5-15 Minute LinkedIn Check Up

26 Monday Sep 2011

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I always preached that once you are employed you should not forget your networks and connections that you made while job searching. I also encouraged everyone to keep networking while they are employed, not so much in the hopes of finding another job but more to learn about your industry or craft.

However, I can see how this sort of thing can fall by the wayside. You get busy working, running errands, preparing meals, doing laundry and catching up with your loved ones. There seems to be no time left for other people.

Now, I am the first to admit that I certainly find time for Facebook, Twitter, ideeli, J’severydayfashion and other celeb and fashion blogs. However, I leave checking LinkedIn and other networking sites to a last resort. Why? I think because the previous sites allow me to browse mindlessly but when I’m on LinkedIn I feel like I really need to think and communicate on a professional level.

So here is my solution, the 5-15 minute LinkedIn check-up which you can accomplish over the weekend:

If you only have 5 minutes a week:

1. Log in and simply take a look at your home site and see if something on your profile needs to be updated

2. Check your inbox and make a note to reply to these messages later

3. Check to see who else has viewed your profile and see if you can network with them

If you only have 10 minutes a week:

Take the previous 3 tasks a step further…
1. Take the message reading a step further and respond to your new mail

2. Check out the “People You May Know” section and see who you can add to your network

3. Take a look at the “Just Joined LinkedIn” section to see who might be new and worthwhile connecting with.

If you only have 15 minutes a week:

Take the previous 6 tasks a step further…
1. Write a personal note to your possible new connections instead of just sending the boilerplate “hello.”

2. Check in on your groups and see what topics are being discussed and see how you can contribute

3. Check on the events that may be happening around you, perhaps there is an event you’d like to attend!

Well, there you have it. Whether you have five, ten or fifteen minutes a week or just on a Saturday morning, there is always time to check in on your connections and your network.

What did you do today?

P.S. Here are a couple of interesting articles about managing your social media accounts in 10-15 minutes a day:

Social Media Monitoring in 10 Minutes a Day

Social Media in 15 Minutes a Day

Manage a Twitter Account in 5 Minutes a Day

Social Media Monitoring in 30 Minutes or Less

And here is one that is a little off topic:

Social Media Monitoring for PR

Fall Pickin’s

23 Friday Sep 2011

Posted by Linda Odineca in 365 (everyday tips), Casual

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At the time of this post, I had heard about Russo’s but had no idea where it was. I had heard great things about this market but I was not prepared for all of the amazingness that welcomed us when we finally found this lovely gem hidden in a quiet part of Watertown.

If you are looking for fresh fruit, fresh cheese, lots of different mushrooms and peppers, as well as dessert and prepared foods then you have to check out Russo’s. Everything is reasonably priced but I urge you to NOT go there on a weekend day as the place will be mobbed with people. Check it out during a weekday, if possible, or early in the day on the weekends.

Words cannot describe the variety of produce so here are some photos:

LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Blogging…Which of These Should Your Company be Using?

21 Wednesday Sep 2011

Posted by Linda Odineca in Business

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blogging, company presence, facebook, linkedin, social networks, twitter

The following list is in order of importance, in my opinion. The reasoning behind this order is, if you succeed at one, move on to the next. My disclaimer here is, all of this depends on your market and the kind of publicity you are after. I’ll give a few examples of when I think it’s appropriate to use each of these marketing techniques.

LinkedIn: I am convinced that every company should have a LinkedIn page. These days, everyone is using this site to network with past, current and future colleagues. It is up to you whether you want to use LinkedIn for posting job openings or not but it certainly helps to have a basic company profile up. To me, there is nothing more annoying than employees listing a company they work at and when you click on the company name, nothing comes up. Yes, all candidates should go to the company website to learn about the company, but an informative blurb on LinkedIn will only help get your word out.

Twitter: This is where it gets a little complicated and you need to begin dedicating more time to being successful. I am not going to suggest that every company out there needs a Twitter page. However, I am convinced that Twitter helps build a brand. If your company is in an industry where you rely on customer satisfaction and more on B2C business rather than B2B then Twitter is for you. Informing customers about your business, getting their feedback and communicating back with them will help you succeed. Just remember, you must be consistent. Don’t use Twitter for the first month and then fall off the face of the earth. You want to attract, retain and grow your follower base!

Twitter, in my opinion, also allows a company to dip its toes into social media. LinkedIn gets the corporate information out there but with Twitter, you are expected to update on a consistent basis. The good and the bad is that you have to be concise and to the point. This is almost like your “elevator pitch” in 140 characters. Succeeding at being consistent and to the point will allow you to move on to the next step, if you choose to do so.

Facebook: Some may want to switch Twitter for Facebook in this list. I can agree that either one would serve the same purpose. However, I’ve put Facebook third because it allows you to write and share more. Once you’ve overcome sharing a little you can move on to sharing more. Facebook allows for a private company page, make sure the url mentions your company name, and it gives you a lot more freedom to share stories, receive lengthy comments, and upload photographs that stay on your main page. In my opinion, it is a lot easier to keep track of comments and stories on Facebook.

As with Twitter, you need to make sure to be consistent. If you put up a Facebook page, make sure to keep it current. There’s nothing worse than an interested party finding your page and seeing that the last posting you had was a month ago. Again, I feel that that Facebook is more for companies engaging in B2C transactions.

Blogging: This type of outlet is not for everyone. You certainly have to dedicate one person to update all of the previously mentioned sites, but when it comes to blogging, you really need to keep up with current content. A blog can’t just be 140 characters, nor should it just be a place where you share links to other sites. If that is all you do, then people will simply go to those sites to get their information and abandon your blog. Here are my tips for blogging success:

* Link people from your Twitter and Facebook pages to your blog.

* Share relevant and current information.

* Share the above mentioned info on a consistent basis. Decide whether you’ll update your content weekly or daily and then stick to it!

* Share relevant links. As long as your content is informative, people will not abandon your blog. Instead, they will go to your blog to learn more and will rely on it to get their daily dose of industry related news.

* Make sure to encourage conversations and possibly even guest postings by your readers, if appropriate. It’s always good to have a little variety.

* Look at your statistics! It is very important to look at your key log on rates, who is reading your blog, where they are coming from, and where they are linking to. You can also see which topics get the most hits, and perhaps this is a topic you should talk more about!

Blogging, I feel, can be used for both B2B and B2C as it depends on who your readers are. You can even have an internal blog that brings all of the employees together.

So what’s my final word? Make sure that if nothing else, your company has a LinkedIn page. If you then have the time and are willing to dip your feet into the social media pool, go ahead and explore your options. But if you do, be consistent and current!

Rebuilding Your Brand

19 Monday Sep 2011

Posted by Linda Odineca in Business

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employment, linkedin, personal brand

Well, we are all hearing about how Lindsay Lohan, and Charlie Sheen, needs to rebuild her brand because she hasn’t been in any new movies in quite some time, goes out and parties, gets caught in scantily clad outfits, doesn’t attend AA…the list goes on. Where she will go from here on out is still up for debate but one thing is for sure, she will need to rebuild her brand to be once again seen as a hard working actress who people will want to invest in.

What does this have to do with you? Well, you were doing great, you had a job, perhaps you were in school furthering your education but, in this case through no fault of your own, your reputation has in one way or another been “tarnished” by unemployment and now you have to prove all over again that you are worth it and employers should invest in you.

How do you do that? Well, here are my baby steps to success, hopefully:

1. LinkedIn: After seeing a number of people from my previous employer get laid off, I noticed that the first thing that got updated was their LinkedIn profile. All of a sudden there was a lot of new activity on people’s profiles, recommendations began flying around left and right and people began re working the wording on their profiles. It’s great! Reworking a resume takes quite a bit of time so why not rework your virtual resume first? And remember this step for when you are employed again, always keep things up to date!

2. Resume: Here’s an easy tip. Put your resume together and then send it out to someone for some feedback. This could get expensive but here’s my tip! The first round of feedback is usually free as they want to hook you after. So…why not send it for the first round a few times to a few different places?!? Also, check out my post about not letting your resume fall flat that lists some cliche phrases you should avoid using.

3. Cover letters: This has to be your next step. Every job application either strongly suggests that you attach a cover letter or has you write to an e-mail address where you simply have to write something in the body of the e-mail. Look into some of my tips from previous posts, especially Cover Letters 101 and 102.

4. Social Network: Now that you have an updated LinkedIn profile, a resume you’re not embarrassed to send out and a cover letter that you can tweak for your applications you must get out there an network! I have recently, in the last week, really embraced LinkedIn. For every job I apply for I look into LinkedIn to check out who I can connect with. So far I have to say I’ve been pretty successful at finding people who are really on top of their game and have responded to my inquiries. Even if nothing comes of these connections right away, the fact that I have found someone to connect with and who I can now build a relationship with is key in a world where HR managers don’t respond back to you due to an overwhelming amount of candidates.

5. Self Promote: Toot your own horn a bit. Who could be your biggest advocate than yourself!?! Be positive, read the news so you can have something to talk about with interviewers and keep going on with putting yourself out there, whether it be via your network or through other social networks such as LinkedIn, Twitter or any other industry network.

Follow these tips and get back on the horse…which will inevitably one day bring you to your next job!

Women’s Leadership Groups

16 Friday Sep 2011

Posted by Linda Odineca in Business

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

career

Last week I received a letter at work in regards to getting involved in some women’s leadership group. I have always had this passionate distaste for groups like this. Before you ridicule me, here is my view on the matter. First of all, I am a woman so I have every right to have an opinion on this. Secondly my reason for disliking these kinds of groups just screams feminism to me. Granted, had there not been a movement many years ago perhaps us ladies would not be where we are today. But didn’t we fight for equality and not segregation?

In my opinion, picking out just the ladies and teaching them leadership skills make it seem as though we don’t have any, and the skills we need are not the same as those of the men. Why? Why can’t we all just get along and have seminars on leadership skills for everyone?

My true distaste for these groups came at a previous job. This company had a women’s leadership group. That’s cool. If you want to be a part of it, all the power to you. But my thought was that any woman in the office had every right to be in the group if she so chose. However, that was not the case. You first had to approach your manager, who then put your name into the pool of next years women candidates. If you got as far as the choosing process then you were up against the other women in the company who also wanted to join this “elite” group and you had to do a presentation as to why you were worthy of being in their presence. Really???? This just made me nuts. When my manager, a male, asked me if I wanted my name to be added I said no thanks.

If the women in this group wanted to be heard and not just have meetings where they bashed the males in the office and hand-picked their chosen members perhaps I would have joined. A girl I worked with wanted to be in the group badly, but she wasn’t chosen to be part of the group. How ridiculous is that? You’re not empowering any women by telling them that they can’t be part of the “in” crowd, you’re just being lame.

I’m sorry if this posting has offended anyone but it just enrages me to think that we, as women, need special treatment, special empowerment classes and special leadership groups. Why don’t we all just get along?

Aim to Earn More!

14 Wednesday Sep 2011

Posted by Linda Odineca in Business

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I read a great article recently about aiming to earn more. Money magazine mentions that, “Fall is budget season, when employers plan compensation for the coming year.” So put your best foot forward, not that you haven’t all year.

Is there a project you hoped to get but didn’t? Why not show that you could handle it by getting ahead and presenting a new project to the higher-ups before they even think of it? This not only shows initiative but your desire to help the company do better and more with less! Always a plus!

Why not get in front of people by asking what you can help with and broadening your horizons and making yourself available to other departments?

If these two things aren’t possible then learn a new skill that is sought after at your place of work. Is the company looking to tap into social media? Learn about it and become an expert!

Read the full article on cnn.com titled, Earn More: 3 Smart Ways to Get Ahead at Work, by Donna Rosato.

12 Monday Sep 2011

Posted by Linda Odineca in Casual

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wedding

Hello, my name is Linda and I’m addicted to Pinterest. At first I didn’t know what it was, I just heard people saying they “pinned” something and urged others to check out their pinterest boards. Then I began noticing some of the magazines I follow on twitter guiding us tweeps to their pinterest boards…and then I got hooked.

I realized that this was the closest I would come to setting up our wedding tent. Without knowing what yellow and white might look like together, other than an assumption of, “I think it’ll look great” I can now actually envision it! I now have three boards going and see myself having many many more.

All you do is sign up with your Facebook or Twitter account and begin pinning things. Then you can see who repins your pins and so on and so forth. Who knew this would be my new time suck?

What does your pinterest board look like?

Let’s Review

31 Wednesday Aug 2011

Posted by Linda Odineca in Casual

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wedding

The first blog that I started to write on WordPress was titled Let’s Review. I got away from it because it felt like a chore, but then I got to blogging daily during my unemployed days and now continue to do it two to three times a week. Well, I think I have decided that I want to morph that blog into the casual section of this blog. What do you think?

I’ll share my eating and adventuring adventures with you all through pictures and stories. I hope you won’t frown upon it because at the end of the day, we can’t be business people 24/7/365

I do however promise to organize things a bit better here. I’m still getting used to the new template but want everything to be organized in a logical manner. But, I’ll tackle that after my vacation. So don’t be surprised to not see any posting from me for a while.

Here’s a sample of what the food/adventuring blog entry might look like, this one gives a nod to my friend’s wedding and to my upcoming wedding…expect many more wedding related postings:

“Quite a number of my friends are getting married in the next year and I am privileged enough to be a bridesmaid for two of them.

Last week a long time friend of mine took a trip to Priscilla of Boston on Boylston Street…I had heard great things about this great wedding gown shop. My friends parents were in town and were already chatting with her assistant, Michelle, when I arrived. My friend had one dress in her wish list book that was from the store. She has a fit body so we were all positive she would look great in anything. As the dress picking process began we kept referencing TLC’s “Say Yes to the Dress.” The dresses were gorgeous and having never seen one up close I was in love with…most of them.

My friends stylist Michelle was very helpful and extremely friendly. She brought dresses that she knew would fit her body and picked up on cues about whether the dress was really “it.” At the end of the day two became front-runners and I along with the stylist advised that there needs to be some separation from the dresses to really figure out which one or which style may be “the one.”

My initial expectation of this being a beautiful but stuffy salon was trumped by how professional and understanding my friends stylist was.

So…let’s review…

1. Don’t be put off by the name, Priscilla of Boston is a very lovely salon and worth a visit.

2. You also shouldn’t be put off by the sticker prices when you walk in. Stick to your budget!

3. If the lower priced dresses are still above your budget keep an eye out for sample sales.”

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Fall Pickin’s

Rebuilding Your Brand

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Aim to Earn More!

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