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The Benefits of an Active LinkedIn Account

Many people are starting to devote more time participating in online communities.  While many casual social networkers actively use their Facebook account, they are missing out on a great opportunity to improve their online identity with LinkedIn.  I’ll admit for many years my LinkedIn account saw the same amount of use as the treadmill in my basement.  The only difference was my treadmill doubled as a convenient place to hang clean dress shirts.  Once I started investing a significant amount of time into my LinkedIn account the benefits were substantial and a world of contacts were open that I had never imagined possible.  One of the best ways to make sure a LinkedIn account is being maximized to it’s fullest potential is to have an up to date profile, participate in the groups section of the community, and utilize the applications that are available.

Having an up to date profile is one of the main keys to developing relationships and interest in an individuals account.  In many ways ones profile will begin as a condensed version of their resume with a few key bullet points about responsibilities at each position held.  This can be very effective for both active and passive job seekers in today’s market.  The current state of the economy has led many potential jobs seekers to become reluctant in posting their resumes on the major job boards for concern that their current employer might be researching the current staff to see who might be “testing the waters” with a career search.  A  properly updated LinkedIn profile can provide enough information for most recruiters and Human Resource professionals to contact a potential candidate about career opportunities.

With employees changing jobs at such a rapid pace it can be difficult to remain in contact with former peers and supervisors.  LinkedIn provides a great opportunity to locate and retain relationships with former coworkers.  The recommendation section of the profile is an excellent way to increase credibility and provide a visible reference list and testimonial sheet for current and potential business contacts.

The groups section is one of the most powerful features of this online community.  There are many different types of groups available on LinkedIn ranging from international groups focusing on software development to local groups concentrating on developing business in central Illinois.  One of the largest benefits of joining a group is the ability to post a question for discussion in the Q & A section.  Often this is beneficial to get unbiased advice on a “touchy subject” in the office or a method to find out what other professionals in an industry are doing to stay current with their skill set.  By joining some of the larger groups on LinkedIn members acquire access to leaders in the industry that was previously unavailable.  Many industry leaders will post quite often in the groups and answer discussion questions with timely insight. Low cost webinars and training materials are often well publicized and provide excellent return on investment.

The groups section have individual job boards which incur zero cost to the user listing the position.  With the rising cost and diminishing returns of large job boards, being able to reach qualified candidates is welcome news to Human Resource Managers. Current employees of an organization may be able to benefit from employee referral plans if they post a job and send the interested party’s information to the Human Resources department.

Customized applications have given users the ability to expand their LinkedIn experience.  The current applications section on LinkedIn allows several options for users to enhance their profiles and further develop their online identity.  Here are some of the more popular applications to date:

WordPress – The leading blog site has given users the option to link their blogs directly into their accounts.  With blogs so closely tied to many professionals trying to establish their personal brand this is a very useful application.

Tweets – Twitter and LinkedIn have joined forces to allow users to update  accounts simultaneously.  Given that many users have multiple social networking accounts this feature is an excellent time saver and should continue to see a steady increase of new users.

Reading List by Amazon – This tool gives book lovers a chance to unite and share reviews on literature they would like to read, are currently reading, or have already read.  With each book there is a review section for users to post feedback and gives the option to see what other members in the network are reading as well.

Company Buzz – Web 2.0 and social media have given unprecedented power to people to report and spread information at a rate never before possible.  The Company Buzz application gives the user the ability to track what is being discussed about their company on Twitter and LinkedIn status updates.

While many people are actively using Facebook as their primary social network there is one point that should be considered.  Facebook was created for college students to interact and communicate while LinkedIn was created for the sole purpose of helping professionals connect and develop relationships.  LinkedIn is a very effective tool for professional development but just like the treadmill in the basement it needs to be used properly to achieve results.

Find your customers on Facebook

Marketing in its purest form is very simple… get the right message in front of the target audience and a successful campaign should be in the future.  But with the recent changes and upgrades in the world of technology it’s becoming more difficult for advertisers to ensure that their message is being heard.  Ten years ago companies primarily marketed their services with television commercials, radio spots, and print ads in newspapers.  The world of online advertising was little more than pop up ads or flashing banners informing web patrons they were the one millionth visitor and they had just won a prize.

Technology and the advent of Web 2.0 has helped change the landscape drastically.  DVR and TIVO have given consumers the ability to fast forward through television commercials and have reduced advertisements to a minor blip between the segments of the program.  The younger generations have almost completely abandoned the radio and now use iTunes and YouTube as their primary sources for music.  Circulation of newspapers is steadily declining due to many people capitalizing on the ability to go online to get their news immediately instead of waiting for the morning paper to arrive.

With the increasing popularity of social networking and online communities many companies can find their target customers the same place they can find everyone else… on Facebook.  In just a few short years Facebook has gone from being exclusive to college campuses to being the most popular social networking site in the world.  Given the rising popularity of Facebook it represents a tremendous opportunity for companies to promote their brand.  Here are some tips to connect with current and potential customers on Facebook:

Create a Fan Page – Facebook allows companies to create a “fan page” for themselves to promote a product or service.  Think of this as an extension of a company’s website allowing anyone to see a brief overview of what products and services are offered.  One of the greatest benefits of creating a “fan page” is the ability for employees and customers to become “fans” of the organization.  Once an individual becomes a fan of an organization a message is posted on their personal news feed letting their friends know that they support this company.  This has a great impact because since most people have personal relationships with their Facebook friends it serves as a positive “word of mouth” campaign.  This can be very effective for restaurants to allow potential customers to preview the menu, photographers to allow  interested parties to view a portfolio of their work, and universities to create a strong online alumni community in the hopes of increasing involvement and donations.

Advertisements – Online advertising has come a long way in the last few years and if done correctly can be a huge contributor towards generating traffic to a company’s website.  Facebook advertisements are very cost effective and can be specified to reach the ideal audience.  Facebook allows advertisers to concentrate their ads based on geographical location, gender, age, education, relationship status, workplace, and whatever keywords an individual might enter to further describe his or her profile.  This can be very effective for the wedding industry focusing their advertisements on recently engaged couples, car dealerships advertising sports cars to young single males, and student loan companies advertising to high school and college students.

Facebook gives two different options for how companies can run advertisements.  Pay-per-click is an option where every time an individual clicks on the advertisement the company is billed a predetermined amount.  Pay per impression is based off how many times an ad appears on computer screens and gives no consideration to whether or not the ad is viewed.  Facebook has tools available that allows for daily budgeting of advertisements to keep expenses on track and analytic tools to provide information for measuring the results of the campaign.

Polls – An interesting feature Facebook recently created is the ability to have members of the online community take a poll and have the results tracked.  The cost to conduct a poll is a one dollar start up cost and respondents cost about 25 cents per click.  In the same way the advertisements can be targeted towards a certain demographic polls have the same features.  An example of a effective time to create a poll would be if a movie theater was looking for feedback on if they should add a midnight show for an soon to be released movie.  If the majority of the respondents were in favor of attending the late night show they would have some data to move forward with adding the additional viewing.

Events – Occasionally throughout the course of a calender year businesses have events taking place and need a little additional publicity.  Events are a great way to invite potential customers to a special sale, ribbon cutting, or a business after hours meeting.  There is no cost to promote an event on Facebook and the option to provide an RSVP form is available as well.

Marketplace – The marketplace is an application that individuals can add to their profile.  It’s Facebook’s version of Craigslist that can assist small businesses and start up companies get their products noticed.  A listing on the marketplace only costs one dollar and the results are filtered by geographic location.

Everyday people flock to Facebook as the focal point of their online presence.  The opportunity for companies to gain market share is just a few clicks away.  If the goal is to expand the customer base companies can find me where they the rest of their customers… on Facebook.

Show me the Jobfax!

If you’ve turned on a television in the last 18 months you’ve probably seen the commercials encouraging consumers to ask car dealerships to “Show them the CarFax” before purchasing a used vehicle.  A CarFax report is a certified report detailing the history of the vehicle.  The report covers several important topics such as if the car has been in any accidents, service records, ownership history, and if the car has had any title issues.  This product has gained quite a bit of momentum in the past few years due to the perception that used car dealerships are rather selective with what information they share with potential buyers.  Having a CarFax report prior to beginning the negotiating process with the dealership provides the consumer a non-partisan assessment and gives a clear picture to the history of the vehicle. Given all of the information a CarFax report can provide it wouldn’t be prudent for someone looking to purchase a vehicle to starting negotiating a price for a vehicle before having the proper information.

Every day when people interview for positions at new companies they make the same mistake.  They discuss salary before they have collected all the information to make the most informed decision.  While there are no CarFax reports for people looking for a new career opportunity there is a document the company has that will be almost as useful… the benefit sheet.  When benefits are introduced into the equation the issue is no longer a matter of “salary”  but a matter of a “compensation package”.  Below are some of the questions that job seekers should have answered before discussing their salary with a potential employer:

What are the health insurance costs? – Just about every company has insurance options but the policies offered have a great degree of variation depending on the employer.  It’s very common for monthly premiums for coverage to fluctuate several hundred dollars between employers.  Once a job seeker has obtained the information for the monthly premium it’s also equally important to acquire the knowledge of what is the annual deductible and co-pay.  The cost of health care is steadily rising and the difference between having a good health insurance plan and a below average plan could result in the loss of several thousand dollars per year.

Do they offer dental, vision, or life insurance? – Many times in the adrenaline rush of finding a new career opportunity people can overlook how costly dental work and eye glasses have become.  Individuals with small children at home should give this careful consideration given the high cost of braces and eyes glasses. Baby boomers may also value the opportunity to purchase life insurance at a greatly reduced group rate then what they could negotiate on their own.

What is the annual company match on the 401K and how long until employees become fully vested? – With most companies eliminating traditional pensions the 401K has become the standard for how many people are saving for retirement.  While it might seem like a small difference between a 3% match and a 5% match short term, over the course of 35 to 40 years with compound interest the difference could be a couple hundred thousand dollars.  The vesting period for companies typically varies from the first day of employment to the completion of the employee’s fifth year.  Many employers have a graduated scale that only a percentage of their contributions are guaranteed until the vesting period.  Before making a career chance it’s always important to realize the long-term financial consequences of losing a portion of the company match.

Does the company typically give an annual or year-end bonus? – While it may seem trivial to ask about a holiday or annual bonus during an interview it can actually make a very large difference in an individual’s annual salary.  Companies typically give anything from the “jelly of the month club” to a percentage of annual salary.  When encountering a situation with multiple job offers a 3% – 5% annual bonus can be a deciding factor and make a huge difference in otherwise similar compensation packages.

Is tuition reimbursement available ? – Education is one of the most valuable gifts in the world and quickly is becoming one of the most expensive.  Tuition reimbursement can often add thousands of dollars a year to a compensation package and encourages a company culture of reinvestment and career growth.  This is a great tool to attract many younger professionals entering the workforce who would like to continue their education but have acquired tens of thousands of dollars in student loans from their undergraduate programs and aren’t in a financial position to assume more debt.  One item to take into consideration is that many of the tuition assistance programs require a commitment to stay with the company for a specified period of time after using the benefit otherwise the company requires the assistance be repaid to the organization.

Very similar to reviewing a CarFax report for a vehicle, having a solid understanding of a companies benefit package enables the job seeker to approach his or her negotiations with confidence.  The next time the question is posed, “What are your salary expectations?” respond with “Show me the JobFax!” or… “I’ll be happy to discuss compensation after we review the benefit package.”

Being Creative Vs. Being Artistic

Over Thanksgiving I had a chance to catch up with some old friends from college and reminisce about some of the great times we had.  That was several years ago now, and quite a few things have changed, but nothing has changed more than the definition of spending the evening “chasing girls”.  Just take a look at the difference in the meaning of the phrase in 1999 and present day:

• 1999 – Going to college parties and staying out until 3 am trying to give any attractive single ladies “the eye” in hopes of striking up a conversation
• 2009 – Chasing around my 2 year-old daughter with an Elmo doll and then trying to get her to understand the concept of “Daddy can’t fit through the tire swing, he’ll get stuck”

As witnessed in the example above, words and phrases can change their meaning depending on the time of life and situation.  Another phrase that’s recently changed its meaning for me is “being creative”.  When I was a child I always thought that being creative meant that you could do the following:

• Draw excellent pictures and always color inside the lines
• Be able to master every project in art class within a matter of a few minutes
• Get feedback that sounded like “Oh that’s incredible! That sheep looks so lifelike!”

Instead my innate ability for the arts produced the following results:

• My drawings looked very similar to those of a blindfolded person using their opposite hand with a dull pencil
• My in-class art assignments resembled something regurgitated by the garbage disposal
• The feedback I usually received on my projects was “Oh wow… that’s really neat… I didn’t know sheep had horns and purple wool”

Based on those experiences I always felt very insecure about “being creative” and showing my creations to others.  Recently I’ve come to realize that being artistic and being creative are two very different talents.  Graphic designers, photographers, and many other professions allow people to use their artistic gifts to not only benefit themselves but bring joy to others as well.  Recruiters, software developers, and just about any other profession can use their creativity to enhance their productivity and better the lives of those around them.  While my unique methods for sourcing candidates, retaining talent, and growing our business don’t look quite as nice as a mural on the wall, that doesn’t mean I’m any less creative then my “artistic” counterparts.  I have a genuine respect for people with natural talent in the traditional sense of the arts, and I’ve come to realize we are both creative just in different ways.

Also if anyone is looking for the perfect holidy gift for a loved one this year I’d be more then happy to sketch you a purple sheep with horns.  =)

Introducing your candidates to your parents

One of the most fun and stressful parts of being a recruiter is when a candidate you feel very strongly would be a good fit for a position meets the client for the very first time.  One of my candidates had a big interview last week and I thought to myself  “When was the last time I had this same feeling?”  Then all of a sudden it hit me… it was when I returned to my hometown and brought my first serious girlfriend from college to meet my parents.

Looking back in time I thought it was very important before introducing my girlfriend to my parents that I made sure I had of the following bases covered:

• I would need to communicate to both parties on what the others strengths were going into the meeting.  That way I could prep my parents on some standout points about my girlfriend (full academic scholarship & volunteered with special needs children) and I could let my girlfriend know what a great family I came from as well (parents married for 28 years, an amazingly fun sister).
• Almost as important as informing both parties of the good aspects of each other I felt that it would be best to try to give a little advice as some topics to avoid for a first meeting. (politics, religion, why the Chicago Bears haven’t won the Super Bowl in over twenty years)
• Finally I needed to make sure that my girlfriend understood that this was a very big step and while she was understandably a little nervous I needed to know that this was something she wanted to do.

Almost 7 years later I realized that much in the way I tried to prepare my girlfriend for the meeting with my parents I apply that same strategy to my favorite candidates with my top clients:

• Similar to the way I told my parents and girlfriend positive things about each other I also inform my candidates and clients know what stands out about the other and why I feel it would be beneficial for them to spend time getting to know each other.
• Conversational pitfalls can be a sand trap and people can be sinking before they ever realized they were in trouble.  Much like I warned my girlfriend about bringing up the Chicago Bears murky track record I also try to prepare candidates with some touchy subjects best to avoid during the initial interview.
• The majority of people are very open to hearing about opportunities in life whether they are romantic, career, or social but many are very hesitant about making a change.  Before I introduce a candidate to a client I always make sure to the best of my ability that if an offer is extended my candidate will more then likely accept because the last thing I want do is waste the hiring managers time.

Well as luck would have it my girlfriend did very well in her interview with my parents and within two years she had decided to accept a internal position within our family as the role of my wife.  My candidate also received an offer from the client he was interviewing with and has accepted to become one of their software developers.

Every time I send one of my top candidates to a client… it’s eerily similar to having my candidate meet my parents.

Don’t let your career meet the same fate as Vista

It seems like it was just yesterday when Microsoft released Vista.  I was working for a technology company in central Illinois at the time and we had a Vista release party.  There was quite a bit of excitement and anticipation about the new OS but many people had a wait and see approach.  I remember speaking with quite a few people in the IT industry during the event and the majority of people felt that XP was a reliable OS but liked the new bells and whistles that were associated with Vista.  It wasn’t very long after Vistas release that many people became disenchanted with the product for a number of reasons.  Mainly people were frustrated with the two following issues:

• Many printers that would work on XP couldn’t work on Vista because the new print drivers weren’t available
• With the amount of memory that was required to run Vista at it’s peak level many people were forced to upgrade their system but didn’t get the upgrade they were hoping for in performance.

As a result Vista quickly gained a reputation for not being compatible with other products and not coming close to delivering on all the hype that surrounded the marketing behind it.  Vista worked so well that people are thrilled about Windows 7 just because “anythings better then Vista”.  (Well maybe not Windows ME)

After taking a closer look at the two major issues Vista had I realized many of us can run into these same issues in our own careers.  Lets examine the printer issue first:

• Many printers that would work on XP couldn’t work on Vista because the new print drivers weren’t available

When you join an organization especially as a young professional one of the most important things to remember is that it’s your responsibility to make sure you’re “backwards compatible” with the veterans of the company.  Most of your new team members will be very open to hearing new ideas but also want to make sure that you’re willing to work within the previously established framework.  Just because you might have an idea that you feel is better and more efficient then the current system in place doesn’t mean that the team should have to completely change their established methods to accommodate you.  Odds are very good that due to lessons learned in the past before you arrived on the scene is the reason behind such processes and procedures.  Building trust with team members first and incorporating your ideas within the previously designed structure is a much more effective route to take.

The second issue of return on investment leads to another potential pitfall:

• With the amount of memory that was required to run Vista at it’s peak level many people were forced to upgrade their system but didn’t get an upgrade in performance.

When a new person is added to a company there’s always a price tag associated the role.  Typically the higher the position the higher the price tag.  When a company makes an investment in an individual predetermined results are expected or there’s a serious problem.  The vast majority of the time both parties engaging in an employment agreements clearly understand whats expected on both sides.  When the company doesn’t feel that they are getting a return on investment that they would like they usually sever the relationship rather quickly.  By giving a very accurate picture to your employer about what tasks you are capable of performing you can have your company avoid the same “buyers remorse” that many companies felt after purchasing Vista.

As a professional always make sure you’re performing up to the highest standards you’re capable of because if your employer views you as a copy of Vista I can almost gaurantee you Windows 7 is on the horizon.