The question hopefully on every candidate’s mind is how to beat the competition.

Differentiate yourself in a positive way — create separation between themselves and others, from the résumé all the way through the various rounds of interviews.

A powerful technique the savvy job seeker can use is called the STAR response, which has its foundations in the behavioral interview question.

Behavioral interview questions differ from more traditional question styles because they ask the candidate to relate a specific incident from a prior professional experience.

The intention in many cases is to determine whether a candidate has demonstrated a specific desirable trait or skill, with the corollary assumption that failure to provide such an incident means that trait or skill was not in evidence.

Typical behavioral interview questions are:

• What was your greatest professional success?
• Tell us about the worst professional failure you had.
• Tell us about a time when…
• Can you tell us the single most stressful work challenge you ever had? What made it so stressful, and how did you respond?

Behavioral interview questions have been around for decades now, so there is a best practice about how to respond to them. Because the response is meant to be drawn from prior experience, it may be difficult to craft a satisfying answer extemporaneously.

The best strategy is to have a game plan for answering behavioral questions.

[More: How to Handle Behavioral Interviews.]

How to Be a STAR

Start with a list of your successes, your accomplishments, and recognition you have received in your work and in school, if appropriate.

Your success stories range from getting employee of the month award or receiving some other recognition inside the company to making a big sale or creating (or improving) a process in your job that increased efficiency or reduced something negative like cost or a poor result.

As you will see from the examples below, you don’t need to have generated millions of dollars in revenue or profit to have a good accomplishment to share.

To prepare your answers, the best practice is to structure your response to fit into a template: a response that has several connected elements which together form a satisfying whole. As with so many such things, an acronym exists to summarize this structure.

While there are several versions of the acronym for this template, one of the most common is STAR:

 Situation 

What is sought here is the circumstance and context around the event. Usually a sentence or phrase should be enough to set the stage.

 Task 

Briefly summarize the dilemma or describe the key objective. This section should rarely exceed a single sentence.

 Action 

Explain what specific course of action you (not the team) took in pursuit of the task. Although this part is important, the really key part is…

 Result 

Describe what the action taken did, both in terms of the successful resolution of the situation, but also the impact on the organization. This part is essential, because it is what will explain what makes you a STAR.

To illustrate, here are a few examples:

Example 1: HelpDesk Technician

Situation –

The trouble ticket described a symptom that sounded impossible.

Task –

Based upon the circumstances and environment, the reported issue should simply not occur. And the ticket mentioned this is a recurring issue, so it was reported and believed fixed a few times already, and the user was clearly frustrated and approaching irate.

Action –

With his approval, I logged in remotely to verify the circumstances and environment with the user carefully: operating system, installed software and hardware, updates and patch history, and connected devices.

Result –

In my conversation I learned a detail missed in previous efforts, and discovered he was using a flash drive periodically. I collected the flash drive and, upon testing on an isolated machine, found it was infected with malware producing the issue in question.

Example 2: Administrative Assistant

Situation –

The VP I supported left the office several hours ahead of an international flight.

Task –

Before he left, I confirmed he had both ticket and passport. He called me in a panic en route saying he had neither.

Action –

Because I knew his routine, I helped him retrace his steps to the gas station he liked by the airport, where both had fallen out of his pocket.

Result –

Being on that flight helped him save a client relationship whose loss would have resulted in an extremely negative result from the director.

Example 3: Sales Engineer

Situation –

My colleague and I were just about to leave for the long holiday weekend when our manager called, saying a key client had a catastrophic event, and could we stay in the office to address the critical business need?

Task –

I knew my colleague was going to a special dinner with her boyfriend at which I expected he would propose, whereas I was catching up on sleep. I agreed to stay in the office and address the client need.

Action –

I was in the office for another 4 hours, ensuring the client’s issue was completely and thoroughly addressed, waiting until they signed off.

Result –

Due to my willingness to put in a little extra time, we were able to forestall the loss of $50M in client sales over the holiday weekend, and the client, pleased with the support, referred two other clients who yielded an additional $15M in revenue. And I’ll be at the wedding in 2 weeks.

Think about your own accomplishments, and write them out as you see above. Share true stories about how you handled a situation that demonstrates your qualities as a great employee, hopefully with stories that are relevant to the job you are seeking in some way.

The Bottom Line on the STAR Method of Interviews

You can be a STAR no matter what your profession. The only question is whether you are ready to let prospective employers know how good you are.

More About Successful Interviews:

• Smart Answers to Interview Questions
• How to Handle Behavioral Interviews
• Learn More About the STAR Method of Interviewing

About the author…

Ed Han is a recruiter and wordsmith and social media fanatic. As a veteran of several industries, including publishing, financial services and fashion, Ed helps facilitate a job search group in Princeton NJ and has served as the online community manager for the regional HR networking group Whine & Dine. Connect with Ed on Twitter @ed_han where you will often find that Ed has posted a “LinkedIn tip of the day.”
More about this author…

The post Use the STAR Method in Your Next Job Interview appeared first on Job-Hunt.

LinkedIn deserves a strategic view.

Yes, LinkedIn is often used tactically, but it will be much more effective when you step back and look at it strategically.

Think of this not as a “how to” so much as a “why”. “Why” drives — and ultimate determines — the what, how, and when of everything.

And the “why” of LinkedIn for job seekers is driven by one thing…

Show Your Unique Value Proposition on LinkedIn

The job seeker must present a “unique professional value proposition.” Your unique value proposition shows how hiring you will benefit an employer because of the unique set of skills and experiences you bring to the job.

Professionals who share identical titles and experience are, after all, not interchangeable.

Identifying and articulating your own unique value proposition requires both self-knowledge and research.

1. Reflect upon (or, if possible, examine) past performance reviews and identify recurring strengths or themes
2. Talk with former managers (and if appropriate, reports!) to substantiate or grow what was learned
3. Transform the resulting data into a statement of your unique combination of abilities and experiences that sum up your professional essence, and environments in which those can be best exercised.

Unique value propositions may look like this:

• PMP-certified veteran of pharmaceutical infrastructure transformations always delivered under budget and on time.
  
• A “Swiss Army knife” of Microsoft technologies from .NET, ASP, and VB to SharePoint to SSRS and SSIS, I enable collaboration best in large matrix environments.
• I serve up the paired swords that cut through my mid-market client’s Gordian knots: managed services and business process outsourcing, driving down recurring costs and increasing profitability for small to medium-sized businesses.

A unique value proposition, once articulated, should be the organizing structure for every facet of a candidate’s messaging: from résumé to LinkedIn to cover letter and email signature.

Essential Elements of an Effective LinkedIn Profile

Within the context of LinkedIn, this new structure should reverberate across all parts of a LinkedIn profile. To wit:

  1. Profile picture:  

In addition to garnering 24 times as many LinkedIn profile views, the profile picture should be consistent in tone and image with your professional image.

A unique value proposition that speaks of a boardroom presence should feature a profile picture in which the subject is attired appropriately with the attendant dignity and gravity a reader would reasonably associate with that type of context.

For more information, read Why You Need a LinkedIn Profile Photo and The Best Profile Photos for Job Seekers Boomers and Over 50.

  2. Headline:  

Since, with the Profile picture, the he message needs to be crystal clear within these 120 characters. Remember, this part of the profile accompanies a LinkedIn user’s name everywhere it goes on the site.

Because LinkedIn prompts users to auto-populate this with their current job title and employer name, there is absolutely nothing unique about the headline, in the vast majority of cases. As a result, the headline as not a vibrant branding statement, but rather camouflage: exactly the opposite of what is desired.

For more information, read Maximizing Your LinkedIn Profile Headline and Leverage Your LinkedIn Profile’s Professional Headline for Searchability & Branding.

  3. About:  

Keywords appropriate to the messaging should appear early and often within the text of the summary, and be distributed throughout the whole 2000 characters. Researching other users who possess similar experience and titles can yield valuable suggestions for keywords to incorporate.

To make your About more effective and easily read, break up the “wall of words” look into bulleted lists. Since the LinkedIn txt editor doesn’t offer the option to create a bulleted list, create your bulleted lists (of accomplishmnets, skills, etc.) using the small symbols from the LinkedIn Eye Candy article to add Interest to your Profile.

For more information, read 5 Secrets to a Knockout LinkedIn Profile About and Personal Branding Makes Your LinkedIn About Dazzle.

  4. Skills:  

Although a good skills list is worth 11 times as many profile views, making sure that a profile is endorsed for the most relevant skills is a bit more difficult. One way to receive appropriate such endorsements is to keep the list of skills tightly controlled and rejecting any skills suggested until the desired level of endorsement is reached.

For more information, read 4 Steps to Leverage LinkedIn Skills & Endorsements for a More Powerful Profile.

  5. Public profile URL:  

An often under recognized opportunity for customization, LinkedIn allows users to customize the URL of the public Profile, the version of the LinkedIn profile visible to anyone online.

If the desired name is not already in use by another member, the URL can be customized by including a degree or certification, a profession, a location (name, ZIP Code, or Area Code), or just about anything (except the year of your birth). This is an excellent branding opportunity.

  6.Experience:  

Each job, even for the same employer, is allocated up to 2,000 characters. Describe each employer in positive terms, particularly if the name is not well-known (yet). Mention the best products or services, particularly in relation to your work. As in a job interview, don’t trash anyone or anything.

For each job, focus on making your accomplishments and contributions very clear. Again, make use of the ► LinkedIn Eye Candy ◄ to draw reader attention to specific points or to create bulleted lists.

Within each position, there is an opportunity to share interactive content: whitepaper, PowerPoint, video, etc. These add attention-getting splashes of color to your Profile, and also give you an opportunity to demonstrate your expertise.

Most employers can be found easily enough on LinkedIn but especially if part of the unique value proposition is a history of working in blue chip employers. Ensure that the employer name in your profile links to the LinkedIn company page for that entity.

If merger & acquisition activity rendered a corporate entity extinct, list the successor organization instead. This demonstrates awareness of the current state of a former employer.

  7. Recommendations:  

Attached to a position on a LinkedIn profile, these were the original skill endorsements. Although less common now, recommendations remain a potent part of a LinkedIn profile.

Recommendations that underscore the unique value proposition, especially where a key accomplishment is dependent upon some part of it, is a fantastic way to drive home the message. These can only be provided by those within a LinkedIn user’s network with whom an invitation to connect was sent and accepted.

For more information, read How to Gather LinkedIn Recommendations for Your Job Search.

  8. Accomplishments – Projects:  

While located near the bottom of the Profile, the Accomplishments section offers many excellent options for sharing your professional achievements and highlighting your skills.

One of the most useful parts of Accomplishments is the Projects section. Add relevant projects you lead or worked on, and don’t omit projects because they didn’t have official names, like NASA’s “Voyager” project.

While respecting your employer’s confidential information, describe the project, the scope of the project, the size of the project in terms of people or budget, the timeframe, and any other relevant (and impressive) details. Highlight your role and achievement.

[MORE: Grab Recruiter Attention with LinkedIn Projects.]

  9. Accomplishments – Honors & Awards:  

If you have been chosen “Employee of the Month (or Year)” or recognized by a professional or industry organization, include that award in the Honors & Awards part of the Accomplishments section.

Choose those honors and awards that are relevant to your profession and demonstrate your skills.

  10. Accomplishments – Organizations:  

If you support a local or professional organization, particularly if you are an office of the organizaiton, include it in the Organizaitons subset of Accomplishments.

The Bottom Line on Parts of a LinkedIn Profile

One of the problems with a LinkedIn Profile is it is created iteratively, often over an extended period of time, rather than in a single sitting. As a consequence, some elements of a profile may date back to when the Profile was first created, while others are of more recent vintage, and with no rhyme or reason as to which. Profile elements accumulate over time without a unifying vision, yielding something other than a smooth, cohesive image to the reader.

A strategic, top-down review of a LinkedIn profile will ensure that cohesive image is the impression that is left. Do this review regularly, once a quarter or more often if needed.

More About LinkedIn for Job Search:

• Why Just Joining LinkedIn Is Not Enough
• Grab Recruiter Attention with LinkedIn Projects
• Eye Candy Adds ❃ Interest ❃ to Your LinkedIn Profile
• Leverage LinkedIn Smartly When You Are Unemployed
• 4 Ways to Find Job Opportunities on LinkedIn
• Social Proof: LinkedIn to Your Resume
• 10 Steps to Better Ranking in LinkedIn Search
• How to Leverage LinkedIn Status Updates for Your Job Search

Article updated on 15 September 2019.

About the author…

Ed Han is a recruiter and wordsmith and social media fanatic. As a veteran of several industries, including publishing, financial services and fashion, Ed helps facilitate a job search group in Princeton NJ and has served as the online community manager for the regional HR networking group Whine & Dine. Connect with Ed on Twitter @ed_han where you will often find that Ed has posted a “LinkedIn tip of the day.”
More about this author…

The post 10 Parts of an Effective LinkedIn Profile appeared first on Job-Hunt.

The COVID-19 pandemic and attendant quarantines are reshaping how — and which — employers hire.

Quarantines and “social distancing” requirements have also eliminated most face-to-face meetings.

Consequently, what job seekers need to do to find their next opportunities under such circumstances has changed, too.

In many jurisdictions, the state government has issued mandatory quarantine instructions, ending most face-to-face meetings.

Finding the Jobs

The critical thing is finding out who is still hiring. This is only happening at essential businesses: businesses whose function is deemed necessary to maintain minimal societal function. But how to find out who is actually hiring now?

•   Find employers.  

  This is surprisingly easy: consult your local guidelines. Go to your favorite search engine and, at least in the US, search on “essential business listing” and append your ZIP code. This will bring up a list of those essential businesses and industries.

•   Stay on top of employers who are hiring.  

  On LinkedIn, search on the hashtag #hiringnow and you should see a list of such employers. And you should definitely “Follow” this hashtag: it will ensure that relevant status updates find their way into your LinkedIn feed.

•   Double-check the employer’s environment.  

  Always ask a prospective employer what steps they are taking as an organization to ensure the safety of everyone.

Opportunities exist if you are willing to create a flexible job search that includes developing a great resume, being open-minded about where you work, and dedicating significant time to networking.

You can open doors, create your opportunities, and get a great role despite the current environment.

Impressing the Employer

This is not an easy time for most employers, either. Many businesses and public services have closed, hopefully only temporarily. Others struggle to stay open. Some are doing their best to handle the overwhelming volume of people seeking their help or services.

•   Are you online?  

  Employers still hiring are invested in making sure they are complying with any government mandate re: social distancing and maximum group gatherings.

  This means that employers are more interested than previously in job seekers who already have reliable internet access in their homes and the ability to use the online conferencing tools. Be prepared for this.

  Add appropriate terms to your resumes, applications, and LinkedIn profiles that indicate you have these skills and experience.

•   They are overwhelmed.  

  So many industries and businesses have had to slow or completely halt their hiring, hopefully temporarily.

  With many fewer employers hiring right now and unemployment skyrocketing, those organizations still hiring are experiencing a much greater volume of applications. When talent is in ample supply, this allows employers to be even more selective.

  Again, include the appropriate terms (keywords) to your resumes, applications, and LinkedIn profiles that indicate you match the requirements of the job.

The job market has changed, but it has not disappeared.

Prepare for Remote Interviews

During a pandemic, employers who are still conducting business want to ensure that they are protect both existing as well as future employees. In discussion with many other recruiters, the common theme is this:

Employers are conducting all interviews by phone or video interview. As an informed job seeker, you should brush up on best practices relating to both.

•   Phone interview.  

  Make sure that your phone is fully charged in advance of your interview.

  [More: How to Succeed in Your Phone Interviews (a.k.a. Phone Screens)]

•   Video interview.  

  Once you learn the medium whereby your interview will take place, do a test call with someone else. For GoToMeeting, Skype, WebEx, or Zoom, learn the interface and (if appropriate) install any relevant software (required for GoToMeeting and Skype).

  These technologies all offer a chat function: familiarize yourself with them, as periodically, connectivity issues may make smooth video/audio a challenge, so a text-based medium may help alleviate such issues.

  [More: How to Ace Your Video Interview and 12 Keys to One-Way Video Interview Success. ]

•   Research your interviewer(s).  

  When confirming an interview, always ask in writing with whom you will be talking and how much time you should budget.

  [More: Job Interview Preparation with Smart Google Research.]

When You Are Hired

  Starting Your New Job  

Expect that part of the employer’s “onboarding” process (standard orientation for new employees) may be conducted virtually, via GoToMeeting, Skype, etc. In the interests of protecting all employees, whether long-standing or prospective, responsible employers are eliminating, or at least reducing, the need to complete the onboarding process in person.

The Bottom Line

If an employer is still hiring, they are acutely aware of the concerns you have. This is an indisputable truth: we have all heard the concerns you may have about fingerprinting or drug tests for those employers who require them. If you have concerns, voice them. Any employer worth joining has measures in place to protect everyone involved and will be happy to explain their practices and why they do what they do.

Be safe, and be successful!

More About Job Loss Recovery

• 5 Steps to Successful Job Search During the COVID-19 Pandemic
• 4 Things to Know About Your Job Loss
• 3 Tracks to Accelerate Your Recovery from Job Loss
• Handling Job Loss Worries
• Beating the Job Search Blues
• Guide to Surviving Layoffs
• Guide to Career Change

About the author…

Ed Han is a recruiter and wordsmith and social media fanatic. As a veteran of several industries, including publishing, financial services and fashion, Ed helps facilitate a job search group in Princeton NJ and has served as the online community manager for the regional HR networking group Whine & Dine. Connect with Ed on Twitter @ed_han where you will often find that Ed has posted a “LinkedIn tip of the day.”
More about this author…

The post How Hiring Happens During the Coronavirus Pandemic appeared first on Job-Hunt.

By now you’ve had the opportunity to catch up with old friends, make some plans to do fun things, and started working on your resume.

Or perhaps you’ve pulled up stakes and headed out somewhere new, enjoying the freedom of being young and starting a new adventure.

Whatever the case, sooner or later you’re going to need a job. And not just any job — the kind of job your education was supposed to help you get, that you spent the past few years making sure you could get.

Now, those who’ve been in the workforce for a while can make use of their networks.

But you don’t have a big network…yet.

LinkedIn Is the On-Ramp to Your New Job

You need a big network, and that’s where LinkedIn enters the picture.

It isn’t Snapchat, Twitter, or Instagram. In fact, LinkedIn is pretty much in a class by itself when it comes to social media that’s work-related. It was designed to facilitate professional networking, and it is so good at professional networking that there are no real rivals.

LinkedIn is useful to you because being on it will help you find a job. There are a few reasons for this:

1. LinkedIn Makes You Findable

Recruiters in a hurry turn to Google and LinkedIn to find qualified job candidates.

Searching online for qualified candidates is usually quicker and much more effective for recruiters than screening the hundreds of job applications resulting from job postings to find those who are actually qualified for their jobs.

There are two primary reasons that LinkedIn makes you more findable as a job candidate:

• Google typically puts LinkedIn near the top of the first page of search results for those recruiters who use Google to find candidates.
• LinkedIn’s primary source of revenue is recruiters who pay LinkedIn for the privilege of searching through the member database for qualified candidates.

So, having a solid LinkedIn Profile puts you in position to be found whether they are searching the Internet with Google or searching only inside LinkedIn.

Read 7 Ways to Attract Recruiters on LinkedIn and Choosing the Best Keywords for Your LinkedIn Profile for more details.

2. LinkedIn Gives You Credibility

Not having a LinkedIn Profile raises eyebrows in many circles. Why don’t you have a LinkedIn Profile? Do you not understand how important it is? Are you hiding something? What’s wrong with you?

LinkedIn is one of the first places an employer or recruiter checks to verify the contents of a resume or job application.

Having a solid, complete (“All Star” in LinkedIn’s terminology) Profile, helps assure them that the facts on your application are correct — after all, your colleagues, friends, and family can see the contents of your Profile.

The assumption is that what you make public to friends, family, colleagues, and the world at large is apt to be more accurate than what you submit online.

Read Social Proof: Linked(In) to Your Resume for more information.

3. LinkedIn Helps You Expand Your Network

Make no mistake, in spite of the millions of job postings online, networking is the most effective (and quickest) way to connect to a new job.

Responding to job postings is one of the least effective ways to find a job.

Maybe there’s a family friend, let’s call him Uncle Bert. Uncle Bert isn’t actually related, but he might as well be, he’s just as much a part of every family gathering as everybody else, and was always fond of you.

But do you know what Uncle Bert does for a living, or with what employer?

Or perhaps at your graduation celebration Aunt Jane congratulates you, gives you a great big hug, and tells you to call her if you need any help finding a job. Use LinkedIn to connect with Uncle Bert or Aunt Jane (if they’re on it), and see who they might know.

And now you have a reason to call Aunt Jane or Uncle Bert. One really easy way for them to help you is by introducing and connecting you with the people they know, either via LinkedIn or otherwise. What about all the other people you know who’ve been in the working world for a while now, like your best friend’s parents, or your own? And don’t neglect older siblings, cousins, neighbors, and even your professors and other students.

These are all people who know and like you, so help them help you. And a few years down the road, when someone you know is in the same position you are right now, you know how to respond.

This is networking. It’s precisely the kind of thing that LinkedIn is built to do because it is so essential to careers and to job hunting.

4. You Can Connect with Employers on LinkedIn

If you ask any hiring manager, HR professional, or corporate recruiter what the best source of new hires is, they’re going to tell you — hands down — that employee referrals are where it’s at.

The employee referral — when an existing employee of an employer recommends someone for a job — is the gold standard for sources of hire. It is the number one source of hires, far ahead of job postings.

• The referring employee already knows what it’s like to work there, so if they refer someone it’s because they feel he or she can do the work, and would make a worthwhile addition to the organization.
• No employee will refer someone that leads colleagues to question their judgment. So employee referrals are valued because the candidates have been vetted by someone who is in a position to do that well.
• The new employee has a built-in support systems, starting with the person who referred them.

This is how you ideally want to become a candidate to an employer. And as you grow your LinkedIn network, bear in mind that network growth targeted towards particular industries or employers is an important strategy.

5. LinkedIn Is Essential for Interview Preparation

Most people in the business world have a LinkedIn account (over 660 million in early 2020).

A Profile should include a person’s education and work history, displaying the Recommendations they were given by others on LinkedIn, and describing their accomplishments.

Together, these pieces of information put you in a great position to find commonalities with a hiring manager and understand what traits he or she values.

However, you can only see the person’s full profile if you or someone you’re connected with–1st or 2nd degree connections, in LinkedIn parlance — is connected to that person.

• This is one reason you want to have a good-sized network.
• This is also why you want to connect with people within target organizations, so you can learn more about what it’s like to work somewhere.

You will find that a lot of people have worked for a lot of businesses — you might be surprised by how much job and employer changing has been going on the last decade or so. But this also means a lot of people potentially have the kind of information you really want.

You can search on LinkedIn for people who are both current and former employees of a given business, and they’re often gold mines of information. Use LinkedIn’s Search to find that option.

This is the kind of information that lets you ask great questions in your interview; the kind of information that shows you’re smart and know how to do good research; the kind of information that says yes, they need you to join their team.

The Bottom Line

A job search is a hard process, no question. But LinkedIn is a powerful tool that makes it a lot easier for new grads because it offers you an effective way to become visible and to have a bigger network.

[MORE: Why New Grads Must Join LinkedIn and 7 Elements of an Effective LinkedIn Profile]

More About Job Search for New Grads

• How to Land a Job when Your Major Has High Unemployment
• Competing with Older Candidates
• Improving Your GPA After Graduation
• How to Make Employee Referral Programs Work for You
• LinkedIn SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
• Mining Mom’s Network for New Grad Job Search

About the author…

Ed Han is a recruiter and wordsmith and social media fanatic. As a veteran of several industries, including publishing, financial services and fashion, Ed helps facilitate a job search group in Princeton NJ and has served as the online community manager for the regional HR networking group Whine & Dine. Connect with Ed on Twitter @ed_han where you will often find that Ed has posted a “LinkedIn tip of the day.”
More about this author…

The post 5 Reasons LinkedIn Is Not Optional for New Grads appeared first on Job-Hunt.

Managing chemotherapy may make showing up for work more difficult or impossible for a while. The result may be a gap in employment that is visible on their LinkedIn Profile.

Many job seekers struggle addressing an employment gap. The conventional wisdom in career circles is that an employment gap of more than two or three months must be ruthlessly eliminated.

There has long been an employer preference for candidates coming directly from another employer, sometimes even a rival. This type of talent is considered high quality if they have no employment gaps: they are presumed to be consistently recruited to go elsewhere (apparently, lack of loyalty isn’t an issue).

Small wonder that an extended break in employment can inspire fear and even panic. Many job seekers are aware that falling into long-term unemployed status — not having employment for 6 months or longer — may dramatically harm prospects of a job search.

Sharing Your Chemotherapy on LinkedIn

Addressing an employment gap is a difficult and sometimes complex matter. But the complexity increases dramatically when the reason for the gap is chemotherapy.

Every cancer survivor’s experience is different, and the decision to share this is as personal a choice as there is.

Irrespective of their role in hiring decisions, the folks with whom this might be shared are complete strangers.

No single answer can be correct and universally applicable for everyone. However, the employment gap does require a response of some kind.

Addressing the Chemotherapy Employment Gap

This can be addressed in a few ways that can remain consistent with the job seeker’s decision. And while the reasons may be different, concerns relating employment gaps are also faced by the professionals who put their careers on hold to care for a family member, such as a spouse, parent, or child.

For any professional who chooses to address their chemotherapy proactively, the answer is the same:

Get real. Get authentic. And talk about it in the Summary and/or Experience sections of your LinkedIn Profile.

LinkedIn About Section

Traditionally, the About section (formerly known as the “Summary” section) is used to extol a LinkedIn user’s professional essence — or as MBAs know it, the “special sauce” or “unique value proposition.” Whatever phrasing, the idea is the same: it explains what makes this professional remarkable.

There are a few ways to add this:

• Some survivors will want to take the bull by the horns and add a paragraph at the top of their Summary explaining that they have been taking a personal sabbatical but are now ready to deploy their skills and experience on behalf of a new employer.
• Others may prefer to include the chemotherapy explanation near the bottom, so the impact of their Summary is fully felt before disclosing a personal matter.

LinkedIn Experience Section

The resemblance of the LinkedIn profile to a conventional chronological resume is no accident: it is an efficient way to describe work history. This leads to most people listing positions with their employers, and this is the assumption most make.

However, it’s possible to add a personal sabbatical in this section. When adding a position on LinkedIn, the mandatory fields are company, title, and dates.

Add “Self” as the company and “Personal Sabbatical” as the title, along with the attendant start date and checking the box for “I currently work in this role.”

This allows you to be as laconic or verbose as you like in the Description of the “job” according to your preferences.

Either Way: How to Say It

This is an intensely personal decision.

Whatever you may choose to say, this part is not optional: it must be authentically positive and upbeat, and focused on resuming your career.

The conventional wisdom:

• Provide a concise explanation that a medical issue significant enough to require a gap in employment is now resolved. This explanation takes up a small portion of the text.
• Then, the vast majority of the text demonstrates how the job seeker is both highly talented and industrious, able to provide results measurably greater than others.

In a job search, there are times when it makes sense to deviate from the conventional wisdom, but this is not one.

There are some who are made uncomfortable discussing something so personal with you, the person living it. You have seen that since you were first diagnosed and discussed your diagnosis with the people in your life.

No doubt people have surprised you with their responses. Some people you were counting on have disappointed you, while complete strangers may have overwhelmed you with their warmth and support. It’s like a a box of chocolates, and as Forrest Gump famously observed, you never know what you’re going to get.

The Bottom Line

The Settings page is home to a valuable toolkit for any LinkedIn member who desires privacy about how they make use of the site. Use these steps to protect yourself.

For More Information About Illness in Your Job Search:

• Managing a Wavy Employment History
• When and How to Disclose Your Illness in Your Resume and Cover Letter
• Avoiding the Nightmare Job Interview

For More Information Managing Employment Gaps in Your Job Search:

• How to Manage Employment Gaps on Your Resume
• Answer This Job Interview Question: What About that Employment Gap
• Hiring Manager Tips for Escaping Unemployment
• 5 Options to Fill that Unemployment Gap
• Overcoming the Unemployed Bias

About the author…

Ed Han is a recruiter and wordsmith and social media fanatic. As a veteran of several industries, including publishing, financial services and fashion, Ed helps facilitate a job search group in Princeton NJ and has served as the online community manager for the regional HR networking group Whine & Dine. Connect with Ed on Twitter @ed_han where you will often find that Ed has posted a “LinkedIn tip of the day.”
More about this author…

The post How to Handle a Chemotherapy “Employment Gap” in Your LinkedIn Profile appeared first on Job-Hunt.

When it comes to professional visibility, LinkedIn is the clear winner.

Taking a page from the Facebook playbook, LinkedIn added status updates, also known as posts, to the options available for LinkedIn members.

Judiciously leveraging these updates — making posts, comments, and clicking on the “Like” button — can increase your visibility on LinkedIn.

Posts on LinkedIn allow members to communicate with each other and the world — LinkedIn’s version of the Facebook feed.

To create a LinkedIn update, LinkedIn offers several options for members on the member’s home page (the house icon visible on the left). From that page, a member may “Start a post,” or, by clicking on the appropriate icon, share a photo, a video, or a file from their computer.

LinkedIn also offers the option to “Write an article on LinkedIn.” So, five options are available to members from the top of their home page, as shown below.

3 Main Benefits of LinkedIn Posts

A LinkedIn public profile — the profile visible to anyone — can tell a viewer your experience, list your skills, and announce your professional effectiveness through Recommendations.

Posts provide additional essential elements in your online visibility. Posts will:

  1. Demonstrate You Are Reachable on LinkedIn  

If a recruiter wants to contact a LinkedIn user about a position, he or she has no idea whether or not the candidate is going to see the message, to say nothing of when they might see it. This is not good — recruiters are always in a hurry to find the right candidate.

For a recruiter, many possible job candidates may be qualified and could be contacted, but the candidates more likely to respond are are the candidates more likely to be considered. When recruiters see that you are active on LinkedIn, you are demonstrating that you are likely to respond if they reach out to you.

[NOTE: Read How to Safely Include Your Contact Information on LinkedIn so that recruiters can reach you quickly and easily.]

  2. Increase Your LinkedIn Visibility  

Posts remind people of your presence and your field (expertise and interests). Check out the posts from others to “Comment,” “Like,” or “Share” them with your network.

When you hover over the Like icon, you can choose one of several other reactions: Like, Celebrate, Love, Insightful, or Curious.

When you react to someone else’s posts, LinkedIn sends them a message about your actions, which helps you to expand your network.

Another benefit of the posts is that it is an easy, non-pushy way to stay top of mind for those in your network who are inclined to render assistance in the form of introductions.

  3. Reinforce Your Professional Image  

Obviously, the things one posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are typically not ideal for sharing on LinkedIn. This goes back to the core purpose of LinkedIn, why founder Reid Hoffman created it: professional networking.

Therefore, posts should be focused on professional career-enriching steps:

• Shared news articles.
• Skills development.
• Actual networking events.
• Helpful comments on the posts of other members.

These posts reinforce your image as a professional. See the examples below.

Making and Sharing LinkedIn Professional Status Updates

Facebook offers this critical lesson for the savvy job seeker looking to maximize the effectiveness of his or her LinkedIn profile: the post (also called the status update)..

The LinkedIn status update can be up to 1,300 characters in length, perfect for letting your network know what you are doing or introducing something you are sharing.

Updates typically stay “live” for 14 days before they disappear from view. And, remember that your most recent posts are visible on your LinkedIn profile.

Share your thoughts and interesting things you find several ways:

  1. Use the “share box” near the top of your LinkedIn home page.  

You have 5 options from your LinkedIn “home” page, as you see on the left.

Choose your option. To begin a discussion or ask a question, click on the words “Start a post.”

To share an image, video, or file from your computer, click on the appropriate icon.

Click the “Write an article on LinkedIn” link, and publish an article on LinkedIn (most effective when an image is included).

After you click one of the links above, a box, like the one below, opens allowing you to type in your update, including a URL, if appropriate, or add the image, video, or file. Ask a question or share good information.

You may even create a poll or share that you are hiring, as shown below.

To increase a post’s visibility and participation by other members, “tag” the members who would be most interested.

Tag another member by adding their names to your post, preceding each name with an “@” sign. Tagging another user has the bonus of pushing your post into the feed of that person’s LinkedIn network. Do this sparingly, and only when you have good reason to believe he or she would be particularly interested.

  2. Create posts by liking, commenting on, or sharing someone else’s post.  

Build your reputation as a good source of information by reacting to or sharing good information other LinkedIn members (those you follow) have published on LinkedIn as updates or articles. LinkedIn offers several types of reactions beyond Like, as seen above.

When sharing, if you use the originator’s name in the text of your update, LinkedIn will usually notify them that you have shared something they created.

Be very careful making comments. Don’t share something just to make fun of it or highlight a mistake. Stay professional or your updates will create a negative image for you.

Please do note that commenting is considered the gold standard of engagement by LinkedIn’s algorithm, and therefore is most helpful to the poster.

When you have reacted, LinkedIn then prompts you to comment.

  3. Like or share someone else’s post in a Group.  

When you find good information in someone else’s Group post, “Like” or “Comment” on it. LinkedIn will notify them of your action, which can be the start of a discussion or at least put you on someone’s radar for possible future connections.

This can be a good way to become visible to an employer you are trying to reach. Again, stay positive and be professional in your comments.

Finding Your Updates

You can find your updates by scrolling down your LinkedIn Profile until you find a box labeled “Activity,” as you can see in the image below. This section is usually the fourth or fifth box down from the top of your Profile.

At the top on the right, as shown below, you will find a link to “See all” above your four latest shares or comments. Simply click on “See all” to see the update tracks you are leaving on LinkedIn.

This section is on everyone’s Profile, so you can see what others are sharing and writing on LinkedIn, too, by clicking on that link on their Profile.

Make Appropriate LinkedIn Posts

If you are in a job search, what should one say in a post on LinkedIn?

For example, consider the logistics professional who shares a new article discussing another way of viewing costs associated with Daylight Savings Time and minimizing disruptions in truck deliveries or train schedules.

I found this eye-opening article about the change in DST and a hidden impact on costs and scheduling [link].

And, imagine an aspiring project manager pursuing the PMP certification. Perhaps he or she has two peers who also plan to sit for the exam in 3 months. A post our project manager could share is:

Looking forward to catching up with John and Mary tonight to prepare for the PMP in 3 months. The discussion is always informative!

Maybe another professional is attending a networking event later in the day. The post could be:

Should be a good time tonight at my local Toastmasters chapter, I think I have turned the corner on projecting my voice powerfully.

Another example that is particularly current during the pandemic:

Excited to volunteer my time making masks and other personal protective equipment to donate to my friend, a first-responder with RWJ Barnabas Health. Please stay safe!

Updates about training you may be receiving, furthering your education, or other proactive steps to help enrich your professional value, are all valuable and tell people viewing your profile something important about you.

Each of the examples communicates that you are engaged in professional development or self-improvement, in addition to letting people know that you are on LinkedIn.

For more on tips on sharing good updates, read How Your LinkedIn Activities Impact Your Personal Brand.

Facebook Sharing Is Inappropriate on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is fundamentally different from most other forms of social media. LinkedIn is professionally-oriented. This means that many of the things one might do on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook are not suitable for LinkedIn.

Yet each of these sites has adopted new capabilities originally introduced on Facebook. Instagram is on the cusp of introducing advertising, Twitter’s targeted ads, and, on LinkedIn, the skill endorsement.

However, these Facebook activities are not appropriate on LinkedIn:

• Discussions of politics.
• How you binge-watched a television show over the weekend.
• Cheering for your favorite sports team and/or making nasty comments about other teams.
• Personal information like birthday parties, dating, and other family news.
• Discussing religion and other non-business issues, etc.

While LinkedIn is definitely social media, the focus is not on sharing everything you are doing and thinking, particularly when the subject is not relevant to your professional image.

The Bottom Line

The LinkedIn status update is a powerful tool, and the savvy job seeker can use it to great effect. It can help you to communicate your ongoing professional endeavors and interests, skills development, and further networking by sharing content with your network, all while telling people that you actually do spend time on the site. And it helps keep your name and headline in front of the people in your network.

More About LinkedIn for Job Search:

• 7 Ways to Attract Recruiters on LinkedIn
• How to Connect with the Right Recruiters on LinkedIn
• How to Be Found by Recruiters on LinkedIn (written by a recruiter)
• Guide to Being Found on LinkedIn (LinkedIn SEO)
• 10 Elements of an Effective LinkedIn Profile
• Secret to Powerful LinkedIn Profile SEO: Leverage Skills & Endorsements
• The Top 25 Keywords for Your Job Search
• How to Double (or Triple) Your LinkedIn Visitor Traffic with the Right Keywords
• How Your LinkedIn Activities Impact Your Personal Brand

About the author…

Ed Han is a recruiter and wordsmith and social media fanatic. As a veteran of several industries, including publishing, financial services and fashion, Ed helps facilitate a job search group in Princeton NJ and has served as the online community manager for the regional HR networking group Whine & Dine. Connect with Ed on Twitter @ed_han where you will often find that Ed has posted a “LinkedIn tip of the day.”
More about this author…

The post How to Leverage LinkedIn Posts for Your Job Search appeared first on Job-Hunt.

But, being in broadcast mode isn’t always desirable — sometimes discretion is the better part of valor and of job search.

By default, LinkedIn is set to broadcast mode.

Because employers tend to be very unhappy to discover that an employee is job hunting, broadcasting everything you are doing isn’t always smart.

Being in “stealth mode” can be a very good idea if you are currently employed and want to protect your income stream.

By “stealth mode,” I am referring to engaging in activity on LinkedIn that is not broadcast to your network.

Why Going “Stealth Mode” Is Useful

There are many reasons you might wish to engage LinkedIn stealthily:

• Perhaps you are already employed but looking for alternatives.
• Perhaps you are anticipating a cooling climate in your organization or industry and preparing for departure.
• Maybe you simply don’t want everyone to know what you’re doing.

Whatever the reason, if you want privacy, you can accomplish it through your LinkedIn Settings & Privacy page.

Read 3 Ways to Update Your LinkedIn Profile Unobtrusively for important tips on becoming more active and visible on LinkedIn without becoming too obvious.

Managing Your LinkedIn Settings

Managing your Profile’s Privacy & Settings are critical in enhancing your use of the world’s biggest professional networking site.

To find your Profile’s Privacy & Settings page, start with the image above in the upper right section of every LinkedIn screen. Hover your cursor over your Profile picture at the right labeled “Me.”

A drop-down menu will appear when you click on the “Me” link (only the top of the long drop-down menu is visible here, on the left).

Immediately below the “ACCOUNT” label, you will find the “Settings & Privacy” option.

Click on Settings & Privacy from the drop-down menu.

Selecting that option will yield the following pages, discussed in this article, which offer many options and choices.

Note the tab structure running horizontally across the top third of the screen.

Turn “Sharing Profile Edits” Off

Managing this page is critical in enhancing your use of the world’s biggest professional networking site.

The first, but not the only, step is to turn off the notifications that LinkedIn sends to everyone when you make a change in your profile, join a Group, participate in a Group discussion, publish an Update, or in fact anything at all.

If you abruptly and visibly become very active on LinkedIn, colleagues (and your boss) may form negative conclusions about your reasons for that increase in activity.

Moreover, each week, members of your network may receive an email digest of changes to the profiles of people with whom they are connected, and this includes you unless the option is turned off.

You can stop LinkedIn from publishing a notification to all of your connections that you have made a change to your Profile. As shown in the image below, click on the “Privacy” tab at the top of the page. Then, click on “How others see your LinkedIn.”

Scroll down until you reach the “Sharing profile edits” heading. In the right column (which has been cut off in the image below), click on “Change,” and the page will expand. To stop the automatic sharing of all your edits, choose the “No” option (shown below).

More Options for a Stealth Job Search

The four main tabs at the top of this page are labeled Account, Privacy, Ads, and Communications. Many options are offered under each tab.

Many of the privacy-related options are described below. Choose the ones which seem most appropriate for you, recognizing that LinkedIn is one of the best tools in your job search toolbox, and limiting it too dramatically (like making your last name invisible) may limit the positive impact LinkedIn can have.

Note the tab structure running horizontally across the top third of the screen. The four tabs are labeled Account, Privacy, Ads, and Communications (the last option has been cut off in the image below). Of the tabs LinkedIn offers, the Account and Privacy tabs are the ones of most interest for stealth.

Each tabbed section is organized with a section guide down the left side of the screen. As with any section guide, clicking on any will take you to that section, but by default you will begin with the first section.

LinkedIn Account Options for Job Seekers

On this tab, we are interested in the Site preferences section.

Showing Profile Photos

This is how you control the visibility of your Profile picture.

Click on “Change” at the right end of the line, and the drop-down menu below will appear. As you can see, below, LinkedIn offers several options for accomplishing this task when you select the “Change” option.

LinkedIn calls the photo a “virtual handshake,” and the photo also makes you recognizable to people who have met you as well as for those who are meeting you for the first time. Most likely, you would want your Profile photo visible to “All LinkedIn members,” the option chosen below.

Name, Location, and Industry

This is a link that will take you to the Edit Profile page. You can alter the visibility of your first and/or surnames, industry, or location.

The other sections do not affect your privacy or visibility so will not be addressed.

LinkedIn Privacy Options for Job Seekers

On the Privacy tab, there is much more information that should be considered.

By default, clicking on a tab brings you to the first section. On this tab, it’s the How others see your LinkedIn profile and network information which is where attention should first be given.

How Others See Your LinkedIn Profile and Network Information

This section offers you several options for controlling how much of your information is visible inside LinkedIn.

Edit Your Public Profile

This allows you to see and to edit the “public” version of your Profile which is the version shown to search engines and other sites.

Who Can See Your Email Address

You can choose not to make your email address visible to anyone, only to 1st degree connections, 1st and 2nd degree, or everyone on LinkedIn. When you are in a job search, being easy for recruiters and potential employers to contact you is a very good idea. Read How to Safely Publish Your Contact Information on LinkedIn for options to be reachable without compromising your privacy.

Who Can See Your Connections

There are few questions about LinkedIn that are more contentious. By default, if you view a connection’s profile, you can see who their connections are. Unless…

This section offers options to protect your connections. If you prefer to keep your connections private, this selection offers you options to do so. Some professionals, including many recruiters, choose not to share this information with their network.

Viewers of This Profile Also Viewed

When you look at (almost) any LinkedIn profile, a small box appears in the right margin with this label, so you can see others whose profiles are similar. By default this is selected, but you can change it here.

Those who do block this content are typically motivated by a desire not to make their competitors visible to someone who views their Profile.

Who Can See Your Last Name

If for some reason you wish to conceal your surname, this is the option for you. LinkedIn will display only the first letter of your last name if you choose this option.

NOTE: Blocking your last name from view may prevent a recruiter or employer from finding your LinkedIn Profile when they are searching for your name. A missing last name can have a negative impact on your credibility because blocking your last name makes it much less likely that your Profile will be found in a name search. Employers typically want to verify the facts on your resume or application, and LinkedIn is typically used for that purpose.

Profile Visibility Off LinkedIn

This control brings you to an option in which you can change/add a profile picture, but it also lets you determine who can see it. When you are in job search mode, allowing your Profile image to be seen is a good idea. Your Profile will be clicked on more often with an image .

Microsoft Word

Thanks to the acquisition of LinkedIn by Microsoft, this is an unexpected new way to integrate LinkedIn with Office. By default, this option is set to Yes. This means that the Word Resume Assistant can look at the work experience on your profile to help improve the quality of the assistance provided. Read Will LinkedIn’s Resume Assistant Help You Write a Great Resume? for another perspective.

How Others See Your LinkedIn Activity

In this section, you can see how public your Profile and LinkedIn activities are.

Profile Viewing Options

When you view another LinkedIn user’s profile, you can choose to continue providing abstract information such as industry and location (the default), anonymously, or go with full disclosure, providing your name, headline and profile picture. The last option also enables Profile Stats, which shows who’s viewed your profile over a certain time frame: as long as a month to within the current day.

If you choose full disclosure but later change your mind, this will disable Profile Stats. Some LinkedIn members really like Profile Stats, while others do not find them meaningful.

Recruiters and employers pay close attention to who is viewing their Profiles, hoping to find interested candidates. So, allowing this option may be a signal to an employer of your interest.

Frequently turning this option on and off, as you seek visibility or avoid it, will work but does required that you pay attention to this setting.

Manage Active Status

In LinkedIn Messaging, this indicator shows your availability for messaging. On the LinkedIn mobile app, this shows as a green circle. Being open to messaging via LinkedIn is important for recruiters in a hurry (and recruiters are usually in a hurry).

If your employer asks about this option being “on,” tell them that you want to be available for current and potential customers or clients to contact you.

Smart Stealth Job Search Beyond LinkedIn Settings

Managing your LinkedIn settings is one very important way to keep your job search quiet. But, for a successful stealth job search, also refrain from publicizing your job search in LinkedIn and your other social networks:

• Don’t use your employer’s assets (computer, smart phone, WiFi network, printer, etc.) — easily monitored.
• Don’t use your work email address or phone number — easily monitored.
• Don’t openly announce your job search in any social media, public mailing list, or professional network — too visible.
• Don’t tell your colleagues that you are in a job search — risky.
• Don’t announce your job search in a LinkedIn Update or any LinkedIn Group discussions — too visible.
• Don’t announce your job search in your LinkedIn Profile’s Professional Headline (e.g., “seeking new opportunities”) — too visible.
• Don’t participate in LinkedIn’s “Shared Career Interests” program (formerly, “Open Candidate”) — too visible.

Having contact information available so you may be contacted by recruiters is essential, but you can make your contact information visible while protecting both your privacy and your job — safe contact info for your job search.

Bottom Line on LinkedIn Settings for Job Seekers

The Privacy & Settings pages are home to a valuable toolkit for any LinkedIn member who desires privacy about how they make use of the site. Use these steps, as appropriate for you, to protect your job search from public visibility, and be careful outside of LinkedIn, too!

For more information about using LinkedIn for job search, check Job-Hunt’s free LinkedIn Job Search Guide.

More LinkedIn Tips for a Stealth Job Search:

• 3 Ways to Update Your LinkedIn Profile Unobtrusively
• How to Use LinkedIn for a Stealth Job Search
• Guide to a Stealthy — and Successful — Job Search

More Information About Finding a Job While Employed:

• Recruiter’s Advice: How to Find a Job While You Have One
• How to Protect Your Privacy and Your Paycheck while Job Hunting
• Why Is It Easier to Get a Job While You Are Employed?
• Stealth Job Search Networking

About the author…

Ed Han is a recruiter and wordsmith and social media fanatic. As a veteran of several industries, including publishing, financial services and fashion, Ed helps facilitate a job search group in Princeton NJ and has served as the online community manager for the regional HR networking group Whine & Dine. Connect with Ed on Twitter @ed_han where you will often find that Ed has posted a “LinkedIn tip of the day.”
More about this author…

The post Managing Your LinkedIn Settings for a Stealth Job Search appeared first on Job-Hunt.

Today, smart job seekers have a target list of employers and target job titles at those target employers.

As a smart job seeker, you are focusing your network activities into those target organizations.

You also have a sparkling elevator speech, have not only a resume but also a marketing plan, and the rest: because you want the edge.

Yet a surprising number of job seekers forgo an incredibly powerful advantage on LinkedIn: the Profile picture.

Or, they have a photo, but they limit the visibility of that image to only those people they are connected to on LinkedIn. Limiting the visibility of your face is a BIG mistake on LinkedIn.

To be most visible to recruiters, be sure that your photo is visible to people viewing your LinkedIn Profile even if they aren’t on LinkedIn. For the most successful job search, check your Profile’s privacy settings to be sure that your Profile and your “headshot” (the Profile photo) are completely visible.

Worried About Your Age, Your Race, or Something Else?

Many job seekers over 40 have told me that they are afraid a potential employer will see their photo, notice their age, and decide not to contact them because they are “old” or have some other characteristic that would cause an employer to discriminate against them.

Unfortunately, most LinkedIn members, particularly recruiters, are skeptical of Profiles which have the image at the left in their Profile.

Recruiters think: No photo? Clearly, this person does not understand how LinkedIn works. Or, this Profile is fake. Or, this person is hiding something (hmmm… what?).

LinkedIn’s terms of use require a “headshot” so those who use graphics, landscapes, or some other image are technically violating those terms.

The best image is simply your face, looking professional (business attire), and friendly. No pets or kids or other people in the image.

Read LinkedIn Profile Photos for Job Seekers Over 50 for some great advice.

Hey, Did You Hear the One About…?

In just about every job, there are those colleagues you may not know well but with whom you had water cooler/break room conversations.

You know their first names, but odds are you never did learn their full names, and possibly not even their department or job function.

If you’re here at Job-Hunt.org, everywhere you turn, you are being told that networking is how most jobs are filled so you should be doing it.

This inevitably leads you to LinkedIn, so you begin using it.

And lo and behold: while searching a former employer, there’s Bob or Sue, with whom you used to have those water cooler conversations. So you look at their profiles: yup, right employer at the right times.

Great, let’s see how he or she is now! Where do they work? What do they do now?

And, you reach out…

  But, how are they going to know it’s YOU reaching out?  

I mean, you should certainly customize your LinkedIn invitation to connect — but that isn’t always reliably possible if you’re accessing the site through a mobile app, and that assumes that people can see and are reading those messages.

There is, however, an option a whole lot less ambiguous than text — which they will only be able to see when they choose to read the invitation if they don’t simply accept/decline anyway.

On LinkedIn, your name is almost always accompanied by your profile picture (and your Professional Headline). So…

  …They SHOULD recognize you, IF you have a Profile picture.  

The Profile photo helps them “connect the dots” and recognize you.

Hey, I Know YOU!

The truth is that people don’t connect with data. We connect with people.

After all, no one says, “I never forget a data point.” But, many do say “I never forget a face.”

We may not recall the name, but that flash of recognition rarely fails us. Recognizing faces has been so important over the course of human history that the fusiform gyrus of the brain formed expressly to do it.

Think about that. With all the dedicated sections your brain already has — seeing, hearing, and the like — the ability to see someone and know who they are has that same kind of importance.

In addition to being able to perceive your surroundings, it is equally important to know if the people around you are known quantities or not.

This underscores the importance of relationships in the human experience. After all, you can’t form shared memories with someone if you don’t recognize one another. The ability to recognize someone is a prerequisite to establishing a relationship.

A LinkedIn profile picture allows people to put that development to good use.

How to Win Connections and Influence People

As one of the world’s most popular sites, LinkedIn — like other major sites — has given rise to its own cottage industry. There are LinkedIn consultants, trainers, and bloggers aplenty. A veritable cornucopia of results awaits your next Google search.

Unsurprisingly, one of the best sources of LinkedIn information is LinkedIn itself which reports:

LinkedIn Profiles with profile pictures are eleven times more likely to have someone view their Profile than those lacking a picture.

Eleven times more visible – 1,100% MORE visible!

This is your competitive advantage.

More About Photos for Job Search

• Make Your Personal Branding Message Clear in Your Social Profile Headshot Photos
• 10 Elements of an Effective LinkedIn Profile
• How Your LinkedIn Profile May Be Turning Off Recruiters
• “Social Proof” Requires Consistent Identity

About the author…

Ed Han is a recruiter and wordsmith and social media fanatic. As a veteran of several industries, including publishing, financial services and fashion, Ed helps facilitate a job search group in Princeton NJ and has served as the online community manager for the regional HR networking group Whine & Dine. Connect with Ed on Twitter @ed_han where you will often find that Ed has posted a “LinkedIn tip of the day.”
More about this author…

The post Why You Need a LinkedIn Profile Photo appeared first on Job-Hunt.