According to LinkedIn, “Users with recommendations are three times as likely to get inquiries through LinkedIn searches.”

I couldn’t agree more!

There are certain protocols to observe in building up your profile recommendations but for the most part, the single biggest reason professionals don’t get recommendations is because THEY DON’T ASK for them.

I know some of you are thinking that feels a little “guiding”… “if my connections were so impressed with me then they would just recommend me.”

THAT would be nice! If Only!

*Right now, if you know someone in your network you are incredibly impressed with, sign into LinkedIn immediately and write them a recommendation! They will be prompted to return the favor within LinkedIn. Unfortunately, if you are like many busy professionals, you won’t make the time to write them – unless…you are reminded!

Do you feel a little sheepish about asking someone to brag about you?
Asking for a recommendation can be a very uncomfortable thing for some, but never assume it’s uncomfortable to the person being you are asking. They are probably going to be flattered that you care about their opinion of your work and therefore will be happy to supply the recommendation.

The typical LinkedIn “out of the can” recommendation request reads:

Dear Name of Connection,
I’m sending this to ask you for a brief recommendation of my work that I can include in my LinkedIn profile. If you have any questions, let me know.
Thanks in advance for helping me out.
-Your Name

Out of respect for their time and depending on how well you know the person you are requesting the recommendation from, you could even prompt them with some dialogue such as:

Dear Name of Connection,
As you know, I am an independent marketing consultant/contractor and as such, I’m sending this to ask you for a brief recommendation of my work. In particular, I would like your comments as you have observed me performing duties, whether directly in our business dealings, at a trade show or some other professional interaction that impressed you (any which would enable you to make a positive recommendation of my abilities as you perceive them). I would like to include any recommendation you make of my character, work ethic or work product/performance in my LinkedIn profile. If you have any questions, let me know.
Thanks in advance for helping me out.
-Your Name

While the above is still pretty general, you can choose to write the entire thing out and ask them to post it as though it came from them:

Dear Name of Connection,
I’m sending this to ask you for a brief recommendation of my work that I can include in my LinkedIn profile. Perhaps you could say something like:

“I would like to endorse YOUR NAME as a highly dedicated professional. His/Her thoroughness and attention to detail was exemplary. I have always found him/her to be enthusiastic and an excellent people person. His/Her capabilities played a key role in developing the company to its current standing.”

If you have any questions, let me know.
Thanks in advance for helping me out.
-Your Name

Again, this really depends on how mature your professional relationship is with someone. You would obviously use your good judgment on when this is appropriate. Most people who know you very well and agree with your words will post it as is or even elaborate!

What if they don’t give you the recommendation?
Don’t assume they have any negative reasons for not providing you with a recommendation. I have found that in some cases, companies have direct policies that do not allow employees to provide recommendations and if it would appear to come from the company OR if it would damage their “vendor neutrality” in some fashion. Let’s face it, people also get really busy and don’t check LinkedIn that often or the notification emails end up in an unchecked folder within their email platform. After a few weeks time, you can go back into your Linked in under the “Received Recommendations” tab and manage your requests and even resend a reminder request from there.

One of the questions I get is “How am I ever going to get all my work history on one page?”

To which I answer “Why would you even try?”

The one page résumé, (I’m still trying to find the origin of this horrid mythical rule), is really almost ridiculous!

To have a candidate resort to restricting their résumé to only one page means that probably they’ve cut so much content out that you’ll never really see the quality of the candidate, particularly if they are a senior manager or executive OR they have tried to cram so much content onto one page that the font is nearly illegible or the margins and formatting are so crazy that any potential employer would likely just dismiss it out of hand rather than reach for the handy magnifying glass.

I have seen candidates take it to a new level with the 8+page approach. This is not really good either because it is likely that much of your content is redundant and un-necessary.

In the final analysis, your content really rules just how long your résumé should be. If you are concerned that you cannot be frugal with your use of content and MUST include more than the customary 2-3 pages nowadays, then consider adding it in a nicely formatted addendum. This is also the place where you might want to add your publications and editorials, workshop/presentations and keynote appearances etc… In most cases, an unbiased reader will point out some content that you should not include because it just isn’t that relevant.

So, don’t be frustrated when you sit to come up with a several pages if you’re only just getting into the job market and don’t try to eliminate valuable content in hopes of getting down to a “one-pager” if you’ve been in the job market a while. You will find that if you let your content dictate the length of your résumé (within reason), you will have just the right one for you.

Happy Job Hunting
The Resume Lady

I read an article in the Industrial Engineering Jobs website and I thought I would share this with you.

Do you know a man named Chris Bigelow? His post: “Have You Googled Yourself Lately” caught my attention because, I immediately answered “NO”. Followed by the question…”Should I?”

After a little further online searching, I did find myself, or rather, I found entries online that were really about me. My facebook page, twitter and Linked In….my old My Space page were all there for everyone to see. That made me wonder….do I really know how that content will be interpreted by others? I don’t do keg-stands but if I did, I don’t think that is the impression I would want my potential employers to get about me. Photos of you wasted are not really the most flattering and photos of you passed out…..hmmmmm……what are employers to make of them?

Perhaps they should not pry into your personal lives but they likely will and if you aren’t getting work, maybe you should look at your “personal brand” or the name you have made for yourself. Did you save a man from a burning building or are you on the front page of the paper for having donated blood at the Red Cross? THOSE are great items to show you’re a person of good character…..partying (drinking or recreational drug use), scantily clad garments or dancing in provocative You Tube videos is probably going to come back to haunt you.

If you’ve already done this, try to clean it up….if you haven’t done this, DON’T! You risk a future employer making a snap judgment about you regardless of your stellar résumé or other credentials. One way to get around this is to build a personal website and add content to it that you definitely want someone to find. Links to your photo debuts in any newspaper or press releases etc. Do a little exercise and pretend you are a potential employer and google you, then search the online communities, viewing the content through the filter of an employer. Would YOU hire you based on that?

You have worked hard and paid the piper.  You’ve put in the blood, sweat and tears….toiling into the night,

skipping lunch all to prove your commitment, increase your productivity and ensure your job security! Has

anyone noticed?

You may need to start thinking about what you can do to get noticed for your abilities or potential within

your existing company or outside, but in your career space.  Are you brainstorming future steps to expand

your personal brand and make your job search more successful?

If you haven’t considered two immensely valuable outlets like Linked-In or Twitter or other combinations of

popular social media outlets you could be overlooking the powerful career tools available.

Now, don’t be tempted to dismiss this out of hand…after all, you may think these new-fangled social media

gadgets are too difficult and not very professional. But there are many ways to be promoting your talents

and abilities while contributing and/or learning from the plentiful groups that exist in social media today.

Any way you look at it, separately or in combination, social media can be incalculably valuable in terms of

its contribution to your personal branding and job seeking efforts.

We’re talking about:

• Joining FREE social media outlets that GIVE you exposure in PROFESSIONAL forums where you can both

LEARN and PROVIDE content to the greater community at large which in the end, lends great credibility to

your position as an expert in your field.

Furthermore, when you start building a following or begin dialogue with individuals who actually like the

content you are producing, it’s really building up YOUR BRAND and it’s an acceptable venue….it’s a

veritable coup! The power of these venues lies in the reciprocal dialogue you have when you pipe in on a

topic or start a discussion on your own that is related to a professional topic you have expertise in.  It lends

credibility which is absolutely priceless!

And, let’s face it—being seen as an expert sets you apart from other JOB SEEKERS and distinguishes you as

a leader in your industry. Not only does it boost your status above that of your peers in the eyes of the

public, it also makes them aware of what YOU are specifically interested in and helps them form a positive

opinion about you.

If you decide to seek future employment, you are searchable for your contributions in these forums and

guess what?  Potential employers will read your carefully crafted responses and based upon the findings,

may deem you worth seeking out to interview over the droves of other applicants who have yet to delve

into this avenue of Personal Brand Management.

The bottom line is that getting yourself into the habit of logging into Linked-In and Twitter can have a very

positive impact on the success of your job search.  A note of warning, be aware that you are judged –

however unfairly, on your careful selection of words (or lack thereof) so use your words wisely, but don’t

be afraid to get out there and contribuute to your career community! ENGAGE! You can invest much or little

of your personal time to these social media options—it’s your choice. But there are great benefits if used

wisely whichever you choose to embrace.

Happy Job Hunting,
The Résumé Lady