Why You Need to Be on LinkedIn Even When You Have a Job

Why You Need to Be on LinkedIn Even When You Have a JobWhy You Need to Be on LinkedIn Even When You Have a JobA question I frequently get when training job seekers on using social media is Wont my boss think Im looking for aleidher job if Im using LinkedIn?With over 180 million LinkedIn users in the world, I honestly dont think that even half of them are actively seeking work. More than likely, they are happily employed and happily networking. It is a mistake to think of LinkedIn as a giant job board and your profile as just another resume. The power of any social networking tool is in the actual networking.So if you are currently employed and not taking your LinkedIn use seriously, youre making a grave mistake. Heres why.You need to have a large network so you can use it laterImagine you just got laid off. And you have 10 people in your LinkedIn network. You suddenly realize that you should have invested more in getting to know people. So you start to add people like crazy to your n etwork.If LinkedIn doesnt blacklist you for suspicious behavior, then the droves of new people you are inviting to your network will question your intentions. They might think, I havent heard from this guy in 10 years, now all of a sudden hes lost his job and wants to connect. What does he want from me?Its always better to dig your well before you need to drink from it. If you havent been building social equity with your network, youll have little to draw from later. So dont wait until you need it. Build a strong network on LinkedIn now. Be active. Provide value. Stay in touch.Opportunities come to you. Recruiters look for passive candidatesWhen a company hires a contract recruiter to fill a job requisition, that company isnt looking for someone unemployed. They wouldnt need to hire a contract recruiter for that. There are enough unemployed people to fill every single job vacancy in the country. What the organization needs is someone who is not actively looking, called a passive can didate.In other words, the recruiter is paid to steal and pillage from competitive companies, convince the happily employed person that the grass is greener and get a huge commission from the new hire. Companies who use these types of recruiters are willing to pay you more than what you are making now in buchen to snatch you away from your cushy job. If you arent on LinkedIn, you are reducing your chances of being discovered and having the opportunity to make more money.Industry groups can offer you value and connectionGroups on LinkedIn have really matured. Ive found that the discussions on groups are more engaging, people are less shy about speaking their minds, and the content is improving in quality. Of course this depends on the group this is just from my own experience. However, if you find the right groups in which to participate, the value to your network - and the knowledge youll gain - is huge.Not only will you be exposed to berichterstattung, and new ideas, but youll ha ve a chance to demonstrate your expertise through commenting and discussion. Sometime alliances are formed. For example, I was part of a group whose leader would entice you to click links to download some attractive research reports. But in order to download each report, you had to fill out a lot of personal information. I found this practice annoying and said so. Pretty soon, others in the group were agreeing with me. One guy in particular contacted me and we hit it off. Turns out we do similar things, but on separate continents. Thus both of our networks grew stronger.Keep your resume up to date just in caseA resume is a static thing. You write it once when you are actively looking for work. You get your job. Then you forget about it. LinkedIn profiles tend to stay up to date with greater accuracy than any other online profile. Recruiters know this. They know that your profile will be more accurate than your five-year-old resume.When you keep your profile up to date, writing your new resume will be that much easier. Instead of staring at a blank piece of paper trying to remember your start and stop dates, youll just check your profile and know. Look, you never know when youll need a resume. Most employment these days is at-will. Your company doesnt need any reason to let you go tomorrow. Be ready.Read the news feed for your industryThe average time spent on LinkedIn is just over four minutes per visit. The company finds this dismal fact upsetting, and does what it can to keep you on. And some of the ways it does that are actually quite good. You can get customized news delivered daily. Based on your industry, the types of articles you share, and who is in your network, your daily news feed is likely going to inform you of things you should know about your job.On many occasions, Ive found trending news items that I was blind to until I saw them on LinkedIn. You can customize how your news is displayed and what categories you are interested in reading about. M y favorite is the ability to see what news items are trending in my own network. Id like to know what my peers are reading. Wouldnt you?

7 tips for dialing down the toxicity in your life right now

7 tips for dialing down the toxicity in your life right now7 tips for dialing down the toxicity in your life right nowIf you thought that the biggest word of 2018 was extra or woke, were about to rock your world. The real number-one word of the year?Toxic, at least according to theOxford English Dictionary. And whether you use it to describe friendships,the way we treat the environment, or your relationship with the news, it probably crops up in your own life.Knowing that toxicity has become so ever-present that it was recognized by Oxford, we want more than ever to help minimize it for you. Lifes too short to be toxic We reached out to relationship and mental health experts for their advice for keeping things positive - heres what they had to say.1. Take stock of your relationshipsToxicity can easily creep into almost any relationship. If you have a sneaking suspicion that the bad vibes youve been feeling lately are actually rooted in toxicity, you need to evaluate how you relate t o everyone who is closest to you.Licensed professional counselor and coachAnahid Lisa Derbabianrecommends that you consider how mutually respectful, supportive, safe, and positive each of your relationships is. This kind of assessment can help you figure out where the toxicity needs to be tackled.2. Beware of contagious attitudes and emotionsLike laughter and yawning, feelings and moods can be catching - and that can be dangerous.Surrounding yourself with toxic people means you end up toxic,Happy Brain Sciencechief happiness officer Scott Crabtree says. Surrounding yourself with positive people means you end up more positive. Once youve identified the relationships that are especially toxic in your universe, you might consider stepping back from them so youre not absorbing the negative.3. Make a listWhile relationships are a major source of toxicity for many people, they arent theonlysource. Grab a piece of paper and make a list of all of the things and all of the people that may b e bringing you down.A list that identifies the relationships and situations that are toxic for you allows you to make clear choices when faced with those circumstances, rather than reacting automatically, author and heart healing coachSusyn Reevetells us. Start by listing the people and circumstances you are continually complaining about. Remember to include complaints and judgments you continually make about yourself4. Dont be afraid of boundariesThe word boundaries in itself may already be giving you a sinking feeling.Boundaries with the people I love? Boundaries that might keep me from my work or my passions? YikesThink again Once youve identified where things are getting toxic in your life, its time to set your fear of boundaries aside.Strong boundaries ensure that you are the protector of your own personal space and they tell others how to respect those zones, self-care coach andBoundaries With soulmusikauthorCarley Schweetsays. Without boundaries, its easy for toxicity to not only slip into your life, but also to negatively affect you on many levels.Once youve come around to the idea of establishing those boundaries, its time to let practice make perfect.Life coach and licensed therapistLatasha Matthewsencourages you to take as many opportunities as possible to hone this tricky craft. Dont sit back and let negative comments or unreasonable asks pass you by. Instead, set a boundary Everyone has their own personal boundary-setting style, so give yourself the time and space to figure out yours.5. Cut back on social mediaAt this point, youre probably sick of hearing that minimizing your time scrolling the gram is the root of all of your problems, but youre going to have to hear it one more time, because licensed clinical psychologistRamaniDurvasulasays its a great way to minimize toxicity. The comparison game that social media has so many of us playing can breed that toxicity inside your own brain. And how can you fight it on the outside if its running wild internally?6. Practice saying no.Glacier Wellnesshealth and wohlbefinden expert Samantha Morrison calls saying no your best weapon in the fight against toxicity. Arm yourself When you can be your own biggest advocate and confidently excuse yourself from certain commitments or conversations, you begin to take some of the power away from the negative forces that have previously gotten you down.7. Seek out a positive communityBattling toxicity isnt just about eliminating negative influences and cutting the cord on tricky relationships. There are things you can add to your life to dial it back as well. Find a book club, workout group, craft club, or volunteer committee thats all positive. Whatever form it takes, the goal is to surround yourself with people who have achieved something that you are striving for or who are also working toward those same goals, licensed therapistDaniel Olavarriatells us. You will find that the more you surround yourself with positive influences, the less ro om there tends to be for toxicity in your life.This article was originally published on Brit + Co.

3 Tips to Help You Win the Workplace Game of Thrones

3 Tips to Help You Win the Workplace Game of Thrones 3 Tips to Help You Win the Workplace Game of Thrones Thankfully, the stakes are not quite so high in the workplace failure does not lead to death. You can actually just move to another company if things go south.Still, though, you have to do afair bit of maneuvering in the workplace if you want to ascend the corporate ranks (which is pretty much the working worlds equivalent toCerseis game of thrones). To do that maneuvering successfully, youll need political expertise which may be just as important as, if not more important than, your technical skills. According to research from Florida State University prof PamelaPerrew, a person rarely gets promoted without having developed strong political skills.Whether you are an up-and-coming millennial or a maturing Generation X professional, understanding the political machinations of your workplace will be key to outwitting your peers and landing the promotions you desire.Of course, no t everyone wants to move into management. But, if you do,and you are ready to win the workplace game of thrones, then here are three tips to help you climb the corporate hierarchy.1. Findan Influential MentorDuring your journey to the top, youll need toaccept some guidance from a benevolent power broker who has been there and done that, with respect to ascending the companys ranks. Seeking and accepting such guidance will accelerate your own personal development, improvingyour judgment and decision-making.It alsostands to reason that because your mentor isanexperienced member of the upper echelons of the company, they can act as a powerful political ally.Studies show that candidates who are recommended by influential people are much more likely to be invited to interviews and land jobs. If your mentor vouches for you, your chances of landing the promotion you crave skyrocket. Similarly,a study carried out at Sun Microsystemsfound that employees who were mentored were promoted five t imes more often than employees who were not mentored.2. Get Noticed For the Right ThingsDo some of your peers seem to be the golden boys or girls of the company? Do these peers have a knack for getting noticed by senior managers and leaders?Thats because they know either by instinct or by paying attention to their surroundings what to do to get noticed in the firm. What makes someone a golden employee often depends on what the managers and leaders ata given company value, but one of the most commonly valued traits in employees is entrepreneurialism that is, the willingness to take risks, move out of your comfort zone, and take on projects outside of your job description. Being entrepreneurialalso involves schmierblutung opportunities to improve some aspects of thebusiness and presenting potential improvementsto decision makers and influencers. A study from Millennial Branding found 58 percent of managers are either very willing or extremely willing to support entrepreneurial emplo yees, making entrepreneurialism a great way to get noticed at most companies.Another quality that impresses managers, according to the Millennial Branding study, is being a subject matter expert. Sixty-five percent of employers surveyed said subject matter expertise was important to career advancement.So, another great way to get noticed is to be able to give sound specialist advice at times when it is most needed.3. Hone Your Influencing and Impression-Management SkillsThe Millennial Branding study cited above found that managers often looked for soft skills when promoting millennials, rather than hard skills or digital tech savvy.Simply puttingyour head down and grinding it out is not enough you need to demonstrate your soft skills if you want to land a promotion.Professor Perrewof FSU outlines four skills that define political adeptness social astuteness, interpersonal influence, networking ability, and the ability to convey the impression of sincerity. Youll need to practice the se skills and use them regularly if you are to succeed in the workplace games of thrones.