LinkedIn: New One-Click Skills Endorsements

LinkedIn recently introduced a new feature on its site, one-click skills and expertise endorsements. Now you can go to a friend or colleague’s profile find the skills and expertise area and click on a listed skill (or even add some skills or other areas of expertise that aren’t yet listed). This new feature makes it very easy to endorse your connection on LinkedIn. Think of it as LinkedIn’s version of a Facebook “Like”.

This is very different from a recommendation on LinkedIn. A recommendation requires that your connection actually sit down and take the time and energy to write a thoughtful and articulate testimonial regarding your work and performance. For a recruiter or decision-maker reviewing a job candidate’s profile, the recommendations can give additional insight into a prospective candidate’s background.

The ease of the one-click skills endorsement begs the question of how much weight someone reading the profile will give to these “likes” on LinkedIn. To me, gathering these endorsements is reminiscent of Valentine’s Day back in elementary school. Do you remember (I know, for some of us this goes back a little ways) running home with your little cardboard box filled with Valentine’s and counting and comparing with your friends how many Valentine’s you’d received. Most with “Roses are red, violets are blue . . .” not exactly the quality love notes we come to expect as adults from a single special admirer.

Which brings me to my point, quantity versus quality. Are we just becoming a one-click “Like” world and moving away from quality assessments that actually add value and insight into a person’s background and capabilities. I’d love to hear from recruiters and HR professionals on their feelings regarding the new one-click endorsements and how much they will impact their decisions in contacting potential candidates.

~Linda

Quick Tip: During a Job Search, No News is Good News

The Career Coach Quick TipWe’ve made it through one great recession and now some are saying we’re teetering on the verge of another. Having worked with hundreds of clients during these tough economic times (and close to 1,000 throughout my coaching career), my advice is to be choosy about how much attention you pay to the news.

Why? Because for some, it’s just too discouraging. When in the midst of a job search, it can undermine your attitude, leaving you with the thought of “why bother, there’s nothing out there anyway.” But even in what has been an incredibly tight job market, my clients are landing new and higher paying positions. They’re not listening to all the doom and gloom, they’re setting their sights on their target, using creative strategies and achieving their goals.

Ironically, one highly effective strategy is reacting to the news. Paying attention to what’s going on with companies in the market and using that intelligence to strategically reach out to executives with thoughts and suggestions of how you may be of help to them. So while the title of this Quick Tip says no news is good news, some news can lead you down the road to prosperity.

~ Linda

The Truth About Job Hunting

We had an inquiry recently from a potential client who said that he wanted to hire someone who would do EVERYTHING for him and find him a new job. Of course my response to him was that no one, other than he himself, can actually land his next position and here’s precisely why.

While a top notch professional resume, bio and career coach can help you reach your career goals faster and with less stress, the bottom line is that once you have the tools and knowledge, finding a new position is primarily determined by your own motivation. As Zig Ziglar puts it, “your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.”

This is paramount to understand when undertaking a job search because a successful transition  requires a disruption to most peoples’ comfort zone. There is no magic bullet or secret technology that can just make it happen regardless of what some in the career services industry are selling.

You should be wary of any organization or individual claiming they will do the work for you. Often times organizations will say that they will place your resume in front of targeted decision makers from their network. This is when you should delve deeper and start asking questions. Find out if they personally know these decision makers, or if they’re just pulling executive names from a database to which they have access. Also, ask about how they will be delivering your resume. Will it involve a personal introduction or are they planning on distributing your resume en mass? We all know how well those bulk mailings, e-mailings or faxings work – NOT, especially at the executive level.

There is a group in the career industry who will represent you, legitimate recruiters will present you to a decision maker if they’re running a search for a position for which you’re well qualified. You can judge the authenticity of a recruiter by the way they’re paid. True recruiters will not charge the job candidate a fee for services because the company that the recruiter is working for will be footing the bill. But a recruiter is only interested in you if you’re a perfect fit for a position they’re trying to fill. To get the most exposure, you’ll need to work with several recruiters as well as on your own behalf.

As is often said, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Remember no one has more incentive to find you your next position than you do and while working with an expert in career transition can absolutely make you more effective in achieving that goal, you’re still going to have to do the leg work. As essayist John Burroughs said “For anything worth having one must pay the price; and the price is always work . . .”

~Linda