LinkedIn is a rare bird in the social media landscape: it’s extremely useful for its specific purpose – building your career – but not necessarily a place to hang out online, like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. As a result, it’s easy to let your LinkedIn profile slide when you get a promotion or take on new responsibilities, and not realize it until the absence of recruiter attention calls the issue to mind. In this week’s roundup, we look at ways to make your LinkedIn profile shine, plus why being a good helper isn’t always the best thing for your career, and a few tips on getting unstuck when you’re in a rut.
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Val Matta at CareerShift: How to Make Your LinkedIn Profile Killer
“Jobvite’s 2014 Social Recruiting Survey of 1,855 recruiters found that 93 percent are using LinkedIn to scout out potential candidates,” writes Matta. “Which means, while you’re checking out Instagram photos of your best friend’s new haircut, your next big job opportunity could be perusing your LinkedIn feed. But what exactly are they looking for?”
Her tips range from solid reminders (e.g. spelling counts) to insider insight (how many industry groups have you joined lately?). Either way, it’s worth taking a look at this advice and taking a quick peek at your LinkedIn profile, to make sure you aren’t missing out on your dream job because of an issue that would take five minutes to fix.
Thanh Pham at Marc and Angel Hack Life: 10 Ways to Free Your Mind When You’re Feeling Stuck
“Have you ever felt like you were racing around in circles without making much forward progress?” Pham writes. “I know I have, many times. In the past I caught myself feeling stuck more often than I wanted to admit, and eventually I knew I needed to find a new roadmap. I was feeling utterly depressed and trapped by the same old problems and scenery. I needed to free myself!”
If you’re having trouble breaking old patterns or just getting out of a rut, his advice offers inspiration that might help you get moving again.
Anita Bruzzese at 45 Things: Being a Good Helper May Be Bad for Your Career
Everyone likes a helpful colleague, right? Sure – but they might not promote him. Bruzzese explains:
You don’t want to be seen as the person who is “such a good helper.” The person who can be called upon to work late nights and weekends, who will pitch in to do the most trivial work without complaint.
If you take on that role, be prepared to never move beyond the “helper” role. Why? Because when you’re a helper, others don’t see you as a leader. As John Kotter in the Harvard Business Review wrote about more than a decade ago, leaders are a different breed. They are the ones who help an organization cope with change — and you’re certainly never going to have the time to do that if you’re organizing a PowerPoint for someone else.
Does that mean never help out? Of course not. But make sure you’re looking after your own goals at the same time.
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