Was your New Year’s resolution to get another job? Have you succeeded?
I know the year is young but, just like any other resolution, the more time is takes to start, the longer it takes to succeed.
Most of the articles I have read about making resolutions stick, talk about breaking the objective into small parts. If you want to get fit, starting with a marathon is probably not the best way to go.
It's better (they say) to start by walking around the block, and then build into longer runs with the marathon on a six month horizon.
Career building is the same. Only Cinderella got a new job with a chance meeting at a ball. The rest of us have to work a little bit harder.
There are several places you can start. You can dust off your resume and give it refresh. That tends to be a bit overwhelming though. Especially if you don’t know where you last put it.
LinkedIn is probably the best place to begin. You can reset your password, if you have forgotten how to get in. (Shame on you!). Resist the temptation to create another profile. Work with the original. You don’t want to have two profiles. It's too confusing.
Updating your current responsibilities or adding some new volunteer work is great. You can also change your photo. That’s a fun and an impactful exercise. Remember: no dogs, birds or kids. And try not to use a cropped photo from a wedding. We can tell and it looks cheesy.
LinkedIn wants to let everyone know that you have made positive changes. Most profiles default to notify your network when you do some editing. You don’t have to tell the world that you are fixing a typo or changing your headshot. Click on the square with your picture at the top of the right side and then Privacy and Settings. Under Privacy Controls, the second option is whether people see your profile edits. If you unclick it, no one will be notified when you make changes.
That way you can save the updates for the important things …..like your new job!