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What type of LinkedIn Profile Summary Should You Use? The One that Best Tells Your Story!

11/14/2017

 
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​There are several types of LinkedIn Profile Summaries: there are those that reveal your Personality, those focused on your Mission, there are Cut-to-the-chase Shorty summaries, Blended summaries, and Achievements-based summaries. (There are more, to be sure, but these are the biggies.) Choose the one that best reflects who you are – not just as an employee or entrepreneur, but as a person.
 
If your LinkedIn Profile Summary is perfectly tailored to a potential employer or a potential audience, you are bound to get that job or client. But will that job or client make you happy? When you ignore your own story in your profile, so too will your potential employer, thus increasing the chances of working in an environment you may come to deplore.
 
I’m not suggesting that if you are a polyamorous recreational drug user that your LinkedIn Profile Summary reflect such private activities, but that you portray yourself in the way your best friend might: with accuracy and great care. “To thine own self be true,” as Polonius told his son in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. 
 
Tell your story accurately, but appropriately. A CPA might use a different LinkedIn Summary style than a chef or a motorcycle mechanic. Whether you choose a mission-based summary or one that underscores your personality or your accomplishments, make sure that the end result is the same. Tell your story. 
 
I listened this morning to an NPR piece that underscored the importance of telling your story. The report was about Wonder Valley, the novel by Ivy Pochoda. I was struck by how incredibly important our personal stories can be. Especially in the midst of a job search.
 
“Your story is the only thing that belongs to you proper," said one of the characters in the novel. “No matter what you have, you'll always have your story. That is your sense of identity and that's what keeps you true to yourself, and as long as you can remember your story and stick by your story… you can retain a sense of dignity, a sense of purpose, a sense of being and belonging.”
 
And ultimately a sense of dignity, purpose, and belonging are the best possible things you can find in the right job.
 
This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Farewell, my blessing season this in thee!

 
Author Jane Taylor specializes in stories (LinkedIn Profile Development, Professional Biographies, Cover Letters, etc.). She presents her clients in such a way that their stories shimmer and compel readers to act. 

Dog Days of Summer: Five Things My Dog Taught Me About Career Communications

9/4/2017

 
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Resumes, cover letters, and LinkedIn profiles. This is what I mean by career communications. Conversations with your boss are another thing entirely. As a self-employed writer, I know that those kinds of conversations can be tricky. My dog teaches me about those, certainly, but more germane to this blog post are the things he teaches me about writing resumes, cover letters, and especially LinkedIn profiles.

Dewey, like many rescue dogs of his mixed breed (Pitbull/Lab), is thoughtful, playful, dependable, easy going, and yet demanding. He knows all too well how to make his opinions known. He talks and groans and howls and barks, but more than that his great communication attributes are as clear as the nose on his face. He uses them to teach me how to do a better job writing career communications for my clients. His suggestions are pertinent to them, too.

1. Authenticity. There is no mistaking my dog’s meaning. His very loose grasp of language notwithstanding, his body language and facial expressions speak volumes. Your career communications should be such authentic expressions. Your resume portrays the best that you can be at work. Be very clear about your successes, your strengths, your goals, and most importantly, your discriminators. LinkedIn is your opportunity to get more personable and tell the story of what makes you your best. Think of your LinkedIn profile as the mean between your resume and your Facebook page. Be yourself, but a little bit tucked-in.

2. Patience. Dewey waits for me to respond. Even when we hike together, he runs ahead, and turns to wait for me to say he’s a good boy. Patience is a virtue that is incredibly difficult to cultivate during a career search, or even while writing a resume. Take your time. Breathe. Do a good job.

3. Persistence. At the end of the day, Dewey stands at my side here at my desk and nudges me. This is an exciting proposition because at my office, I use an exercise ball for a chair. Each nudge rocks the boat considerably. His nudge means it’s time to take a break. Time to turn off the computer. Time for a walk. If his nudge bares no fruit, he waits at my side quietly, and then sticks his nose under the crook of my left elbow, quickly throwing his head back and lifting my left hand off of the keyboard. If this tactic doesn’t work, he places both front feet on the exercise ball and stands up. In this posture, Dewey will not be denied. I inevitably acquiesce.

Dewey knows best. Persist in your career communications, too. If your cover letter does not inspire a response, rewrite it and try again. If you are lucky, you are applying for a position at a busy, active place. Such pursuits are often more worthwhile.

4. Playfulness. My office is downstairs. Sometimes on a whim, Dewey leaps out of his dog bed near my desk, runs up the stairs, and fetches his rawhide bone. As he runs back down the stairs and reenters the office, he gets a certain mischievously look in his eyes as if to say, “Mom, I have a great idea,” or “Mom, look what I have!” He wags his tail furiously, throws the bone down at my feet, and bows. At this point, he is fairly irresistible, and he knows it. The game is afoot. In your career communications, keep a sense of playfulness. Know when and how to use it.

5. Friends. Dewey is the goodwill ambassador of every walk we take. He makes friends easily. And as a pack animal, he depends upon the friends he makes. You should, too. If you are not good at singing your own praises, enlist the help of friends (like me). On the other hand, if you are too good at singing your own praises, enlist the help of others (like me, for example).  

Your resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile may be the most important investment in both time and money that you can make in your career search. Treat them as my sweet Dewey treats me - with authenticity, patience, persistence, playfulness, and friends - and you’ll reap the rewards. ​


5 Reasons Why You Need a Career Coach

7/17/2017

 
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had John Wooden; Mat Fraser has Ben Bergeron; Nadia Comaneci had Bela Karolyi. Agnieszka Radwańska has Martina Navratilova who had her dad, then George Parma, then Renée Richards. Most people understand that every athlete has a coach. But, in business there is the concept that you are supposed to do it alone.
 
You don’t think you need a coach. Not now. You are not an NBA draft pick. You’re not competing at the Crossfit Games. You’re not training for Wimbledon, nor are you preparing to defend your Ph.d. dissertation. You are a professional and you’ve made it this far on your own. You’ve made it on your brains, your connections, maybe even on your good looks. But now what?
 
If you are feeling stagnant or are not finding the results you seek, it’s time for a career coach. The perspective and good feedback you’ll get from a coach will help your career evolve. In our nation of individualists and bootstrap pullers, it takes courage to admit you need help. It takes genius to ask for it. Here are five reasons why you should:
 
1. Insight
The right career coach won’t tell you what to think; instead she’ll pick your brain and show you the treasures she finds there. From where you are sitting, you are too close to these gems to see them. Those great ideas incubating in the back of your mind need to come forward to propel you to the next level.
 
2. Accountability
Are you on task? Are you staying there? Maybe not, you’re reading this blog post. Engaging the right career coach with help you stay accountable to your good intentions. A weekly phone meeting, or even a quick email, might be all it takes to keep you moving forward.
 
3. Challenge
You’ve got good ideas. You know what to do, but implementation is holding you back. The right career coach will challenge you to uncover and possibly dismantle your self-imposed impediments to progress.
 
4. Synergy
Two heads are better than one is an old adage for good reason. In a recent study at Duke University, researchers used sets of electrodes to connect the brains of two rats tasked with a specific challenge. Together, the rats completed their task more effectively and efficiently than any single rat in the study could do on its own. The right career coach will help you expand your capacity to meet your goals. Together, you’ll set the appropriate goals and realistic deadlines.
 
5. Hold My Beer
“Hold my beer, I got this.” Ever question your own judgment about your next step? Wonder if that new business idea is a good one? Big change (even small change) necessitates some risk. Your friends will hold your beer while you dive into the risks of the unknown, but the right career coach will lend you the objectivity and insight you need to mitigate those risks.
 
How do you find the right career coach?
Our coaches have a variety of skills and experiences. Find the one who meets your needs by scheduling a FREE exploratory session. No matter what you’d like to change or achieve, this session is the perfect next step to help get you there.
 
Go ahead. Ask for help. Be a genius. You know you are one.

Author

Jane Taylor. In writing, I present my clients in such a way that they more easily attain their calling and fulfill their dreams.

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