Are you newly unemployed and trying to figure out what to put in as your “current job” in your LinkedIn profile?  When in between jobs can be a real brain bender, especially as LinkedIn is urging most users to populate their profiles as much as possible.  The truth is that not having your current position populated can be a competitive disadvantage.  So what is a gal or guy to do?
 
Basically you have three options.
 
First:  Leave that section blank but know that in choosing to omit a current position, your ranking will drop slightly in SEO and LinkedIn search results, lowering your findability among competing candidates (based on the keywords you’ve added).  This means that if employers conduct a search for your job title, (i.e.:  IT Manager), with your skillset, (Cisco networks), you might be found on the second or third page of results instead of the first.
 
Give it a try:

• Perform an Advanced People Search on your job title and skills without your current position populated, (you can include your geographical region for more targeted results).
• Now add in your current position and try the exercise again.

 
However, this is not a deal-breaker or career killing move as I believe that often recruiters and employers do multiple searches on LinkedIn given the fact that many people have barely populated profiles.
 
Second:  If you are on pay continuance or have received a severance package from your previous employer and are therefore still being ‘paid” by the company, you can leave the company’s name in your current title but it can be awkward to explain at an interview that you are not actually, physically still working there.
 
Third:  I believe that the best option is to add a current position that is a short description of what you do and in alignment with the job that you are seeking.  Here are some tips:

1. Create a job title that matches your goal and is honestly supported by the work you have done.  The title can be similar to the one in your headline, or something more general in context.  For example, if your headline title reads Professional Sales Representative, you could put in your current position something like “Motivated Sales Representative Targeting Territorial and Distribution Opportunities” or an Account Manager may put “Sales Executive Exploring Account Manager Opportunities”.  Using key words such as your title and your target will enable recruiters and potential employers to know that you are between roles and the keywords in the job title will satisfy LinkedIn’s search algorithm to draw traffic to your profile.
2. Avoid using volunteer, board positions or other non-paid activities as a space-holder for your current job.  This may lead employers to thing that you are actually working for that organization and wonder why you are applying to an unrelated job.

1. When creating your current position, you can specify only a year in the date filed and can skip adding a month.  This keeps your profile more general and does not track the number of months that you have been in the job transition process.

 
Important:  Regardless of what you decide to put into your current position, it is essential that your headline, (the line below your name) is adjusted effectively.  This field is second in importance only to your name and needs to be maximized in content as it is crucial to your LinkedIn SEO ranking and promotion. 
 
Note that by default, LinkedIn will populate your headline with your current job title so once you add your current position, you will need to manually change your headline.
 
That said, avoid using “unemployed”, “in transition”, “looking for opportunities”, etc.…, as these do not offer any information as to why you should be hired and have a negative connotation.  Instead, use this line to point out your value to employers by adding a strong job title and specific skills - Utilizing as many of the 120 characters as possible. 
 
For example “Senior Sales Representative | Excellent Customer Care | Expand Market Share | Exceed Sales Targets & Generate Profit” OR a senior manager may have “Senior Operations Manager | Lean Sig Sigma | Team Management | Production Supervision | Plant Engineering Skills"
 
When all is said and done, the best policy is to be honest and not worry about being overly innovative or creative.  A clear and targeted message that describes your title and skills is the best strategy to boost your findability and showcase your value to recruiters and employers.
 
Wishing you a successful week!
 
Lysa

One essential thing for people to consider today for career or business success is the importance of reputation management, both on-line and on the ground.  This topic is critically important as the integrity of our network determines the value of our net-worth, and negative things on-line can tarnish our reputation, affect career opportunities and mobility, and stunt business growth.  Potential employers and clients alike can and often do search the web to determine if they want to engage with us.  So, if you are not receiving follow-ups to job applications or seeing business growth in response to your efforts, your reputation may need to be addressed. 

Today I want to share 4 simple steps we can all implement to discover and manage our on-line reputations and proactively ensure a good name for ourselves.

1. Google search:  Have you ever done a Google search for your name and scrolled through the results including Google Images?   If not, then I highly recommend this as an interesting exercise.  You might be amazed at what you find.  In moving forward, one of the best and easiest tools for tracking what Google knows about you is Google Alerts.  You can set up a Google Alert and receive an email as soon as your search phrase ~ like your name or company ~ enters the Google Index.  If you do find content on-line that you would like to have removed, you can look into removing personal information from Google.
   
   
2. Buy your domain name:  Buy your domain name and create a simple website using options such as Wordpress.com, Wix.com, Weebly.com or Workfolio.com.  One of the best ways to prevent or manage potential negative content on-line is to create your own content and optimize your profiles so that positive information stays at the top of the Google pages and if present, any negative information gets pushed down.  This means strategically creating the content that will live on your site, such as an effective bio, CV or resume, testimonials and recommendations from people or customers that have worked with you, a blog, commentary on a book or article, etc…  Also, frequently visit other people’s websites or blogs, (colleagues or industry related), and make comments thereby connecting with others, creating the threads in your worldwide web and boosting your search engine optimization.
   
   
3. Join social networks:  Today there are so many social networking sites that can be used for job searching and business development including Facebook. LinkedIn, Twitter, Google +, Tumblr, Pinterest, YouTube and Instagram.  In truth the selection can be overwhelming and difficult, if not nearly impossible, to keep up a profile and content on all of them.  My thought is that it isn’t as important how many on-line platforms you show up on as long as you consistently show up on the platforms you choose.   
    
   That said, I suggest picking 2-4 social media sites, (depending on how much time and energy you have), create a well-populated profile and then put your best self forward.  Also, be sure to customize your URL by using your name and link as many of your social media sites together as possible.  For example, LinkedIn and Twitter can be easily linked so that when you post on LinkedIn, your post is also populated on Twitter. 
   
   
4. Guard your privacy:  I suggest when putting things on line, assume that nothing is private and place strict settings on all personal content that you do share, ensuring only selected and trusted individuals, friends or family see it.  Another option, specifically with Facebook, is to create a separate fan page for your professional persona or business, leaving your main Facebook page strictly personal.  However, Facebook and other sites often change privacy and security rules and currently it is possible for other people to post pictures of you on-line without your consent.  If an unprofessional or embarrassing picture of you does show up on Facebook, you can remove the tag that identifies it as you. 

 
These 4 tips reflect some of the simple ways for most of us to manage our on-line presence, however, sometimes the issues is bigger than we can manage with the steps above, (such as someone with the same name who has a bad reputation or criminal record), and the use of a reputation management firm becomes necessary.  Two of these firms include Reputation.com which will clean up our reputation, ensuring it is squeaky clean for a fee and brandyourself.com which offers an easy do-it- yourself on-line tutorial that walks through the basics of reputation management for free.  If needed, they will also help clean up your on-line reputation for a reasonable fee. 

Wishing you a successful week and happy web surfing!

Lysa



*  Photo thanks to www.soundswrite.co.uk
 
 

Preparing for your interview is key to landing a good fit role.  Where your resume may get you the interview, the interview can get you the job.  This is your opportunity to sell yourself, showcase your value and position yourself as the ideal candidate for the role. 
Below are 5 ways that you can prepare for the interview and sell yourself successfully. 

1. Know the skills you can offer: Before the interview, prepare yourself to approach your interview from a position of service not seeking.  Be prepared to think in terms of what you can do for the company as opposed to thinking only in terms of wanting the job.  Review the requirements for the role and consider how you can satisfy or meet as many of them as possible.
   
   
2. Know the company you are interviewing for:  Google the company, read news articles and check out the company website.  Familiarize yourself with their value or mission statement and make note of other important or fun facts about the company.  Tie this information into why you want to work for them or why you are applying for the role, and position yourself as an asset to their organization.
   
   
3. Prepare your Reason for Leaving Statement:  One of my favourite interview questions is around how you found yourself back in the labour market.  This question is an excellent opportunity to show your value to your interviewer(s).  Often people answer this question with a quick answer such as “my position was eliminated”, or “my role was restructured out”, but rarely take it further than that.  Once you give your single sentence response as to what happened, (just the facts), why not add in 1-2 of your accomplishments or achievements from your previous company?  For extra impact, choose accomplishments that relate to the role you are interviewing for.  Then wrap up with how excited you are to bring your skills and expertise to the new company.  In this way, you are leaving your interviewer(s) with the perception that you will work to deliver the same results to them.
   
   
4. Have a good marketing blurb:  Be prepared for the question “tell us about yourself”.  Establish 5-6 sentences or bullet points that deliver your professional information and are directly related to the role you are interviewing for.  Highlight what you do, how long you have been doing it for, and what industries you have worked in.  Also consider the impact or benefit you bring to an organization – what you help organizations to do or accomplish.  Consider how you do what you do and which ideas you have that may be unique or different from others interviewing for the same role.
    
   
   
5. Know your “strengths and weaknesses”:  It is beneficial to draw up a list containing 2-3 of your strengths and weaknesses.One strategy is to review the job ad and choose your strengths based on what the company is looking for in the job ad, ensuring you outline how you can meet their requirements.
    
    
   When asked about your weaknesses, you can turn this question into another great opportunity to sell yourself.  When answering, I suggest using the word “challenge” instead of “weakness” as the word weakness implies a defect while the word challenge implies something to overcome.  When you share 1-2 of your weaknesses, you are demonstrating that you are self-aware and not afraid of challenges, both good things…But don’t stop there.  Follow up with how you compensate for this challenge or what you do to manage or improve on it.  This way you are also showing your potential employer that you are resourceful and a good problem solver.
    
   Lastly, keep in mind that the company has invited you in for the interview because they already think that you CAN do the role.  Your job is to show them WHY they should choose you for the role.  Implementing these 5 steps will get you well on your way to selling yourself successfully, positioning yourself as a strong candidate and as an asset to their organization.    

Wishing you a successful week!