Tag Archives: LinkedIn

Meta Cities: Repurposing Where We Live and Work

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Harvard Business Review recently released a 2023 talent management piece by Richard Florida from the University of Toronto and Vladislav Boutenko, Antoine Vetrano, and Sara Saloo, all with Boston Consulting Group, entitled The Rise of the Meta City. Their thesis reveals an emerging development in the evolving work-from-home (WFH) paradigm that is novel and worth considering as we envision the future of both our careers and where to become a resident.

It is no secret that mobility-enhancing technologies combined with the face to face limitations wrought by the Pandemic resulted in a rapid expansion of remote work. From approximately 6% of the American workforce working remotely in 2019 to 18% by 2021 shows how briskly the phenomenon swelled. A recent BCG survey from August 2023 indicates that only 7% of companies require full time return to work whereas 8% of companies have discarded offices completely. This means the vast majority of business are operating with some form of hybrid working.

A consequence of the proliferation of WFH employment is that many more digitally-centric employees are choosing to live outside of the traditional commute radius from their employers’ offices. With customary commutes being curtailed, workers are incentivized to look at residential options in areas that are more affordable and which feature a higher quality of life. For example, a LinkedIn study identified small to mid-sized cities receiving WFH transplants such as Springfield, MA, Tallahassee, FL, Portland, OR, College Station, TX, and Wenatchee, WA. Some locations actually offer cash incentives for WFH employees to move there like Tulsa, OK and Perry County, IN.

This realignment of workers from office to home and from employer-based cities to increasingly distant residential locations is starting to reveal patterns. A significant new template emerging is the rise of what Florida et al call the “Meta City”. Initially, it is helpful to think of meta cities as not entirely fixed geographically. The old inner city to suburb to exurb to rural model is not applicable here. Rather, the dimensions of the meta city extend from a major economic hub city to a host of far flung smaller cities in other parts of the country or globe. Modern telecommunications technology and talent flows allow for cities which may be geographically separate to operate as distinct units economically.

Some examples are called for to better visualize this spectacle. New York City is a top-dog economic hub in a number of industries, but most importantly in the finance sector. Financial talent flows into and out of NYC most measurably with other American cities like Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Washington, DC, and Atlanta, among others. This hub and satellite configuration comprises a finance meta city. London, too, is major finance hub with Manchester, Birmingham, Dublin, Edinburgh, and Cambridge serving as financial talent satellites. San Francisco is a principal technology hub city connected to smaller, but also tech heavy cities like Austin, Seattle, Boston, and San Diego.

The concept of talent flow is crucial to an understanding of the growth of meta cities. The flow of talented employees refers to physical mobility of people among the cities of the meta unit and also to remote contributions made by talent within the unit. To illustrate, Emily retains employment with Company A in New York, but chooses to live and work from Miami because of the high cost of living in New York and its long winters. Jason also works at Company A in New York where he intentionally lives because he loves the vibrancy of the city, and from there collaborates with Emily on a daily basis as part of a development team.

Although Florida et al do not refer to rural living, presumably the meta cities are speckled with geographically dispersed talent who “work” inside of meta cities, but live in a variety of non-urban locations.

Meta cities are an interesting outgrowth of the remote working trend, a glimpse into how the new generations choose to live and work, and also how the economy of the twenty-first century is coming into its own.

 

Job Changing Considered

Posted on by Bill Ryan

For most of us, careers are built from a series of job moves. Sure, there are those who begin a life of dedication to a particular vocation from which they never deviate. Others may find they spent their entire careers as a business founder and owner whereas others may experience an entire career employed with just one firm. However, for most of us, we will construct our careers as a migration from one opportunity to another. This necessarily involves job switching, an exercise requiring dexterity and proficiency.

There is certainly incentive to switch jobs currently. An economist at Glassdoor, Daniel Zhao, has data from the Atlanta Federal Reserve showing that job switchers have realized 7.7% wage growth since November 2022 compared to 5.5% wage growth for those who have remained in their jobs. Also, as economist Adam Blandin of Vanderbilt University points out, there are about two job vacancies for every unemployed person. And many workers know from experience that job changes are one of the best ways to enhance not just pay, but career prospects. All told, it is a suitable time to consider a job switch.

There is risk in job hopping, however. Downsides can emerge when we find ourselves in a worse situation than the one we left. In general, pitfalls occur when the new job is less stellar than we anticipated. Another snag is when the new job is less stable, as in you find yourself more exposed to layoffs. Obviously, it is important to not stumble and face regret when transitioning from one job to another. Therefore, a job switch needs careful planning. Let’s look at some of the key points to consider.

Planning for change should be deliberate. It begins with a deconstruction of your current work performance and how you have worked in recent positions. This task analysis seeks to identify those aspects of your work which energize you, bring you feelings of success and accomplishment, and align with the production metrics of your employer or target market. Conversely, being clear on those work facets which drain you of energy, leave you feeling unfulfilled, and fail to consistently meet production expectations should be revealed. Such an inventory can be converted to a plan which becomes your North Star when implementing the job shift.

Be targeted when pursuing new employment opportunities. Do your research of both the employers and the industry space they play in. Know how they fare in meeting market demand and fending off the competition. Of course, there is an assumption here that their industry is your industry and presumably you know the economic viability of your professional field. If you have not conducted a SWOT analysis in a while, now is the time to do so. Illuminate as best you can the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats inherent in your industry.

Examine potential future employers like a private investigator. Google and study company employee reviews of which there are now many, reach out on LinkedIn to employees to get their take on what it is like to work there, and leverage your own professional network to get the inside scoop. When you get job interviews, ask them questions about employee engagement, career growth prospects, employee turnover rates, and their performance review program, including the metrics they use. You are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you.

Examine your decision-making style too. Reflectively challenge your assumptions. Assess where faulty decision making has led you astray in the past. As executive career coach Susan Peppercorn says, cognitive bias or more readily accepting information that matches your existing viewpoints, can impair quality decision making. Accept that claims made by the potential employer which sound good to you may carry hidden risks.

As they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained. But as you tread into the dicey, but conceivably rewarding world of job change, be as prepared as possible.

 

 

The Post-Covid Office

Posted on by Bill Ryan

The knowledge economy office workplace got a sudden shake-up over the past year plus. At its peak, not that long ago, the pre-vaccinated office-based workforce (March 2020-March 2021) was functioning more from home than from the traditional office, approximately ten times more so than pre-pandemic rates. According to the University of Chicago, as recently as March 2021, 45% of work services were still being performed in home environments. 

This begs the question, is office work going to snap back to the way it was with workers committing to long hours away from family spent in bustling office buildings arrived at via thick commuting traffic? And if so, why? 

Whether or not the Covid pandemic has unwittingly ushered in a paradigm shift in how work is dispensed over the long term is yet to be determined. It will certainly be one of the interesting trends to observe over the next few years. At present, a look at some of the currently available, albeit sparse, indicators seem to show some degree of change in how work operations are conducted. And they may be with us for the foreseeable future. 

It is fair to assume most management desire a return to normal times, during which management practices they were accustomed to can be resumed. If there is to be a more permanent realignment to include more flexibility such as remote work activity it probably will not willingly come from supervisors. To dust off that old business expression from the 20th century, it will come from the rank and file. 

A Microsoft WorkLab report from earlier this year reveals some pertinent findings. Nearly three quarters of employees wish for an option to work remotely. Although remote work has its downsides, enough workers have experienced that productivity can still be maintained by way of technological means in a comfortable environment with less stress and less exhaustion. Demand for a more permanent flexible, distributive, blended, or hybrid production model has arisen among office employees, according to this report. 

Older Gen Z and younger Millennials form a cohort that may be informative here. Living and working from devices is second nature to them. It is reasonable to expect the momentum for more flexibility will come from them. If their resumes and LinkedIn profiles start showing more quantifiable accomplishments derived from working remotely, they will be communicating not only that they can do it, but that they want to be hired for positions honoring such skills. Balancing productivity with wellbeing in the modern era will only grow as a necessary calibration and younger workers are likely to show the way in the context of adaptable workstyles. 

Business need not be driven into this transformation kicking and screaming. Signs are emerging among C-levels showing a recognition of the likely changes to come. A Work Trend Index survey conducted by Edelman Data & Intelligence discloses that 66% of business leaders are contemplating refashioning office space to allow for more flexibility.  

Reasons are twofold. As implied earlier, the workforce appears to be increasingly desirable of workplace flexibility. This could likely become an incentive for luring needed talent not wanting to be bound by traditional institutional rules. 

Additionally, business is identifying some benefits as a result of the Covid-induced remote working experiment in terms of lower overhead, as reported by NPR, and increased productivity, as claimed by Harvard Business Review. 

It is likely multiple variations on a hybrid model will become established moving forward that incorporates combinations of conventional office-centric requirements with increased distributive or remote work options for employees.  

Although no one could have reasonably predicted that a congruence of modern communication technologies with a global pandemic would steer this trend, the result could ultimately be a boon for workers and their bosses. Let us hope employers give such changes serious consideration. 

Applying Technology in Hiring

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Human contact, whether through professional networking, social connections, or by earned reputation still matters significantly and should in no way be minimized when describing the recruitment and hiring process. If anything, it is paramount. However, another very important track to cover when developing one’s career is the one driven by existing and emerging technologies meant to streamline and optimize the employment process. 

Today this ranges from online job boards advertising positions to Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) that parse resumes for HR and recruiters. Also, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning tools, designed to assess the employability of candidates, are now present.  

How to advantageously position yourself for these digital aides and gatekeepers needs to be a key component of a well-planned career growth strategy. Let us take a current look at each of these technical features. 

Online job boards are not very new, in short supply, or complicated. They are little more than interactive web sites that post job descriptions from employers. More recent are job search engines like Indeed and Simply Hired that rummage the internet aggregating job postings from a variety of sources. 

These sites are seductive in that they give the appearance of a job store with profuse amounts of positions just ready for you to pick up while shopping. A common and ineffective ploy is to spend hours responding to jobs on the boards with the only thing generated being recruiters trying to lure you to high turnover 100% commission sales jobs.  

Nonetheless, working with job boards is not a complete waste of time and decent jobs can be yielded. Recommended is to spend about 10% to 20% of your job search time utilizing the boards while being careful and discriminating about what you respond to. 

ATS software allows recruiters to organize vast lists of applicants and their pertinent criteria such as qualifications, employment history, degrees earned, etc., which are most useful to hiring managers when determining who to contact for interviews. For those of us trying to secure an interview we need to be mindful of preparing resumes (and LinkedIn Profiles) that are keyword-rich with contextually used terms aligning our skills and knowledge with responsibilities and deliverables mentioned in job descriptions. 

Therefore, given the need for an ATS-friendly resume that simultaneously is attractive for human readers the challenge is to strike a visually appealing format that won’t confuse the ATS. This can be tricky. If you want a designer resume that looks like those on Pinterest, then forget about passing ATS muster. And with so many companies employing ATS the best strategy may be to pay homage to the many conditions needed to not be digitally rejected in a millisecond, while adding enough optics, and of course solid content, to not have your resume look like just another slice of white bread. Achieving this level of resume optimization is a necessary goal. 

The latest trend, which is expected to proliferate in use and sophistication, involves the impact of AI in hiring decision making. There is a growing perception that relying on a candidate’s skills alone is not consistently producing better employees. The evolving thought is to assess personality more with the goal of finding a well-rounded and compatible colleague.  

To this end, AI is being deployed to identify personality traits gleaned from resumes, online profiles, social media presences, video appearances, you name it. Apparently, this is seen as less biased than human observers. We shall see. (Cannot algorithms be biased too?) 

At any rate, developing a consistent brand and value proposition that includes both your technical talents and your work style/interpersonal characteristics across all platforms may be wise for presenting to human and technological appraisers alike. 

Being prepared for the changes and encroachment of technology into hiring decisions, and by extension career development, has become imperative in today’s employment world. 

The Continued Evolution of LinkedIn

Posted on by Bill Ryan

The professional, business, and employment social media online platform LinkedIn is at it again, but in a bigger way this time. As individuals who regularly use LinkedIn to source talent, post jobs, display professional profiles, or network with other users we know that LinkedIn frequently tinkers with the interface to “improve” usability. It has always been a dynamic and growing service and one must assume they are doing something right with $3B+ in annual revenue and 460+ million user accounts worldwide. Not bad for a novel concept that first went live in 2003. 

The latest big set of changes has been rolling out for the past couple of months following the completed acquisition of LinkedIn by Microsoft in December 2016. Time will tell of course if this will be a good move for both parties. Let us hope this deal does not go the way of doomed Microsoft ventures like Nokia’s handset and aQuantive software. However, given the financial heft and prominent position in the digital services market Microsoft enjoys it is reasonable to expect that this takeover will boost LinkedIn’s standing and influence in the career and employment services space. 

Without getting into the weeds of all the many new minute interaction changes of the website, and there are enough, so that a new learning curve has appeared to get familiar with the site, it nevertheless appears to someone like me that I am increasingly finding LinkedIn to be my digital place to go to work. And I am not alone, Logging into LinkedIn.com is becoming my virtual commute to a real job. 

As in a traditional workplace there are those I work with frequently and closely on a project, those I know remotely, and those I am reaching out to as potential sources of value and opportunity. It is in these areas of taking connectivity among professional people to a more functional, transparent, and far-reaching level where LinkedIn holds great promise. 

The effects of globalization have thankfully become a hotly debated issue politically, but in the world of e-commerce impacted as it is by the powers of social media and crowd sourcing, the players are not waiting around for slow moving governments to set the rules. Global inter-connectivity and commerce is just starting to get ramped-up via international platforms like LinkedIn. It looks like we are heading into a world in which small-scaled and remote outreaches among millions of entrepreneurs, freelancers, microbusinesses, and small businesses across the planet can be exchanged 24/7. 

LinkedIn, and now by extension Microsoft, are betting on this proliferation of e-business, so much so that there is a mission to “economically graph” the world through its site. What does this mean? As Jeff Weiner, LinkedIn’s CEO puts it, they are committed to digitally mapping the global economy by building a profile for every member of the international workforce and for every company in the world. 

Further they intend to digitally list every available job in real refreshed time, list every skill needed to perform those jobs, and identify every school or training facility providing the skill instruction needed to perform these jobs. Facilitating an efficient, timely, and rich flow of information that connects these dots completes the goal. 

Given this infrastructure the potential for enriching current employment, business development, and career needs while also fulfilling the talent requirements for the innumerable jobs of the future seems highly likely. 

An expansive vision of the possibilities e-commerce and e-networking can deliver should be embraced. Many new careers can be made from leveraging a dynamic global economy. Engaging in international business does not any longer have to just be reserved for large multi-national corporations. If one can get a higher quality business or career solution from New Zealand rather than from New Hampshire no matter where in the world one lives, we should expect that to be the new normal and compete appropriately. 

Promote Your Expertise with LinkedIn

Posted on by Bill Ryan

There are significant reasons for sharing your career field expertise with others. Doing so, 

  1. a) establishes you as a qualified and trusted resource among colleagues, management, and customers;
  2. b) aligns you with other experts, thereby enhancing your comprehension and skill capacity;
  3. c) better positions you for future career advancement opportunities; and
  4. d) brings you the profound satisfaction that comes from becoming an emerging master within your profession.

LinkedIn, the professional social media platform where we have all heard we are supposed to be present, has developed into an excellent tool for communicating, sharing, and promoting your expertise. Utilization of LinkedIn and its core features can result in you having the means of crafting a powerful and multi-dimensional message for all those seeking the sound judgment and competence you can provide. 

Given the LinkedIn development team’s commitment to dynamism and continuous improvement, today the site is a fine-tuned mechanism for you the career specialist to hone and project your know-how. Let’s review the ways this can happen. 

I predict the online profile/portfolio hybrid will eventually replace the traditional resume. I cannot say exactly when this will happen, but we seem to be headed in that direction. Easy access to your profile will be mandatory and expected. So, there is no better time than the present to start getting on with this trend. 

LinkedIn allows you to tell your professional story in the first person without the constraints of resume conventions. Fill out your profile as completely as possible. Use the Summary to introduce yourself in an engaging manner that discloses how your journey began, how your passion was ignited, and where you see the industry and your role in it headed. 

The Experience section should be packed with accomplishments — the more quantifiable the better. 

The Skills & Endorsement piece should be keyword-rich, and your headline needs to communicate your career title, not your current job title. Oh, and don’t forget a professional headshot, not a detail cropped out of a wedding picture. 

LinkedIn’s advancement in becoming a repository for work samples, slide shows, videos, and yes, your traditional resume among other valuable pieces, has been a smart move permitting professionals to now have the means to post performance evidence that can speak louder than words alone. Populate this area with artifacts that pop and make your efforts shine. Show future employers and potential business opportunities what level of quality you can deliver. 

Blogging and publishing online pieces where you expound on industry-related topics and issues of the day is now available with LinkedIn. Have something of peer interest to write and the readers will come out of the woodwork. Let this feature be a megaphone for your expertise. Clarify current trends and best practices. Showcase pertinent strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats impacting your terrain. Detail the steps that need to be taken to improve conditions. Be a regular contributor and become a respected voice. 

Perhaps, one of the strongest elements in LinkedIn is the Groups. Here is where you can boost your industry presence and generate and cultivate high value connections. Involving yourself in timely and relevant subject matter with other experts and stakeholders benefits all participants and deepens your career association. Not only can you increase your visibility, but you can amplify your knowledge to those wanting and needing to hear your input. Also, being able to contact individuals directly gives you favorable circumstances for building that all important professional network. 

I still hear from too many clients something that goes like, “Yeah, I’m on LinkedIn, but I don’t really know what to do with it.” Well, I hope this is in part, somewhat illuminating to you in this cohort. In short, if you are serious about your career, you need to be serious about LinkedIn. 

Finally! Get Prepared to Be Hired!

Posted on by Bill Ryan

This has certainly been a long time in coming. The hiring picture is the brightest it has been since the economy was in danger of “melting down” in the late 2000s. A strong pattern has developed showing robust monthly hiring numbers. Employment has increased by an average of 336,000 jobs per month over the past three months. The national unemployment rate is 5.7%, down from a recession high of 10.0% in October 2009. In New Hampshire, the unemployment rate stands at 4.0% — the lowest rate in New England. Could things be better? Sure. But given what we have collectively gone through, this is news to celebrate. 

So, where is the hiring occurring? In looking at the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Employment Highlights report, gains are being found in retail trade, construction, healthcare, financial activities, manufacturing, professional/business services, and leisure/hospitality. Statewide, according to the New Hampshire Economic & Labor Information Bureau, the strongest hiring is in healthcare, wholesale/retail trade, utilities, transportation, construction, hospitality, manufacturing, and professional/business services. The Society for Human Resource Management sees strong job growth in healthcare and technology. In other words, unless you are in the oil and gas industry, most sectors are looking great indeed. 

There are even signs of mass hiring being planned. Fire example, Home Depot announced on February 10 that they intend to hire 80,000 additional workers for the Spring season. 

However, those of us involved in job transitions need to be aware that the road to the next great gig is not paved with yellow bricks. The conditions of competitiveness that applied during the tooth and nail employment scramble of recent years are still to be put into use today when presenting yourself to potential employers. 

Business leaders will continue to be cautious and strategic about whom they hire. It should be accepted that these executives are clear on how they have or want to achieve and maintain success in the marketplace and that they will want only new hires who fit their profitable paradigm. Therefore, let us view this new boost of hiring from the perspective of the key decision makers as we prepare to introduce ourselves for their consideration. 

I recommend assuming the following: 

Just like any of us who shop for quality we tend to return to those sources that have consistently provided value in the past and that have earned for us a reputation for reliability. Employers are no different. So, think, from where might you be reliably sourced? Perhaps it is your current or former employer, your alma mater, someone “in-house” where you would like to work and who is in your professional network, or possibly a retained or contingency recruiting firm with which you have worked in the past. Aligning yourself with and promoting yourself from an identifiable source is tactically sound. 

A smart employer who does not want to burn through several bad hires (and the expenses associated with them) will take the time to specify key selection criteria for positions to be filled. The more detailed and definitive the job search candidate is about what comprises the value proposition contained in their marketing collateral, i.e., their resume and LinkedIn profile, the more likely a solid match can be established between the position and the candidate. This can save both parties from wasting time on lack of fit. 

Those companies and organizations with a grapevine stature of fair, honest, and dependable lines of communication among all employees, customers, and other stakeholders are also more likely to keep candidates informed throughout the hiring process, compared to those obnoxious firms that never seem to let a post-interviewee know what their status is. (Let’s face it, these outfits that have positions to fill, request applications, conduct interviews, and then leave those who followed the process in limbo should be called out on it.) Assume that if a business has a good reputation for communication, then at least you will know where you stand if you apply for a job with them. 

Times are as good for the job searcher as they have been in a long time. If you have been holding your nose in a less than satisfying job for years, the time has come to take a serious look at transitioning. Just know that planning and implementing a wise approach to this all-important change with an eye to employers’ hiring methodologies is the way to go. 

Keeping Your Workforce Productive and Happy

Posted on by Bill Ryan

When assessing the state of our careers we quickly turn to determining how satisfying our workplaces are. After all it is hard to feel our careers are on track if the place where we work is lacking in some fundamental ways. Since each of us is ultimately responsible for growing our individual careers as optimally as possible we rightly feel justified in influencing our workplace environment to be the best it can be. 

Also, business owners and organizational executive directors naturally care a lot about the productivity of their respective workforce. It is certainly no secret that a happy workforce is a productive workforce. Therefore, it is in the direct interests of bosses to facilitate their workplaces to be environments that increase satisfaction, and by extension, production. 

The question then naturally arises as to what are the steps that need to be taken to create and sustain a positive workplace? Ideas can be derived from a variety of spots, including in-depth research done by organizations such as the Society for Human Resource Management, but other sources of opinions and suggestions can come from surveys, blogs, and LinkedIn threaded discussions that give a more candid and authentic perspective into the issue. 

My eavesdropping of the chatter reveals several consistent themes centered on values such as respect, flexibility, equity, stability, fairness, and jocularity. When we listen to the concerns about women in the workplace, for example, we find that work-life balance competes strongly with income. Accenture, the management consulting firm, concludes that women prefer work-life balance first, money second, and recognition third. Given that women make up 47% of the national workforce, their opinion matters a lot. 

Google still holds a reputation as one of the best places in the world to work. It topped a recent survey of 6200 companies conducted by Great Place to Work, a global consulting firm. So, what is it about this place? Yes, we know about the perks such as massages, horseshoe pits, and slides that take you from one floor down to another, but is that all there is? 

Well, it certainly helps that every employee is a stockholder, and a share is worth north of $500, but there is also a community culture that encourages giving, growing, and being bold along with supports for creativity and risk taking not apparent in many other places. Google management has made a science of calibrating the right mix of benefits and cultural values resulting in high retention rates and maximum productivity. 

But it is expensive to offer Google-esque perks to employees. For most companies and organizations, it may be worth noting the coming changes to the workforce, so that benefit and culture changes can be considered knowledgeably and possibly implemented without breaking the bank. For example, the definition of workplace stability may be undergoing a change whereby more workers may be thinking of freelancing, temp working, and short-term contract working as the new stability. Flexibility becomes key. 

Another workplace condition to prepare for will be the increasing number of older workers who cannot or do not want to stop working. What might this cohort want? We can start with respect for their historic knowledge and proven dedication to employers along with wellness programs, good lighting, and diminished information overload. 

Another key morale enhancer may involve candid discussions of how technology is used. It is great when tech increases productivity instead of being a distraction or job killer. However, many employees will become increasingly distrustful of how management leverages technology given its workplace disruption potential, so bringing employees into conversations about the role of technology could show worker respect. 

Yet, the most apparent ideas to foster great workplaces are quite old-school and effective. Most of us simply want to trust the people we work for, have pride in and recognition for our accomplishments, and enjoy the people we work with. Is that too much to ask? 

Is the Resume Being Replaced by the LinkedIn Profile?

Posted on by Bill Ryan

It is no secret in the career and employment fields that LinkedIn, the professional online networking social media site, has become a huge game-changer over the past ten years. What used to be thought of in the early days of the mid-2000s as the professionals’ version of Facebook, LinkedIn now sports close to 300 million users worldwide and has become the expected place for all professionals to display their work experience, qualifications, and credentials. 

When job hunting it has become typical to send recruiters, hiring managers, and networked contacts a link to your LinkedIn profile, which is great as a professional landing page.  This page not only presents your skillset, value proposition, and work history, but also your collection of peer and client recommendations — valuable stuff when self-promoting. Incidentally, LinkedIn can be your ongoing source of professional networking and development via the high quality interchanges going on in the Groups feature. 

Given that LinkedIn is a must-use site for recruiters sourcing talent for positions they are trying to fill, to not be present on it is akin to a self-imposed exile in a jobseekers’ no-man’s land. 

If LinkedIn has become so standard and dominant, then a reasonable question to ask is, has LinkedIn eclipsed the resume as the foundational piece of collateral all professionals need?  Well, it certainly may come to that in the not too far distant future, but in my judgment, it is premature to call the resume deceased. And here is why: 

We are used to resumes and so they persist. For as rapid as change appears to be in our world, including in the career development space, many things evolve quite slowly. People are not always so fast at ditching a tried-and-true practice or method just to latch onto the latest thing. 

Adoption rates of new ways of behaving can often be quite slow. Why, for example, are we all not webcamming now when speaking live to friends, family, and clients? The technology is here. But most of us still use the telephone for most of our synchronous communication. 

Sure, LinkedIn is great, but it does have formatting limitations. The user is confined to a strict structure that can at times be frustrating to customize. Even though the resume has a lot of conventions that should be adhered to, it does nevertheless offer more presentation flexibility. An educator’s resume will typically be structured differently from an IT pro’s resume, but on LinkedIn the content sections are locked in place no matter who you are or what you do. 

A huge and growing practice by business regarding the processing of resumes involves the use of applicant tracking systems (ATS), the scanning software that determines if resumes are to be categorized for further consideration or rejected, due to how well they are or are not a fit for an open position. 

Resumes must be written and submitted with this automation in mind. And since resumes must be keyword-tweaked for different positions to increase chances of being blessed by an ATS, that potentially means frequent customization. You can only have one LinkedIn profile at a time, whereas you can have multiple resume versions simultaneously. 

The truth is, if you want to be searchable by talent seekers and have the requisite complement of professional pieces to show you are serious about employment availability and advancement, you need to utilize both platforms. It is not that one is more important than the other, but rather they have both become very important. 

If you go through a process of preparing a great resume, then it’s not a heavy lift to also rephrase that content in producing a great LinkedIn profile. Your career can be rewarded for covering all the bases. 

Leave No Stones Unturned In Your Job Search Strategy

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Barri Wyman, formerly of Keene, NH is the kind of employee every company would want. She is hard working, loyal to her employer, dedicated to keeping up with the changes in her profession, and consistently driven to bring about a high quality work product. 

However, the Great Recession has not been kind to valued workers like Barri. She, like millions of other Americans, was laid-off and has spent many anxious months trying to find work in an employment market with few jobs, especially for the mature worker. 

Barri recently landed a great job. Although it involved a pay cut, she is pleased that the new position utilizes her years of experience while offering challenges and opportunities for professional growth. I asked Barri to share what she has learned from a long hard job search and below are her thoughts and advice for today’s job seekers. 

Have you heard the expressions, “Leave no stones unturned” and “thinking outside the box”? These suggestions ring true for managing a successful job search!  

Your most critical resource for landing the right job is your network of direct contacts with potential employers and agencies who know your capabilities, your work history, your work ethics and your value as an employee. Grow this network constantly through in-person and online business networking opportunities. Introduce yourself and ask your existing contacts for introductions. To build a network, I recommend attending every function you can manage in person that even remotely connects you to new people. Don’t just go to job fairs. Network heavily in every imaginable way – in person, through LinkedIn and other professional online networks, local chambers of commerce, volunteer work, talking to people you meet when out and about socializing – leave no stones unturned; be creative and use “out of the box” approaches; and be very, very courageous and assertive.   

Always research companies you are following and/or applying to and search for people in your business and/or social network who have direct connections to the company and are willing to be a spokesperson on your behalf. With hundreds of people applying for each position, employers and agencies appreciate recommendations from individuals whose opinions they respect; it’s the most effective filter of the applicants. Otherwise, you are dependent upon your use of the exact buzz words in your resume and cover letter that company is using as an applicant filter, and you still may not make it to the top of the list. 

Your network of contacts should involve a two-way relationship; don’t just “take” – offer your contacts something of value to them in reciprocity. Stay in touch frequently and always thank these people for their support. Hand-written thank-you notes and help with projects continue to be important and take more effort than just a quick email or online thank you message. And always follow up an interview with personal thank you notes to everyone you met. Even if you don’t land the job, they will know you valued their time; they will remember you, and they might lead you to another opportunity. 

“Leave no stones unturned” in your job search resources; follow specific companies and apply directly through their websites; check public and unemployment job boards for opportunities, then start following those companies that post jobs, and apply direct if you can; ask for referrals from your business connections; and, seriously consider working with agencies for temp-to-hire or temp jobs that can also lead to full hire and/or new business connections. Spend at least six hours daily Monday through Friday pursuing all these resources and keep track of what you’ve done so you can keep checking in until you land a job you like.  

Create and maintain a list of your skills, experience and accomplishments with real “stories” that support your claims. When preparing for an interview, fine tune a copy of the document to fit the job you are interviewing for and review it to have the information fresh in your mind. There’s no worse feeling than drawing a blank when asked a question! 

The job search, especially if you are unemployed, is a bit nerve wracking, but it is also a tremendous learning opportunity in many ways and opens new insights and connects you to people you might never have encountered otherwise. 

Career Web Services Review

Posted on by Bill Ryan

It is no secret the Internet is where people go for almost everything from house hunting to car buying to job searching. Although I, and most career advisors, will not tell you to sit for hours searching for jobs on Indeed.com and CareerBuilder and call that a job search, there are nevertheless some interesting and potentially beneficial job search related services popping up on the web besides job boards. 

Here are four applications that attempt to combine and leverage well tested and proven job search best practices with the ease and power of Internet use. Conceptually I find these apps promising, but I want to be clear that I am not endorsing them. At best I have dabbled in them and do not claim to be a power user. But as more of our functionality, including career development, becomes digitized it is worth seeing what the entrepreneurial class is cooking up out there. One never knows where the next great Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn will come from. 

  1. VIZIFY — In this age of versatile multimedia it can seem odd we still place so much on a black & white paper or word-processed document called a resume. Vizify asks why don’t we spiff up that boring old doc and present it instead as a visually more appealing graphic display? Here is an opportunity to import resume and online profile data, essentially your value proposition or professional brand, into a graphical bio. This can then be included on email signatures, QR codes for business cards, and online profiles to show a brighter side of you. For job candidates looking for placements in more hip work settings this may have possibilities.

[Vizify was acquired by Yahoo! in 2014.] 

  1. JOBS WITH FRIENDS — Here’s a cool idea. We all know (or should!) that networking is the best route to go for finding meaningful employment. I recommend to clients they spend at least 70% or more of their job search time outreaching to contacts in their networks in searching for employment opportunities. Jobs With Friends identifies all your social media connections and friends and gives you tools for finding who they list as their employers, what the current job openings are where they work, and a means of asking for referrals from them to give to their employers.

[Jobs With Friends is now a service offered by CareerCloud.com.] 

  1. PERFECT INTERVIEW — Although this is an array of multimedia interactive interviewing solutions for job seekers and HR departments there is one feature, I’d like to focus on called Interview Coach. Ever notice how being videotaped can be a great learning tool? Watching yourself played back teaches you more about your performance than any other method. Interview Coach places you in front of your computer and webcam, shoots tough questions at you from professional interviewers, and records your responses. You get to see how you answered and can then better refine your interview technique.

[This service is still alive and well in 2022.] 

  1. VIZIBILITY — Here is a service that totally gets the future of career development and brand management tied into one’s online identity. Vizibility tries to cover all the bases by offering the user data analytics to show how often you are being searched, mobile business cards, ways of finding common social media connections, your Google ranking, online identity sharing, and other ways to help you push your profile to potential high value decision makers. If you believe exposure leads to opportunity, then check this one out.

[Vizibility is now vizCard, maker of digital/mobile business cards with analytic features.] 

As clever as these and other services are I think it is best to view them as tools to help the job searcher implement tried and true practices such as networking, self-promotion, and determining what efforts are time wasters vs. what has value. It is hard to imagine at this point that good old face-to-face communication can ever be completely replaced by web-based services. But meanwhile, have fun seeing how career and software-as-a-service development merge in some innovative ways. 

Know What Your Performance Evidence Is

Posted on by Bill Ryan

“Hiring me will add value to your operation.” 

“I am prepared to take on the biggest challenges and come out a winner!” 

“You can count on me to tackle all obstacles and generate profit growth simultaneously.” 

Having the confidence and drive to be strongly competitive in this dog-eat-dog hiring climate is great. The meek unfortunately do not appear to be in the lead in inheriting this earth in any way that says employment success. Reaching out, promoting, in short, selling yourself is as combative as ever in employment and those with the stomach and skill for it can come out ahead. 

But making claims of greatness can be as fragile as a house of cards in the wind unless there is substance to back up your superlative declarations. You cannot call yourself a star performer if there is not some credible performance evidence to show in fact you can do the things you said you could do. 

Knowing what counts as solid performance evidence in your field and being able to clearly cite examples of your achievement in these areas boosts your standing among those making hiring decisions. These deciders can be listening about your performance affirmations at a networking event, job fair, or in an interview. They can be reading about them in your resume or on your LinkedIn profile. However, it is that they learn about those valuable accomplishments of yours that scream, “I’m qualified!”, the better off your career can be. 

So, what really matters in the work you do? Is it meeting quotas, raising profits, mitigating threats, improving lifestyles, expanding market share, stopping hunger, bringing joy to others, elevating student test scores, saving lives, or any number of the important things that show you have done what you were hired to do? We all have a rather limited set of crucial outcomes or objectives to realize in our jobs. Knowing exactly what they are and keeping track of your attainment of these goals is a good place to start identifying your performance evidence. 

Examples of execution carry more weight when they are quantifiable. Numbers can take a statement from subjective to objective, from opinion to fact. But be strategic about the quantities you select in your power statements. 

Now let us say that I am trying to prove to stakeholders that I am an excellent retail store manager. Do I talk about how demanding it is to track inventory, handle customers, and make good hourly-wage hires. That may all be true, but they do not speak to key performance indicators. Instead talk about numbers of units sold and employees supervised. Mention specifically how much you reduced operational costs and grew annual sales. Point out the increased percentages of surveyed customer satisfaction ratings and improvements made in associate training sessions. 

If vetting a candidate, which would you rather hear or read about concerning that person’s accomplishments: 

“Reduced expenses related to manufacturing operations.” or “Reduced costs, inventories, and cycle times of manufacturing operations, resulting in 52% – 68% gross margin increase, 4% –10% annual inventory turn increase, and 25% cycle time decrease.” 

Or how about this: 

“Managed operational and capital budgets.” or “Furnished operational and capital budgets for 18 commercial properties, comprising over $30M in expenditures for over 3.5 million square feet of space.” 

Not all professions embed the collection of performance data into their jobs like sales, financials, and medicine, among others. Sometimes it may be necessary for you to do your own quantitative logging, even if it is retrospective. 

Sure, it is a hassle, but in less than an hour, and maybe with some help from those who know your work well, you can compile a generous list of quantitative achievements from your recent past. This information can then be presented as demonstrations of your good efforts and workplace worth. 

Communicating in terms of performance evidence to hiring managers and recruiters strengthens your position as a job search candidate. So, go ahead and announce with confidence your capabilities and potential, but reinforce the message with the important deeds that count. 

The Changing Face of Workforce Talent

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Finding and retaining talent for your company or organization used to be relatively straightforward. You inquired about availability of valuable workers from your network, posted job descriptions on widely disseminated job boards, or hired recruiting firms to provide you with temporary or temp to hire personnel. Chances were that eventually the talent you desired was discovered and incentives were applied to keep them with you for the long haul. 

But today we notice forces are at work modifying this process and causing those who source talent to change their game plan. The makeup of the workforce is becoming more global, mobile, independent and less local or rooted in one spatial location. Also, and critically, their long-term loyalty to any one employer is more tenuous. To find the expertise employers need to remain productive, innovative, and competitive means having to adjust methods for finding such moving targets. 

And it is not just the workforce that is changing. Employers’ talent demands reflect the shifts occurring in business driven by the rapid expansion of global and technical interconnectivity. Businesses increasingly need to dial up and down budgets, priorities, and the size of their workforces quickly and efficiently. Agility is a survival skill. 

With that in mind new types of employee-employer relationships are being formed which are often characterized by highly valuable, short-term, project-based connections that are mutually beneficial. The organization gains profitable contributions from their talented associates and the valued participants benefit from career enhancement. 

Given the changing nature of business and of employment both parties are becoming more cognizant of the types of exchanges called for and are positioning themselves to make the right connections when needed. The range of associations goes from fully employed individuals to outsourced service arrangements that satisfy small but critical parts of the larger organizational need. Partnerships, independent contractors, and more engaged outsourcers are playing a greater role in how business is done. 

For the job searcher and those committed to developing their careers, awareness of the ways business and work itself is transforming is crucial. Even though most of us have been brought up to think traditionally about employment — few job changes, development of a single skill, and living near your place of employment — a problem arises if we do not see how the other options mentioned above are becoming available, possibly preferred. We are approaching a time, if we are not already there, when designing a career around portfolio type assignments is as prudent as striving for full time employment with few different employers. 

Global skill markets with their individual players are as diverse, multi-functional, and ready to produce as any talent pool has ever been. The technology that exposes, promotes, and defines them, based primarily on a keyword-rich social media model, means that a fluid and robust recruitment industry can play an important role in facilitating valuable connections. We already see the expanded use of LinkedIn, essentially an international expertise database, becoming a primary means of sourcing talent. This and other human-technological applications are sure to boost the effectiveness of employer-employee matchmaking. 

The importance of mobility and lack of geographical tethering is also worth noting in the way workforces are evolving. Talent can be secured virtually from anywhere that has an Internet connection. Many projects can be advanced using contributors from a variety of places around the world. Although physical face-to-face collaboration certainly has its advantages it is by no means the only way to produce at a high functioning level. Cost alone may sometimes dictate that remote collaboration be activated. 

A flatter operational arrangement seems to be one way of describing the changing face of the workforce. Businesses need talent and talent needs businesses. Sure, this has always been true, but what may be different this time is that the parties are on more equal footings. A clever and spry talented professional has a greater chance of experiencing a nimble career when he or she can negotiate with potential employers from what may be becoming an enhanced power position. 

Internet Privacy and Our Careers

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Social media appears to be growing in functionality beyond being just a way for friends to share interests. Marketing professionals, for example, generally accept that getting their product or service shared and discussed among connected individuals is now a solid and preferred part of any business’ promotional plan. Facebook and Twitter have become an essential part of many marketing campaigns. 

The power of social media is also playing a factor in career development. Sharing career related tips, job openings, employer reviews, and more is occurring among trusted peers. But perhaps the most powerful advantage of social media is the way it exposes individuals to those sourcing and background checking talent. Each of us has the option of crafting our information and building dynamic profiles that reinforce the professional brand we wish to project. 

In fact, we are at the point where not having a robust presence on social media places us at a distinct disadvantage in advancing our careers. Remaining in the digital shadows could very well mean we do not get found by the very stakeholders we need to have find us to move forward. This phenomenon is particularly a problem for the older end of the workforce, who still do not accept or who harbor a mistrust of social media and its implications. 

Despite the growing advantages of leveraging social media for talent searchability it does raise a significant social issue that is increasingly becoming relevant, the value of individual privacy in the digital age. A disconcerting correlation is now evident — the more we increase our Internet presence the more we diminish our privacy. 

The web is becoming ever more invasive. Cookies that track our Internet use, location tracking apps, and other user-identification functions means others can and do store and re-purpose data about us. Simply using the Internet engages us in personal data sharing of some sort even though we rarely or ever give anyone permission to collect and use our personal information or Internet-use behavior. 

Maintaining some semblance of personal privacy in the Information Age may soon become the next big civil rights issue. What we now know is that keeping a relatively unregulated Internet yields individual privacy rights in favor of those with some degree of economic power and capital, i.e., big business. So, what is new? Power always seems to concentrate on the haves vs. the have-nots in an unregulated environment. In time we will see how it all turns out. 

There is a legitimate concern when we use websites for information gathering and research purposes that our personal data or web use is collected and tracked behind the scenes. The use of social media specifically is intentional sharing of information about us. When we essentially advertise ourselves online via social media, we have a harder time crying foul when we are found out. 

Each of us needs to weigh the potentiality of an Internet display with the concurrent erosion of anonymity. Although this is a very personal decision, the reality is that being searchable is a best practice in job searching and recruiting. 

Controlling what is known about you online with a professional-looking profile and website is the recommended way to go. Applying a 20th century concept of privacy to these times is not practical for career movers. At least to some extent we need to get over the privacy angst. However, each of us does need to advocate for stronger opt-in controls of what is displayed about us online. There should be options beyond no web involvement at all and full unregulated exposure. The Internet should serve us, not the other way around. 

Ten Best Career Development Practices for 2013

Posted on by Bill Ryan

A couple of years ago I penned a piece called The 10 Best Career Development Practices. It remains one of my most read blogs. But in the time since it was written I have come to feel that this list needs some slight adjusting. A combination of more time delivering career development services on my part along with a growing recognition of the realignment occurring with effective career practices leads me to revise this list. What follows is my 2013 take on the ten most advantageous steps a professional person can do to enhance their career. 

  1. Know Your Professional Value — Conduct a self-assessment resulting in you feeling comfortable, confident, and focused about your value proposition. Think of yourself as a subject matter expert with reliable and consistent qualities that set you apart from the competition.
  2. Develop the Three Capitals — Consistently be involved in building and growing your intellectual, social, and emotional capital. This leaves you well informed, well connected, and energized about your profession. Career growth is a 3-legged stool. For balance, work on all three simultaneously.
  3. Write a Strong Resume — The document that most anchors and communicates your value proposition is the resume. Although its primary purpose is to secure an interview do not forget that its overall marketing potential can be crucial.
  4. Prepare Intriguing Cover Letters — Making that first impression is of course key. Promoting your own skills while aligning them with the potential employer’s needs and following up with a great resume may open the all-important door to an interview.
  5. Engage in Networking — Yes, who you know and who knows you does matter. Most of the high-quality employment arises from referrals among trusted contacts. The best way to get to a hiring decision maker is to know them in the first place or know someone else who knows them.
  6. Manage an Online Profile — Recruiters and hiring managers tend to fish where the fish are. If you are not in the pond, then you will not get caught. The Internet is the pool where talent is found and investigated. Additionally, being online helps you to share your brand, build your network, and cultivate your professional relationships.
  7. Engineer Your Job Search Process — Knowing what comprises a truly comprehensive job search involves implementing a complex set of procedures. Understanding what techniques can motivate you and using an organization tool like a career management CRM can make the process much more manageable and successful.
  8. Use Power Statements and a 30-Second Pitch — When introducing yourself to high potential professionals realize their time is tight and attention spans probably short. Making impactful statements that leave you remembered and hopefully valued requires an economic delivery.
  9. Conduct Informational Interviews — A research technique that assists you in building intellectual and social capital is the informational interview. Seeking out and conversing with professionals who can provide useful information you can use in determining the direction of your career is a powerful tactic.
  10. Perform Well in Your Job Interview — This age-old conundrum is as elusive as ever for many, but it does not have to be that way. Preparing without cramming by rehearsing your upcoming performance such that you dovetail your background knowledge with the potential employer’s needs is well worth the effort.

You may have noticed that developing a career is an ongoing pursuit not limited to the times when you receive a pink slip. It helps to get over the natural but inhibiting desire to be complacent with a single job or relatively unchanging career.  

For those not held back by inertia, but rather eager to enter the career fray this list of practices should help the career-oriented individual form a continual improvement strategy. 

Making a Resume Recruiter-Ready

Posted on by Bill Ryan

As is the case with most industries, the profession of resume writing is trending in new directions and undergoing changes. As writers, we know that to make resumes effective for their primary purpose, getting the job candidate an interview, we must please not only the job searcher, but perhaps more importantly the recruiter or hiring manager viewing the resume. 

Career Directors International, a global professional organization for career professionals, recently published their 2012 survey of hiring authorities, so that we in the business can track the latest preferences of recruiters, hiring managers, and others who source talent when viewing resumes to make hiring decisions. 

As one who wants to present my clients in the best possible light to these stakeholders, what they think and want matters to me a lot. In sharing some of the more salient, and frankly unexpected, findings of the survey, we can also review what many believe to be conventional wisdom, or should I say old fashioned thinking, about the construction of resumes. 

At the top of the list is the notion that resumes need to be one-page only. Only 6% of the respondents felt that way (21% did regarding blue collar resumes) with 34% preferring two pages and a surprising 37% feeling that length is not an issue if the content is quality. 

Given how busy these people are you would think they would want as brief a document as possible, but apparently not so. Let us not assume this means they want pages of verbose fluff. Three-quarters of the respondents already think that there is too much embellishment in resumes, and they want less irrelevant wordiness, not more. 

Functional resumes are the type that are focused on skills and competencies rather than chronological work histories. They are often used by people who have gaps in their work experience or who are just entering or returning to the workforce after a long absence. General thinking is that recruiters do not like them because of the perceived lack of consistent work experience. But a whopping 72% said “yes” or “maybe” they would consider interviewing a candidate with a functional resume and without a first-impression employment history timeline. Looks like what you can do might be starting to trump your longevity at work. 

One of the big challenges in resume preparation is writing the professional summary that serves as a lead in grabbing the attention of the reader. It should tightly communicate brand, strength, and achievement. The question often is whether to include one, and if so, should it be short or long. 

Again, a surprise finding is that 43% are fine with a longer summary version, 18% with a shorter version, and only 17% saying to skip it entirely. A combined 61% of respondents are therefore saying to have a professional summary. The unexpected part in this response comes in that reading a longer summary is okay with busy people. I am getting the message that good information is desired even for those with full schedules. 

Finally, there is a tendency to include new elements into resumes, such as links or QR codes to social media profiles or to present resumes as web-based videos. My assumption has been that most recruiters do not like straying too far from predictable, if not traditional, resume styles. Two-thirds said looking at external links is something they would consider, but only 13% would bother with video resumes. Sounds like putting time and energy into your LinkedIn profile may get more viewership than your self-promoting YouTube video. 

The bottom line is that there are few, if any, certainties when it comes to preparing your resume for competition. What is in today probably will be out tomorrow. But one absolute appears to remain: Having a resume that communicates high quality accomplishments and core competencies and that speaks to the position to which you are applying. 

Reflections On My Business

Posted on by Bill Ryan

With this, my 100th blog posting since opening my career development business Ryan Career Services LLC in January 2009, I am compelled to stray from my usual pattern of offering career advice to instead summarizing how the business experience has been for me and to reflect on what I have learned from this venture.

Following a 31-year career in public education, which I left in 2008, I was primed to try something completely different — an entrepreneurial enterprise that capitalized on strengths I had developed as a teacher. Primarily, to assist each individual to become the best they could be.

I had been working on the concept, including the writing of a business plan, for three years prior to formally offering career counseling, coaching, and resume/cover letter writing services. Although I felt qualified to deliver a superior experience for clients I found myself faced with two big uncertainties:

1. Was there really a viable market for these services just waiting to be tapped into?

2. What impact would the start of the most serious economic recession since the Great Depression have on the success of my business?

I cannot tell you how many times I have heard from people that “so many must need what you are offering during these times!” But what I found instead was that I was competing against the need for people to make sure they had food and shelter as the unemployment rate continued to rise.

The first year had an expected financial loss. I was not naïve enough to think a profit was to be realized at the outset. Despite the anxiety associated with launching a business, however, what I most feel now about that first year is profound gratefulness for the clients I did have who placed their trust and dollars with me.

I had two goals for year two. One was to increase my knowledge and skill and to refine my expertise. This did happen and continues to this day. I wanted to strike a balance between what service I could credibly provide with what service clients most wanted. I did get closer, but realized that this would be an ongoing process. What I learned from teaching came to mind — there is no pinnacle of perfection. You always keep learning.

The second goal had to do with trying to build a positive cash flow. Quite simply I wanted revenues to at least match expenditures. I achieved that point by the end of the third quarter and have never looked back.

Two significant lessons from year two included:

1. Half of my time was being spent on marketing, which I found interesting, but had no experience with at all. I can say, however, that I became impressed with the power and cost effectiveness of pay-per-click campaigns on Google AdWords. That along with continued optimization of my website has strongly increased my exposure.

2. The realization that career development was becoming more technological, in that how a client appeared online correlated more and more with the success of their career and employment prospects. It was during this time that I added a third leg to my stool, that of Online Profile Management. I became committed to being a go-to professional in this early stage industry.

By year three I reached an important milestone by earning one of the nation’s most prestigious resume writing credentials, the ACRW or Academy Certified Resume Writer. This has boosted not only my writing capacity, but my client base. Consequently I also found my writing going into two additional areas along with resumes and cover letters: LinkedIn Profiles and Professional Biographies.

Financially, I set a specific revenue-to-expense ratio goal to reach by year’s end that I again hit by the end of Q3. I began paying myself for the first time and found that my first big uncertainty from the start was no longer one. I became convinced that there is a market for these services.

But there was another significant risk to take. I knew I would get to this at some point and the beginning of year four, my current year, was the time to take it. I had always envisioned the business becoming one that drew in clients from around the country and that I would not be too reliant on just one geographical region, like New Hampshire. I knew that my lifestyle was starting to shift to one that involved more travel and living for extended periods in other places beyond NH. I have always felt that technology gave me the tools to merge a mobile style of living with the ability to continuously bring in work no matter where I was — as long as I had an Internet connection.

The past three months gave me an opportunity to test this concept out. I just finished living in Los Angeles for the winter, which is about as far away as one can get from NH while still being in the U.S. What have I learned?

1. The writing services are much more mobile than counseling. I provide resumes, cover letters, online profile, and professional biography writing services to clients from around the country who I never meet face to face. Many times we may never even speak on the phone. Email is an incredibly efficient means of conducting this end of the business.

2. How to offer career counseling and coaching from afar remains elusive. Despite Skype, webcams, and video conferencing technology the adoption rate for utilizing these tools into a counseling context is slow. For the issues that are raised in these types of sessions, the preferred means of contact is still face to face. I am still working on figuring this one out.

3. Marketing on a national level can be a lot more expensive than on a state or regional level. Google AdWords is based on selecting geographies to showcase your ads. That is no longer as relevant to me as before, even if I pick multiple locations to post ads. Pay-per-click with sites that are more national and targeted to professionals, such as LinkedIn, may be more appropriate. I shall see.

Financially, I have lost ground as I try to shift to building a more national client base. But I am confident that I can make this work eventually.

The other challenge that I have faced is to develop a resume writing tutorial service that is usable from my website for those clients who want to try their own hand at writing a resume, but who need a teacher to guide them. I have begun working with a web developer who has experience in course management software. I hope to have this up and running by the end of year four.

In closing, I have to say that my basic premise, which has always been that the quality of one’s life is tightly linked to the character of their work, has been reinforced by working with hundreds of clients to date. As the saying goes, do what you love and you will never work a day in your life, still holds. I feel very fortunate to be playing a small role in helping people reach that goal.

 

 

 

Success and Happiness

Posted on by Bill Ryan

We have all been taught that if we toil, apply ourselves, and put our noses to the grindstone that we can attain success which leads to happiness. Contentment, we are told, must be preceded by success, which in turn must be preceded by hard work that is often associated with not being happy. This cause-and-effect paradigm is an American truism harkening back to our earliest past. And it continues to find widespread expression, particularly with a bullying management style that implores workers to row harder. 

But could it be possible that the success/happiness formula should be viewed in reverse? Rather, happiness begets success. There is a researcher and writer named Shawn Achor who postulates in his book The Happiness Advantage that conventional thinking has this cause-and-effect sequence wrong. He is instead promoting the notion that happiness forms the groundwork for success to occur. Achieving a grand objective like finding deep satisfaction from one’s work can best be reached by approaching your job from a positive place to begin with. Having a more enlightened outlook and energized perspective is preparatory to meeting your goals. 

The brain may be better suited toward intelligence and innovation when the emotional state is uplifted. Possible routes to greater success become apparent with a more resilient and stress-free mind. If we consider for a moment that Achor has this right, then it begs the question of how we are all so off track. We as a culture seem to have accepted the belief that negativity, in the form of unpleasant exertion, sets the stage for a better life to come. 

I think of the mythic entrepreneur who works day and night to launch and grow a business and then retires many years down the road, living with the gratification of a job well done. Working “day and night” sounds unpleasant, doesn’t it? But for the truly successful it may not be. The difference between finding success and just getting a job done may come from the level of positive thinking present in the individual. 

The problem with thinking of success in a traditional sense is that it is so elusive. When we successfully reach a work quota, then management sets a higher goal. If we increased revenues by 18% this month, then we need to hit 22% next month. The goal post is always being placed just a little further away, the bar is raised just a little higher to meet success. Attainment becomes fleeting, a temporary waystation on the road to something bigger and better. This set of circumstances has really become the norm in these post-recession days of workplaces always trying to do more with less. 

Perhaps our competitive nature has us on edge in ways that detract from the preconditions necessary to approach our objectives. When work becomes a slog, our positivity slips away and the “success” we achieve may be of a lower quality than is otherwise possible. Maybe it is time to think that having a more positive attitude makes us more productive. 

If an elevated level of positivity leads to a more productive and higher quality success, then how do we get to this starting place? Reframing your perspective may be the place to begin. Note the good stuff around you, appreciate what is right, favorable, and agreeable in your daily life and in the work you do. Being kind to others whenever will raise your mood and influence your behavior. Take the time to be healthy and make lifestyle choices that are potent for your mind and body. As counterintuitive as it may sound, you may have to work at being positive. If we over-focus on the negative aspects of our work or feel happiness is to be delayed until success is found, then we may never really get there. 

Happiness need not be a dreamy far away goal. Instead, it may be a state of mind that we continually build upon no matter where we are in the success cycle. 

Preparing For the Changing Workplace

Posted on by Bill Ryan

I recently read an article in a statewide business news publication written by a respected and intelligent business pro who was also an obvious Baby Boomer. In it he directed a subtle jab at LinkedIn, the social media website dedicated to professionals, and with it a not-so-subtle poke at social media in general. 

Although I agree with his point that time is too valuable to waste on frivolous or trivial matters, I do not think this necessarily applies to social media. But what struck me more was the tone of the piece, which I place as another example of a problem older generation workers have in succeeding in today’s job market. 

As I have indicated in the past, we are living through a period of age bias when it comes to hiring mature workers, many of whom were laid off aggressively during the recession. To date, much of this age cohort is struggling to get re-employed. A key reason for the reluctance to bring mature workers back on board, despite their vast experience and accumulated wisdom, is because they are not keeping up with, and in many cases resisting, technological changes that are largely being driven by the generation of their children. And with each passing day it is this emerging younger section of the workforce that is setting hiring policies. 

Rapid innovations of a technological nature seem to fall into two main interrelated areas: Information Search/Management and Interpersonal Connectivity. Efficiently reaching out to grab the data you want when you need it and connecting to people you need to when you want them is driving much of the hardware, software, and web-based applications currently available and under development. 

The necessity of achieving this efficiency is reflected in many workplaces today and that is expected to grow in time. As a result, the current and future workforce is expected to be adept with the tools and apps of information management and connectivity. Just as many employees now are expected to use email and word processors, a similar familiarity is becoming expected with various types of social media and Internet navigation. 

There is no question that keeping up with these new demands can be daunting and intimidating for some, particularly for the older folks among us. When we look at the younger generation and see that their daily use of Facebook and smart phones is as common to them as telephone and television are to us, it can leave us feeling out of touch. 

One option often taken by older workers is to develop an attitude that the way young people act is superficial, misguided, or even wrong. We think that we got by just fine without these gadgets and that these changes are not necessary. Now does it sound familiar from our distant Boomer past that an older generation just didn’t get the younger one? 

The larger issue is accepting change. Adaptability is one of the most important and employable traits a person can have, especially during the time of exponential change we live in now. Unfortunately, older workers are too often feeding the perception that we are not adaptable and even potential impediments to innovation. When we observe a now common practice and describe it as a bandwagon or fad, we place ourselves out of the new mainstream. If you are trying to present yourself as relevant in today’s workplace this is not a message you should be broadcasting. 

The challenge for mature workers is to merge their attributes of solid work ethic, tenacity, and big picture viewpoint with the obvious and fluid developments of conducting business in the modern era. We do not have to necessarily embrace and personally adopt every new practice, but it is in our interests to at least try to understand the trends that underlie them. 

When you think about it, Baby Boomers were the ones who once prided themselves on agitating traditional thinking and setting out to create a new world. If any generation should be able to show flexibility and have an appreciation for new ways of doing things it should be them. 

Enhancing Your LinkedIn Profile

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Establishing a solid LinkedIn (LI) profile is the first step to managing your overall professional online profile. If you are in the market for a new job, it is helpful to know that recruiters are all over LinkedIn looking for talent. Not being present at all on LinkedIn is a big mistake in today’s technical and connected world. But almost as bad as not showing up is having a mediocre or shoddy profile. It screams of a lack of professional effort. So, to make the most of your LI profile building time here are some tips that will leave you looking sharp. 

Before starting enhancements, you should know about a couple of privacy controls. If you are like most busy people, you may be thinking that you will chip away at your profile improvements piecemeal when time allows. But as any LinkedIn user knows, you get periodic updates that show the activity levels of your connections. Now there may be occasions when you do not want your LI world to know that you are upgrading your profile too frequently. It can give the impression that you are looking for other work, which may be off-putting to your current colleagues. If this issue is one of yours, then look for the “Turn on/off your activity broadcasts” link in the Privacy Controls sections of Settings. 

You also have the option of selecting who can see your activity feed in the same Privacy Controls area. You can choose from everyone, your connections, your network (connections plus group members), or “Only you”. The latter essentially eliminates anyone from seeing your editing activity. 

With activity viewing determined, you are ready to start tinkering with your Introduction field: 

  • Headline: This is important. It should begin with a short description of your professional expertise rather than just listing your current job title and employer’s name. Make this headline searchable by selecting key words that home in on your specialty. 
  • Picture: Do not just crop a decent looking detail from a larger JPG. Get a headshot taken by a professional photographer. 
  • Connections: Sure, the more you have the more connected you look. But do not just invite anyone to be a connection. Choose from people who you respect and vice versa. Quality professionals provide more opportunity than a stuffed ballot box. And I must admit that I have a gripe when one’s contact list is closed. Shouldn’t a viewer be able to see who your connections are? After all, networking is what LI is all about. 
  • Recommendations: Try to get at least three. These do not have to be essays either. Well written and complimentary short paragraphs can be just fine. 
  • Website links: You can include up to three. Your employer, a professional organization that you belong to, or better yet, your own website can all be included. 
  • Public Profile link: Go into settings and customize this to show your name without any of the trailing digits. Consider placing this link in the contact data section of your resume. 
  • Twitter feed: Short timely tweets interfaced with your LI account keep the Profile fresh. 

Once your Intro field has been polished it is time to tackle the meat of the profile: 

  • It is good to have a look that more closely resembles a well written resume, i.e., including quantifiable accomplishments. Collecting and communicating quantifiable achievements should come through strongly in your Summary and Experience sections. Always be careful to avoid just very basic responsibilities and tasks, but rather include accomplishments and results as much as possible. 
  • There are some great additional sections that can be included such as Skills, Honors and Awards, and Volunteer Activities, among many others. Try to at least add a Skills Section. 
  • Blogging or micro blogging with Twitter can keep the Profile even more dynamic and show your connections that it is being frequently updated. It also adds to the impression that you are a subject matter expert. It is not that hard to have your Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages all updated simultaneously. 
  • Do you like to make PowerPoint presentations? You can design one about yourself and post it for viewers to play. 
  • Groups are one of this tool’s most powerful networking features. Joining and participating in groups allows you to learn from and influence others. It is a great way to get known by others. 
  • The Education section is straight forward enough, but if you are 45 years old or older be careful of the rampant age bias going on in today’s world of work. You do have the option of not including your graduation date. 

With a good LinkedIn profile in place, you will find that it is easier to promote yourself in a competitive employment climate.