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208 | Professional Headshots for LinkedIn | Madison Yen, Photographer and Brand Strategist

Episode 208 is live! This week, we talk with Madison Yen in Denver, Colorado

Madison is a photographer and brand strategist, and the CEO of her company, Madison Yen Photography.

On today’s episode, Madison shares:

  • What are some of the dos and don’ts of our LinkedIn profile photo?
  • How much does it cost, generally, to hire a professional photographer?
  • Are photographers shooting photos during the pandemic?

Listen and learn more! You can play the podcast here, or download it on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher.

To learn more about Madison’s work, check out her website at madisonyen.com.

Thank YOU for listening! If you’ve enjoyed the show today, don’t forget to help me out. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts! When you subscribe, it helps to make the show easier for other job seekers to find the show!

Bonus Episode | Employee Sentiment on COVID / Coronavirus Response

 

Hello everyone! I received an overwhelming response to the last bonus episode. Thank you for listening!

Given this, I’ve decided to release another bonus episode. In today’s episode, I share data from Glassdoor and LinkedIn. I cover employee reactions to their company’s handling of COVID — as well as data on how the job market is today. In addition, I share tips with you on job searching during the Coronavirus pandemic.

I hope today’s episode is helpful. If you have additional questions I can answer on a future episode, please send me a message.

Stay safe, and best wishes,

Angela

 

194 | LinkedIn Job Search | Andrew Chimka, LinkedIn

Episode 194 is live! This week, we talk with Andrew Chimka in San Fransisco, California.

Andrew is a Senior Product Manager at LinkedIn. Andrew is working to connect people with opportunity by building and scaling LinkedIn’s Jobs platform.

On today’s episode, Andrew shares:

  • What is the open candidate feature within LinkedIn and why should we use it?
  • What are a few of the features that are included with the paid version of LinkedIn that will benefit us if we’re currently looking for a job?
  • What are a few things that will help us improve our profile and stand out?

Listen and learn more! You can play the podcast here, or download it on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher.

To learn more about the LinkedIn features that Andrew describes, check out the LinkedIn website at LinkedIn Jobs.

Thank YOU for listening! If you’ve enjoyed the show today, don’t forget to help me out. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts! When you subscribe, it helps to make the show easier for other job seekers to find the show!

My New Pet Peeve

There’s this thing that happens when you see something unexpected. You just can’t unsee it. Once you know, there’s no turning back. That happened for me one year ago. I’ve tried to push it out of my mind, but I just can’t any longer.

Professionals on LinkedIn are posting some very unprofessional things. It’s happening all the time, and frankly, it’s shocking.

There’s been an influx of cartoon profile photos. There are also overly casual profile photos taken with baseball caps on. There are profile photos with children and pets. The professional is posing along with their two babies or two cats or two dogs.

There are job titles like, “Not Channing Tatum’s dad” and “Defender of the Universe.” In fact, if you look, there are 64 professionals on LinkedIn who are apparently defending our universe.

There are even posts featuring ultrasound photos, announcing the births of new babies.

At first glance, these things all seem fun. These people seem so relatable. This personal information allows connections on LinkedIn to learn more about the person quickly.

But, this is the problem. Not everybody can post photos with their babies and cats on LinkedIn and be taken seriously in the professional world. Not everyone can post a cartoon profile photo and expect to ever get a new job.

I’ll be honest. The people primarily posting these things are young male executives in their thirties and forties. I’m 100% certain they have the very best of intentions. They want to be relatable. They want to show they put their family first. They want to be funny. They want to show their personality.

With this in mind, you’re probably wondering why in the world this is an issue at all. Please hear me out.

It’s an issue because many people cannot post a cartoon photo as a LinkedIn profile photo and be taken seriously. For example, I could never post a photo with children and expect to land a job interview. Revealing my whole self is not a privilege that I have if I want to be employed.

To put it in perspective, I have been directly asked in job interviews whether or not I’m planning to have any children soon. As hard as it is to believe, the question is sometimes used as a screening tool.

To the young, successful men out there, this column is for you. I respect what you’re trying to do. I respect that you want to be relatable. I love that you’re showing me that your family is an important part of your life. I know that you are creating these fun profiles for all of the right reasons.

But, we can’t all share those things and be taken seriously. Let’s keep LinkedIn as the professional site it is. And when we become friends, we’ll connect on Facebook and I can learn about your kids, your spouse, and your awesome dogs there.

I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.

Also, be sure to subscribe to my Copeland Coaching Podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher where I discuss career advice every Tuesday! If you’ve already heard the podcast and enjoy it, please consider leaving a review in iTunes or Stitcher.

Happy hunting!

Angela Copeland
@CopelandCoach

 

The Six Biggest Mistakes You’re Making on LinkedIn

You’ve decided you want to get a job. The first thing you may want to do is update your LinkedIn profile. But, this is the problem. You’re doing a few things wrong. Those things are going to slow down your search, and you don’t even know it.

1. You have no photo.  You’ve got to get a photo. It’s no longer okay to opt-out of having a photo on LinkedIn. It helps people to know you’re a real person. And, if there’s more than one person with your name, it helps them to find you.

2. Your URL is a mess. You may have not thought about this, but check out the URL on your LinkedIn page. It will begin with www.linkedin.com/in/. Then, it will have something after the slash. If you haven’t customized your LinkedIn URL, it will be long and will contain many numbers at the end. Take a few minutes to create a custom URL. You can do this by clicking the link that says, “Edit public profile and URL.” When you pick your new URL, be sure that it is simple, and doesn’t contain a reference to your birth year or graduation year. You don’t want employers to guess your age from the start.

3. Your profile isn’t up to date. I know, you’ve been busy. 2018 was a crazy year for everyone. This is the time to update your profile. Add in your current and previous work. Be sure to include your education.

4. You don’t have enough connections. I know that LinkedIn isn’t the same thing as Facebook. But, to use it effectively, you need to connect to others. Connect to colleagues, classmates, and professional friends. Your goal should be a minimum of 500 LinkedIn connections. The more first degree connections you have, the more second and third degree connections you’ll have. And, it will be easier to find people at the new company you’re interested in.

5. You don’t have enough recommendations. The recommendations on your LinkedIn profile can be incredibly powerful. Your former boss and coworkers can leave you positive feedback – for everyone to see. It shows that you’re someone they would hire again. If you’ve been laid off in the past, the recommendations section can show a future employer that you were a valued employee. Don’t overlook this section. It can add a tremendous amount of value to your resume.

6. You aren’t participating. LinkedIn isn’t just a place to upload your resume. It’s a place to connect with others. It’s a place to join and participate in groups. It’s a great place to join into professional discussions. Don’t take a backseat when it comes to your participation on LinkedIn. This is the time to get involved.

LinkedIn is a critical piece of the 2019 job search. Before you start, review your profile. Updating your profile will help you to start your 2019 job search off strong.

I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.

Also, be sure to subscribe to my Copeland Coaching Podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher where I discuss career advice every Tuesday! If you’ve already heard the podcast and enjoy it, please consider leaving a review in iTunes or Stitcher.

Happy hunting!

Angela Copeland
@CopelandCoach

 

183 | LinkedIn & Job Searching | Dan Shapero, Dan is the Vice President of Talent Solutions, Careers & Learning at LinkedIn

Episode 183 is live! This week, we talk with Dan Shapero in Anaheim, California.

Dan is the Vice President of Talent Solutions, Careers & Learning at LinkedIn.

On today’s episode, Dan shares:

  • Exciting news about LinkedIn’s acquisition of employee engagement platform Glint and what it could mean for your workplace
  • Tips on using LinkedIn when you’re a job seeker
  • An answer to the important question: Should you accept connection requests from people you don’t know on LinkedIn

Listen and learn more! You can play the podcast here, or download it on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher.

To learn more about LinkedIn and Dan’s work, check out the LinkedIn website: https://www.linkedin.com.

Thank YOU for listening! If you’ve enjoyed the show today, don’t forget to help me out. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts! When you subscribe, it helps to make the show easier for other job seekers to find the show!