How to Spring Clean Your Online Presence

Flowers are blooming. Birds are chirping. Spring is here. It’s time to spring clean your online presence.

Here are some ways to get you started:

Update your LinkedIn profile.
Add new information (i.e. attended any classes/training recently?). Clean up your LinkedIn group memberships.

Update your e-portfolio.
Look for and fix broken links. (I just fixed some links on my e-portfolio. Some library associations and groups have recently launched redesigned websites, resulting in broken links.)

Google yourself and/or set a Google Alert.
What’s out there about you?

Field Trips: LinkedIn and Google

As you may know, we are fans of Google and LinkedIn. We use them in our work and talk about them in our leadership and career development presentations.

Recently, we went on field trips to the NYC offices of LinkedIn and Google. We started off a windy and rainy day with a tour of LinkedIn in the morning, followed by a tour of Google in the afternoon.

With LinkedIn’s open office design and relaxed, quiet atmosphere, it is clear why they are such a productive company.

Google’s office on the other hand is fun, social, and sophomoric. You can literally feel the buzz of exciting young minds working together in this powerhouse company.

Thanks LinkedIn and Google for enjoyable visits.

Presumptuous LinkedIn

Imagine my surprise when I recently received this email from LinkedIn.

Sandra, we noticed you haven’t visited Job Skills for Future Library Careers lately. To help keep your email tidy, we’ve unsubscribed you from this group’s digests – we hope this suits you better!

I feel very violated. This is akin to my teenage years with Mom taking the liberty to clean my room & throwing out “junk” because she thinks she’s helping keep things “tidy”.

Well LinkedIn, it does not suit me better and I prefer email digest because I’m too busy to be present and active on Linkedin everyday.

So in the future, if you please, don’t be so presumptuous.

New Year’s Resolution: What’s Your Career Strategy?

It’s a new year. Let’s talk about your career and your career strategy.

In many of our leadership and career development presentations, we talk about self-assessment and career strategy.

1. Self-assessment: Do a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis and set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals.
2. Career strategy: People, professional brand, and online presence are three important aspects of your career strategy.

Here are some ideas and resources (from our presentations and blog posts) to get you started:

• Our leadership and career development presentations
• Career Tips for LIS Students, Graduates, and Professionals
• Are You T-Shaped?
• I’m Not Job Hopping, I’m Job Shopping
• The Secret to Job Security
• Making the Most of 3.5” x 2” (Business Cards)
• Maximize LinkedIn
• Get Your LinkedIn in Shape
• Quick Guide to Attending Library Conferences on the Cheap
• E-Portfolios: Webinar Recap, Tools, and Resources
• Using Google Sites to Create An E-Portfolio

The New LinkedIn Profile

You may have heard that there is a new LinkedIn profile rolling out.  Eventually all LinkedIn members will get the new profile. I just got my new LinkedIn profile yesterday (see screenshot).

As you may know, Sandra and I are big fans of LinkedIn, but I’m not sure how I feel about the recent LinkedIn change. I like that the new LinkedIn profile is more visual with icons for the various headings/categories (experience, courses, education, publications, etc.) and you can now add links under your job positions, education and a few other sections, but along with this release of the new profile, LinkedIn has streamlined their app offerings, which means apps like SlideShare presentations and WordPress, will no longer be supported. Apps like SlideShare and WordPress are how I share my presentation slides and blog posts with my LinkedIn network.

What do you guys think of the new LinkedIn profile?

EDIT (12/12/12): It seems like my SlideShare presentations are now a part of my professional gallery in the Summary section, so it’s not entirely gone, but what if I upload a new presentation to Slideshare, will it display in the gallery? Also, I’ve activated my LinkedIn profile with WordPress’ Publicize, so WordPress blog posts now show up as status updates, but not also in an app like before.

EDIT (12/14/12): I just noticed my Amazon reading list is not displayed. I’ve made connections with people who have a mutual interest in particular book titles. I’m wondering if it’s gone for good. I miss the apps.