Big Brother Employer and LinkedIn

I used to tell clients that it was a good idea to be on LinkedIn. Now I consider LinkedIn to be a core component of a comprehensive career management strategy. Having said that, there is a dark side to using the professional networking site – it can be very easy for your current employer to learn that you are seeking other opportunities. I wish I could say that employers weren’t using sites like LinkedIn to monitor their employees. But I can’t. So here are a few tips for ways that you can use LinkedIn without making it obvious that you are actively searching (or just keeping your options open).

Maintain an active and consistent LI presence – This is just a good career management practice. Consistent networking and exploring your area of focus is one way to stay on the leading edge and a great step in making yourself indispensible. It also eliminates the chance that you will have visible “spikes” in LI activity that could tip your current employer off to your desire to fly the coop.

Get to know the privacy settings – LinkedIn’s default settings can make you an over-sharer. For example, by default everyone in your network is notified when you make any edits to your profile or make a new connection. The first thing you should do when you start using LI is to go in and customize those settings. Yes, making your profile and activity less visible could limit your ability to make new connections. I think that is a small price to pay for the piece of mind that comes with knowing that every move you make is not being broadcast to your network.

Keep your profile concise – Uploading your entire resume to LinkedIn screams “I’m looking for work.” Even if you are, it’s not a great use of the digital space (and it could mean you are disclosing details that could peeve your current employer). Instead, provide high-level overviews for each of your roles. Use the Summary to highlight a few major accomplishments so that your impact is clear.

Even if you work for a employer that is looking over your digital shoulder, you can still make effective use of tools like LinkedIn. It just means you need to be very mindful of what you share and with whom you share it. Actually, this is just a good idea regardless of how nosey your current employer is.

Listing Foundational Education On Your Resume

Q. I recently earned a Bachelor of Applied Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Toronto. However, many of my credits were transferred from another school. Do I need to list all colleges on my resume? A. The standard is that you simply list the school from which you earned your degree. Easy!

It is also not necessary to include an Associate’s degree when you have a Bachelor's degree (although some people like to – especially if the field is different).

Listing Travel On Your Resume

Q. I’ve travelled a lot for work and pleasure.  Does listing travel on my resume make me more marketable?

A. Anything you place on your resume should be professionally focused, so if you are considering listing an extended vacation to Santorini, think again.  However, speaking to professional travel and working with diverse audiences can be very powerful on a resume.

Here are some examples:

• Traveled to Beijing and South Africa to secure multi-year contracts worth a total of US$6M.

• Traveled to Bangalore, India to rally development team and ensure a key project was delivered ahead of an aggressive deadline.

You may also consider speaking to extensive personal travel (i.e. gap year, etc.) in your cover letter.  Even in that case, make sure to expressly outline how that experience bolsters your qualifications and makes you a strong fit for the role you are pursuing.

Resume or Marketing Document?

There are a lot of similarities between a resume and a client-marketing document, both are meant to establish your qualifications, pique readers interests and get you a chance to sell yourself in person. I work with a lot professionals who may be looking to secure a full-time position, but may also choose to look for new freelance clients. Even though the two documents may contain the same experience, there is a critical difference in how to approach those two groups.

A resume is employer focused. This means that you need to highlight ways in which you have made a positive impact on the organizations of which you have been a part. Often times that means speaking to “internal wins” – increased margins, PR successes and off-shoring services are just a few examples. Those are likely achievements that you would not want a customer to know about.

A client-marketing document is customer focused. You want that document to shine a spotlight on ways you will make a positive impact on your clients. These might include successes around delivery times, experience enhancements, value adds, etc. Make sure your accomplishments – even those that fall under previous organizations – are “external wins.”

Whether your creating a resume or a client-marketing document, you’ve got to know your audience. Remember, the document is about you, but it is for them. Communicating your potential impact and the value you offer is a winning strategy; just make sure you are focusing on what is appropriate for your readers.

Three Ways To Make Yourself Indispensable in 2013

The term "job security" is so quaint that it could practically be the subject of a Norman Rockwell painting.  In this new economy, if you want any semblance of job security, you’ve got to make yourself indispensable.  Here are three things you can start to do to move closer toward that goal. Stay cutting edge – It used to be that being “current” in your field was good enough.  Not anymore.  If you want to be indispensable, you’ve got to stay on the leading edge of your field.  Not only does this allow you to drive advancements within your organization (which is a very good resume builder), it also positions you as an expert.

Being on the cutting edge of your field has never been easier; leverage traditional and emerging techniques – trade journals, LinkedIn groups, industry conferences, social media, etc. – to build and maintain your expertise while you also develop your reputation as leader in your field.

Find your niche – In the new economy, generalists are a dime a dozen.  To be indispensible, you’ve got to specialize.  In my case, I maintain broad HR competencies (including an HR certification) but my specific areas of expertise (and my passion) are in Organizational Effectiveness and Career Development.  By bringing a level of expertise in a very specific area of my field, I set myself apart and make myself more competitive.

Identify areas within your field where you can specialize.  Make yourself indispensable by positioning yourself as the go-to expert in an in-demand, but unsaturated, area of focus.

Know your impact – Staying current and being a specialist will not make you indispensible if you aren’t aware of your impact.  All to often, I interview or work with professionals who – simply based on their area of focus – are indispensable (engineers, I’m talking to you).  All too often, these professionals aren’t fully aware of the impact they have on their clients / organizations.  And when they are aware, they often have a difficult time articulating that impact.

Regardless of your area of focus, the real key to being indispensable is to know – and be able to communicate – your impact.  One way to build this competency is to keep a "win" file.  Keep track of each achievement and the impact of that achievement (including metrics whenever possible).  Doing so will not only make it easier to speak to accomplishments, it will habituate recognition of your wins and shift your success orientation.

I understand that it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by these kinds of tips.  The key is to start moving in the direction of making yourself indispensable.  Build a career management plan that includes the above items; that alone will get you heading in the right direction.

If you need help, get in touch.

Getting on Track

Since it's the season of resolutions and fresh starts, this month's promotion has been extended and will run the entire quarter. Until the end of March, enjoy nice savings on my most popular career development assessment.

Here are all of the details.

Come on.... Make 2013 your year. The one you can look back on and say "I did it!"