Today’s transitioning executives are re-entering the job market poorly prepared for digital networking.
Our informal research reveals that four in 10 executives looking for their next job do not have a LinkedIn profile. Seven in 10 have poorly prepared profiles, including no professional head shot photo. The vast majority – 99.9999 percent do not have a well developed network of contacts.
Speaking of the 99th percentile, that is the number of executives who admit they made a huge career management mistake in not spending more time developing a network of colleagues that could be helpful with market intelligence, or even an actual job referral. They say that building and supporting a robust network of relevant contacts is a necessity in career management.
If you are out of work and struggling with a digital strategy, here are some important issues to consider:
- Never lose sight that you are a brand and everything you do must support the brand image you want to promote
- Your resume, your LinkedIn and ACHE profiles must be consistent and up to date (I have had candidates contact me regarding a position and their ACHE profile was two or three years out of date. Guess what?)
- Your resume and your LinkedIn profile must reflect your value proposition supported by relevant quantifiable achievements
- Creating a minimal LinkedIn profile and then ignoring it is as bad as not having one at all
- Join LinkedIn groups. They have multiple groups that cross a broad subject matter spectrum in healthcare. Join groups that reflect your current interests as well as those skill sets you will need in a value-based, population health management environment
- Contribute to the groups you join by creating quality discussions on subjects that interest you. Avoid political extremes. We are, after all, in healthcare and the political ideology in this industry is totally unpredictable. Ask people to engage with you – what do you think about this? Note: Every time you post, your photo appears next to your discussion. That is why it is so important to have a great headshot photo. (No dogs, kids or selfies behind the wheel of your car.) If you want to make sure that your photograph captures everything about your personality, whilst remaining professional at the same time, you may want to contact someone like this Toronto headshot photographer and get your photos taken professionally so you have a better chance at being able to spice up your LinkedIn profile, but in a positive manner. It’s also important to remember that this is where recruiters live and they are scanning for insightful pros who have substance
- Comment on the discussions other have posted. Remember your brand so always take the high ground in your responses even when you think their post is ridiculous, blatantly self serving or idiotic
- Share your successes. Create very brief case studies and share your successful innovative solutions. Invite others to share their solutions and invite people to call you. People who do that are the real “value adders” on LinkedIn.