On December 13, 2011, LinkedIn released its “most overused” buzzwords list for 2011.  Here is the list of the top 10, with “creative” reigning at the top.  When a particular country or countries stood out for overuse of a term, the country name(s) are listed in parentheses:

1. Creative (Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States)
2. Organizational
3. Effective (India)
4. Extensive experience
5. Track record (Singapore)
6. Motivated (Ireland)
7. Innovative
8. Problem solving (Italy)
9. Communication skills
10. Dynamic (France)

The good news?  Some people heeded last year’s list and stopped overusing at least some of the following 2010 Overused Buzzwords:

1. Extensive experience
2. Innovative
3. Motivated
4. Results-oriented
5. Dynamic
6. Proven track record
7. Team player
8. Fast-paced
9. Problem solver
10. Entrepreneurial

The four exact matches between 2010 and 2011 years are “motivated,” “dynamic,” “innovative” and “extensive experience.” There are also some near matches with “problem solving” vs. “problem solver” and “proven track record” vs. “track record” (I personally have tired of all of these terms).

I believe job seekers and career professionals have done some good work changing the landscape — four of the terms on the list have changed, and all of them have changed rank.   Let’s face it:  There will be overused words every year.  I’m just glad to see we’re learning lessons along the way.

How Creative are You?

This year’s primary lesson:  Don’t say you are “creative” – demonstrate your creativity!  Design and upload a PowerPoint presentation to SlideShare and post it to your LinkedIn profile.  Give examples of marketing strategies you devised.  Include your artistic portfolio in your profile.  And don’t use the same words everyone else is using!  We now know that asserting you are “creative” is a sure way to prove that you are not.

Met or Exceeded Organizational Goals?

“Organizational” is a bit tougher.  How do you say you met organizational goals without saying you met organizational goals?  One thing to keep in mind is that of course you are going to strive for and meet organizational goals!  What other goals would you possibly want to report?  I admit I will be a little sad to let this term go, but I see the point of finding alternatives.  “Meet targeted goals” would be just as effective (oh did I say “effective”?  Send me to India where I’ll be in good company!)  Or perhaps a chart of goals vs. accomplishments would obviate the need for the term “organizational.”  I predict that next year “goal(s)” and “target(s)” will top this list.

Devise an Effective Strategy Lately?

Thankfully there are a multitude of ways to convey the concept of “effective.”  “Successful” is the clearest alternative, followed by “winning,” “profitable,” “lucrative,” “productive,” “fruitful,” “targeted” and even “efficacious” (I don’t love that last one as a resume/profile adjective).  Take your pick or find another way to say what you mean!  (Sometimes you can just leave out the adjective completely, as I did by avoiding “find another effective way” in that last sentence.)

As for “extensive experience” and “track record,” these terms are like nails on a blackboard to me.  I see them a lot and make short work of them on my resumes.

How many of these top 10 overused words show up in your profile?  Please share below.

And  if you want expert assistance to craft a LinkedIn profile that stands out in a sea of 135 million LinkedIn users, contact The Essay Expert through our Web Form or at 608-467-0067.

Like this article?  You might also enjoy Ten Buzzwords to Take Off Your LinkedIn Profile Now published by Time Newsfeed.

Everyone is saying to post your resume to Google…  so how do you do it?

I received this question from one of my subscribers, and will answer it soon.  But first, are you an online job seeker?  If so, I have some important recommendations for you.  Seriously…  keep reading!

Here are my top 4 recommendations:

1. Have a 100% complete profile on LinkedIn.  If you need help, contact The Essay Expert.
2. Fill out all the information on your Facebook profile completely, and post only professionally appropriate photos.
3. Maintain a Twitter account with your first and last name as your Twitter handle (eg. @BrendaBernstein).
4. Post your resume on line and link to it from all the above accounts.

Who recommends this four-pronged strategy? At least one highly successful recruiter, Shally Steckerl of Arbita, Inc. EVP, who presented to a group of career professionals at the Career Directors International annual conference in Savannah, Georgia on October 21, 2011. I was there and I was convinced.

Issues to Consider When Posting an Online Resume

Before posting your resume on line, consider privacy issues. You probably do not want to post your home address details to the entire world. City and state will suffice. You may or may want to make your phone number available to the public. (In my opinion, a public phone number is a relatively low risk and will allow recruiters to contact you.)

For an email address, consider creating a designated email for your job search and use that one on your resume. You will then cut down on any spam and you’ll be able to keep all your job-search related emails in one place, with a low risk of having them get lost amongst other messages.

How do you post your resume on line?  The answer is coming very soon…

There are many ways, and I will suggest just a few here:

1. Post it on Google docs. Here’s an article from SimplyBlog that does a great job of explaining how to do that! How to Post Your Resume with Google Docs You might need to change your Google Docs view to the old version of Google Docs if you can’t figure out some of these instructions, or you might be able to translate the instructions to the new version. I went ahead and published my resume to Google Docs. See Brenda Bernstein’s Resume!
2. Post it on indeed.com. Indeed is a highly recommended job posting site, free to both you and employers who post jobs there. If you post your resume, you will be given a URL for your resume page. The cool thing about indeed.com is that you will get a resume Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS’s) can read! You can then save it as a pdf and use it to apply to other jobs that use ATS software.
3. Create a website. The Essay Expert can help you with this. You can have a page with your resume and link to it from your other social media profiles.  BTW, everyone reading this article, if you haven’t done so already, should go ahead and purchase the domain name for your first and last name or some version of it!  Be ready with the domain so when you want to create your website you can do it.
4. Attach it to your LinkedIn profile.  First download the application Box.net and then you will be able to upload your resume.  The resume will then be available to people who visit your LinkedIn profile.

Following the above recommendations will set you up to be successful with your online job search.  Stay tuned for more tips and tricks for online job searches coming up in the next few weeks!

Were these tips helpful?  What other questions do you have?  Please comment below!

Breaking News about LinkedIn’s Company Follow

LinkedIn announced on October 10 that it was rolling out yet a new feature that will change the face of what it means to follow a company on LinkedIn.  For a year and a half prior to this development, it has been possible to follow companies on LinkedIn.  But the information available was rather limited, i.e.,  1) when employees join, leave or are promoted; 2) new job opportunities; and 3) company profile updates.

If you are a job seeker interested in working at a company, or if you are a recruiter, the three pieces of information listed above can be quite useful.  You can keep track of useful tidbits like how many and what type of people a company is hiring, how many people get promoted, and how many employees leave the company.  As LinkedIn suggested in its April 2010 announcement about the Company Follow feature, Get on the inside track with “Company Follow,” if you are geography teacher you might be quite interested if you see web technology companies hiring people like you!

What was missing from the Company Follow feature was the ability to get news and information from the company itself. That has now changed with the advent of…  Company Status updates!

Yes, it’s true. Companies on LinkedIn can now act just like people and post updates to their very own status bar.  With a 500-character limit, these updates can be substantial. And you can follow them with a simple click of the mouse!

Here’s a video about the new feature:

Click here to watch a video about this new feature!

What’s in it for you?

How might company updates help you as a job seeker?  Well, you have probably heard a lot about the “hidden job market.”  Most high level positions are actually filled without being advertised. Note well:  Status updates allow you to find out any news that a company thinks is important to share.  If you read these updates carefully, you might find a good reason to contact the company, comment on these new developments, and make a positive impression on a decision-maker.

You might be thinking, “Well, if company updates are available to everyone, won’t everyone be pestering these poor decision-makers with congratulatory notes and other correspondence?” My best guess is that most people will not take advantage of the opportunities presented by Company Follow. They might not be paying attention, or they might be too scared to write a letter to a decision-maker. By truly utilizing the information that is available, you will set yourself apart.

You may already have ideas of companies you want to follow.  Start following them!  In addition, take a look at the Search for Companies homepage.  You will be given “Companies You May Want to Follow,” much the same as you can find “Groups you Might Like” under the Groups tab.

Follow The Essay Expert’s Company Page on LinkedIn

Here’s a great idea: How about starting by following The Essay Expert! I will be updating my status from time to time to let you know of developments that might interest you. And I will always be happy to hear from you in response to my updates.

For any company owners reading this, you have a new task to add to your list:  updating your company status bar and starting to gather followers.  As of now, posting is a “by hand” type of job, though I hear HootSuite is working on integration. LinkedIn might not catch up to facebook when it comes to creating company buzz, but for job seekers LinkedIn is still the place to be…  and to follow.

Follow The Essay Expert!

I need your help.

LinkedIn announced on August 9, 2011 that they have rolled out yet another new feature on their site:  the “Improve Your Profile Tool.”  According to the LinkedIn blog, this tool “analyzes your profile and offers you personalized profile recommendations to help you put your best foot forward.”

Clichés aside, this tool could be extremely useful to you if your profile is not 100% complete, or if you have failed to include key information.

Here’s my problem: 

I ran the Profile Makeover on my own profile, and all it told me was that I didn’t advertise my date of graduation from high school (I left it out by choice, as some of you might as well); I didn’t list the degree I got from high school (pretty obvious isn’t it?); and I didn’t specify the concentration of my J.D. (there wasn’t one – a J.D. is a J.D.).

Where I’m left, as a LinkedIn profile writer and editor, is that I have no idea what other types of suggestions LinkedIn might make to its users who have not optimized their profiles.

That’s where you come in.

I would love for you to put your profile through the Improve Your Profile process and report back on this blog what the tool tells you is missing or incorrect in your profile.

I will then know what advice I should be giving to people about LinkedIn, and what information LinkedIn will take care of.  I don’t want to be duplicating things unnecessarily!  The data you provide will greatly inform the content I choose to convey in my e-book and LinkedIn webinars.

To use the tool, start at LinkedIn’s article, LinkedIn Profile Makeovers just got easier, and then click in “Improve your LinkedIn Profile today!”

Are you game?  I look forward to learning from the community what improvements LinkedIn thinks you should make to your profile.

I promise to make good use of your comments.  And I don’t really think I am out of a job…  I just won’t be doing the things a computer can do quite well on its own.  Just in case, though, maybe I should make sure my LinkedIn profile is updated.

Any ideas on how I can do that?

On July 24, 2011, LinkedIn announced their “Apply with LinkedIn” system.  According to LinkedIn’s Blog, Apply with LinkedIn will allow you to “submit your profile for any job application on the web with one simple click.” Most notable about this program is that companies will be able to install a button on their websites, allowing applicants to apply using a LinkedIn profile!

You now have another incentive to write a KILLER LinkedIn profile.

LinkedIn claims that over one thousand companies are jumping on the bandwagon, including big names like Netflix, TripIt and Photobucket.

The following are LinkedIn’s 3 advertised selling points for job seekers:

1.  You can modify your profile for each position.

If you want to cater your profile to each job position, this is your chance.  Of course, you could get in trouble if the company were to go back and check your profile to find that it looks completely different from the profile you submitted…  so don’t modify too much!

2. LinkedIn will show you the names of people who can introduce you to someone in the company.

We all know that the way to get a job is through networking, and LinkedIn apparently will help you get started.  I wonder how effective these leads really are, however, since if everyone who applies for the position is given contact information of people at the company, these contacts might be inundated with communications from hundreds of job seekers. This feature could lose its power pretty quickly.

3. LinkedIn will track all your applications for you!

Tracking services and historical information on your job search?  Now that is a huge advantage, especially for the organizationally challenged!  All you have to do is go to the “Saved Jobs” tab under the Jobs category, and you’ll be able to view a record of all the jobs you’ve applied to.  Imagine twenty or thirty years from now looking back nostalgically on those first Apply with LinkedIn attempts.

Your STELLAR LinkedIn Profile!

The most important takeaway of this roll-out as I see it is that if you are planning to apply to one of the thousands of companies who soon will be using the Apply with LinkedIn button, you will really need to make sure your LinkedIn profile is 100% complete – and that it sparkles!

The Essay Expert is here to help you, through webinars and direct services, to create a profile you are proud of.  View The Essay Expert’s LinkedIn Profile Services and contact us through our web form or at 608-467-0067.

Many people approach me to ask whether it’s worth the price to subscribe to LinkedIn Job Seeker Premium.  One of my subscribers, Susan Poseika, signed up for the one-month free trial and was kind enough to share her evaluation of the service.  Her experience is anecdotal — only one person’s experience — and does not necessarily predict what anyone else will experience. Still, I thought it would be valuable to share.

As background, I invite you to read an article I wrote about LinkedIn’s Job Seeker Premium.  You might also want to view LinkedIn’s VIDEO about the service, available HERE.

LinkedIn claims the following advantages of Linkedin Job Seeker Premium on the subscription page:

• Get noticed by recruiters and hiring managers with a JobSeekers Badge
• Zero in on $100K+ jobs with detailed salary information
• Move to the top of the list as a featured applicant
• Contact anyone directly through InMail – response guaranteed
• See who has viewed your profile with details
• Get introduced to the companies you are targeting
• Let recruiters message you for free through OpenLink
• Get Priority Customer Service

Below is what Susan reported as her experience with Job Seeker Premium:

Get noticed by hiring managers and recruiters with LinkedIn badge:
I did not notice a difference with this feature. Recruiters had contacted me when I did not have the badge; however, during the month I had the badge, there was nothing.

After I took the badge off (after the free month) I still did not see any change.

Move to top of the list as Featured Applicant:
I did not notice a difference from this feature.

InMail:
With InMail, Linkedin members can contact anyone without knowing their contact information or going through introductions from other LinkedIn members. However, if you get a deep enough network, there would be a way to connect with the same people, if not through direct invitations, then through introductions.

Note from Brenda:  Two other ways to connect with people you don’t know are 1) by joining a group where you are both members 2) by looking for the person’s email address, either in the person’s profile (many members include their email address) or by searching the web.  If you know a person’s company then often you can figure out their email address.  For instance, if you are looking for Peter Cantor who works at samplecompany, go to samplecompany.com and find an email address.  If you find sarahj@samplecompany.com, then you have a good chance that Peter’s email address is peterc@samplecompany.com.

Who has viewed your profile:
With the Free version, you can see who has viewed your profile over the last week only. With Premium, however, you can see who has viewed your profile over the last week, last month, or more.

In both cases, you can view a trend chart of profile viewing. The trend chart is an excellent feature that allows you to see whether profile viewing is going up or down. For those job seekers who check once a week, the Premium account won’t really give you anything you don’t already have.

Note from Brenda:  With the paid service, you can see the full list of the people who viewed you. With a free account you can only see the most recent five viewers.  Whether you have a paid or free account, you can see the names of your viewers IF they set their privacy settings to allow you to see them. Otherwise you will get only a description of their industry.

Get introduced to target companies:
With the Free version, you can get introduced, through one of your contacts, to up to a maximum of five targeted companies. With the Premium version, you have the potential of twenty-five.

OpenLink Networker:
I did not notice a difference with this option.

Back to Brenda:

Where I’m left with all this is that if you can afford it and you are targeted in your job search, you may as well use the enhanced service.  One thing Susan didn’t mention is that the service provides tools to help keep your job search organized.  She tells me she did not have a chance to test-drive that aspect of the service, and believes it would be quite useful over time.

“If you can,” recommends Susan, “take advantage of any free one-month offer, have a targeted strategy, and use the service to its maximum potential. By doing so, you should see this feature leading to off-line/personal contact, which is the goal of using of Job Seeker Premium.”

I couldn’t agree more.  And if you have a story to share about LinkedIn Job Seeker Premium, you might be featured in a future blog!

Need Linkedin profile writing or strategy assistance?  Contact The Essay Expert for a 15-minute consultation.

Many people on LinkedIn make the mistake of copying their resume summary statements into their LinkedIn Summary section.  There are three major problems with this strategy:

Problem #1: Trite Phrases

Often your resume summary is laden with overused phrases like “Results-oriented team player with a proven track record…” or “Dynamic, motivated self-starter with extensive experience…”

If your resume summary looks anything like the above examples, please rewrite it and hire a professional resume writer if necessary!  This type of language belongs neither on your resume nor in your LinkedIn profile.

Problem #2: LinkedIn Summary Real Estate

You have 2000 characters at your disposal for a LinkedIn Summary, vs. three to four lines maximum for your resume summary.  Why would you choose not to use all that real estate to say something – really say something – about yourself?

Problem #3: Keywords

Your LinkedIn Summary is an essential place for you to insert keywords if you want to be found on LinkedIn.  By inserting a 3-line summary, you lose out on your chance to build keywords into your profile.

Resume Summary Example – For Resumes Only

Here’s an example of a very strong resume summary statement that does NOT belong in a LinkedIn Summary (note I DO like this statement as a resume summary statement – in fact I wrote it!):

LeeAnn Dance — Producer  – Writer — Editor

Award-winning television producer and groundbreaking investigative reporter —  experience covering issues ranging from pre-election to international news, with special emphasis on East Africa.  Creator and writer of highly acclaimed documentaries and promotional videos for non-profit organizations. Eight years as producer for CNN.

LinkedIn Summary Example – Great Model!

What would a LinkedIn Summary look like for LeaAnn?  Here is the statement we wrote for her:

• Award-winning investigative and documentary television producer

Video production and broadcast journalism have been my passions for over 20 years, ever since receiving my MS in Journalism from Columbia University. I have produced everything from groundbreaking news stories for CNN to promotional videos for non-profit organizations, and I am currently hosting a blog radio show for parents relaunching their careers.

My journalism background gave me the ability to distill a large amount of material and hone in on what’s true and important. I can pinpoint the real message that needs to be conveyed, creating a human story that moves and inspires an audience.

• Promotional Videos for Non-Profit Organizations

As a freelance video producer, I specialize in creating high caliber, professional and creative promotional videos for non-profit and educational organizations. I understand the budgetary constraints of non-profit organizations and will work within a range of budgets and scope of work.

Funders respond to high quality video presentations that effectively convey your organization’s message. I will take your message, target it, and transform it into a concise and meaningful array of pictures, words, and sounds. You will then have the power of an impactful video to present your organization’s activities at fundraising events and through the web.

• Back in Force

In addition to being a video producer, I was a stay-at-home mom for 13 years, and I am committed to providing resources to women who are returning to the workforce. The Back in Force blog chronicles my journey and shares information about the return-to-work process.

Blog topics include emotional roadblocks to relaunching, preparing your resume, updating your wardrobe, and preparing your family for re-entry.

Check out my weekly blog talk radio show on relaunching your career, with guests including authors, career counselors, therapists, and employers. (www.blogtalkradio.com/backinforce)

What works about this LinkedIn Summary Example?

1. Conveys LeeAnn’s story and her passion (the resume summary does not).
2. Contains multiple keywords that will get LeeAnn found on LinkedIn.
3. Covers the different facets of what LeeAnn has to offer.
4. Draws the eye to sub-headings so that readers can easily see what LeeAnn is about.  The text is broken into bite-sized pieces, not so blocky that no one will read it.
5. Has a call to action.

Note that the resume summary does NONE of these five things, even though it is perfectly great as a resume summary.

Can you write a LinkedIn Summary Statement for yourself that accomplishes at least four out of the five functions listed above?  If yes, great — go for it!  If you need help, consider contacting The Essay Expert for a free 15- minute consultation.  We will be happy to write you a LinkedIn Summary that will help you get found on LinkedIn and have the impact you want on the people who read your profile.

Some of you have been on my LinkedIn webinars before. At least one of you got a call from a recruiter one week after making the changes I suggested — just from listening to the webinar!  Want to hear the recording of my last webinar?  Click on  How to Write a Killer LinkedIn Profile.

Your next opportunity to hear me present LIVE is this Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at 12:00pm Central time.  

Why would you want to attend this webinar?

If you are a professional in any industry, you simply can’t afford to have a mediocre LinkedIn profile. Your potential employers will all be scrutinizing your profile, and you want to make a great impression. In this webinar, I will take you through the most important sections of your profile and the most important strategies for getting found.

Topics covered:
• Why care about LinkedIn?
• What’s the point of 500+ connections?
• What should I write in my headline to get found?
• What should I write in my Summary?
• What are LinkedIn applications and how do I use them?
• How do I add LinkedIn’s new sections to my profile?
• How can I make the most of LinkedIn groups?

Join me and Robert Shindell of ilostmyjob.com to learn the answers to these questions – and make a “Killer” impression on the people who find you on LinkedIn.

Wednesday April 6th -
12:00pm CST

I just got word that LinkedIn is offering a free trial of its Job Seeker Premium service.  Here’s a short article I wrote about that service.  Job Seekers:  Have you heard about LinkedIn’s Job Seeker Premium?

I encourage you to take advantage of this offer and explore the benefits of the service.  Offer expires March 29, so act fast!

I do not get any payment for referring people to this service.  I just think it’s a great opportunity to get organized and increase contact with recruiters.

Remember to mark your calendar so that if you do not want to continue the service you cancel before your month is up!

And please report in the comments any experiences, positive or negative, you’ve had with Job Seeker Premium.

FREE TRIAL OFFER

What’s the “right” way to write a resume or conduct a job search?

People ask me questions all the time about how many pages a resume should be; whether to include an Objective statement; what the value is of a web portfolio; etc. The fact is, there is no clear cut answer to many of these questions, and the answers change year by year, even day by day. They certainly can change depending on who you are, what industry you’re in, and what your experience level is.

Ask the Experts

Given that resume writing and job search strategies are constantly changing, I feel fortunate that there is a coalition of experts who spend a lot of time thinking about these issues, and even more fortunate that they share their wisdom each year.

On December 30, 2010, a consortium of 156 career experts from the U.S., Canada and the U.K. met to brainstorm about career and employment issues. They published their findings on March 14, 2011 in Findings of 2010 Global Career Brainstorming Day: Trends for the Now, the New & the Next in Careers. As my readers, you are privy to the valuable findings of this group of Career Thought Leaders.

The latest trends in resume writing and job search strategies include:

1. Your Google results are the new resume. Build a strong online presence so you look good when those results come up. And monitor your Google results routinely in case of anything fishy!
2. Keep it short. Three-page resumes are discouraged, regardless of your experience level. Use “extras” or addenda if necessary for publications, technology qualifications, consulting experience, etc.
3. Culture fit is more important than your skill set. Companies hire people, not resumes.
4. Web portfolios are not as useful as you might think in most industries.
5. Brand yourself! Keep your brand consistent throughout your job search documents.
6. DO use a Core Competencies or Key Strengths section.
7. DO put a testimonial or two on your resume.
8. DO use tasteful graphic touches, including borders, text boxes or graphs when appropriate.
9. Show the company what YOU can do for THEM. Write resume bullets that clearly show the problem you solved and how you solved it.
10. If possible, write your intended job title instead of “Summary of Qualifications” above your summary. This structure makes your objective clear, and allows you to write a summary of your offerings instead of an objective.
11. DO send paper resumes! They will make you stand out from the crowd.
12. DO send a cover letter. Do not expect that it will be read. However, in some cases it is read first, so assume it will be read.
13. E-cover letters (in the body of an email) can be short and sweet.
14. Have a bio available in addition to a resume as an alternative introduction to a resume.
15. Format your resume in Microsoft Word .doc format. Have a plain text resume available as well.
16. Use Twitres (www.twitres.com) to display your resume on Twitter. Use Box.net to display your resume on LinkedIn (Box.net is my personal tip)
17. Networking is still the absolute best way to get a job. Job boards just are not an effective tool for job search, although you should use them as part of your strategy. Only 13.2% of external hires in Fortune 500 companies came from job boards, whereas 26.7% came from referrals and 22.3% came from employer career sites. Overall, somewhere between 65-95% of all new hires come as a result of networking. That’s a pretty staggering statistic!
18. Social networking an essential job search strategy, and LinkedIn tops the chart. 80% of recruiters use social media to recruit candidates. You absolutely MUST have a strong presence on LinkedIn, “the #1 online networking platform for job seekers” according to the report.
19. Clear skeletons out of your closet if you can. With so many candidates vying for each open position, any red flags mean your application is put in the “no”pile. Employers will go back 20-30 years to make sure your record is clean.
20. Become savvy with virtual technology. You might be required to attend a virtual interview, or you might choose to create a web-based resume or portfolio to get some extra notice. Need help to manage it all? Many job seekers are hiring virtual assistants just to keep up with it all!

If you want to read more detail about these top 20 points, please go to the full article, Findings of 2010 Global Career Brainstorming Day: Trends for the Now, the New & the Next in Careers.

Were you surprised by any of the findings? What did you learn? Please share in the comments below.