LinkedIn for Job Search

What does your LinkedIn profile say about you?

June 23, 2015 By Marta Goertzen

Photos are a very personal reflection, pun intended.

Some of my Facebook friends change their profiles daily. I don’t. I have the same profile photo on Facebook for years. It reminds me of that wonderful trip to Prague with my daughter in 2009. My LinkedIn photo is a professional photo taken a few years ago too. I like both photos. But what do these photos say about me?

There is some science behind what makes a great social media profile. I found some interesting articles leading to PhotoFeeler. Evidently there is a principal called self-enhancement bias, the idea that we look at our world through our own personal rose colored glasses that twists what we see into something we want to see. According to an interesting article, “3 Scientific Reasons You Choose the Wrong Profile Photos”, we imagine that we are perfectly objective but other people are not because our own clear judgment is an illusion.

The three reasons we choose the wrong profile photo are:

We apply our own background information to the photo but other people don’t have the same information. They judge a photo on different standards.
We’ve spent our entire lives looking in mirrors. We see the mirror image, not the actual image. Other people might like the actual image better but it looks like of funny to us.
We apply feelings to our own photos. Other people don’t see the feelings or the flaws that we see. Other people just see the photo.

PhotoFeeler offers a way around our own personal bias. You get unbiased feedback from members who vote on whether your photo does what you intend it to do. For LinkedIn, you want your photo to show you as competent, likable and influence. You might want something else for a Facebook and Twitter profile photo.

So I decided to sign up! I submitted a general business photo that I like and my professional LinkedIn profile photo to be rated to see whether a professional photo makes a difference.

I had to earn the credits to get other people to evaluate my photos. It takes a minimum of 10 credits to get 10 people to vote on each of your photos. You earn credit by voting on other people’s photos. I elected to vote on business photos but you can vote on social photos and dating photos too.

Getting credits is easy and demonstrates how other people will vote on your photo. I looked at the photo that flashed on my screen and simply clicked on whether the photo portrayed the person as competent, likable and influential on a four point scale. It takes just a few minutes of clicking to rack up enough points to launch my own evaluations.

I launched my evaluation then I went to get a cup of coffee. When I came back to my computer I already had some results.

Interesting. Both photos tested positively (it is possible to get a negative result!) but the professional photo tested higher on all three points. Both photos show about the same level of Likeability. PhotoFeeler says that is because I show teeth when I smile which is more open and friendly. But check out the big differences in Competence and Influence from the professional photo! Wow, that is a big difference!

This is what I learned from this exercise:

Use a professional photographer to get an image that viewers will find appealing. It is worth every penny.
Have an idea of what impression you want to leave. Know what brand you represent. Then get a profile photo that supports your brand.
There is always something to learn on the Internet if you open your eyes and look around.

I would love to hear how your photo rates. Go to Photofeeler and get your photo evaluated. Let’s compare results!

Out with the old Rolodex, In with LinkedIn!

March 13, 2015 By Marta Goertzen

The Rolodex is officially replaced by LinkedIn in the Burik office!

For those of you too young to remember, a Rolodex is a rotating file. You stick business cards in the proper alphabetical slot and you can access the information pretty easily. It beats sticking the cards in a drawer. These things were really useful in the day. When someone called for information I could just refer to my Rolodex and make a recommendation.

They still sell this organizational device at any office supply store.

I had two Rolodexes on my desk for years. One filled with hundreds of contacts from Chicago and another with hundreds of contacts I made after I moved to Ohio in 1994. I know I am dating myself. But I already blew that by admitting I have two Rolodexes!

I haven’t looked at these old Rolodexes for years. I stumbled over them while cleaning closets this past weekend. It was time to let go of the past. Tossing them makes me realize that networking has always been an important part of my life. These cards represented real people I actually knew.

Today I network even more than I did in the past but I use other tools to stay organized.

I use LinkedIn to collect network connections and Outlook to store connections I access frequently. LinkedIn contact information is integrated with my smartphone so I have up to date email addresses at my finger tips. Plus the entire contact system is searchable. With a Rolodex I had to remember who was connected to a skill or expertise in order to search properly. With an integrated digital system I can search by any term I want and find the right person for the right need.

Networking is a great way to build relationships, find opportunities, learn, and stay connected to the outside world. We still exchange business cards when we network. Business cards have not gone away. The trick is what we do with those cards. Tucking them into a Rolodex or LinkedIn or Outlook file without taking action not networking; it is just a waste.

We have many organizational tools at our fingertips these days. Some people still use Rolodexes.

It is important to use the organizational tool that makes sense for you. More important than the tool you use is what the business cards represent: contacts you meet along the way through successful networking!

Note to self: must clean out that drawer full of business cards next…

You Need Both a Resume and LinkedIn Profile in your Job Search

November 18, 2014 By Marta Goertzen

LinkedIn profile and resume are two different documents that start from the same basis but are used in two different ways.

In this video, Katherine Burik describes the different ways each tool is used.

Resumes are used as a take along to interviews, when you apply for jobs, when you work with a recruiter. It also is a great format for creating a strategic view of what you want.

Your LinkedIn profile can be used other ways. A good LinkedIn profiles is a passive way of making yourself available to recruiters. You can meet new people. It is a great way to learn.

LinkedIn Pulse can help you Network for a Job Better

October 14, 2014 By Marta Goertzen

LinkedIn Pulse is the news aggregator that appears on your LinkedIn home page. You will see a list of about four interesting articles specially selected for you based on your interests. LinkedIn purchased the Pulse app for iOS in spring 2013. We started seeing articles in 2014.

I like this feature. I have found many interesting articles related to the work I do that I would not have found without the help of the kind gremlins lurking behind the LinkedIn walls. Maybe that means I don’t get out enough but I prefer to be thankful that I find these interesting articles with all the “stuff” out there.

Now, what can we do with these interesting articles? There are many ways to use LinkedIn Pulse to our advantage in a job search. Here are some tips for using the interesting articles the LinkedIn Pulse gremlins suggest for you:

Learn something. Stay up to date on your field or industry.
Share what you learn with others at work. If you are seeking another position while working, this is your cover. When you share interesting articles you can tell colleagues how useful you find LinkedIn for your current job when actually you are using LinkedIn to network for a new position.
Comment on the articles or repost them to Groups. This increases your visibility and can lead to more contacts and potentially more opportunities.
Share what you learn with people you network with. This is a great way to network. You might be able to help another person. These articles can give you a reason to follow up or talk to another person.

Here are two ways people are using these articles:

I met a sales person from the local branch of a national staffing firm. He uses interesting articles from Pulse or other sources to leave with his business card when he makes a call. The people he talks with usually welcome the interesting article and it gives him something to talk about.

A client, Sandra, forwards interesting articles as a way to build relationships with people. It gives her something to talk about with the other person other than finding a job. She can talk about a technical subject related to her field. She has an opinion that turns into a deeper conversation than possible when she just talked about finding a job when she was networking.

LinkedIn Pulse provides the interesting information that can be the reason for a networking conversation. Let your networking contacts see you as a real person. You want them to imagine you in the job, so use LinkedIn Pulse to find work related topics that foster real conversations about real subjects.