Relationship Management for the Job Search (vs. Job Search Organizer)

Relationship Management for the Job Search (vs. Job Search Organizer) Whats the difference between relationship management for a job seeker and a job search organizer? You know JibberJobber is a job search organizer. What I learned, early in my job search, is that the job search is about relationships.  Yes, you need to track where you apply, and who you talk to, and whats going on in your target companies but by the end of the day who you talked with is usually more important than where you applied. So, in addition to being a job search organizer, JibberJobber is a relationship manager. In my Wednesday webinars I focus on relationships. Relationship management means you are tracking contact information (phones, emails, addresses, etc.), information about the person (birthday, industry, where they work and what they do, etc.), and of utmost importance, where you are at in the relationship with them. In JibberJobber youll track where you are at in the relationship with a few things: Ranking: how strong is my relationship with this person Log Entries: what communications did I have, when, etc. Action Items: When do I need to follow-up We have some really cool enhancements going through QA (quality assurance) that will make JibberJobber a better I cant wait to announce them and show you Relationship Management for the Job Search (vs. Job Search Organizer) Whats the difference between relationship management for a job seeker and a job search organizer? You know JibberJobber is a job search organizer. What I learned, early in my job search, is that the job search is about relationships.  Yes, you need to track where you apply, and who you talk to, and whats going on in your target companies but by the end of the day who you talked with is usually more important than where you applied. So, in addition to being a job search organizer, JibberJobber is a relationship manager. In my Wednesday webinars I focus on relationships. Relationship management means you are tracking contact information (phones, emails, addresses, etc.), information about the person (birthday, industry, where they work and what they do, etc.), and of utmost importance, where you are at in the relationship with them. In JibberJobber youll track where you are at in the relationship with a few things: Ranking: how strong is my relationship with this person Log Entries: what communications did I have, when, etc. Action Items: When do I need to follow-up We have some really cool enhancements going through QA (quality assurance) that will make JibberJobber a better I cant wait to announce them and show you

12 Recruiting Stats That Will Change the Way You Hire

12 Recruiting Stats That Will Change the Way You Hire Hiring can be a difficult and time-consuming process. It can cost a lot of money, and also be extremely successful for the recruiter and the candidate.  However, if you take note of some of the stats outlined below (by Officevibe), it can help improve your hiring process. How do you get around these stats? Let us know in the comments below! Hiring process: It takes an average of 27 days to make a new hire and this is an all time high. The best candidates are off the market within 10 days. The average cost per hire has risen to $4000. 60% of employers admit to being concerned with the cost of unfilled positions. RELATED: Can Data Make the Hiring Process More Efficient? Employer branding: Over 75% of professionals are passive candidates so make sure you build your employer brand! 46% of recruiters see recruiting as something that is becoming more like marketing. Employee turnover can be reduced by 28% simply by investing in your employer brand. RELATED: The Future of Employer Branding Candidate experience: 66% of candidates believe that interactions with employees are the best way to get an insight into a company. People are twice as likely to accept cold emails if they have interacted with your brand before. 64% of applicants would share negative application experiences with friends and family, and 27% would actively discourage others from applying. 60% of candidates have quit an application process because it took too long. 15% of candidates who have a positive hiring experience put more effort into a job. RELATED: How Can Recruiters Improve the Candidate Experience? [Top image: Shutterstock]

How to deal with getting fired (from Yahoo)

How to deal with getting fired (from Yahoo) I just got fired from Yahoo Finance. The long road to my quick termination started in the spring, when I grew friendly with one of the higher-ups in engineering at Yahoo. When he became my bosss bosss boss at Yahoo, he suggested that we meet if we were ever both in New York at the same time. It turned out that we would both be there in December, so I asked him if he wanted to get together, and he said yes. His secretary said shed email me the venue when the date was closer. The week before, the venue turned out to be the Yahoo offices in New York. I thought that was weird for a casual meeting with a guy who did not even have his own office at that building. That is when I should have called to find out if we had a specific topic for the meeting. When I got to the meeting my bosss boss was there as well, so I knew there was a big topic. I told myself to never ever walk into another meeting in my life without knowing who is coming and why I am there. I told myself to stay calm and start looking for clues about our topic so I could mentally prepare. They went on and on about some sort of technical problem that was happening that day. Of the three of us, two were nontechnical, so I realized this topic was selected due to nervous energy: A clue that this meeting would be really bad. To his credit, the guy I thought I was friendly with got right down to the point: We are not renewing your contract. The first thought I had was: When is my contract up? And then I realized: Oh. Now. The next thought I had was: Be poised. Do not break down right now. I have been fired a lot. Sometimes it has not mattered, like when my grandma fired me from her bookstore because I kept reading on the job. Sometimes it has been a bad scene with me shaking because I was so scared like when I was fired at Ingram Micro for using the computer for non-work-related stuff (Yes, people got fired for that in 1995.) But I checked in with myself at Yahoo and realized that I was fine. I was not going to cry. I was actually in problem-solving mode. So I asked why I was being fired. Maybe you are thinking its because every week, 400 people leave comments on Yahoo saying how stupid I am. (And surely todays final column at Yahoo Finance will break records for she-is-so-stupid comments.) But thats not the reason my column was cancelled; Yahoo is about traffic, and according to Wikipedia, my column has some of the highest traffic on all of Yahoo. It turns out that financial content gets a higher CPM (advertising rate) than career content. So while my column has a lot of traffic, Yahoo sells my career column to advertisers as part of the Yahoo Finance package, and I bring down the CPM of the whole package. Thats a fair reason to cancel the column. And actually, if it were not resulting in a huge financial hit for me, it would be an interesting reason. Heres what a career advisor does when she is being fired: She tries to remember the advice she gives to everyone else when they are getting fired. I asked if theres another place I can write at Yahoo. This tactic is straight out of the book: Use your last moments to network, even if you are getting fired. Heres what my bosss bosss boss said: You should write for Lifestyles. That is more women oriented. Immediately I was reminded of when my column was cancelled at Business 2.0 magazine. After I had recently announced that I was pregnant and said I did not plan to take any time off from writing the column. My editor told me, as he was firing me, Now that youre going to be a mom you should try writing someplace like Working Mother. This advice from ex-bosses makes me question my own advice about getting help from people who are firing you. But still, discussions progressed at Yahoo to HotJobs, which is a Yahoo channel, and I could end up writing for them. Also, a big trade publication called me last week to see if I want to write a column for them. The editor said that she sees me as such a huge risk taker, and she expects that the column will be a lot about that how to take risks. The thing is, I dont think Im a huge risk taker. I just choose the lifestyle I want first, before I choose my work. Lifestyle first means that I turned down entry-level bullshit jobs in favor of playing professional beach volleyball. Not because I was dying to have all my friends think I was a lunatic, but because I couldnt believe people expect you to do mindless work after earning a college degree. And the same is true now. I am a freelance writer because if I worked nine-to-five I wouldnt see my kids. Thats my bottom line. There have been so many times when Ive told myself that I cant stand the instability of a freelancers life. But more than that, I cant stand the idea that I would only see my kids on the weekends. People ask me all the time how can they get this life that I have where I do something I love, get to make my own hours, and support a family. Seems great, right? But that life also comes with this: having no idea how Ill get paid next. And it happens all the time. Soon, I hope, Ill be able to draw a salary from my startup. And my speaking career is going well enough that getting fired from Yahoo wont kill me. But I am worried, and I think about not telling people that I feel worried because everyone who is negotiating with me now knows that money is super important to me, and Im probably not going to walk away from an offer. But more important than preserving an edge negotiating money is somehow documenting how hard it is to be true to yourself, how hard it is to be at risk all the time. Its a tradeoff. Sometimes my life looks glamorous. Sometimes it doesnt. Its all the same life though.

Social Networks Boy, Are You in Luck

Social Networks Boy, Are You in Luck The evolution of social networks is the major change in the landscape in the last few years, and they’re continuing to evolve every moment. They can dramatically improve your sources of information and your career management results. If you’re not using them and your competition is (and, I promise you, they are), you’re at a disadvantage. Using them is fun, too. You can find people that you haven’t seen in years, from high school friends to former employers and neighbors, as well as meet new people with similar interests. You will discover ways that you can help each other that you never would have known about before. Don’t worry. They don’t have to be a huge time sink unless you allow them to be. This book isn’t a primer on how to use them; those already exist, and the tutorials on their own sites make using them fairly easy and safe. Here, however, I will give an overview of the pros and cons of the three dominant ones, and provide ideas about how to use them to build your reputation, your knowledge, and your entrees into companies. The Pros and Cons of Social Networks Tidy classifications of “pros and cons” or “do’s and don’ts” don’t really work well for social networks. The answer is always, “it depends.” Considering the implications of the four areas below and how you want to be known before you plunge in can lead to improved choices, visibility, and reputation over the long term. Companies can find you. According to Jennifer Scott, Principal at HireEffect, 80 percent of recruiters (agency, independent, and corporate) use LinkedIn to source candidates. It’s free (let that word and its implications sink in), and they’re tracking both passive candidates, ones that aren’t looking for jobs that they find with keyword and interest group searches, and active candidates who may be tracking them down. Remember how you did the research in Strategy #1: Send Clear Signals, about the key words in job postings of interest to your markets or from interviews with your colleagues on “the four most important skills” they’d be looking for? You built them into your résumé so it’s skimmable and scannable, and embedded them in your Elevator Story, right? Now it’s time to embed them in your profile on the social networking sites, your professional headline on LinkedIn, and in your choice of interest groups. Make yourself easy to find! If you make your profile settings as public as is reasonable, including putting your phone number or email on your profile so an employer can contact you by Googling you rather than needing to join LinkedIn, you’ve just helped both sides. My client, George, had a nonsolicit, an agreement with his former employer that he couldn’t ask any of his former clients to follow him to his next firm. George put his new contact info on his LinkedIn profile that popped up on Google and, voilà, people could track him down at his new location, easily and legally. Reputation . . . make it or break it. Any potential employer is checking you out now on Google, LinkedIn, and Facebook, at a minimum. They can’t afford not to since they’re the easiest tools for performing due diligence. According to ExecuNet  research, 44 percent of recruiters have eliminated candidates as a result of information found online. Even your current company is probably checking you out, too. The groups you’ve selected to join on LinkedIn, the crazy pictures you’ve posted on Facebook, rants against your company or bossâ€"this information is never private. Never. It’s fairly simple for others to work around your privacy settings and, after all, you’re posting information, pictures, and opinions on the Internet. Did you think it was really going to be private? “Digital dirt” is a great expression coined by Kirsten Dixson in Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building your Brand. Google yourself and see what comes up. Is there “dirt,” or entries that do not build the brand that you would like, especially on the first page of Google? What about your credit rating or information about legal or marital disputes? It’s all out there. Y ou can set up a Google alert if you want to track when your name pops up on the Internet. Stacey Rudnick, director of MBA career services at the University of Texas at Austin, teaches a required course to first-year MBA students that includes managing your online presence. She suggests Googling yourself on a regular basis (including using Google Images for pictures), thinking of who you’re connecting with, considering how your privacy settings are structured, and, most importantly, making sure your information is consistent. Remember Debra Cohen’s research at the Society for Human Resource Management in Strategy #3: Stop Looking for Jobs? More than 93 percent of their HR members said that they are “less likely to hire” if “information on the applicant’s profile contradicts that provided on the résumé, cover letter, or CV.” If the stories differ, is that person trustworthy? Should you be the victim of digital dirt that isn’t accurate, either bury it, delete it, or differ. “Bury” is pushing a highly ranked Google link further back onto later pages, where it won’t get noticed as much. Burying a link can be done by your publishing material about your research, your blog, or your insights on professional trends. “ The more information you post about yourself,” says Kate Brooks from Career Services at the University of Texas at Austin, “the less likely any negative information is to show up when your name is Googled by an employer.” Unsolicited testimonials, that is, friends or clients who volunteer third-party testimonials about you that are frequently viewed so they appear on the first page or two when your name is Googled, are even better. “Delete” you can often do with comments on your wall on Facebook, and “differ” is contacting the source of the “dirt” and enlisting help to have the tone of the comments changed or reversed. A phone call saying, “I’m really trying to set a professional tone on my wall because I’m starting a job search. Could I get your help?” is much more likely to elicit the response you need over retaliation or defensiveness. Taking the fight outside, so to speak, out of the social network to a direct connection, shows your maturity and wisdom . . . and it gets results. Promiscuous networking. It’s easy to connect randomly and casually on all three sites. If you’re in any way a public figure, people who have heard you speak at a meeting or read about you may ask to link to you. Someone you meet at a party may want to friend you. You may extend the same casual invitations to others. Who wouldn’t want George Clooney as a friend? Do you really know these people though? Are they safe (will they protect your boundaries and identity), and are their connections safe as well? Do you really want all of these people to have access to the inner workings of your network or your life? If the answer is “yes,” link away, but I’m going slowly. I personally use two filters when deciding whether to connect with someone: I need to know the person fairly well and to feel comfortable with writing a reference for the person (not that I will for everyone, but I want to be able to should they want one). Given the amount of time I’m going to spend on each site (finite), the awkwardness of “un-friending” someone if necessary, and the importance of maintaining the brand that my clients value, I want to build something that’s sustainable from the start. After all, this should be a long-term network for each of us. A cleantech investment banker, Bic Stevens, told me that if he isn’t sure about accepting an invitation, he asks the person to call him so they can get to know each other better first, a practice that is both polite and a good idea. Lauryn Franzoni, ExecuNet vice president and executive editor, concludes in the 2009 Executive Job Market Intelligence Report that “There’s a big difference between purposeful networking and ‘friending.’ Do you want to meet the people who can bring you closer to  your career goals, or do you want to collect names? It’s about cultivating your community, nurturing your network and maintaining meaningfulâ€"and reciprocalâ€"connections.” Quantity does not equal quality. Check back with the next edition of this book, since the effect of promiscuous networking that online social networking encourages is still being discovered. In the meantime, use your judgment before clicking “accept.” Value share. In social networks, as in life, it’s not just about you. Even given the 140-character  constraints of Twitter, the etiquette is to help each other instead of shamelessly promoting your own goals. “Retweeting” someone’s message is a perfect example of a three-fer. Jennifer Scott of HireEffect defines “retweet” as forwarding to your followers any information you find useful that other people have tweeted you. “Not only will the person who authored the tweet be thankful, but so will those who see the message as a result of your generosity.” The original sender, the forwarding person, and all his followers benefit. If you find yourself as the originator of a tweet that is fortunate enough to be retweeted, remember to thank the forwarding person for retweeting your message. Doing good deeds pays off at many levels on all of the social networking sites as well as in your  personal network and job creation. Surprised? Related: What Social Networks Have Most Job Search Activity? (Infographic) Reprinted with permission from The New Job Security, Revised: The Five Best Strategies for Taking Control of Your Career. Copyright © 2010 by Pam Lassiter, Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, Berkeley, CA.

Marc Miller Visits the Second Act Stories [Podcast] - Career Pivot

Marc Miller Visits the Second Act Stories [Podcast] - Career Pivot Key Takeaways: Podcast #152 â€" Second Act Stories podcast host Andy Levine interviews Marc on career pivots. Description: This episode is a replay of Marc’s visit to the Second Act Stories podcast. Andy Levine and Marc explore Marc’s many career pivots, and how they led to the publication of the third edition of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life. Marc tells of the impact of his nearly fatal bicycle accident on his career choices. Marc shares information about the various ventures he runs, from the Career Pivot website, the blog, the podcast, the books, and the online community. Before the interview, Marc also makes an important announcement. Please listen in for all the details. Marc is asking for your financial support for the Repurpose Your Career podcast. Please donate at Glow.fm/repurposeyourcareer to support this Podcast. Key Takeaways: [1:09] Marc welcomes you to Episode 152 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast. [1:21] If you are enjoying this podcast, please share it with other like-minded souls. Subscribe on CareerPivot.com, iTunes, or any of the other apps that supply podcasts. Share it on social media or just tell your neighbors and colleagues. The more people Marc reaches, the more people he can help. [1:39] Marc reviews the three-year history of the Repurpose Your Career podcast and announces a big change. The time-stamped show notes with a detailed write-up of the show will be eliminated. Marc will provide dramatically simplified and reduced notes. [3:10] Marc acknowledges the production work of Podfly Productions, as he transitions the Repurpose Your Career podcast to in-house production. Marc recommends using the Podfly team if you want to start your own podcast! You can find more information about Podfly at Podfly.net. [3:39] Marc will produce an episode every other week instead of the weekly schedule he has kept for three years. If Marc gets ahead on episodes over the next few months, he may revert to a weekly schedule. In December, Marc will record his audiobook. [4:00] Marc has a lot of people lined up to interview and is looking to partner with other podcasts, including Second Act Stories with Andy Levine, as featured in this episode. [4:11] Marc will not publish an episode the week of U.S. Thanksgiving and will only publish one episode in December. On January 6th, 2020 Marc will start the regular biweekly schedule. [4:28] Marc does not like giving things up or ending relationships. He recommends reading Necessary Endings, by Dr. Henry Cloud. Marc decided to leave his home city of 40 years, Austin, Texas, and move to Ajijic, Mexico after reading this book. [4:57] If you would like to financially support this show, please go to Glow.fm/repurposeyourcareer/ to give. This link will be at the top of the show notes at CareerPivot.com/episode-152. [5:13] Next week’s episode is still up in the air. Marc has several interviews scheduled this week that he thinks you will enjoy. Stay tuned! [5:22] This week’s episode will be a replay of Marc’s interview on the Second Act Stories podcast. The host, Andy Levine, is a great guy with a very big heart. He is a podcaster with whom Marc wants to partner in the coming year. Marc hopes you enjoy this episode. Now on to the podcast… Download Link | iTunes|Stitcher Radio|Google Podcast| Podbean | TuneIn | Overcast [5:48] Andy shares a few moments from the interview when Marc answers the question, “What should you do if you are really unhappy in your current work?” [6:32] Andy Levine welcomes you to the Second Act Stories podcast and introduces Marc Miller. They are meeting at the Princeton Public Library in New Jersey. [8:11] Marc is a multipotentialite. He gets bored after three years of doing something. When he worked at IBM, he was happy to change positions often. At the time, IBM wanted to develop generalists. That world has changed. When Marc left IBM in 2000, he started a journey of half-step career changes aided by relationships. [9:03] Marc explains the term Multipotentialite. There is a TEDx talk on it. Multipotentialites have lots of interests and are not driven by one thing. [9:30] Marc talks about his head-on bike vs. car accident and how it changed his life’s path. At the time, he was at a fading startup and his job was ranking people to layoff. He began to question his career choice. [11:15] Most of us act in roles in our careers. Marc wanted to stop playing a role that was not natural for him. While he was on bed-rest, he had a lot of time to ask himself why he was doing what he was doing. [12:47] Marc shares the beginning and history of Career Pivot, starting with his joining Launchpad Job Club. Marc started at LifeSize Communications as the Great Recession was starting. At that time the meetings “exploded” at Launchpad Job Club up to 400 people every Friday, all older workers. [13:48] In 2009, Marc asked who was caring about folks of this age who were looking for work? He found the book Don’t Retire, Rewire! by Jeri Sedlar and Rick Miners. The stories featured people who had pensions to cushion their time to return to work. [14:24] In Mexico, Marc sees a lot of economic refugees, who can’t afford to live in the U.S. Marc wanted to help that class of individual who wants to keep working and make an income, but probably not in a traditional job. That’s a hard mind-shift to make. [15:01] How is a pivot different than a change? A lawyer won’t go directly to be a pastry chef. What kinds of incremental changes are needed? Think of a basketball pivot. [16:23] A successful career pivot takes flexibility, openness. Changes never turn out quite the way you expect them. Walk down that path and be willing to be surprised. [17:01] Marc has a person in his Online Community who started driving for Lyft and through her contacts, got several contract gigs. Marc wrote about it in a blog post, “Synchronicity and Serendipity Can Be Essential in Life”. You have to put yourself out there for good stuff to happen. Find support people to get you outside of your head. [18:05] We have belief systems that are made up. Get out and talk with people about your plans and get feedback on your idea. Marc tells how he explored the idea of something like Career Pivot with career specialists. Overwhelmingly, they persuaded him not to get a coaching certification. [19:06] Marc asks people in his career assessment process to consider when they were the most miserable in their career and when they were the most fulfilled in their career. This is to help them understand what makes them happy and what makes them miserable. The environment and the team are more important than the job they do. [20:09] It is important to know yourself and what you want before a job search. Find a position that doesn’t require you to play a character strange to you. Know how to take care of yourself in a job where you have to act out a role. Marc recommends reading Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, by Susan Cain. [21:22] We’re paid more to be extroverts but half the world are introverts. Marc is a really good public speaker and an introvert. When he’s done, he’s exhausted. Marc doesn’t get energy from speaking. He learned to be a geek than can speak. Susan Cain speaks of restorative niches in her book. Schedule things in your day that restore you. [22:23] Gallup polls show that a lot of people are unhappy in their jobs. Marc shares his advice to them on the first thing they should do before changing jobs. Marc says don’t run away from your current job, run to what you want to do. Marc shares how he invited Elizabeth Rabaey just to go try different random things before choosing. [24:31] Marc often asks people what they couldn’t get enough of doing as a kid. Kids don’t have filters. Marc used to love to do jigsaw puzzles. He learned that he is a pattern matcher. [25:11] Marc has just released the third edition of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life. Marc talks about the evolution of the book from 2011 to 2019. The third edition is more aspirational than tactical. Marc talks about creative destruction. AI and robotics are going to affect you! There is a chapter on ageism. [26:27] If you want to work into your 70s, you have to plan for it in your 50s. It’s a mindset shift. Many will need to work for the money and it won’t look like a full-time job. One of the common themes of Marc’s online community is that everyone wants freedom to work on what they want when they want, and how hard they want to work. [27:17] We don’t want to conform anymore. When Marc worked as a teacher, he found that schools don’t want people like Marc, because they don’t do what they’re told. [27:52] Marc shares his contact information: go to Careerpivot.com, sign up for Marc’s Career Pivot Insights email, check out the CareerPivot.com/Community, find the book, Repurpose Your Career on Amazon and other fine online sellers. Find the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Podbean, or at Careerpivot.com/podcast. Andy is a big fan of it! [29:39] Marc hopes you enjoyed that episode. Andy does a great job with the Second Act Stories podcast and Marc highly recommends that you subscribe to it. [29:50] The career Pivot Membership Community continues to help the approximately 50 members who are participating in the Beta phase of this project to grow and thrive. This is a community where everyone is there to help everyone else. Marc has just brought in a cohort and he is recruiting new members for the next cohort. [30:12] If you are interested in the Career Pivot Membership Community and would like to be put on a waiting list, please go to CareerPivot.com/Community. [30:25] Marc invites you to connect with him on LinkedIn.com/in/mrmiller. Just include in the connection request that you listen to this podcast. You can look for Career Pivot on Facebook, LinkedIn, or @CareerPivot on Twitter. [30:42] Please come back next week when Marc will have another great interview! [30:48] Please support the Repurpose Your Career podcast by going to Glow.fm/repurposeyourcareer. This link is also at the top of the show notes. [31:00] You will find the show notes for this episode at CareerPivot.com/episode-152. [31:07] Please hop over to CareerPivot.com and subscribe to get updates on this podcast and all the other happenings at Career Pivot. You can also subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, the Google Podcasts app, Podbean, the Overcast app, or the Spotify app! Marc Miller Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons above. Like What You Read? Get Career Pivot Insights! Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast Do You Need Help With ...

10 Ways To Make Your LinkedIn Profile More Compelling

10 Ways To Make Your LinkedIn Profile More Compelling 10 Ways To Make Your LinkedIn Profile More Compelling Standing out is critical in a job search.   Showing recruiters and hiring managers what makes you different, why they should hire you is key. While your resume is a great way to market yourself, LinkedIn offers additional ways to catch a recruiter’s attention. Yes, a compelling summary and achievement-focused job descriptions are vital. If you’re serious about your job search you should carefully craft your LinkedIn profile or hire a pro to do it for you. Unfortunately, even the most diligent job seekers often forget to add documents, photos, and media. There are many things you can add to your LinkedIn profile. Save recruiters and employers time by uploading your resume in Word or PDF format. Got a certification? There’s probably a JPEG for that. You can easily add visual interest by developing a SlideShare presentation of your accomplishments. Why not create and upload a video resume using YouTube. If you’re camera shy, you can easily create a brief video with Animoto. Here are 10 common elements that you can upload to LinkedIn. Word PDF Photos SlideShare Tumblr YouTube Google Videos Animoto Vimeo Instagram Think about what type of document, photo, or media you can add to your LinkedIn profile today. Uploading your resume makes it easier for recruiters and hiring managers to learn more about you. Adding a photo of your credential(s) puts it front and center. Consider creating a marketing video with YouTube or Animoto. A little creativity can go a long way toward making you stand out from every other LinkedIn profile. And that’s a good thing. For a complete list of rich media providers that may work with LinkedIn click here.

Top Blogs (Im waiting for this to become a reality show) - When I Grow Up

Top Blogs (Im waiting for this to become a reality show) - When I Grow Up The long short of my mini-life-crisis last week was that I was bogged down, overwhelmed, and couldnt see where to go. Ill write a longer post about this over the weekend, but wanted to share with you a big culprit of my frazzled brain and lack of time: Blogs. I know, I know, youre thinking: Blogs? Thats it? Thats what made you crazy? Seems a bit.anti-climatic. I know you used the word anti-climatic instead of saying a much meaner word, and I appreciate that. But yes, I admit it : I was blog-crazy. I thought they were the answer in showing me how to build my business, and find potential clients, and see what interests me on a personal level. I found dozens of blogs that did one of those three things, and some that held me captive on multiple levels. I thought I was handling all the posts well when I broke the blogs down into categories (thanks delicious!) and read each category on a weekly basis. Well, that backfired when there were more than 3 blogs in 1 category and I committed myself to reading 3-4 categories a day! Turns out I didnt learn or even enjoy anything! I just rushed through each post because I had to get to the next one. No good. So, I have now created the only 2 categories that matter: BlogDaily and BlogWeekly. I only allowed myself 5 blogs in the Daily column and 10 in the Weekly column. The rest of the blogs can either go eff themselves or can be brought up when Ive devoted time to learning whatever that particular blog is about (ie Twitter tips, growing a blog readership, balancing a budget, etc). Ive decided to share the links I included in these 2 categories as it may help you pare down your reading material. If not, this is totally an egocentric post but too bad. BlogWeekly (in no particular order): Lateral Action: Creativity + Production = Success PostSecret: An ongoing community mail art project in which people mail their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard A Leap Across a Chasm: The creativity articles blog of Creativity Coach Dan Goodwin New Resolution: 2 and a 1/2 months to new-years-resolution resolutions. I featured them in the first installment of Motivation Monday Overwhelming Success for Solopreneurs: Tools, tips resources for the Booming Solopreneur. While Im not a Baby Boomer, Joanne Hunold was my first coach I aspire to be more like her every day. Her posts can usually be applied to everyone decor8: Fresh finds for hip spaces The Wish Jar: Explorations of the familiar by Keri Smith. Ive featured her in When I Grow Up: The Blog here. From the desk of Luke Ward: Not only if he smart and funny and writes for a living, but hes married to me. If he posted more often this would get moved into the Daily column (hint, hint babe). Seths Blog: The blog of Seth Godin, Marketing Super-Genius. BlogDaily (in no particular order): Starshyne Productions: A creative satellite of Jamie Ridler Studios Backstage: Unscripted: 5 actors blog about the trials tribulation of making it in the business of show. The Bloggess: Like Mother Teresa, only better. And hilariouser. Kelly Rae: Taking Flight into Art, Love Life. I talk about Kelly all the time you can find all my posts with her in em here. Small Notebook: Notes and encouragement for a simple and peaceful home. Ive included Small Notebook in these posts. Life Remix: A band of bloggers who enrich peoples lives through blogging. OK, so BlogDaily has gone 1 over my cap of 5 blogs, but I figure it wont kill me. If it does, Ill remove one I swear. Are blogs taking over your life? How do you put a cap on them? Is there an activity that you should pare down? Let me know by posting a comment!