When advertising for salespeople, sales managers, or recruiters he gave a list of what things he thinks are important to judge candidates on. Since he's helped companies evaluate 700,000 sales people that is a good sign to me he knows what he is talking about. His list is below:
Thanks!
Ev
These are my Top 10 Sales Management Functions. The list, in no particular order is probably different, in many ways, as much for what's not on it as for what is:
1.COACHING
2.ACCOUNTABILITY
3.MOTIVATION
4.RECRUITING
5.DEVELOPMENT
6.LEADERSHIP
7.RELATIONSHIPS
8.TACTICS
9.STRATEGY
10.SYSTEMS AND PROCESSESThe following competencies, which are NOT sales management functions, do not appear on my list:
■Personal Sales
■Account Management
■Closing Deals for OthersAlso not in my top 10 are
■Territory Management
■Paperwork
■Meetings
■Travel
■Trips
Dave Kurlan is a top-rated speaker, best-selling author, sales thought leader and highly regarded sales development expert.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Sunday, October 30, 2011
October Jokes-2011
Here are the jokes for October.
Please enjoy!
Ev
"A Heck of A Nice Guy"
What is Bethovan doing now?
Decomposing!
Why can't you got to the bathroom at a Beatles reunion concert?
There is no John!
(Part two of this joke was sent in my MT. Thank you MT!)
Without a John at a Beetles reunion, I wonder, where would Ringo?
By the way, there is no George, either. He and John were carried away by a Paul bearer.
What Kind of flower gives the best kisses?
A Tulip!
What kind of shoe does a thief wear?
Sneakers!
Friday, October 28, 2011
Why You Should Coach Webinar by Tim Hagen
Tim Hagen has been a longtime associate of mine. He has been a "Coach to the Coaches" for many years. I recently attended his webinar on coaching and got some good ideas on how we can coach our candidates we work with as the salespeople we are.
If you have about 45 minutes I think you'll garner a few gold nuggets to try and improve the performance of the team. Click on the link below:
Why-you-should-coach by Tim Hagen
If you talk to Tim tell him you got his information from my blog!
Thanks!
Ev
Title: “Why You Need to Coach” by Tim Hagen
“Training Reinforcement & Coaching Leader”
262-240-1077 or 262-227-8563 (cell)
www.SalesProgress.com
Company Overview: http://play.goldmail.com/4fp6p4chpfgi
Free Coaching Information:
Sales Coaching Works (blog): http://salescoachingworks.tumblr.com/
Sales Leader Blog: http://www.salesprogress.com/coaching-leadership/
Coaching Blog: http://blog.salesprogress.com/
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Is Facebook About to Offer Free Job Listings?
I previously published an interesting article by this author about Facebook destroying LinkedIn:
Why-facebook-will-destroy-linkedin-for-recruiting
I found this follow up and thought it interesting enough to reprint here. Please note this is just the author's opinion.
Thanks!
Ev
Is Facebook About to Offer Free Job Listings?
by Jody Ordioni
I recently predicted that Facebook will eventually destroy LinkedIn. Today, that prediction came closer to reality as the world’s largest social network announced a partnership with national employment services and the U.S. Department of Labor. According to Facebook’s official statement, the Social Jobs Partnership goal will be “to facilitate employment for America’s jobless through the use of social networks.”
Facebook has launched a page, facebook.com/socialjobs, which features resources and information for job seekers from the coalition’s other partners: The National Association of Colleges and Employers, the DirectEmployers Association, and the National Association of State Workforce Agencies, along with the Labor Department. Facebook plans to create public service announcements to promote its services in the 10 states with the highest unemployment rates, which, according to CNN Money, are Michigan, Rhode Island, California, South Carolina, Oregon, Nevada, North Carolina, Georgia, Alaska, and Florida. Included in Facebook’s list of initiatives is this intriguing item:
“The partnership will explore and develop systems for delivering job postings virally through Facebook at no charge.” Does that mean Facebook will officially enter the job-search market? If so, well, Mashable’s Sarah Kessler put it bluntly: “A job board that lives on Facebook could put the social network in direct competition with sites like LinkedIn and Monster.com.”LinkedIn already faces challenges from Monster-owned BeKnown and the startup BranchOut, which have launched recruiting applications for Facebook. If Facebook itself gets into the game, it may make LinkedIn irrelevant even before my 2013 prediction.
That’s just the start of the dominos falling. Monster would find itself in a particularly strange position as its host starts directly competing against it. Monster may drop its Facebook application and return to its own site; but, if that strategy was working, why did it approach Facebook at all? Craigslist would also stand to suffer if Facebook allows free job listings, because the social network could offer more focused targeting than Craigslist’s city sections do. BranchOut, with no corporate “parent,” may simply disappear.
When Mashable’s Kessler pressed Facebook on this important matter, a spokesman told her, “We’re going to invest in research in new technologies that will deliver jobs virally at no charge and expand opportunities for people to create social job searching experiences online.”
That one sentence may alter the future of four different corporations and the entire online recruiting world. You know where I stand; what’s your prediction?
Why-facebook-will-destroy-linkedin-for-recruiting
I found this follow up and thought it interesting enough to reprint here. Please note this is just the author's opinion.
Thanks!
Ev
Is Facebook About to Offer Free Job Listings?
by Jody Ordioni
I recently predicted that Facebook will eventually destroy LinkedIn. Today, that prediction came closer to reality as the world’s largest social network announced a partnership with national employment services and the U.S. Department of Labor. According to Facebook’s official statement, the Social Jobs Partnership goal will be “to facilitate employment for America’s jobless through the use of social networks.”
Facebook has launched a page, facebook.com/socialjobs, which features resources and information for job seekers from the coalition’s other partners: The National Association of Colleges and Employers, the DirectEmployers Association, and the National Association of State Workforce Agencies, along with the Labor Department. Facebook plans to create public service announcements to promote its services in the 10 states with the highest unemployment rates, which, according to CNN Money, are Michigan, Rhode Island, California, South Carolina, Oregon, Nevada, North Carolina, Georgia, Alaska, and Florida. Included in Facebook’s list of initiatives is this intriguing item:
“The partnership will explore and develop systems for delivering job postings virally through Facebook at no charge.” Does that mean Facebook will officially enter the job-search market? If so, well, Mashable’s Sarah Kessler put it bluntly: “A job board that lives on Facebook could put the social network in direct competition with sites like LinkedIn and Monster.com.”LinkedIn already faces challenges from Monster-owned BeKnown and the startup BranchOut, which have launched recruiting applications for Facebook. If Facebook itself gets into the game, it may make LinkedIn irrelevant even before my 2013 prediction.
That’s just the start of the dominos falling. Monster would find itself in a particularly strange position as its host starts directly competing against it. Monster may drop its Facebook application and return to its own site; but, if that strategy was working, why did it approach Facebook at all? Craigslist would also stand to suffer if Facebook allows free job listings, because the social network could offer more focused targeting than Craigslist’s city sections do. BranchOut, with no corporate “parent,” may simply disappear.
When Mashable’s Kessler pressed Facebook on this important matter, a spokesman told her, “We’re going to invest in research in new technologies that will deliver jobs virally at no charge and expand opportunities for people to create social job searching experiences online.”
That one sentence may alter the future of four different corporations and the entire online recruiting world. You know where I stand; what’s your prediction?
Monday, October 24, 2011
Why Facebook Will Destroy LinkedIn (for recruiting)?
Hmmmm...
An interesting opinion by this author.
Thanks!
Ev
Why Facebook Will Destroy LinkedIn by Jody Ordioni
Aug 16, 2011,
http://linkd.in/nV0qKe
The Wall Street Journal recently published a story by Joe Light that highlighted certain employers, such as Waste Management, finding more recruitment success on Facebook than on LinkedIn.
“Facebook hires account for less than 1% of the total hires companies are making,” Light noted, quoting Jobs2Web’s recent analysis. “But if current growth trends continue, Facebook could rival traditional job boards in 2012.”
But it isn’t just the job boards that should be worried. Facebook will destroy LinkedIn, too. Here’s why:
•LinkedIn has 120 million members; Facebook has 750 million. Employers understand the concept of fishing where the fish are.
•The perception that Facebook is made up of flaky teenagers while LinkedIn includes only business professionals is wrong. The two sites’ average ages are just two years apart (38 for Facebook, 40 for LinkedIn). So there are plenty of 30-somethings on Facebook with years of work experience who are considering a career change.
•LinkedIn is under attack by a major job board. In June, Monster launched BeKnown, an application that turns Facebook into a recruiting platform. It has 760,000 active monthly users after just two months. Instead of joining forces with LinkedIn, Monster chose to bypass the professional site and ally itself with Facebook.
•LinkedIn is also drawing fire from a startup. BranchOut, founded by former SuperFan CEO Rick Marini, is a similar application with 2.7 million monthly users. Like BeKnown, BranchOut overlays employer information on top of the Facebook interface while shielding personal data (like embarrassing photos) from recruiters’ eyes. The success of these apps shows that millions of job seekers don’t want to leave their favorite website when looking for work.
•LinkedIn can’t compete with Facebook’s social marketing. A major part of job searching involves personal references and word of mouth. Facebook is designed for just such interactions, as its “Recommended Pages” on a user’s home page shows. Instead of “Three friends like Pepsi,” users might soon see “Three friends applied to work at PepsiCo.” This sort of peer-to-peer marketing, effective in virtually every other field, will be impossible to duplicate on LinkedIn.
Facebook has more people, spending more time on the site, using innovative technology and getting personal referrals. LinkedIn has only its reputation and clean—bordering on empty—interface. I predict 2011 will be a tough year for the professional networking site. 2012 will be brutal. And, sometime in 2013, Facebook will finally destroy LinkedIn.
An interesting opinion by this author.
Thanks!
Ev
Why Facebook Will Destroy LinkedIn by Jody Ordioni
Aug 16, 2011,
http://linkd.in/nV0qKe
The Wall Street Journal recently published a story by Joe Light that highlighted certain employers, such as Waste Management, finding more recruitment success on Facebook than on LinkedIn.
“Facebook hires account for less than 1% of the total hires companies are making,” Light noted, quoting Jobs2Web’s recent analysis. “But if current growth trends continue, Facebook could rival traditional job boards in 2012.”
But it isn’t just the job boards that should be worried. Facebook will destroy LinkedIn, too. Here’s why:
•LinkedIn has 120 million members; Facebook has 750 million. Employers understand the concept of fishing where the fish are.
•The perception that Facebook is made up of flaky teenagers while LinkedIn includes only business professionals is wrong. The two sites’ average ages are just two years apart (38 for Facebook, 40 for LinkedIn). So there are plenty of 30-somethings on Facebook with years of work experience who are considering a career change.
•LinkedIn is under attack by a major job board. In June, Monster launched BeKnown, an application that turns Facebook into a recruiting platform. It has 760,000 active monthly users after just two months. Instead of joining forces with LinkedIn, Monster chose to bypass the professional site and ally itself with Facebook.
•LinkedIn is also drawing fire from a startup. BranchOut, founded by former SuperFan CEO Rick Marini, is a similar application with 2.7 million monthly users. Like BeKnown, BranchOut overlays employer information on top of the Facebook interface while shielding personal data (like embarrassing photos) from recruiters’ eyes. The success of these apps shows that millions of job seekers don’t want to leave their favorite website when looking for work.
•LinkedIn can’t compete with Facebook’s social marketing. A major part of job searching involves personal references and word of mouth. Facebook is designed for just such interactions, as its “Recommended Pages” on a user’s home page shows. Instead of “Three friends like Pepsi,” users might soon see “Three friends applied to work at PepsiCo.” This sort of peer-to-peer marketing, effective in virtually every other field, will be impossible to duplicate on LinkedIn.
Facebook has more people, spending more time on the site, using innovative technology and getting personal referrals. LinkedIn has only its reputation and clean—bordering on empty—interface. I predict 2011 will be a tough year for the professional networking site. 2012 will be brutal. And, sometime in 2013, Facebook will finally destroy LinkedIn.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
The Funniest Team Around-Until they Lost It
Earlier I wrote an article about how every team needs a "sick individual" on it.
every-team-needs-sick-individual
For the last several weeks I had the article below sitting on my desk.
As the Milwaukee Brewers were going through the playoffs I noticed something about the time they went to Arizona for games 3 and 4 of the National League Division series. The Brewers lost their personality. The team Rick Reilly mentions seemed too tight. Too tense. The "beast" signs weren't as obvious and many seemed half hearted. There were no "cowboy dress up days" or even "football jersey days" on the plane rides as there were in the season. No one made fun of the errors that were committed by having a "kangaroo court" or having fielding practice and hitting oversize balls in jest to fielders that made errors. They went from being a team of goofy, funny guys to being strictly serious baseball players. When they lost that side of the personality of their team they lost part of the way they dealt with adversity. When they got behind it made them more tense when trying to play catch up.
That took them out of their element and was part of the reason they lost. It wasn't the only reason, but it was a part.
The first piece of sales advice my Dad gave me was to always be myself.
Make sure your recruiting or sales team always is true to themselves. Their performance will reflect when they are or are not.
Yes. I'm a Brewers fan.
Thanks for making it a fun year!
Ev
"A Heck of A Nice Guy"
The funnest team around
By Rick Reilly
ESPN.com
Corey Hart, Ryan Braun and Nyjer Morgan are key members of the 2011 Milwaukee Brewers, the most lovable and easy-to-root-for team in this year's MLB postseason. One reason baseball ranks behind lawn darts in American sports popularity is that there are so few lovable teams.
The Yankees? It's like rooting for a hedge fund.
The Phillies? Just another checkbook champion.
But this year is different. This year, we have the Milwaukee Brewers. If you can't root for the Brewers, your rooter is busted.
The Brewers are a foamy phenomenon. How could a team with a smaller television market than Raleigh-Durham win the NL Central for the first time in 29 years?
This is a team whose three most famous members are stuffed sausages. How could a team with a comedian for a play-by-play guy get so seriously good?
Because it's Milwaukee, where baseball is actually fun.
The Brewers are a rolling carnival in metal spikes. One day this year, their stud left fielder, Ryan Braun, fell flat on his face between third and home and was tagged out. The next day, there was a body outline on the grass, a present from his teammates.One night, their center fielder, Nyjer Morgan, smashed a walk-off double, only he didn't know to walk off. He thought it was the eighth inning.
This is a team where the star Japanese reliever, Takashi Saito, owns a Stetson cowboy hat and the star American starter, Zack Greinke, owns a samurai sword.
Take Morgan. He has at least three alter egos -- maniacal Tony Plush, countrified Tony Tombstone and Tony Gumble, the calculating "Professional." None of the four would back off from a starving grizzly.
One night in early September, Morgan got into it with St. Louis Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter, who didn't appreciate the way Morgan had mouthed off after a home run earlier in the season. So when Morgan whiffed swinging, Carpenter added, "Eff you!" as salt to the wound.
To which, Morgan replied, "Eff you!" The two started walking toward each other. Running in from first base came the Cards' 6-foot-3, 230-pound all-galaxy first baseman Albert Pujols, also repeating the phrase of the moment. Five-foot-10, 175-pound Morgan had to be held back by teammates from attacking him. Afterward, I asked Morgan what was cross-wired in his brain that he would invite violence from Pujols. After calling Pujols a very bad word, Morgan said that Pujols needed to "get back to first base."
Me: "You're sayin' you could take Albert Pujols?"
Morgan: "Oh, please. I'da f---ed him up. I'da one-punched him."
Morgan is such a hotdog he should be entered in the sausage race.
"I only come around once in a lifetime," he says. For a lot of NL pitchers, that's too often. He just had his finest year in the bigs.
Once you've dealt with Morgan, you have to face the very un-Morgan-esque Braun, who looks as if he escaped from an Abercrombie & Fitch poster. He's got Hollywood looks and four-and-a-half-tool talent. Braun almost won the batting title with an average of .332, hit 33 home runs and drove in 111 runs. The half-Jewish 27-year-old winters in Malibu but just signed to summer in Milwaukee until he's 37. Why would a Malibu mensch live among the meatballs of Milwaukee half the year?
"Because," he says, "we all look forward to coming to work every day here. How many jobs can you say that about?"
After the Hebrew Hammer, you have to get past a man built like a Hummer, Prince Fielder, a raking machine who sets the bat in his right hand against a callus the size of tangerine. I've seen it. It's alarming.
"I don't even feel it," he says.
Fielder callously thumped pitchers for 38 home runs and 120 RBIs this year, second in the league in both categories. Alas, the Brewers can't afford him after this year, so he'll probably be moving to one of the corporate monoliths in the AL. But how can a guy named Fielder be a DH?
Brewers outfielder Nyjer Morgan is a tough competitor on the field and a free spirit off it. Their closer, gangly 6-5 John Axford, has a Fu Manchu he won't cut and a slider you can't hit. He didn't allow a run in September. The team wears T-shirts with his face on them that read: Carpe Diem. Seize the Day. Axford almost always does. He blew only two saves all season.
Presiding over all this madness is a librarian in a manager's uniform, bookish Ron Roenicke, who refuses to go by the book. The rookie manager hates the intentional walk (he used it only 16 times all year), brings in Braun as a fifth infielder occasionally and refuses to keep a left-handed reliever on his staff because "then you're stuck with him."He looks the other way for most of the insanity, and there's a boatload of it. For the team fantasy league draft, the vets made rookie Taylor Green wear a tight dress and heels and serve them beer."But at least they invited me," Green says. "They invite everybody to everything."
As right fielder Corey Hart says, "This is the funnest team I've ever been on. I'm lovin' it."
OK, so they're loose with grammar, too. They're loose and fun and wildly talented. Like Morgan, this might be a team that comes along only once in a lifetime. Don your "Fear the Beer" T-shirt and get on board.
Carpe annum.
Seize the year.
Rick-Reilly-Milwaukee-Brewers
Monday, October 17, 2011
Every Team Needs A Sick Individual
Rader's manager didn't mean sick as in "ill." He meant sick like "crazy, weird, bizarre," just someone that can keep the team loose.
In baseball you spend 8-9 months with the same group of guys there is going to be tension, conflicts, and fights. In sales and recruiting it is the same way. We spend 8-10 hours every day with the same group of people doing our jobs. No matter how great a team is, they need someone to make a joke, start a conversation, or something to break up the monotony. It helps recharge the batteries. Break up the routine. Make us all human rather than being sales robots always spitting out perfect closes and cold call introductions.
If your team is hitting the numbers but there is something missing that you can't put your finger on. Maybe it has to do with the chemistry of your team. Even a team of sales and recruiting superstars needs someone who can play the role of class clown from time to time.
The opposite can also be true. You've recruited and trained better people. Everyone is doing the right activities but you just can't quite get to the top of the billing sheets. Maybe your team is too tense. If they loosen up a little bit maybe the performance will improve. Jerry Kramer of the Lombardi era Green bay Packers tells a story that before one of the games with the Chicago Bears, Coach Lombardi sensed that the team was too tense. Too Hyped up. When he came in to do his pregame speech, the player expected a great philosophical fire and brimstone speech. Instead they got a little joke (I can't repeat it here). After a stunned silence everyone started laughing. The joke let off just a little bit of tension for the players and they went out and won the game.
Who do you have on your team that fills that "sick individual" role? What do you do in your professional day to keep yourself loose?
Thanks!
Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Change Can Make Champions: Recruiting & Sales Managers
In 2008 the Milwaukee Brewers made the baseball playoffs as the wild card team. It was the first time the Brewers had made the playoffs since 1982. In 2011 the Brewers won the National League Central Division championship and went back to the playoffs again.
Even through three years is a relatively short time, only five players from 2008 were on the roster in 2011:
Prince Fielder
Ricki Weeks
Craig Counsell
Cory Hart
Ryan Braun
Both teams were successful reaching the playoffs (I'm writing this before we know how far the 2011 team will go in the playoffs).
Both teams had their strengths and weaknesses. Stars like Ben Sheets, C.C. Sabathia, J.J. Hardy, and Jason Kendall are all gone. People were worried they wouldn't be able to replace the talent. Yet, the 2011 team has made the playoffs and is better team all around.
The old stars have been replaced by John Axford, Zack Grenke, and Nyger Morgan.
My point is you might have a winning sales or recruitment team in place now. That doesn't mean you should be afraid of change. Replacing weaker players with stronger ones. Replacing strong players that are past their prime and coasting. Replacing players to get a different group dynamic or increase skill sets are also ways to stay as champions. I've known sales managers who fire the lowest 10% of their staff every year as a matter of keeping everyone motivated. I've known sales managers who just hand out incentives unexpectanly for doing a good job. I've known others who good at creating internal competition. Whatever your game plan is to motivate and keep your staff on top keep doing it, but don't be afraid to try something else. You may make some mistakes, but if you learn from them you will continue to be on top and a champion.
Thanks!
Ev
Monday, October 10, 2011
LinkedIn: Busting 8 Damaging Myths About What It Can Do For Your Career
I'm a big believer in using LinkedIn for my business connections. I've been asked several questions over the years about LinkedIn and why it does or does not do whatever the person asking the question wants. This article by Kathy Caprino is a great summation of those questions.LinkedIn: Busting 8 Damaging Myths About What It Can Do For Your Career
Thanks Kathy!
Ev
LinkedIn: Busting 8 Damaging Myths About What It Can Do For Your Career
By Kathy Caprino, M.A.
As a career and executive coach, speaker and recruitment consultant, I use LinkedIn (LI) extensively each day, and I truly enjoy it. I’ve found that building my network to over 1,000 direct contacts (accessing 10 million+ indirect contacts) has been well worth the two years of time and energy. I’m a big fan of LI – and truly appreciate the power of the tool and all the opportunities, gigs, partnerships, insights, information and support that have come my way from it.
But after two years of using LinkedIn for several hours each day, and after counseling others on how to build their personal brand on LinkedIn for professional advantage, I’m witnessing some negative effects of the misguided notions people have gleaned about what LinkedIn can do for them.
I’d like to share what I’ve observed to be the Top 8 Myths about LinkedIn as a professional tool, and offer some straight talk about what you can expect it to do for you.
Here are the Top 8 Myths we need to bust:
Myth #1: LinkedIn will get me a job
Nothing is going to “get you a job” but you. Yes, you can search new job openings in your area, and discover who posted the job, and connect with these folks. You can find people who work at companies posting jobs, check them out, and ask their help to introduce you. But these steps aren’t going to land you a job. You must still do the rigorous internal and external work of knowing what you’re great at, communicating your talents, finding strong-fitting positions, then get on the radar of the hiring manager or recruiters involved, and present yourself as a highly qualified and desirable candidate.
Myth #2: LinkedIn will replace recruiters
There’s a growing fear out there that LinkedIn will replace recruiters as conduits for connecting talented candidates to leading employers. It’s just not so. There’s an important personal dimension to recruiting that a tool such as LinkedIn simply can’t provide. From critically sifting through hundreds of resumes, to understanding the components of true “fit” for the hiring company, to personally interviewing and filtering candidates, and doing the extensive legwork of communicating “fit” to both employer and candidate — recruiting is a labor-intensive job that requires expert, personalized skill and attention. Again, LI is a powerful tool that certainly has changed the recruiting landscape, but recruiters remain vitally important in the process.
Myth #3: There’s no need to fully flesh out my profile – a brief line or two is fine
OK, this one makes me nuts. Here’s this vastly powerful free networking tool that allows you to tell the world who you are as a professional – what you stand for, how you’re different from all the rest, what you’re passionate about, and how you’ve contributed in the workforce. And yet thousands of folks simply don’t spend any time to articulate who they are, or present themselves in a compelling, engaging manner. As a recruiter, when I view a poorly executed profile, I see a lack of interest in promoting yourself that speaks volumes about how committed and excited you are in your professional endeavors overall
Myth #4: Because I have over 100 (or 1000) connections, new opportunities will come easily to me
As in everything in life, quality matters over quantity. If you have scores of folks in your community who have nothing to do with anything you care about (or who aren’t interested in what you’re doing), then your connections will not generate productive or beneficial results for you.
Myth #5: When folks accept my LI invitation, they want to partner with me or connect more deeply
I’ve learned this the hard way in my recruiting work — just because people accept your invitation to connect, doesn’t mean they care about being in connection with you in any deeper way. It may simply mean that they saw your network as something advantageous to THEM, and they linked in for their own professional gain. Connections are interesting as far as they go – but it’s you who must make something positive of them.
Myth #6: LinkedIn is the best professional networking tool for all businesses or careers
LinkedIn is not the best tool for all businesses, jobs and careers alike. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube can be more powerful and effective, and reach more of your target audience. Know your audience and their tastes and behaviors, and select the best tool to connect with your prospective clients, colleagues and partners.
Myth #7: The more updates I post the better
Again, quality reigns supreme here. Choose carefully what you put out there in the world, and be respectful of the time and energy of those who read your updates. Make sure what you share performs at least one of these important functions: 1) informs, 2) entertains, 3) enlivens, 4) supports others, and/or 5) adds value.
Myth #8: Being highly connected on LinkedIn is a sign of professional success
Having hundreds (or thousands) of connections does not necessarily equate to financial success, business prowess or entrepreneurial acumen. It means only that the user has spent time and energy to build his/her network, and that others have felt it of some value to mutually connect. Don’t mistake volumes of connections with professional credibility or success.
* * * * * *
In the end, while the LinkedIn “cocktail party in the sky” has had a dramatic impact on how we connect and engage with each other professionally, it’s not able, on its own, to bring your career to the level of success, fulfillment and reward you want. LinkedIn is only a tool, and is only as effective, engaging, and productive as the user behind it.
Kathy Caprino, M.A., is a nationally-recognized work-life expert, career and executive coach, recruitment consultant, and author of Breakdown, Breakthrough: The Professional Woman’s Guide to Claiming a Life of Passion, Power, and Purpose. Founder/President of Ellia Communications, Inc. — a career and executive coaching firm dedicated to helping professionals achieve breakthrough to greater success and fulfillment in life and work
Thanks Kathy!
Ev
LinkedIn: Busting 8 Damaging Myths About What It Can Do For Your Career
By Kathy Caprino, M.A.
As a career and executive coach, speaker and recruitment consultant, I use LinkedIn (LI) extensively each day, and I truly enjoy it. I’ve found that building my network to over 1,000 direct contacts (accessing 10 million+ indirect contacts) has been well worth the two years of time and energy. I’m a big fan of LI – and truly appreciate the power of the tool and all the opportunities, gigs, partnerships, insights, information and support that have come my way from it.
But after two years of using LinkedIn for several hours each day, and after counseling others on how to build their personal brand on LinkedIn for professional advantage, I’m witnessing some negative effects of the misguided notions people have gleaned about what LinkedIn can do for them.
I’d like to share what I’ve observed to be the Top 8 Myths about LinkedIn as a professional tool, and offer some straight talk about what you can expect it to do for you.
Here are the Top 8 Myths we need to bust:
Myth #1: LinkedIn will get me a job
Nothing is going to “get you a job” but you. Yes, you can search new job openings in your area, and discover who posted the job, and connect with these folks. You can find people who work at companies posting jobs, check them out, and ask their help to introduce you. But these steps aren’t going to land you a job. You must still do the rigorous internal and external work of knowing what you’re great at, communicating your talents, finding strong-fitting positions, then get on the radar of the hiring manager or recruiters involved, and present yourself as a highly qualified and desirable candidate.
Myth #2: LinkedIn will replace recruiters
There’s a growing fear out there that LinkedIn will replace recruiters as conduits for connecting talented candidates to leading employers. It’s just not so. There’s an important personal dimension to recruiting that a tool such as LinkedIn simply can’t provide. From critically sifting through hundreds of resumes, to understanding the components of true “fit” for the hiring company, to personally interviewing and filtering candidates, and doing the extensive legwork of communicating “fit” to both employer and candidate — recruiting is a labor-intensive job that requires expert, personalized skill and attention. Again, LI is a powerful tool that certainly has changed the recruiting landscape, but recruiters remain vitally important in the process.
Myth #3: There’s no need to fully flesh out my profile – a brief line or two is fine
OK, this one makes me nuts. Here’s this vastly powerful free networking tool that allows you to tell the world who you are as a professional – what you stand for, how you’re different from all the rest, what you’re passionate about, and how you’ve contributed in the workforce. And yet thousands of folks simply don’t spend any time to articulate who they are, or present themselves in a compelling, engaging manner. As a recruiter, when I view a poorly executed profile, I see a lack of interest in promoting yourself that speaks volumes about how committed and excited you are in your professional endeavors overall
Myth #4: Because I have over 100 (or 1000) connections, new opportunities will come easily to me
As in everything in life, quality matters over quantity. If you have scores of folks in your community who have nothing to do with anything you care about (or who aren’t interested in what you’re doing), then your connections will not generate productive or beneficial results for you.
Myth #5: When folks accept my LI invitation, they want to partner with me or connect more deeply
I’ve learned this the hard way in my recruiting work — just because people accept your invitation to connect, doesn’t mean they care about being in connection with you in any deeper way. It may simply mean that they saw your network as something advantageous to THEM, and they linked in for their own professional gain. Connections are interesting as far as they go – but it’s you who must make something positive of them.
Myth #6: LinkedIn is the best professional networking tool for all businesses or careers
LinkedIn is not the best tool for all businesses, jobs and careers alike. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube can be more powerful and effective, and reach more of your target audience. Know your audience and their tastes and behaviors, and select the best tool to connect with your prospective clients, colleagues and partners.
Myth #7: The more updates I post the better
Again, quality reigns supreme here. Choose carefully what you put out there in the world, and be respectful of the time and energy of those who read your updates. Make sure what you share performs at least one of these important functions: 1) informs, 2) entertains, 3) enlivens, 4) supports others, and/or 5) adds value.
Myth #8: Being highly connected on LinkedIn is a sign of professional success
Having hundreds (or thousands) of connections does not necessarily equate to financial success, business prowess or entrepreneurial acumen. It means only that the user has spent time and energy to build his/her network, and that others have felt it of some value to mutually connect. Don’t mistake volumes of connections with professional credibility or success.
* * * * * *
In the end, while the LinkedIn “cocktail party in the sky” has had a dramatic impact on how we connect and engage with each other professionally, it’s not able, on its own, to bring your career to the level of success, fulfillment and reward you want. LinkedIn is only a tool, and is only as effective, engaging, and productive as the user behind it.
Kathy Caprino, M.A., is a nationally-recognized work-life expert, career and executive coach, recruitment consultant, and author of Breakdown, Breakthrough: The Professional Woman’s Guide to Claiming a Life of Passion, Power, and Purpose. Founder/President of Ellia Communications, Inc. — a career and executive coaching firm dedicated to helping professionals achieve breakthrough to greater success and fulfillment in life and work
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Recruiters & Salespeople: Change Can Make You a Champion!
The Milwaukee Brewers are in the playoffs! Please note I'm writing this before we find out if they are division champions, but for my point in this article that doesn't matter.
The pictures above are of two of the star players, Ryan Braun and Randy Wolfe.
Braun is a nationally recognized player, all star, and the lead vote getter in the 2011 all-star game balloting.
He's a star performer but every now and then he gets stuck in a little bit of a rut. He never stays in them long though because he realizes early on he is in a little slump and makes tiny adjustments to his stance, or what he expects pitchers to throw or the way they throw to him and that busts him out of his slump quicker than most players. He is open to advice from the Brewers hitting coach and isn't afraid to ask for help either. If Braun were never to make adjustments to pitchers he would eventually break out of a slump, but those slumps would be longer and his overall production would be down over the course of the year.
Randy Wolfe is a different example. Acquired by the Brewers before the 2010 season by signing a huge contract, for the first half of the 2010 season he looked horrible. Fans and management alike wondered if they made a mistake. Start after start Wolfe kept doing things the way he thought he always did that worked in the past. As the disappointing results were mounting he decided he needed to do something drastic. Thanks to the Brewers pitching coach and his own study of his performances by watching film comparing his starts over his career, he tweaked his delivery and speeded up the pace of his game. By increasing the pace and shortening the time between pitches, he gave hitters less time to guess what was coming, made it easier for fielders to stay engaged in the game and play behind him, and has less time to second guess himself on pitch selection. Tweaking his delivery left hitters guessing what was coming because his arm delivery was more fluid and came from a variety of arm angles. Wolfe was the best pitcher of the send half of 2010 for the Brewers and a mainstay of the rotation in 2011.
What do these players have to do with sales and recruiting? When you are in a slump, how fast do you recognize it? How open are you to suggestions from others to change your habits? Can you honestly look at your day and admit that you need help? Does your sales pitch, prospecting, proposals, cold calling habits, metal state, outlook, or sense of responsibility need a small tweak or a major overhaul? Only you and your sales or recruiting manager can decide those things. Be open to trying them.
Thanks!
Ev
GO BREWERS!
Monday, October 3, 2011
The Response to: "Recruiters: A Real Life Ethical Scenario"
A couple of weeks ago I wrote an article about an ethical situation that recruiters face. I asked for your opinion on what you would do. Here is the scenario again and the responses I've received so far:
Lorna Greer • Since you know the applicant, this could be a good opportunity to counsel them on application legibility and choosing the jobs which meet ones skills to apply for. This could be a service to them in the future, albeit their desperation possibly drove them to apply for something for which they lacked qualifications. Also, if the company wanted the individual to drop it at their location, the candidate could learn something about following directions. This could also be your opportunity to counsel the company about providing you with information about instructing you how they wish future late applications handled. Perhaps you should set some ground rules for future job fairs. The more I am thinking about it, perhaps these two deserve each other!!!
L. Susan Fischer • Ditto what Lorna said!
There were other responses that said they didn't want to be published. The response was split between the response above or toss the resume for not following directions.
Thanks!
Ev
Lorna Greer • Since you know the applicant, this could be a good opportunity to counsel them on application legibility and choosing the jobs which meet ones skills to apply for. This could be a service to them in the future, albeit their desperation possibly drove them to apply for something for which they lacked qualifications. Also, if the company wanted the individual to drop it at their location, the candidate could learn something about following directions. This could also be your opportunity to counsel the company about providing you with information about instructing you how they wish future late applications handled. Perhaps you should set some ground rules for future job fairs. The more I am thinking about it, perhaps these two deserve each other!!!
L. Susan Fischer • Ditto what Lorna said!
There were other responses that said they didn't want to be published. The response was split between the response above or toss the resume for not following directions.
Thanks!
Ev
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