Making on #LinkedIn that Could Sabotage your #JobHunt — and How to Fix Them. A Must REad!

March 7, 2019/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

If you’re on LinkedIn, there’s a good chance you’re guilty of (at least) one of the mistakes listed below.

We talked to LinkedIn career expert Blair Decembrele about how to avoid them.
For example, if you’re job-hunting, be sure to alert recruiters that you’re open to new roles. Your current employer won’t find out.

LinkedIn can be a terrific place to build your brand, expand your network, attract new clients, and find job opportunities.

But use it the wrong way and you could turn off professional contacts — or even lose out on your dream job.

We spoke with LinkedIn career expert Blair Decembrele about the most common (and most egregious) mistakes she sees on the platform, as well as what you can do to avoid them. Read on, and get ready to make some potentially serious changes to your profile.

Your profile headline is incorrect or missing entirely

Screenshot/LinkedIn

This is “prime real estate,” Decembrele said.

It’s the first thing other members see besides your photo. You can use these 120 words either to list your current title (e.g. “senior reporter at Business Insider”) or to describe your job more generally (e.g. “reporter covering career development and entrepreneurship”).

You don’t have a profile photo

Screenshot/LinkedIn

According to LinkedIn data, profiles with photos receive up to 21 times more views than profiles without photos, plus nine times more connection requests.

That’s not to say that any photo will do — it’s important to choose one that’s visually appealing, Decembrele said. Think a solid-color background without distractions like a friend’s arm dangling off the edge. Your face should fill up roughly 60% of the frame.

Like this Article ? Share It ! You now can easily enjoy/follow/share Today our Award Winning Articles/Blogs with Now Over 2.5 Million Growing Participates Worldwide in our various Social Media formats below:

FSC LinkedIn Network: www.linkedin.com/in/fscnetwork

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/First-Sun-Consulting-LLC-Outplacement-Services/213542315355343?sk=wall

Google+: https://plus.google.com/115673713231115398101/posts?hl=en

Twitter: Follow us @ firstsunllc

Question: Want the ‘the best/current articles/blogs on the web’ on Job Search, Resume, Advancing/Changing your Career, or simply Managing People?

Answer: Simply go to our FSC Career Blog below & type(#career, #leadership, #life) in Blog Search: https://www.firstsun.com/fsc-career-blog/

What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

Continue of article:

You haven’t written a summary

A summary “describes who you are as a professional,” Decembrele said. It’s your elevator pitch, or your chance to “spark a potential employer’s interest in 20 seconds.”

That’s why you should include your experience, skills, and interests. Most importantly, “don’t be afraid to have your personality shine through.” LinkedIn says summaries of at least 40 words are more likely to turn up in search results.

You never customized your LinkedIn URL

Once you do, you can include your LinkedIn URL on your résumé without worrying about it looking clunky, Decembrele said. It also makes it easier for you to be found by recruiters.

You have no idea what your privacy settings are

Decembrele recommends thinking carefully about your privacy settings (for example, whether you want your entire network to find out that you’ve switched jobs).

You should also know whether other members can see when you’ve looked at their profile, and vice versa. Decembrele said there are benefits to having people know you checked out their profile, since they might see an opportunity to work together.

If you subscribe to LinkedIn Premium, you’re able to tweak the settings so that you can see when other people view your profile, but they can’t see when you’ve viewed theirs.

You haven’t alerted recruiters that you’re open to new roles

Enabling the “open candidates” feature on your profile dashboard is a way to privately signal that you’re open to job opportunities. LinkedIn found that members who enable this feature are twice as likely to see relevant opportunities.

Fortunately, this is not listed publicly on your profile — and luckily for you, recruiters from your particular organization aren’t able to see this.

You’re not using hashtags in your posts

You can use relevant hashtags to a) customize your feed so that you see the content that’s most interesting to you, and b) to make sure your posts wind up in front of the right people (just like on other social media platforms). For example, if you’re writing about leadership, you might tag “#leadership.”

Once you’ve started writing a post on LinkedIn, you’ll see recommended hashtags to choose from.

You aren’t taking advantage of LinkedIn groups

When you join LinkedIn groups for professionals in your field, “it enables you to talk to each other about trends in your industry,” Decembrele said. Plus, it’s a great way to solicit career advice or opinions.

You’re cold-contacting people for jobs

The first rule of messaging another LinkedIn member is to make sure you’ve looked at their profile, so you can refer to something about their career that resonated with you. Explain why you’re reaching out and why they should connect with you, Decembrele added.

That said, if you’re job hunting, don’t message someone asking directly for a job. Instead, you might write something like, “Hi, I noticed you work for [X organization] and I’m really interested in learning more about that company. Would you be wiling to talk to me?”

Author: Jillian D’Onfro contributed to an earlier version of this post.

Businessinsder.com | March 7, 2019

[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

#CareerAdvice : #JobSearch -These 8 Mistakes on your #LinkedInProfile are Killing your Job Search…Must REad!

February 15, 2019/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

The team at digital selling firm Vengreso was ready to hire an instructional designer. They found someone on LinkedIn who seemed perfect for the job, and he likely would have gotten an offer after a cursory interview. But there was just one problem, says co-founder and Chief Visibility Officer Viveka von Rosen: He had no contact information listed.

That was the “final straw” from an already weak profile, says von Rosen, author of LinkedIn Marketing: An Hour a Day. Sure, she could have messaged him through the platform, but they didn’t know how long it would take him to check for messages and the fact that his profile made it more difficult than necessary to contact him was a deal-breaker. The team moved on to look for someone else. “Update your contact information and consider including it in your summary, too,” she says. “Make it easy for them to find you.”

You may have built your LinkedIn profile and network over the course of years–or you may pay little attention to it at all. Either way, your profile may have red flags to recruiters or hiring managers, undermining your job search. But refreshing it doesn’t have to take long. In addition to keeping your contact information up-to-date, here are seven more red flags to keep in mind.

MISTAKE #1: A MISLEADING HEADLINE

The headline next to your photo is one of the most valuable pieces of LinkedIn real estate you have. Use it wisely, says executive recruiter and career advancement coach Suzanne O’Brien. If you have aspirations of moving up, don’t use your current title in your headline. Instead, opt for something that reflects the job you want without being misleading. “Try using something that encompasses your current role and where you want to go, along with your unique value,” she suggests. For example, “Leadership in Product Management with Mobile and Healthcare Expertise” or “Marketing Professional for High-Growth Companies.”

“For the company that’s looking for someone with that expertise, they’ll know right away that you’re a ‘bull’s-eye’ candidate and they want to speak with you,” she says. Avoid very broad descriptions like “Consultant” or “Tech Explorer with a Systematic Approach.” Also, it’s not the best place for a quote from your favorite author, she says.

Like this Article ? Share It ! You now can easily enjoy/follow/share Today our Award Winning Articles/Blogs with Now Over 2.5 Million Growing Participates Worldwide in our various Social Media formats below:

FSC LinkedIn Network: www.linkedin.com/in/fscnetwork

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/First-Sun-Consulting-LLC-Outplacement-Services/213542315355343?sk=wall

Google+: https://plus.google.com/115673713231115398101/posts?hl=en

Twitter: Follow us @ firstsunllc

Question: Want the ‘the best/current articles/blogs on the web’ on Job Search, Resume, Advancing/Changing your Career, or simply Managing People?

Answer: Simply go to our FSC Career Blog below & type(#career, #leadership, #life) in Blog Search: https://www.firstsun.com/fsc-career-blog/

What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

Continue of article:

MISTAKE #2: INCOMPLETE DEGREE INFORMATION

Another issue that can get you easily dismissed is incomplete degree information, says Debra Boggs, LinkedIn profile strategist and co-founder of D&S Professional Coaching, a career coaching firm in Scarborough, Maine. “Clients will be really vague about the type of degree they got,” she says. Instead of specifying that they have a bachelors or master’s degree they’ll say they studied biology, for example. “That’s a big red flag to recruiters that they don’t actually have a degree,” she says, which can be a deal-breaker to some prospective employers.

MISTAKE #3: IMPRECISE INDUSTRY

“From the recruiter’s lens, when we’re scouring LinkedIn for prospective candidates, we use filters,” O’Brien says. If you haven’t updated your industry information, recruiters may not see you as appropriate for the job or may think that you lack attention to detail. “If you were in biotech and now you’re in tech, and a recruiter’s looking for someone in tech, so they might not see you,” she says.

MISTAKE #4: RESUME MISMATCH

If you do nothing else before your next job hunt, do this: Pull up your resume and compare it side-by-side with your LinkedIn profile, Boggs says. Make sure the dates, positions, and job titles match. When resumes and LinkedIn profiles aren’t aligned, recruiters don’t know what to believe, she adds.

MISTAKE #5: INAPPROPRIATE PHOTO

You don’t need to shell out big bucks for a professional photo shoot. But don’t use that wedding or vacation photo just because you like the way you look in it, Boggs says. Your photo tells a story about your professionalism. For a quick, budget friendly option, dress appropriately, find a place with decent natural light, and have a friend take your photo, she suggests. (No selfies.)

MISTAKE #6: DESPERATION

Job-hunting is difficult, especially if you’re unemployed or hate your current job. But, the minute that desperation creeps into your job search activities, it’s a turnoff, says von Rosen. While you want to make it clear that you’re looking for a new role, you still need to play a little hard to get. Von Rosen says that including phrases like “will work with anyone” or similarly broad statements can backfire.

“In your summary and in your headline section, position yourself as leader in your industry–a subject matter expert. Someone people trip over to work with or to hire,” she says.

MISTAKE #7: BRANDING YOURSELF WITH YOUR CURRENT JOB

You may be a shining star at your company, but if you’re too closely identified with the brand, hiring managers may be concerned that you’re not interested in new opportunities or that you’ll remind customers of the competition, von Rosen says. When you start thinking about a new job search, put a little distance between you and your current brand. For example, if your LinkedIn background photo is includes your company brand, swap it out for a neutral landscape or sunset photo. Begin producing your own thought leadership instead of only posting your company’s content. Use the platform to present your expertise and show your independence.

Watch out for these common missteps and you’ll eliminate some areas that might cause a recruiter or hiring manager to pass by your profile.

FastCompany.com | February 15, 2019 | BY GWEN MORAN 4 MINUTE READ

#CareerAdvice : #JobSearch -This is the Easiest Way to Make your #LinkedInProfile Stand Out…One Small Tweak can Make a Big Difference.

October 21, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

Whenever I deliver my LinkedIn workshop, I get a lot of pushback on the following point: How to write your headline on the social network.

A LinkedIn headline is the line directly under your name–on your profile page, in the sidebar of people similar to you, and what people see in search results when they type your name. It’s the thing that people view the most after your name and headshot.

But most people don’t exploit this opportunity. Instead, they fall back on LinkedIn’s default settings–which copy and paste your job title and employer into this critical field.

A JOB TITLE TELLS YOU NOTHING

My “official” title is president of the Jonathan Rick Group. But if I’d put that on my LinkedIn headline, most people will probably look at it and have no idea what that means.

Sure, the word “president” may be impressive, but it doesn’t give you any clue about what the job involves or what I can do for you. As much as I’d love to flatter myself, it’s unlikely that a prospective client would see the headline, “JRG president,” and instantly think, “This guy can solve all my digital marketing needs!”

I’d go so far as to say that the same thing would apply to my previous jobs, such as “senior strategist at Rock Creek Strategic Marketing,” and “senior consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton.” You may have heard of Booz Allen, but unless you’re a senior consultant at Booz Allen, you probably have no idea what my responsibilities looked like.

There’s a simple solution to this–customize your headline. Instead of meekly recording your title and company, try following the tried-and-true strategy of describing what you do and who you help. This is your elevator pitch in 120 characters.

Here are a few examples:

I help trade associations raise mountains of money.
I help Fortune 500 CEOs and tech entrepreneurs navigate and influence Washington, D.C.
Whatever the subject, I’ll make your message UBER: Understood, Believed, Enjoyed, and Remembered.

Earlier, I said that some folks rebel at the idea of a personalized headline. Let’s review their four strongest objections.

1. “MOST PEOPLE DON’T CUSTOMIZE THEIR HEADLINE”

This is true–but it’s because most people don’t know any better, just like they might not know the difference between a hashtag and a handle.

Like this Article ? Share It ! You now can easily enjoy/follow/share Today our Award Winning Articles/Blogs with Now Over 2.5 Million Growing Participates Worldwide in our various Social Media formats below:

FSC LinkedIn Network: www.linkedin.com/in/fscnetwork

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/First-Sun-Consulting-LLC-Outplacement-Services/213542315355343?sk=wall

Google+: https://plus.google.com/115673713231115398101/posts?hl=en

Twitter: Follow us @ firstsunllc

Question: Want the ‘the best/current articles/blogs on the web’ on Job Search, Resume, Advancing/Changing your Career, or simply Managing People?

Answer: Simply go to our FSC Career Blog below & type(#career, #leadership, #life) in Blog Search: https://www.firstsun.com/fsc-career-blog/

What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

Continue of article:

2. “A CUSTOM HEADLINE TYPICALLY MEANS THE HEADLINER IS UNEMPLOYED”

Yes, plenty of people position themselves as consultants when in fact, they aspire to be consultants. An image I recently saw on Twitter captures the point poetically.

Don’t let that put you off, though. Let’s not let these self-proclaimed influencers/evangelists/whisperers ruin a good thing. After all, puffery tends to dissolve upon impact: Spend a few seconds scrolling through someone’s profile, and it’ll be clear whether they’re living up to their title, or whether they’re lying about it.

3. “THEY’RE TOO FLOWERY”

I’ve also heard plenty of people claiming that while a custom headline may be a good idea, in theory, people use it in off-putting ways. In short, they think that these made-up banners are too flowery or pretentious–and often both.

Again, I sympathize with this viewpoint. But just because someone else’s headline is fluffy doesn’t mean your headline needs to be. I’ve long railed against what I call the “laundry listers” (who can’t decide who they are, so they throw in everything) and the “keyword stuffers” (who use jargon instead of English to seduce the algorithms).

Here are some examples of a straightforward and not flowery headline:

Public policy advocate for the greater protection of our civil liberties
Licensed mental health social worker, treating trichotillomania and OCD
CPA, with 20 years of experience, specializing in real estate

To me, these lines sound far more intriguing and substantive than an unclear job title at a company people might or might not have heard of.

4. “I WORKED HARD TO GET HERE”

This objection seems to be one that people are extremely passionate about. If the first thing someone learns about me is that that I work at, say, the White House, he’s more likely to browse through my profile than if he sees I work at the White Group.

People argue that if they spend their days at a prestigious place, they shouldn’t obscure this accomplishment. After all, it takes talent to land at Goldman Sachs or Google, and isn’t LinkedIn all about showcasing that?

There are two issues here–one technical and one philosophical. Both revolve around prioritization.

The thing is, a custom headline doesn’t replace your title and company. The latter still very much forms part of your profile, at the top of your “experience” section. They’re just not the first thing people see.

When you value the institution over the individual, you also convey your insecurity. This mind-set suggests that you tie your professional identity to the company you work for, and that where you work is more important than what you do.

Instead of yoking yourself to your employer, cultivate your own identity. Recognize that your worth doesn’t require external validation. Your business card doesn’t bind you. It’s great to say, “I went to Harvard,” and that’s definitely something you should be proud of. But don’t let it define you. You’re much more valuable than that.

Author: Jonathan Rick is the president of the Jonathan Rick Group, a consultancy that helps people overhaul and optimize their LinkedIn profile. Follow him on Twitter at @jrick, where he tweets about the latest tricks in professional branding.

FastCompany.com | October 21, 2018

#CareerAdvice : #JobSearch – How to Use #LinkedIn to Add Cold Contacts…Your #Career is About Who you Know, Sure. But it’s Also about Who You can Get to Know. That’s where LinkedIn Comes In.

August 3, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

With over 400 million users, there’s no question LinkedIn reigns supreme as the go-to professional network. From your former roommate to the stranger with your dream job, every savvy woman (and man) seems to have an active account where they regularly post references, professional recommendations, and recommended reads.

If you’re like most users, you’ve probably taken a laissez-faire approach to LinkedIn networking up until now, accepting connection requests from friends or former coworkers when they turn up in your inbox or maybe using LinkedIn’s recommendations to add some people yourself. But that means you’re missing a hugely underutilized opportunity: the network of professionals in your field who you just haven’t met yet.

Navigating that world of untapped connections with poise often brings uncertainty. After all, it’s arguably as hard to reach out to strangers online as it is in person. That’s exactly why we’re breaking down how to use LinkedIn to add cold contacts to three easy steps. Follow these and you’ll significantly up your LinkedIn game. Ready?

HOW TO USE LINKEDIN TO ADD COLD CONTACTS (3 STEPS)

1. Find a Shared Connection or Group

2. Personalize Your Connection Request

3. Send a Follow-Up

(Psst—Bonus Tip)

1. FIND A SHARED LINKEDIN CONNECTION OR GROUP

One of the biggest benefits of using LinkedIn to make new contacts? You can visually see connections that you share with others. For example, if you come across a profile of someone you’d like to contact, LinkedIn offers a convenient chart of your mutual connections. Use this to your advantage by reaching out to one of these shared contacts to ask for a virtual introduction, either through LinkedIn or via email.

Obviously, you won’t always have a direct personal connection with someone you’d like to meet, but that’s not the only way forward. Next up, check to see if you’re part of any of the same LinkedIn groups as the person in question. Perhaps you’re members of a professional association, or maybe you both graduated from the same university.

Finding common ground can quickly evolve a cold contact into a warm one. In fact, if you and the person are both members of a group, you can send them a message directly through LinkedIn without having to connect first. Think of it as cutting out the social media middle man.

Charm cold contacts with a personalized connection request. LinkedIn limits you to 300 characters here, but that’s still plenty of space to impress.

Like this Article ? Share It ! You now can easily enjoy/follow/share Today our Award Winning Articles/Blogs with Now Over 2.5 Million Growing Participates Worldwide in our various Social Media formats below:

FSC LinkedIn Network: www.linkedin.com/in/fscnetwork

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/First-Sun-Consulting-LLC-Outplacement-Services/213542315355343?sk=wall

Google+: https://plus.google.com/115673713231115398101/posts?hl=en

Twitter: Follow us @ firstsunllc

Question: Want the ‘the best/current articles/blogs on the web’ on Job Search, Resume, Advancing/Changing your Career, or simply Managing People?

Answer: Simply go to our FSC Career Blog below & type(#career, #leadership, #life) in Blog Search: https://www.firstsun.com/fsc-career-blog/

What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

Continue of article:

2. PERSONALIZE YOUR CONNECTION REQUEST

If you aren’t able to turn the cold contact into a warm one through a virtual introduction, your next step is to send a personalized connection request.

LinkedIn allows you to send a connection request when you’d like to add someone new to your network. These potential connections will then receive a notification asking them to accept or decline your invitation. Because the process counts on their approval, without any type of background or explanation, many people are likely to decline an invitation from a stranger.

For this reason, under no accounts send the default “I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn” message. Trust us on this.

Instead, charm them with a personalized one. LinkedIn limits you to 300 characters here, but that’s still plenty of space to impress them with a short and sweet intro.

The Classic Approach

Hi Jane,

Came across your profile and work at XYZ Company. I’m a fellow aspiring marketing professional and would love to connect.

Regards,

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][Your Name]

The Admirer Approach

If you’ve seen the person’s work elsewhere (i.e. a publication, conference, networking event, or even through social media), mention it. People love when someone appreciates their hard work. Try something like this:

Hi Jane,

Saw your recent presentation at XYZ conference. I got a lot out of it and would love to chat with you to discuss some questions I had about your work.

Regards,

[Your Name]

Once you’ve successfully connected to someone, you can now send the person a direct message—and you should take advantage of this opportunity every time.

3. SEND A FOLLOW-UP LINKEDIN MESSAGE OR EMAIL

Once you’ve successfully connected to someone, don’t call it a day. You can now send the person a direct message, and you should take advantage of this opportunity every time. Let her know you admire her work or would like to learn more about her career path.

Ask for either an in-person or phone meeting where you can gain more information. Here are some approaches:

The Classic Reach-Out

Hi Jane,

Thank you for connecting with me on LinkedIn. I see that you’ve had a lot of work experience in corporate marketing, a field that I’m hoping to break into. I’ve done a couple of internships in the field and would love your advice on this topic. Would you be willing to speak with me over the phone for 20-30 minutes in the next few weeks? Thanks for your consideration.

Regards,

[Your Name]

The Hybrid Reach-Out

In the case where you’re able to send a message directly without connecting first (i.e., you both share a group), your initial message will look a bit different. Think of it as a combination of Steps 2 and 3. Here’s a good example:

Hi Jane,

I’m a fellow Rice University alumnus who recently graduated with a degree in Marketing. I came across your LinkedIn profile through our alumni group and was intrigued by your work experience in marketing.

I’d love to learn more about your career path and get your perspective on how to best break into the field as a new grad. Would you be willing to speak with me over the phone for 20-30 minutes in the next few weeks? Thanks for your consideration.

Regards,

[Your Name]

BONUS: THE SINGLE BEST TIP WE’VE GOT

In no context should your end goal of adding cold contacts be asking for a job.

You read that right. That part comes later, long after a cold contact warms up. Treat this as your opportunity to ask instead for information and learn more about the person. Informational interviews are great relationship builders, which both expand your network and provide you with tons of helpful career advice and insight from others.

Adding cold contacts on LinkedIn takes more time and effort than simply hitting the “connect” button over and over, but you reap what you sow. Put the time into turning a cold contact into a strong connection that you can keep in touch with over time.

Still feeling shaky about how to master the art of LinkedIn? Enroll in our online course, The LinkedIn Lab, and become a LinkedIn master.

CareerContessa.com | August 29, 2016 | BY KATHERINE NOBLES

[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

Your #Career : The Three Smartest Ways To Use #LinkedIn Early In Your Career…Why Bother using LinkedIn. When you Don’t have Much #JobExperience to Put On your #ProfilePage ? Here’s Why–and How to Do It.

April 25, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

LinkedIn is a great place to build a network, diversify your knowledge, and find new career opportunities–even when you’re early in your career. Students and recent grads may neglect LinkedIn, thinking it’s premature to start investing time into the platform before actually building up a solid amount of work experience. That’s a mistake.

I’ve found unexpected opportunities lurking within LinkedIn that simply require some ingenuity to take advantage of. Here are a few tips that have worked for me in the past few years I’ve spent in the tech industry after graduating.

1. START NETWORKING CONVERSATIONS YOU CAN TAKE OFFLINE

Yes, LinkedIn is kind of like a database. You load it up with information on your interests, objectives, skills, and accomplishments so the leaders and peers you connect with can tell what you’re all about. Obviously, when someone checks out your profile, you’ll want it to be thorough and compelling.

But all the work you put into your profile is just a springboard for reaching out to other professionals in your industry. Whenever you come across someone you’d like to connect with on LinkedIn, your real objective should be to take the conversation you strike up offline as quickly as possible. Don’t treat LinkedIn the way you might operate on Instagram, racking up contacts you have no intention of interacting with in the real world.

LinkedIn is a means to an end, and that end goal should always be real-time conversations–ideally face to face, or by phone if necessary when you live in different places and don’t plan to visit soon. Using LinkedIn to set up face-to-face meetings with new people is a crucial and underutilized tactic for younger professionals working to build their networks in a meaningful way.

2. TREAT LINKEDIN LIKE A FREE SEMINAR

Learning quickly at a new job is one of the most exciting and daunting tasks entry- and associate-level workers usually face. First you have to learn your role and size up the work culture. Then you’ve got to get a handle on the industry and understand how your company is competing in the market. LinkedIn can actually help you with all of that.

So search for and join groups, follow leaders, comment on conversations, and share interesting stories. You can start by following industry-specific groups, first as an observer, and then as a participant as you get more comfortable. Make sure you also pay attention to what your company and its competitors are posting. Staying engaged–even by checking in on the chatter just once a week or so–can help you stay informed and ahead of the game.

Like this Article ? Share It ! You now can easily enjoy/follow/share Today our Award Winning Articles/Blogs with Now Over 2.5 Million Growing Participates Worldwide in our various Social Media formats below:

FSC LinkedIn Network: www.linkedin.com/in/fscnetwork

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/First-Sun-Consulting-LLC-Outplacement-Services/213542315355343?sk=wall

Google+: https://plus.google.com/115673713231115398101/posts?hl=en

Twitter: Follow us @ firstsunllc

Question: Want the ‘the best/current articles/blogs on the web’ on Job Search, Resume, Advancing/Changing your Career, or simply Managing People?

Answer: Simply go to our FSC Career Blog below & type(#career, #leadership, #life) in Blog Search: https://www.firstsun.com/fsc-career-blog/

What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

Continue of article:

3. SCOUT FOR JOB OPPORTUNITIES WHEN YOU AREN’T ACTIVELY LOOKING

Even if you’re not actively looking for a new job, you should be using LinkedIn to reel in potential opportunities pretty much all the time.

How? The first part is just network building: Add the people you meet through work and at industry events on LinkedIn, and follow up with personalized notes. This might not feel like job searching, but it’s a crucial precondition to hearing about openings that may bubble up. Plus, if you want to reach out later when you are ready to job search, they’ll remember who you are. The second step is to keep putting yourself out there. Write articles, comment on your connections’ posts, and share interesting news stories you read. This is another great way to lay a breadcrumb trail that potential employers can find.

When you’re early in your career, recruiters and search firms might not be as likely to land on your doorstep–they’re often retained to help organizations fill higher-level roles. So it’s all the more important to be proactive, treating pretty much all LinkedIn activity as a potential step toward your next role. With that said, when you do get contacted about job opportunities on LinkedIn, make sure to respond even if you aren’t interested. You never know if you might want to work with that organization some other time.

In short, LinkedIn is a great place to learn, grow, and build relationships–even when you don’t have the most impressive credentials to plaster your profile with. It’s a competitive business world out there, and early-career professionals should get engaged early in order to get an edge over those who don’t bother to do the same.

Stephanie Glass is the head of product marketing for Aera Technology’s AI solutions, where she’s responsible for product strategy and the execution of product marketing programs. She brings to Aera experience in AI, machine learning, planning, and analytics, with past roles at Anaplan, GoodData, and Jive Software.

FastCompany.com | April 25, 2018 | BY STEPHANIE GLASS 3 MINUTE READ

Your #Career : Four Things You Must Do On #LinkedIn Once A Week…Think of #LinkedInGroups as Online Professional Associations.

April 2, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

It’s been a decade since LinkedIn starting adding features that help you do your job better, but many people still aren’t taking advantage of those features. They only visit LinkedIn when something big happens, like a job promotion or a move to a new company.

To start getting the most out of LinkedIn, here are four things you should do each week.

1. Review what’s happening in your groups.

Think of LinkedIn groups as online professional associations. When you want to know what’s on the minds of the decision makers in your field, groups are a great place to start. You can learn and grow, adopt best practices, and get some fodder for your next meeting. Here’s the best way to do it – so it doesn’t feel overwhelming and so you can zoom ahead to the important stuff. Click on “Work” in the upper right corner of the home page (it looks like a 3×3 box with nine little squares). You’ll get a page with two columns. Use the one on the left to scroll through the latest posts from your groups. Use the one on the right to help you determine which groups are most active. Just like with real-world professional associations, you want to participate in the groups that have the most activity and engagement.

Like this Article ? Share It ! You now can easily enjoy/follow/share Today our Award Winning Articles/Blogs with Now Over 2.5 Million Growing Participates Worldwide in our various Social Media formats below:

FSC LinkedIn Network: www.linkedin.com/in/fscnetwork

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/First-Sun-Consulting-LLC-Outplacement-Services/213542315355343?sk=wall

Google+: https://plus.google.com/115673713231115398101/posts?hl=en

Twitter: Follow us @ firstsunllc

Question: Want the ‘the best/current articles/blogs on the web’ on Job Search, Resume, Advancing/Changing your Career, or simply Managing People?

Answer: Simply go to our FSC Career Blog below & type(#career, #leadership, #life) in Blog Search: https://www.firstsun.com/fsc-career-blog/

What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

Continue of article:

2. Respond to messages

You get notified in your email when someone sends you a LinkedIn message, but should you go to the message right away? Probably not. Save them up and go in once weekly instead – after all, lots of them are “thanks for connecting” messages and others that don’t require a response.

And just because someone is connected to you in LinkedIn does not mean you need to do what they ask in their message or even respond. You shouldn’t feel guilty if you don’t. That might be the protocol with other forms of communication, but it’s just not realistic in LinkedIn – especially if you have a lot of connections. You have limited time. Because of the work I do, I get at least a dozen requests to “please check out my LinkedIn profile and tell me what you think.” And as much as I would love to do that – I love looking at LinkedIn profiles, and I love helping people – I would have to give up my day job to accommodate each request. Even responding to let people know I don’t have the time would take too much time.

3. Check out who has viewed your profile.

When you’re looking at the home page, you can see a snapshot of your profile in the left column on the screen. Right below your headline, you can see “who’s viewed your profile.” If your privacy settings are not set to “private mode,” LinkedIn will show you a subset of the people who have visited your profile during the previous 90 days. This is important because it helps you determine if you are attracting the right people – the decision makers and influencers who can help you expand your success. When you check this out monthly, you start to get a feel for the impact of your activities.

4. Measure your activity.

You spend time updating your network and posting articles, but are they working for you? When you click on “views of your post” in your profile the left column of the LinkedIn home page, you’re brought to a page that shows you the impact of your communications. If you’re using the LinkedIn blogging feature, you can check stats on your articles. You can do the same with your updates. It shows you the number of views, likes, and comments. When you click on the number of views, you get valuable information about the impact of your communications. There are three key pieces of data you receive about the viewers: What company they work for, what their job title is, and where they are located. When you view this, ask yourself: Am I attracting the right people to my profile? Then adjust your communications (both the content and the groups to which you post) accordingly.

To make all four of these actions happen, start the week off by scheduling some time in your calendar so you commit to this, just as you would to any meeting or conference call you have. You only need 15 – 30 minutes a week to start getting the most out of LinkedIn!

William Arruda is the cofounder of CareerBlast and creator of the complete LinkedIn quiz that helps you evaluate your LinkedIn profile and networking strategy.

Forbes.com | March 26, 2018 | William Arruda , CONTRIBUTOR

Your #Career : Do This To Write A More #EmotionallyIntelligent #LinkedInProfile ….Don’t just List Out Skills Associated with Emotional Intelligence. Here’s How to Adapt a Technique from Psychology to appear More Approachable on LinkedIn.

March 19, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

LinkedIn is a great place to network and look for jobs, but a lot of people’s profiles feel stiff and standoffish–at least compared with other social media platforms. We talk all the time about the rising value of emotional intelligence in the workforce, and there’s lots of advice on how to show it off on a job interview.

But that doesn’t often carry over to LinkedIn, which often just presents a litany of information about people’s accomplishments: what they’ve done, which jobs they’ve worked, the schools they’ve attended. It’s hard to get a sense of who they are. Ideally, your LinkedIn account should be just as good at making interpersonal connections as you are in real life. Here’s how to get that to happen.

TWO WAYS TO DESCRIBE YOURSELF

Some of the challenge here is LinkedIn’s format. The easiest things to add to your profile are straightforward data like your employment and education history. Sections like your “Headline” and “Summary” are harder to fill in, because it’s not always clear what you’re supposed to say about yourself.

It’s true that you’ll want to use keywords so recruiters and hiring managers can find you, but it’s also crucial to simply appear personable. And to do that, it helps to understand some of the psychology around how people define themselves. Researchers on self-concept have found that we typically use two distinct modes, called “self-construals.”

An “independent self-construal” involves defining your sense of self in terms of the qualities you possess without reference to other people. If you describe yourself as smart, a hard worker, or someone who gets things done, then you’re focusing on independent properties–the stuff that has to do with just you. With an “interdependent self-construal,” on the other hand, you define yourself according to the qualities that do refer to others. If your self-concept prominently includes your role as a parent, then you’re prioritizing your relationship with your kids. If you describe yourself as a mentor, then your sense of self arises from your experiences interacting with them.

If you look at many LinkedIn profiles (my own included), some will be heavier on independent self-construals than interdependent ones, and vice versa. One isn’t necessarily “better” than the other in every context; some cultures (both within a given organization and across entire societies) lean more individualist than collectivist, so what flies in one environment may weigh you down in another. And in a more in individualistic culture, researchers have found that people are more prone to independent self-construals. Generally speaking, though, if you describe yourself in more interdependent terms, then other people will likely feel more welcomed by you.

It’s pretty intuitive, really: If you include your reader in part of the self-construal you present on LinkedIn, they’ll have a better chance of seeing how they can relate to you.

Like this Article ? Share It ! You now can easily enjoy/follow/share Today our Award Winning Articles/Blogs with Now Over 2.5 Million Growing Participates Worldwide in our various Social Media formats below:

FSC LinkedIn Network: www.linkedin.com/in/fscnetwork

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/First-Sun-Consulting-LLC-Outplacement-Services/213542315355343?sk=wall

Google+: https://plus.google.com/115673713231115398101/posts?hl=en

Twitter: Follow us @ firstsunllc

Question: Want the ‘the best/current articles/blogs on the web’ on Job Search, Resume, Advancing/Changing your Career, or simply Managing People?

Answer: Simply go to our FSC Career Blog below & type(#career, #leadership, #life) in Blog Search: https://www.firstsun.com/fsc-career-blog/

What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

Continue of article:

REVERSE-ENGINEERING AN EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT LINKEDIN PROFILE

How do you actually put this into practice? Work backwards.

For decades, psychologists have used the so-called “Twenty Statements Test,” one of a few leading instruments to assessing people’s self-concepts. It’s extremely simple: The test requires you to come up with 20 different answers to the question, “Who am I?” Instead of answering this question generally, though, answer it for your work-self–that is, “Who am I at work?”

Chances are many of the descriptions you come up with for yourself are independent, but you’ll probably also hit upon a few that are interdependent as well. Now go back through your list and see if there are ways of turning some of the independent descriptors you used into interdependent ones: How does this skill or attribute you possess help or relate to that other person?

This exercise can leave you with a richer, more conversational means of describing yourself than just listing out the job skills associated with emotional intelligence. As you rewrite your headline, summary, and other sections on LinkedIn, hang onto that interdependent mind-set. It’ll make you seem more approachable and worth connecting with.

FastCompany.com | March 19, 2018 | BY ART MARKMAN 3 MINUTE READ

Your #Career : Five Things To Do When You’ve Exhausted All The #JobBoards …If your #JobHunt has Stalled, Try One of These Tactics to Get Out of your Rut.

February 22, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

You’re scanning the job boards daily, but there just aren’t any new listings that catch your eye or fit your experience level. But you don’t have to let your job search grind to a halt just because the pickings seem slim.

There are a few other things you can do to keep things moving, even when there’s not much out there.

1. SET UP AN INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW

Informational interviews are underrated. The goal is to get a hold of someone who works at a company you’re interested in and just learn the inside scoop. They aren’t the one who’s making any hiring decisions, and maybe there isn’t even an open position there that you’re currently gunning for. It’s purely for research and networking.

After you’ve spent some time trawling job boards like Glassdoor, Indeed, and Monster, you’ve probably assembled a shortlist of employers that appeal to you, even if they aren’t hiring right now. And as career coach Sarah Vermunt put it recently, “If there’s an organization you know you’d like to work for, you’d be crazy not to try for an informational interview with someone who works there.” So, she suggests, “reach out to someone who is doing work that is similar to the work you want to do. That’ll give you a true picture of the work–the good, the bad, and the ugly.”

As you plan your next move, these informal conversations can arm you with crucial intel about where the market needs really lie, which organizations are thriving and which ones might actually be pretty toxic, and a few smart ways to position yourself for openings when they finally do crop up.

Like this Article ? Share It ! You now can easily enjoy/follow/share Today our Award Winning Articles/Blogs with Now Over 2.5 Million Growing Participates Worldwide in our various Social Media formats below:

FSC LinkedIn Network: www.linkedin.com/in/fscnetwork

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/First-Sun-Consulting-LLC-Outplacement-Services/213542315355343?sk=wall

Google+: https://plus.google.com/115673713231115398101/posts?hl=en

Twitter: Follow us @ firstsunllc

Question: Want the ‘the best/current articles/blogs on the web’ on Job Search, Resume, Advancing/Changing your Career, or simply Managing People?

Answer: Simply go to our FSC Career Blog below & type(#career, #leadership, #life) in Blog Search: https://www.firstsun.com/fsc-career-blog/

What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

Continue of article:

2. UP YOUR LINKEDIN GAME

This one is a no-brainer. When you send out a job application, you’re knocking on employers’ doors; when you optimize your LinkedIn presence, you’re inviting employers to knock on yours. Scan your LinkedIn profile for any incomplete fields, discrepancies, overwritten chunks of text, extremely basic skills, and meaningless industry jargon–all of those things are turn-offs to recruiters and need to go.

Take a little time to personalize your profile so it highlights what’s genuinely unique about your experience. For instance, if you’re a software engineer, your headline should specify what kind, and your skills field should list all the languages and coding tools you know. At the same time, balance out any the human side, too, so you don’t come across as a soulless robot with only great technical chops. Explain what you’re passionate about and what types of problems you’ve solved (and why those wound up helping your team, your organization, or your customers).

Specificity matters, but so do soft skills like emotional intelligence–no matter what your role or industry.

3. GO TO A NETWORKING EVENT

I know–everyone hates hearing advice like this. But when you’re coming up dry in your search for openings, it doesn’t hurt to hit up a networking mixer–even one that you know will be short on leads. The reason? When you’re looking for a job, you need to actively seek out opportunities to practice discussing your experience, professional goals, and passions.

So even if it’s pretty much guaranteed that you aren’t going to meet your next boss at that networking event, the exercise in introducing yourself to strangers and talking articulately about your career is a valuable one. Feeling iffy about it anyway? Grab a friend or coworker and make networking a team sport.

4. CHECK YOUR SOFT SKILLS

Recruiters are interested in your people skills, not just your technical know-how. As Susan Vitale, chief marketing officer for iCIMS, recently told Fast Company, “Hard skills are what you do, and soft skills are how you do it.” And some of the top capabilities in that category, according to Vitale and other talent professionals in the space, include adaptability, problem solving, and verbal communication.

Some job seekers who repeatedly get called in for job interviews but miss out on offers may find that they’re falling short on some of those key soft skills. It’s sometimes easier to nail down a candidates’ technical capabilities before meeting them; soft skills are harder to suss out. So giving recruiters and hiring managers reason to feel confident that you’re emotionally intelligent in addition to being a world-class marketer is one way to get a leg up when new openings finally do get posted. In the meantime, take a few minutes to dial up those soft skills on your resume–here’s a handy formula for figuring out how.

5. CHANGE YOUR THINKING ON JOB-SEARCH DEADLINES

One of the reasons a long, mostly fruitless job search can feel so frustrating is because the outcome you’re looking for–a really great job offer–isn’t something you can bring about all on your own. No matter how badly you might want a new job by next month, there’s nothing you can do single-handedly to guarantee you’ll get one by then. As The Muse’s Alison Cardy explains, “When you tie a deadline to something that’s not within your power, you set yourself up to feel defeated if it falls through.”

Looking out for your mental health is crucial at times like these, when positivity can be in short supply. One trick Cardy suggests is rethinking the way you’re setting goals and deadlines as a job seeker. So commit to sending out 10 job applications over the next two weeks, for example, or to grab coffee with three contacts by the end of the month. “By connecting the deadline to your personal efforts,” Cardy says, “you give yourself the opportunity to feel successful just by meeting it–and that confidence boost can mean a lot during a tough search.”

FastCompany.com | February 22, 2018 | Rich Bellis

Your #Career : Four Reasons Resumes No Longer Work…Today, 87% of #Recruiters use #LinkedIn to Vet #Candidates during the #HiringProcess , & Traditional #Resumes are Becoming Obsolete. According to Experts, “Titles and Years of Experience are No Longer a Person’s Number-One Currency.”

January 5, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

When you’re job-hunting, a resume used to be the quickest way to get your foot in the door, but that’s not necessarily true anymore. Today, 87% of recruiters use LinkedIn to vet candidates during the hiring process, and traditional resumes are becoming obsolete.

Technology has changed the marketplace, and HR is the only vertical that hasn’t seen a rapid transition, says Carisa Miklusak, CEO of the algorithmic hiring platform tilr. “Right now tech isn’t giving people a fair opportunity to compete,” she says. “Before you blame the resume, you need to understand that they’re a byproduct of old employer values. Titles and years of experience are no longer a person’s number-one currency.”

Traditional resumes have four issues that can make it difficult to win a new job:

1. THEY FOCUS ON EXPERIENCE OVER SKILLS

Past generations valued years of experience, and traditional resumes convey this information by offering a chronological snapshot of your employment history. Today, however, candidates are being judged and employed based on their ability to perform–something that doesn’t easily come across on a resume, says Miklusak.

“Employers are interested in skills and the results someone can generate, rather than titles or previous employment,” she says. “Focusing on skills provides a fuller understanding of the candidate’s experience and capabilities, and opens up more opportunities.”

Like this Article ? Share It ! You now can easily enjoy/follow/share Today our Award Winning Articles/Blogs with Now Over 2.5 Million Growing Participates Worldwide in our various Social Media formats below:

FSC LinkedIn Network: www.linkedin.com/in/fscnetwork

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/First-Sun-Consulting-LLC-Outplacement-Services/213542315355343?sk=wall

Google+: https://plus.google.com/115673713231115398101/posts?hl=en

Twitter: Follow us @ firstsunllc

Question: Want the ‘the best/current articles/blogs on the web’ on Job Search, Resume, Advancing/Changing your Career, or simply Managing People?

Answer: Simply go to our FSC Career Blog below & type(#career, #leadership, #life) in Blog Search: https://www.firstsun.com/fsc-career-blog/

What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

Continue of article:

2. THEY’RE ORGANIZED BY JOB TITLES

Traditional resumes use job titles as headings, but these aren’t always as clear as employers would like. Creative names, like “success ambassador” and “office ninja,” make it difficult to understand what a candidate does, and there is no uniform use of titles.

“When resumes are uploaded into employer databases, crawlers can have a hard time with titles and keywords,” says Miklusak. “New titles are used every day that didn’t exist prior, and they don’t always give a clear picture of someone’s skillset.”

3. THEY’RE STATIC

Candidates have to acquire new skills to stay current, and employers are often purchasing new technology that employees need to master, but resumes are static, requiring frequent revisions.

“Unless you update it each week, a resume becomes outdated by the time you need to submit or forward it,” says Miklusak. While updating your LinkedIn profile provides real-time ease, it’s flawed, too. “You’re still subject to your last job title leading off your experience,” she says.

4. THEY’RE CUMBERSOME IN THE GIG ECONOMY

Using a resume to find workers for on-demand positions is inefficient and costly for companies. “There is a skill gap in the economy, and we don’t have enough workers to fill current jobs,” says Miklusak. “Resumes slow the process down, and we have unemployed people who still can’t find jobs.”

In addition, a lot of qualified workers don’t want to be bothered. “A gig worker isn’t going to create a resume for a $15/hour holiday work,’” she says.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?

For now, resumes are still the standard way of conducting a job search, so make the most of yours until new technology catches up to hiring. If a company requires that you submit your resume online, it’s a good idea to use traditional methods of putting yourself out there, suggests Miklusak. “Submit your resume online and mail it in, including a short paragraph that describes how you can add an immediate benefit to company,” she says. “Summarize your skillset that is relevant to the role and rate your proficiency.”

You can also cold call the hiring manager or HR department to bring attention to your application. “They might receive thousands of resumes, so do something to help cull yours out of that pile,” says Miklusak. “If you’re interested, you’re forced to do something to set yourself apart.”

For gig work, companies are moving to platforms like Upwork, Shiftgig, and tilr. “They’re a better tool to find new candidates instead of wading through resumes,” says Miklusak.

Finally, get out from behind your resume by expanding your network. “When you meet someone who works for a company that interests you, ask if they’re hiring any more people,” says Miklusak. “You still have to have a resume, but presenting it live or over a phone call can help you cut through the noise.”

Employers are starting to reassess their talent strategy moving forward, says Miklusak. “Based on the type of business and type of workers they need, they are finding new ways to recruit and deciding where resumes are relevant and where they aren’t,” she says.

FastCompany.com | January 5, 2018 | BY STEPHANIE VOZZA 3 MINUTE READ

Posts

If You’re Interested in the Opportunity:

If You’re On the Fence:

If You’re Interested in the Company, But Not the Role:

If the Company & Role Are Not Interesting:

If Your Dream Job & Company Present Themselves:

Your profile headline is incorrect or missing entirely

You don’t have a profile photo

You haven’t written a summary

You never customized your LinkedIn URL

You have no idea what your privacy settings are

SEE ALSO: 9 mistakes you’re making on LinkedIn that are putting off recruiters and making it harder to find a job

You haven’t alerted recruiters that you’re open to new roles

You’re not using hashtags in your posts

You aren’t taking advantage of LinkedIn groups

You’re cold-contacting people for jobs

MISTAKE #1: A MISLEADING HEADLINE

MISTAKE #2: INCOMPLETE DEGREE INFORMATION

MISTAKE #3: IMPRECISE INDUSTRY

MISTAKE #4: RESUME MISMATCH

MISTAKE #5: INAPPROPRIATE PHOTO

MISTAKE #6: DESPERATION

MISTAKE #7: BRANDING YOURSELF WITH YOUR CURRENT JOB

A JOB TITLE TELLS YOU NOTHING

1. “MOST PEOPLE DON’T CUSTOMIZE THEIR HEADLINE”

2. “A CUSTOM HEADLINE TYPICALLY MEANS THE HEADLINER IS UNEMPLOYED”

3. “THEY’RE TOO FLOWERY”

4. “I WORKED HARD TO GET HERE”

HOW TO USE LINKEDIN TO ADD COLD CONTACTS (3 STEPS)

1. FIND A SHARED LINKEDIN CONNECTION OR GROUP

2. PERSONALIZE YOUR CONNECTION REQUEST

The Classic Approach

The Admirer Approach

3. SEND A FOLLOW-UP LINKEDIN MESSAGE OR EMAIL

The Classic Reach-Out

The Hybrid Reach-Out

BONUS: THE SINGLE BEST TIP WE’VE GOT

1. START NETWORKING CONVERSATIONS YOU CAN TAKE OFFLINE

2. TREAT LINKEDIN LIKE A FREE SEMINAR

3. SCOUT FOR JOB OPPORTUNITIES WHEN YOU AREN’T ACTIVELY LOOKING

TWO WAYS TO DESCRIBE YOURSELF

REVERSE-ENGINEERING AN EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT LINKEDIN PROFILE

1. SET UP AN INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW

2. UP YOUR LINKEDIN GAME

3. GO TO A NETWORKING EVENT

4. CHECK YOUR SOFT SKILLS

5. CHANGE YOUR THINKING ON JOB-SEARCH DEADLINES

1. THEY FOCUS ON EXPERIENCE OVER SKILLS

2. THEY’RE ORGANIZED BY JOB TITLES

3. THEY’RE STATIC

4. THEY’RE CUMBERSOME IN THE GIG ECONOMY

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?

**If You’re Interested in the Company, But Not the Role:**

**If the Company & Role Are Not Interesting:**