Do you wonder how to use LinkedIn TO ADD VALUE to your career or job search? Do you know how to use it to lead you to results?

LinkedIn can be an excellent resource for new business development or for job searching. Following a recent blog post about LinkedIn Settings in 2019, this post is an infographic on How to use to LinkedIn for job searching or for new business development purposes.

When it comes to posting your resume online, your privacy is of utmost importance. It may be a good idea to learn how to protect your privacy on LinkedIn as well.
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Follow the steps in the infographic above and you will discover an amazing professional platform to catapult your career and you will broaden your perspective about this great professional resource; plus, it’s free! 

Did you know that giving a speech tops the list of most common fears. Standing in front of a group of people, hoping you don’t mess up, and praying that the words come out right is frightening. Try these tips to help you stay calm and give that all-star speech that you’re capable of giving...

• What to say in an elevator pitch?
• ​What is a good elevator pitch?
• Why is an elevator pitch important?
• How important is the length of your elevator speech?
• Who must have a career pitch ready at all times?
• How to nail your elevator pitch?
• Is there an elevator pitch formula?
• ​Sign up for an  interview coaching session  for answers to the above questions and more about a customized elevator pitch for you.

Be certain to ask what the average day is expected to be like before taking a job as a Celebrity Assistant. The job might be right up your alley or a tale of nightmares. Even when you get a detailed job description, there’s no predicting what each day will bring. There will be days when you will be completely out of your comfort zone. Whatever the case, be sure to quantify your accomplishments as you move along.

There are a variety of tasks you may be asked to perform as a Celebrity Assistant:

1. Screening correspondence. Your celebrity boss may receive an endless stream of emails, snail mail, tweets, phone calls, and other forms of communication. It might be your job to sift through it all and either reply to it yourself, toss it, ignore it, or hand it off to your boss.

● This may be a significant part of the job. After all, someone has to respond to all those requests for signed autographs.

1. Errands. You may be tasked with running a never-ending list of errands. It might be walking the dog, getting an oil change, picking up clothes from the cleaners, buying a gift for someone, grocery shopping, or making travel arrangements. Your time might be spent almost exclusively on errands, or maybe not.
2. Best friend. Since you’re always around, you can become the shoulder to cry on and the giver of wise advice. There will be times you might feel like a hired best friend, but that feeling doesn’t last for long. There’s always more work to do to remind you of the reality of the situation.
3. Keep the schedule. Many celebrities are creative types with little ability or interest in organization and promptness. It’s your job to keep the train on the track and on schedule. Each celebrity is unique and will require your own special form of handling.

● Be determined and flexible in your approach.

1. Tasks that can only be described as surreal. You might be asked to do your boss’s child’s homework, run to the store for beer at 3am, run interference with a jilted lover, clip the dog’s nails, or film the birth of their child. The hours and the tasks can be a bit odd when working with celebrities.
2. Social media. There are pictures to upload, announcements to make, and tweets to tweet. Someone has to do it.

● Considering the amount of damage some celebrities have done by handling this themselves, you might just be the right person for the job.
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1. Travel. Most celebrities travel quite a bit. You’ll be finding the right flight, dealing with luggage, searching for restaurants, renting cars, and handling every little mishap that happens along the way.
2. Deal with contractors, repairmen, and the like. Have you ever loathed the fact that the cable repair technician promised to be there between 8am and 2pm? Rather than the celebrity waiting at home, this job might fall to you. New refrigerator being delivered? That might be your job, too.

It’s easy to see that your day might be quite mundane or filled with excitement. Celebrities have unique lives and consequently, your job will be unique, too. It’s impossible to predict what your average day will be like, but it’s safe to say that it will be unlike any job you’ve ever had, at least part of the time.

• Stay neutral. Refuse to choose sides even if you’re friendlier with one of the parties involved. In fact, that may be a valid reason to work harder at overcoming any bias so you can interact effectively with both colleagues.

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• Listen. Exercise listening as a skill and demonstrate your willingness to listen to different points of view. Giving each party an opportunity to vent can be constructive as long as you watch out for any signs that it’s developing into chronic complaining.

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• Explain the impact. Your coworkers may be so caught up in their struggles that they fail to realize how they’re affecting the rest of the office. Letting them know how others feel could motivate them to settle their differences.

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• Collaborate on solutions. Unsolicited advice can be tricky. Ask your coworkers if they want your suggestions. Offer to help them brainstorm their own options for how they can turn the situation around.

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• Follow up. To create lasting peace, keep your eyes on the situation. Previous differences may spring back up in different forms.  

On the other hand, you may prefer to watch a drama on TV instead of dealing with it in the next cubicle. As long as you’re not in a supervisory position, you have alternatives to playing peacekeeper.
 
Consider these ideas: 

1. Document activities. Office conflicts can muddle communications and pull you in different directions. Be sure to create a paper trail and keep others informed of your activities, so you’re less likely to be held responsible for events beyond your control.
   
   
2. Consult your colleagues. If you’re confused about what to do, try to talk with someone you trust. There may be others who share your concerns, and you’ll benefit from putting your heads together.
   
   
3. Avoid gossip. Naturally, discussing your coworkers can be a sensitive subject. Ask yourself if what you’re saying is true and helpful.
   
   
4. Approach a third party. If the office is becoming seriously divided, you may need to report the matter to your boss or to HR. If so, stick to the facts and make it clear that you’re eager to do your part to make positive changes.
   
   
5. Encourage morale. While some differences are more difficult to reconcile than others, building team spirit can heal minor riffs and prevent others from developing. Propose activities that bring the company together, like group volunteer projects and occasional parties.
   
   
6. Learn from experience. Keep in mind that conflict can be beneficial in the long run. Coworkers who learn to overcome their differences may form stronger bonds than those who haven’t faced any significant challenges. Conflicts can also teach us more about ourselves and clarify our values.

 
Office squabbles may sometimes be inevitable, but you can maintain healthy boundaries. Try to empathize with your coworkers while continuing to focus on your own career goals. 

I'm not going to include every detail about your life and work history on your résumé, especially if you have certain jobs that aren't relevant to your career target. These details are important to who you are, but they are not necessarily important in this résumé for this job target. I will be selective in what information I include because your résumé tells a story about who you are and what you can do.

Your new résumé is a customized document developed just for you. Allowing someone else to use your résumé (format, design, and/or wording) may even dilute its effectiveness for you — especially if you "lend it" to a co-worker or colleague. If someone admires your résumé, send him or her my way and I will create an equally awesome document customized for their job search!

We might need to make some changes to make your résumé more effective, or I might be able to share some strategies to help you increase the number of interviews and job offers you receive.

Sometimes I don't hear from clients until they need an update to their résumé when it's time to look for a new job. But I want to hear from you when you get a job offer. We'll celebrate together!

Speaking of your new job, once you land a new position (and you're sure you're going to stay -- usually, after the first 90 days), get back in touch with me to add your new position. Keep an accomplishments journal so you can track your achievements in your new role, which makes it easier to respond to new opportunities that come up.

I look forward to working with you. We can start here!

​The job search has changed over the past 10 years. So have fashion trends. But one thing that hasn’t changed in the job search process is that people will judge you based on first impressions.
 
What you wear to an interview may have changed — in some situations — but the need to dress appropriately for the interview has not.
 
It used to be that a suit (for men) and a dress (for women) was required attire for a job interview. Now, wearing a suit might actually work against you — for example, it might signal to a prospective employer that you don’t understand the company culture. (Particularly if the employee dress code leans more towards jeans and sneakers than ties and loafers.)
 
While it’s important to feel comfortable in what you wear to an interview, you don’t want to look too comfortable. Little details about your attire will likely be noted by the interviewer and can make the difference between getting a second interview (or job offer) or not.
 
Dressing appropriately for an interview demonstrates that you’ve done your research and that you pay attention to detail. Just like you would study the company’s website ahead of time to be prepared for a job interview, studying the company culture — especially as it relates to employee attire — demonstrates your interest in working for the company.
 
You’ve heard the old saying, “Dress for success.” Nowhere is that more relevant than in a job interview.
 
Don’t give the HR person or hiring manager a reason to rule you out because you were overdressed, underdressed, or sloppily dressed.
 
The hiring manager can form an impression about you in the first five seconds of meeting you. Dressing appropriately conveys a very different impression than an impression made with poorly hemmed pants and shoes that are falling apart.
 
It’s very difficult to change a first impression.
 
Even if your interview is a virtual interview (telephone or video — i.e., Skype), you should still “dress to impress.” Don’t make the mistake of only dressing your top half for a video interview either. There are dozens of horror stories about having to stand up suddenly or change positions and your suit-on-top-shorts-on-the-bottom look is revealed.
 
Dressing appropriately can also give your confidence a boost. Getting a compliment about your appearance from friends or family before an interview can put a smile on your face and a spring in your step. On the other hand, if you are worried about a loose sole on your shoe, it can distract you.
 
The right attire can also affect how credible you are perceived to be.
 

​You’ve been told “not to judge a book by its cover,” but the reality is that we constantly judge things by their appearances. It’s why “curb appeal” is so important in real estate.
 
Clothes can make an impression — for better or worse. But more important, the right clothes can convey authority. Clothing not only communicates to others how you want to want to appear, but may also impact the way you think about yourself.
 
These concepts were reinforced by a research study. 

​The Washington Post also reported on March 10, 2012 that in a study conducted by the Kellogg School of Medicine, researchers found students did better on tests that measured accuracy and attention span when they wore a white lab coat. The lab coat — long associated with scientists and medical doctors — apparently leads students to aspire to live up to it. Students wearing lab coats performed better in concentration tests and were more engaged in the activity.
 
While no one is suggesting you wear a white lab coat to a job interview (especially if you’re not in the medical or scientific field!), this research validates the need to wear appropriate clothing to both make you feel more confident and reinforce the confidence of the interviewer that you are the right candidate for the position.

If you are job hunting while you are currently employed, you might find yourself wondering what to do if you have a job interview scheduled for a day you have to work. How do you dress for an interview when the interview attire is significantly different from what you wear to work in your existing job? You don’t want to show up for work in a suit when you normally come to work dressed in khaki pants and a button-up shirt.
 
Instead, plan to change clothes before your interview — but don’t change at your current workplace or at the company where you are interviewing. Instead, change somewhere in between — preferably some place that you will have access to a full-length mirror so you can double-check every detail of your appearance. If you don’t have time to go home, a mall or clothing store can be options. Be sure to allow yourself plenty of time to change and still get to the interview a few minutes early.
 
And don’t forget to change back into your regular work clothes before you go back to the office. For this reason, you may want to schedule your job interview towards the end of the workday so you don’t have to change clothes again. (This is a good idea anyway so you don’t feel rushed in the job interview.) 

​The job search has changed over the past 10 years. So have fashion trends. But one thing that hasn’t changed in the job search process is that people will judge you based on first impressions.
 
What you wear to an interview may have changed — in some situations — but the need to dress appropriately for the interview has not.
 
It used to be that a suit (for men) and a dress (for women) was required attire for a job interview. Now, wearing a suit might actually work against you — for example, it might signal to a prospective employer that you don’t understand the company culture. (Particularly if the employee dress code leans more towards jeans and sneakers than ties and loafers.)
 
While it’s important to feel comfortable in what you wear to an interview, you don’t want to look too comfortable. Little details about your attire will likely be noted by the interviewer and can make the difference between getting a second interview (or job offer) or not.
 
Dressing appropriately for an interview demonstrates that you’ve done your research and that you pay attention to detail. Just like you would study the company’s website ahead of time to be prepared for a job interview, studying the company culture — especially as it relates to employee attire — demonstrates your interest in working for the company.
 
You’ve heard the old saying, “Dress for success.” Nowhere is that more relevant than in a job interview.
 
Don’t give the HR person or hiring manager a reason to rule you out because you were overdressed, underdressed, or sloppily dressed.
 
The hiring manager can form an impression about you in the first five seconds of meeting you. Dressing appropriately conveys a very different impression than an impression made with poorly hemmed pants and shoes that are falling apart.
 
It’s very difficult to change a first impression.
 
Even if your interview is a virtual interview (telephone or video — i.e., Skype), you should still “dress to impress.” Don’t make the mistake of only dressing your top half for a video interview either. There are dozens of horror stories about having to stand up suddenly or change positions and your suit-on-top-shorts-on-the-bottom look is revealed.
 
Dressing appropriately can also give your confidence a boost. Getting a compliment about your appearance from friends or family before an interview can put a smile on your face and a spring in your step. On the other hand, if you are worried about a loose sole on your shoe, it can distract you.
 
The right attire can also affect how credible you are perceived to be.

• ​Ask someone who works there. If you already know someone who works for the company, reach out and ask. If you’re not sure if you’re already connected to a current employee, do a search on LinkedIn or type the company name in the search bar on Facebook. On Facebook, look at who “Likes” the page and click on the profile to see their employer information, if they provided it. On LinkedIn, type in the company name in the search box and it will show you your connections — and shared connections — who are currently or previously affiliated with the company. You can also reach out to the hiring manager and ask about appropriate interview attire.
• Conduct a visual inspection. If you don’t have an inside source — and don’t want to ask the hiring manager directly — go see for yourself! If you arrive at the beginning or end of the workday (or around lunchtime), you should be able to get an idea of dress code by seeing what people are wearing as they enter or exit the building. Be careful, however, if you use this method, as some companies have events like “Casual Fridays” that may throw off your investigation.
• Snoop on social media. If your prospective employer has social media accounts, browse the photo gallery for photos showing people at work. However, make sure you’re viewing an actual photo from the company, and not a stock (purchased) photo. And, as with the “Casual Friday” caution above, make sure the photo is representative of a “day in the life” of the company employee, and not a special event.

 
Once you have a general idea of dress code, you need to decide how to apply that information to what you’re actually going to wear. One guideline for interview attire is to “Dress One Step Higher.” Once you know what an employee in the position you’re applying for would normally wear to work, elevate it one notch. So, for example, if the typical employee wears khaki pants and a button-up shirt, you might wear dress slacks, a blazer, and a shirt with a tie. Wearing a suit to a company with a less formal dress code would look out of place. This type of attire is usually referred to as “business casual.”
 
Business casual attire is appropriate for interviews where a full suit would be overkill. For men, choose a dark, single color or lightly patterned sports coat or blazer, solid color dress slacks or trousers, a collared shirt, complementary tie, and dark-colored dress shoes. Socks should closely match the trouser color. Although the word “casual” is in the description, khaki pants are too casual. For women, a pair of black dress slacks can be worn with a nice sweater and/or button-up shirt or blouse, or button-up shirt and blazer or jacket, and dress shoes or low-heeled shoes. A modest dress (knee length or longer in an interesting color or a muted pattern) is also an option.
 
When interviewing for a job in retail, food service, or customer service, the right interview attire might lean more towards “casual” than “business casual.” In this situation, you’re not wearing a jacket or necktie, but the outfit still has to look professional. A collared shirt (with no tie) or polo shirt and slacks or neat khaki pants are appropriate. Men can wear a jacket or blazer but can take it off if it seems too formal. For women, a dark blazer with a simple blouse or button-up shirt can be worn with khaki pants or even dark-wash jeans if they are well fit, with no rips or tears. Shoes should always be closed-toed — no sandals or flip-flops.
 
If you’re interviewing for a job that requires you to wear a business suit every day, however, that’s how you’d dress for the job interview. This attire is appropriate for most executive roles as well as positions in law, banking, and finance. In this case, men would wear a conservative suit with a white or solid color shirt, tie, dress socks, and well-shined shoes. Women would wear a suit (either a pantsuit or skirt suit) or a conservative dress with panty hose and dress shoes. You can offset a black or dark suit with a pop of color in the form of a brightly colored shirt or blouse. However, it goes almost without saying that women should avoid short dresses and low-cut, revealing necklines when choosing interview attire.
 
For both men and women, avoid anything too bright or flashy. Don’t let your clothes be a distraction. You want the focus to be on you, not what you’re wearing. Be remembered for your interview answers, not your interview attire.

• Do take it easy on perfume and cologne (or skip it altogether). You never know when someone might be allergic.
• Do pay attention to your shoes — because your interviewer will! (Pay special attention to heels and soles.)
• Do dial down the accessories — avoid flashy jewelry and large sunglasses. Women, only wear one ring per hand. If you have a lot of piercings or earrings, take out all but one of them so they aren’t a distraction.
• Do your best to cover any tattoos.
• Do focus on fit. Items that are too big or too small or too loose or too tight will have you focusing on what you’re wearing, not what you’re talking about with the interviewer. Try out an outfit before you wear it to a job interview. Make sure it’s comfortable to sit in as well as stand and walk in.

Don’t get too crazy with colors or patterns.

Don’t wear socks that are too short with your pants. Socks should cover at least half the leg so that when you sit down, no leg shows.

Don’t forget your hair! Your hairstyle should be professional and shouldn’t distract the interviewer. 

Men:

• Dirty and wrinkled clothing that doesn’t fit properly
• A shirt that is too tight at the collar or around the waist
• Dirty hands, nails, or hair
• Dirty shoes, or shoes that don’t match the outfit
• Wrong style clothes
• Piercings, noticeable tattoos, inappropriate hair color

 
Women:

• Too much or inappropriate jewelry
• Too much/too little makeup
• Scuffed or inappropriate shoes
• Clothing that is inappropriate for the workplace
• Ill-fitting clothing
• Piercings, noticeable tattoos, inappropriate hair color