It's not just me touting LinkedIn!

Everyone should read this article about maximizing your potential to be found on LinkedIn. It lays out in clear terms the benefits to spelling out exactly what you do, and to using a title that's less like a vanity plate, more like a professional descriptor:

Revealing the #1 Secret to Being Found by Recruiters on LinkedIn

Also crucial, a link I found in the article above, this bit of enlightenment on KEYWORDS!

design:related has a new & improved portfolio tool!

Looks great so far. Check it out and remember, just because you may have one online presence, doesn't mean you shouldn't have more -- SEO varies from site to site so if you want to get noticed, you have to be in more places. Try design:related!

JobVite's Patrick Neeman on "How to Build a Great Profile on LinkedIn"

Patrick, recruiters everywhere salute you! Job seekers, please read. Then go forth and conquer!

Are you ready for a job search?

Great Newsday article out today: Are you ready for a job search?

Truth is most of us aren't ready - even when we're right in the middle of a job search! Check out the article, it links you UpMo.com where you can take their beta test and better prepare for the hunt.

Now, this guy REALLY gets it!

Meet Jasen Dickan. Learn from Jasen Dickan.
His Linkedin profile makes me weak in the knees.
His online portfolio has me taking cold showers.
Why? Because he REALLY gets it -- he tells me everything I need to know about him. He is saving in-house and external recruiters probably 2 hours of up-front time that might otherwise be wasted going back and forth with questions about his skills.
Right away, we know EXACTLY what he does, how well he does it, where he's done it and how much of it he's done. Moreover, by noting what's not listed, we can determine the things that he likely DOESN'T do that much of, again saving us time.

So, does Jasen just want to save me valuable time? We do have a good rapport, so I can tell myself that's his aim, however, there's definitely a better reason for it and it's the reason I write this post. He's opening up more of the world to himself. He's getting valuable keywords out there and coming up in more searches. By doing so, he appears more professional and buttoned-up. This in turn ups his stock.

I mention him here with his permission -- I told him my goal is to get more people to follow suit. Everyone from Project Managers to Account Services to IAs to Creatives: give us the juicy details upfront and you'll reap the rewards.

Here are his summary and specialties sections from Linkedin:

Summary

Award-winning leader with 12 years of interactive, marketing, and branding experience. Proven ability to supervise teams and develop design talent in others. Passion for innovative strategy, design, and technology.

Specialties

creative leadership, web design, web sites, intranets, interaction design, usability, branding, business strategy, ecommerce, financial services, pharmaceutical, photoshop, typography, color theory, HTML, CSS, photography, successful new business pitches, inspiration

It's wonderful stuff, very informative. Now check out his portfolio: http://www.jasen.net/
Notice the way he specifies his % of involvement in various capacities AND how he gives credit to the other contributors. Providing the level AND kind of involvement you had on specific projects when you have a breadth of skills, goes a long way in establishing credibilty and setting expectations.

If you're looking for work - or just like to keep yourself current like Jasen - please take some time to enhance your profiles and portfolios. And make sure they all link to one another. Do it not for the sake of us recruiters, but for you.

Jasen, congrats on being this "teacher's pet", and thank you for letting me use you as an example! Keep on truckin'.

Tip for the day #7 when applying for a job

KEEP YOUR PORTFOLIO UP-TO-DATE AT ALL TIMES

Since we already know how easy it is to have a free, online, portfolio (see TPFD #2 if you don't) there is no reason you can't find 10 minutes every other week to post some new work. Like to go out for an afternoon Charbuck's? Just twice a month instead, make a cup of their new instant coffee at your desk and upload the latest work you've done onto your portfolio.

Why? Well, ask anyone who's been laid off after several years of service with not a clue how to begin the arduous task of getting a portfolio together. Getting laid-off is emotional enough without the overwhelming feeling of climbing Mt. Everest with nothing but your PJ's and a can of soup. So plan ahead. Live each day in advertising like it may be your last. Because it really might.

Afraid that having a public online portfolio will make your employer suspicious? In my mind, you're part of a community, you're keeping your ideas fresh by putting them out there, letting them be critiqued, admired. It's a place you keep your work collected and it makes them look better if/when clients go online to look up the team assigned to them. You're helping your employer look better - this is the modern world and if they want to claim (to clients) to be expert at it, you (the entire agency) need to show you're walking the talk. So, get that portfolio started and update it regularly. Always be prepared. Happy and working hard, but prepared.

*BTW: Don't put online/Web/interactive/digital samples in the "misc." or "other" or "various" or "whatnot" category. Think about it - if you were a digital marketing shop, would you refer to what you did as "miscellaneous"? It's insulting even to the integrated shops; online ad sales have been the last to be effected by this crazy economy -- hardly making them fodder for the "other" category. So raise up your interactive experience, keep "various" things limited to your extra-curricular activities like photography or drawing.

Tip for the day #1 when applying for a job

Who, What, When, Where, Why?

Yup, it's not just for journalism anymore! In ANY correspondence you make requesting that someone take the time to consider you for a job, don't play cat and mouse. Don't expect people to come to you for the most basic information. Don't just send an email saying simply you're an [insert title] and to "call with questions". (Yes, we've gotten these kinds of emails.) Instead, include a resume and *BRIEFLY* tell us who you are, what you do, where you live or are willing to move to, and why you think you would be a good fit for the company. (The "when" should be reflected in an attached resume as dates of employment, despite the fact that it might "look cleaner" without showing those pesky dates.)

Try to avoid making desperate pleas; this IS advertising after all and you are a brand, so show us how well you can create demand. Employers want the best in breed, what's hot, what the other guys want. They don't want merchandise from the clearance rack. So when you reach out to a Recruiter or Creative Director or Human Resources, avoid saying you "need help". When introducing yourself to perspective employers or recruiters, follow the guidelines in the first paragraph and let them know you're simply ready for a change.

Also very important, the resume AND the actual email should both have the link to your online portfolio. No one should need to ask how they can see your work and if you provide the information upfront, then they won't need to hunt for the link at a later date. Consider successful hotel chains -- you can't go 2 feet without some element of branding. And if it's allowed to leave the room, you know it has a website or a phone number on it. That way, they make it really easy to reach them, and to remember why you'd want to. So establish your brand and build on it.