Category Archives: Career Management

Introvert tip – top 3 innate strengths for public speaking – guest writer, Patricia Weber

Leave a reply

Public Speaking2Because I am a workshop facilitator and responsible for disseminating job search advice, I must be cognizant of how I deliver my workshops, not simply the content.

One of my favorite connections on LinkedIn and followers on Twitter, Pat Weber, has written a great article on how introverts can be effective public speakers because of their innate strengths. I have included it below in its entirety.

This communication tip is written by Patricia Weber for the readers of Communication Weekly.  Visit Weber’s website www.prostrategies.com.

The recent post,How to overcome the fear of public speaking, had me thinking about how introverts could take advantage of who we are naturally and begin to see themselves in another light.

Public speaking for anyone in business is one of the best ways to attract clients in your community. Workshops and presentations are ways to deliver your message that reaches many people at one time. When you hone your message what you will find for example is, if you get into one Rotary, other Rotary groups will add you to their speaker of the week agenda. When I left my company “job” in 1990 I didn’t realize introverts were hindered to use one of the best marketing tools available – public speaking. Hone your message to where it delivers valuable content, and then, people become interested in tracking you down to talk with them about what you really do. It’s client attraction at it’s best.

If you want to, you can eventually be a paid speaker. But let’s take public speaking for introverts and consider top three innate strengths we have for a solid foundation to make it work easily. Whether you are giving a company presentation,  or delivering a sales presentation or even found yourself in the enviable position of being asked to speak in front of a professional organization. Certainly we have more strengths but let’s start right here.

If you already believe introverts must be poor at public speaking because they lack the social skills, consider at least two things: first, as an introvert you already have many natural tendencies to be well-received on the platform and second, more demanding audiences today want to see evidence of this from the speakers they listen to.

#1 – Analytical tendencies are needed to prepare and present.

Know your audience, know your topic, be creative. Research of the audience and topic is naturally satisfying to introverts. Just as planning uses the front of the brain, introverts will find up front preparation adds to the success of a well-received presentation. When you are researching your topic, you’ll also be kick starting your creativity. Relax and savor your planning tendency. Audiences love prepared speakers just as they love the people who can speak eloquently extemporaneously. You can do this!

#2 – Listeners want you to say something important.

Audiences don’t want to hear small talk; they want to hear what is relevant for them. Yes; we might as introverts want to learn how to insert some humor, since it is something that bridges even the most serious, or dry topic, to where the listener wants to hear your message. Encourage participation to build the rapport between you and even just a few participants. And handling just those few potential difficult participants, well that is a must. But in the end, if you want a presentation score of 10 and a paycheck as a paid public speaker, our advantage of innately speaking only what is important, gets us 80% there.

#3 Be the observer, not the participant.

Introverts observe and listen before commenting. Speaking in public allows you the chance to observe, listen and then make a conscious decision of how to continue or which direction to go with a well-planned presentation. Just what are you observing for? How engaged is your audience? Are they taking notes, nodding their heads, asking questions? These are behaviors easy enough to – dare I say – do at the same time as you are speaking! With your intuition highly tuned, give yourself permission to observe the reaction of the audience to know if and when to make a presentation adjustment.
These are just a few introvert natural strengths; many extroverts have to learn these very characteristics. This means we already have a solid foundation for public speaking. Do we have to learn some other pieces? Of course; but that’s no different than anyone else needing to learn what they don’t have.

What do you think about bringing your strengths to the party of speaking in public? Are you willing? Because you are ready.

About Patricia Weber

Patricia Weber, www.prostrategies.com, leads and inspires the sales reluctant to discover their courage for that breakthrough for ultimate success. She is an internationally recognized expert on radio and in print as a Business Coach for Introverts.

Weber is a Coachville graduate, a Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) Practitioner and a two-time award winner of Peninsula Women’s Networker of the Year (only the second member in its 28 years to receive this award twice.)

– See more at: http://communicationweekly.com/2013/01/introvert-tip-top-3-innate-strengths-for-public-speaking-patricia-weber/#respond

No one said networking is easy; be smart and make the effort

2 Replies

I read an entry on the Personal Branding Blog  which stated, “According to ABC News, 80% of today’s jobs are landed through networking.” This percentage of networkers represents smart jobseekers who understand that looking for and finding work takes…work.

They understand that personal networking coupled with online networking will yield better results than spending the majority of their time on Monster.com, Indeed.com, Dice.com, CareerBuilder.com, and other job boards.

Smart jobseekers attend networking events consisting of jobseekers, business owners, professional associations, meet-ups, etc. However, networking events are not smart jobseekers’ only, or even major, source of networking. They also utilize their rich network of former colleagues, friends, relatives, neighbors, acquaintances, and others; or start the building process…and keep it going once they’ve landed a job.

Experts like Martin Yate, Knock ‘em Dead: Secrets & Strategies for Success in an Uncertain World,  will tell you that companies want to promote from within first; only when there are no appropriate internal candidates will they rely on referrals from employees (who get a bonus for a successful  hire) and people who will approach them through informational meetings. The latter category of jobseekers (you) have the benefit of getting known before the job is “officially posted.”

“…employees who come to the company ‘known by us’ in some way are seen to be better hires and thought to get up to speed more quickly and stay with the company longer,” he writes. And this includes you. This is where relentless networking comes in, whether you contact someone at a company so they can get your résumé to a hiring manager, or you contact a hiring manager in your desired department to set up a “meeting.”

Pam Lassiter, The New Job Security, understands that networking can be daunting, particularly for Introvert types, but encourages jobseekers to do it, “Using your networking wisely is a muscle you can exercise and develop if you haven’t already. Outplacement and alumni career services surveys report that 65 to 85 percent of jobseekers find their jobs through networking….”

Some jobseekers misunderstand the purpose of networking. They think it’s all about them. They constantly ask without giving, which is the quickest way to drive away potential allies. People who have the true networking mindset realize that they should first help others, before thinking of themselves.

The bottom line is helping other jobseekers will help you. Paying it forward increases your odds of landing a job. And, there are plenty of great networkers who will help you, as they realize they’ll eventually get help from others. They are patient and determined.

Here’s what one of my customers, who recently got a job, told me about proper networking: “Have a conversation with people [as opposed to] giving them a 30 second commercial.  It’s not about “I need a job.”  Have a really good conversations with a few people at an event and listen to what their needs are.   Think of how you can really connect with them and support them vs. just getting a business card.

Networking only makes sense, so I’m perplexed as to why some jobseekers don’t embrace it. I know that personal networking means going outside one’s comfort zone, particularly if you’re an Introvert (as an Introvert, I know the feeling). Developing the attitude that “I just have to do it” will help you over the hump.

If you’re going to blog, do it right (Guest blog post by Pat Weber)

2 Replies

You know the type who take but don’t give? My friend Pat Weber, staunch Supporter of Introverts, author and speaker, makes bloggers aware through her article Do you blog more like a diesel engine or a bottle rocket? that blogging isn’t a one-way street. To me, she is the epitome of a giver.

If you blog to gain a business edge or to reach your employment goals, you have to do it right. I confessed to Pat that I’ve been doing it wrong. I’ve been more of a bottle rocket than a diesel engine. Henceforth I will try to be more of a diesel engine. See what I mean by reading Pat’s article, and please comment on it.

Can your job be done by a monkey? 4 ways to think about approaching your boss

Leave a reply

I’m not talking about stacking blocks or putting round objects in round holes or pealing bananas and feeding them to their young or anything monkeys can do. I’m talking about  complex duties that have become so routine you’re starting to feel like a…monkey.

Has your job become so mundane that you no longer get challenged to do your best? Do you feel stagnated? Do you dread coming to work instead of looking forward to the workweek? Are you among the approximate 70%,  according to an article in  Forbes.com, who hate their job? If so, this is not good. When your job no longer offers you a challenge, it might be time to move on. Or it might be time to address this issue with your boss.

The latter of the two options would be preferable given that moving on to a new job brings with it complications, such as starting over in a new work environment, adjusting to new management or new subordinates, or actually relocating to a far destination; not to mention trying to find another job.

The positive thing about bringing this issue to your boss’ attention is that you’re in a better position to enact some change than if you had just started a job (if you just started the job, you’re in the wrong place.) But to enact change, you need to approach the situation carefully. It has to be about the organization, not you.

Making the organization stronger is one approach you can take with your boss. Example: You’re the marketing communications pro, the best at what you do. Your approach: The sales and marketing teams could benefit from your help with marketing analysis. Of course, you’d excel at your responsibilities and any additional work would be performed on your own time.

Other staff could benefit from learning new roles. Cross-training is a great concept that allows others to learn more about what their counterparts do. You may hear rumblings from others, like you, who are unsatisfied with the monotony and repetition of their jobs. Assuming some of your colleagues’ responsibilities and visa versa, providing it’s feasible, can add spice to the workplace. This can help the organization if “key” players are absent for an extended period of time or quit unexpectedly.

Your boss will be better for allowing you to take on varied duties and ultimately making you, and others, happier. One thing that separates a great boss from the ordinary is his willingness to empower his employees. One of my favorite bosses was one who gave me assignments, such as representing the organization from soup to nuts, providing little guidance but standing by when I had questions. She remains the most influential person in my career.

Happy workers make better workers. Although this approach may seem self-serving, remind your boss that an organizations best resource are its employees. Self-fulfilled workers are likely to perform and accomplish more than those who feel as though they’re a hamster on a wheel. Or someone doing a job a monkey could do.

There’s a great book I recommend to people which is about what truly motivates us to succeed. It’s called Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us. In the book Daniel Pink talks about autonomy, mastery, and purpose as the motivating forces behind happiness at work; how intrinsic rewards are more satisfying than extrinsic ones, e.g., money and punishment. All three elements are necessary to achieve happiness at work; to make you feel like it takes more than a monkey to do your job.

5 ways to position your career brand

2 Replies

To my jobseekers I assert that career branding is a lot like business branding—the big difference, of course, is that they’re selling themselves to get a job, not to increase profit for a company. Nonetheless, the two are similar.

An article posted on MagneticLook.com by Silvia Pencak talks about business branding, e.g., Apple, Mercedes, and unique small businesses, but also brings to mind how jobseekers can brand themselves to employers. Ms. Pencak notes that there are ways to strategically brand a business but makes it clear that it’s not at the expense of trashing other companies. She writes:

But before I do it, it’s important to understand that the objective of brand positioning is not to bring your competitors down, but to outshine them by performing better and more efficiently cater to the needs of the industry’s customers.

Based on a business model, there are five ways that jobseekers can brand themselves.

  1. A low-cost leadership strategy. This is not to say that as a leader, you must present yourself as someone who will work for free or for a low salary. You will come across as someone whose leadership abilities will pay for itself over and over. You are a leader who crafted your subordinates into excellent workers, some of whom became leaders themselves.
  2. A broad differentiation strategy. You attract employers from many industries which produce many products or services. You are not limited in your talents and experience, and have accomplishments to back it up. You sell yourself as someone who “wears many hats,” while remaining extremely effective.
  3. A best-cost provider strategy. Your are someone who offers potential employers a multi-dimensional employee who brings with her not only excellent technical skills but transferable ones as well. A project manager or engineer who also demonstrates excellent presentation skills, offers employers two employees for the price of one.
  4. A focused strategy based on lower costs. You know the benefits of working for smaller companies but realize that salaries are generally smaller. The small start-up wants to reduce costs (salaries) but needs two employees, a project manager and inside sales rep. Both jobs are within your realm, so you propose to be hired to perform both tasks at 75% of what it would cost to hire two employees, thus saving the company a boatload of money and meeting your salary needs.
  5. A focused strategy based on differentiation. You have a strategy or plan not only for yourself but for the company or organization as well. You have career goals that are attainable and in synch with your future employer. You differentiate yourself from other jobseekers as someone who can meet your goals, which is not the case for your competitors.

These are five business strategies that you must use to beat the competition. You as a jobseekers must develop strategies that enable you to beat your competition and land the job. To be able to perform at the top of your field is not enough; you must be able to communicate it in your verbal and written communications…otherwise you’re talents and accomplishments will be unknown.

Is it possible to separate career branding and personal branding? Is there a fine line? Mary Appleton makes a valid point in an article she shared with me that personal branding is important in terms of highlighting your personality skills. She writes in her response to this article:

In addition though, I think it’s really important for job seekers to define their own personal brand, which comes down to personality and determines whether you’re the right cultural fit. The art of personal branding can be hard to master, particularly as it’s not easy for people to get into the habit of thinking of themselves as a ‘product’ they need to market.

How true!

Career Development: How to Create Your Career Development Plan in 3 Steps

Leave a reply

Guest post from Dorothy Tannahill-Moran – Your Career Change Agent

If you are pondering your career direction and how to get where you want to be, there are some simple steps you can take that will help you come up with a plan.  Let’s not be confused by the word “simple”.  Sometimes the simplest of concepts or steps can be tough to do, because they require some thinking and some effort.  Yet, your think time and effort are an investment in your future and happiness, which make it all very worthwhile.

Step 1:  Figure out your destination.  As with all efforts, you must be clear about your direction.  You don’t take a road trip without knowing where you want to end up.  You also don’t need to overly complicate this task.  I think the following questions are helpful in thinking out your destination.

Where do you want your career to be in 2 years?

  • I like this question because this window is close enough to your current reality that it is easy to visualize.

Where do you want your career to be in 5 years?

  • If you see that your 2-year goal is merely a step in an overall direction, then this question helps you define a longer term goal.  Sometimes it’s difficult to see that far out in time, as life and opportunities present themselves and can cause you to reset your plans.  That’s ok, but it’s good to be looking “2 steps ahead”.

What makes these targets resonant for you?

  • Don’t make a goal just for the sake of making one.  You need a goal that really rings your chimes and helps to motivate you into action.  If you’re making a goal based on what someone else wants, it also isn’t going to be that compelling for you.  Being clear on your direction means being clear that this direction is inspiring and motivational and knowing what is driving you to it.

Step 2:  Do a Gap Analysis.  A gap analysis is where you figure out the differences in the qualifications between where you are right now and your 2-year goal or next step.

Using a job posting or job description for the position you are aiming at is a good way to get specific information about the skills and experience that are expected.  I think it is good to get more than one job description (perhaps one with your company and one with a competitor) in order to ensure you aren’t missing any key items during your analysis.

Go through the job description line item by line item and rate your current state of skills, education or experience to what is listed.  Your rating system can be as simple as 1-10 with 10 a perfect match and 1 being completely missing.  As you rate, make notes about your thinking for future reference.

Once you have completed this exercise, identify all of the items where there is anywhere from a fair amount to a substantial amount of development that is needed.  Look for commonalities and clump those together as a category.  You will discover that there will be themes to your gaps.  Also, don’t get too compulsive about where you don’t think you’re a perfect match, but think you have fairly developed skills.  If they are mostly present, they will make you a competitive candidate and shouldn’t require too much development attention.

You now have a list of development items.

Step 3:  Create your development plan.  You are now fully armed with a clear 2-year goal and all the details of where and what you need to develop to get you where you want to go.  Your plan will be best if you can consult with your boss and/or a mentor to help you with ideas of how to get the skills you need to add.

There may need to be some logical order to a few of the items on your list.  Sometimes you need to do x before you can do y.  Make these among the highest priority items so you can accomplish these things and move on to others.

Usually there are multiple ways of accumulating the needed skills.  You may also want to have multiple ways of beefing up your skill set to add depth to it.  An example is if you want to move to a project management position, you may want to get certification and also to ask for project responsibilities.  Initially, these may be small, which are fine; they will give you an opportunity to grow and learn.

You may need to research various ways to get the skills you need.  Once done, it will give you ideas on how you can approach these items.

You need dates.  You need to keep yourself accountable to your plan; and the best way to do that is to give yourself a “start by” date.  You can’t predict how long or how much work you will have to do in order to develop the skill at the level you need, but you do have control over the action you take to get started.

Keep track.  You need to pay attention to your plan a minimum of twice per year.  This will allow you to stay focused on your progress and remind you of next steps.

Career development is the sort of thing that you can easily forget about until you wake up one day to realize you have gone nowhere and aren’t having fun.  You are responsible for where you go in your career.  With a little bit of planning you can accomplish great things.

For more career tips and advice claim your Free Instant Access to the Career Makeover Newsletter AND eWorkbook “Should I Stay or Should I Go” – both dedicated to Your career success, when you visit

http://CareerMakeoverToolKitShouldIstayorShouldIGo.com/  From Dorothy Tannahill-Moran – Your Career Change Agent from www.nextchapternewlife.com and www.mbahighway.com

The secret to success; it’s in the touch

2 Replies

Much to my son’s and my pleasure, the Dallas Mavericks are leading the Miami Heat three games to two. We’re both Celtics fans, but we hate the Heat because they eliminated our team with their Big Three of Bosh, James, and Wade.

I have been hearing about the Maverick’s success on NPR and other news outlets, which attribute it to…touching. That’s right, the team from Dallas touches each other with high-fives and butt taps. This proves that constant congratulations, even when their teammates miss a free throw, have a positive effect.

The same holds true in the workplace. Attaboys and attagirls raise morale and increases productivity. I know this to be the case because three years ago the management team surprised the employees with a round of appreciation for all of us. They awarded us with praise during a staff meeting. My manager told the staff “Bob will fight for every one of his customers.” I was flattered and the high from her comment lasted at least a week.

So why doesn’t this happen at more companies? It’s a known fact that employees feel more appreciated with a pat on the back than with a raise. We enjoy being complimented for a job well done, and this encourages us to try harder, do better. Money doesn’t have the same effect.

When people contemplate how teachers, for instance, can increase their performance, it’s not raises that do the trick. Teachers argue that their creativity being taken from them for the sake of raising test scores, larger and unmanageable classes, and lack of administrative and parental support, are the reasons for decreased performance.

Professionals in other fields talk about harsh management and even bullying as major reasons for wanting to move on or quit. Members of the LinkedIn community constantly bring up questions about effective management. The answers they receive include vision, fairness, consistency, empowerment, et cetera. In other words, what our children look for in their parents.

It comes to no surprise that the Dallas Mavericks are prevailing over the Big Three due to their touchy-feely approach to the games. We are fortunate when the people who rely on us to do our jobs show us appreciation, so why wouldn’t a professional basketball team raise its performance when they have the support from each other.

I’m fortunate to work with positive colleagues who are encouraged by fair and consistent management. But I think I’ll refrain from touching my co-workers’ butt.

A Heart-Warming Story

Leave a reply

A blog entry from Martin Yate called Put Joy in Your Life is touching and on the surface seems to have nothing to do with the job search.

But putting aside the fact that Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world, is playing merely for fun, let’s stretch our imagination and envision some analogy to the job search.

Maybe a lesson about being unsuccessful because of poor marketing and the inability to sell oneself. Joshua only made a handful of money.

“After 45 minutes of continuous playing: Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32,” writes Martin.

If we thing long and hard, we could think of some way to relate the story to the job search. The inability to understand one’s audience; as in poorly written or verbal communications.

This could be a lesson on being the most qualified person for the job (the guy’s world famous) but not getting it because he’s playing to the wrong audience. Obvious. 

But I’m sure our analysis of the story would trivialize it and probably make a mess of the message Martin is trying to send.

Read the story on Martin’s blog and you may ask, “Why is it posted on Knock ‘Em Dead’s blog?” On the other hand, it may hit you like a brick and make complete sense…it’s just an awesome story about a man having some fun.

An Account of how One Man Found a Job: What Worked and what Didn’t.

Leave a reply

The last time I saw Jim at our career center was in January of this year. We adjourned to my office where we looked over his résumé and LinkedIn profile. He had concerns about switching industries but knew he wanted to do the same work, Continuous Improvement Management.  

I’m ecstatic to say that Jim recently got a job in the industry he was pursuing. He announced his landing to me four months after we last met. When he thanked me for his help and encouragement, I asked him for a small favor—I wanted to know how he got his job. What follows is more than I expected as a response. Jim secured his job the Good Ole’ Fashion way, through hard work and diligent networking. Here’s his story:

Using LinkedIn worked.

Although LinkedIn is a great online networking tool, Jim used it primarily for research. He researched people of interest during his job search, including those he interviewed with and cold called. LinkedIn allowed him to research companies, using the Companies feature, and keep easy track of his targeted companies. He wisely joined a number of LinkedIn groups to identify companies that were hiring, learning about the latest technology, and some issues the companies had.

As well, Jim kept track of people who were viewing his profile, hoping to identify hiring managers at some companies for which he hoped to work. Lastly, he began to understand the importance of branding oneself using LinkedIn and will continue his branding endeavors.

Blasting out résumés didn’t work!

His initial goal was to send out 10 résumés per week, and he came close averaging 6.3. He felt this was a waste of time and did it only to meet unemployment requirements. Using this method to look for work yielded him one phone interview. There were some benefits, though; he learned what requirements employers had and targeted his résumés to each job for which he applied. He also learned to identify the companies that are involved in Lean Six Sigma and are growing rapidly.

Informational meetings worked.

Jim became a big fan of informational meetings, as they were great for learning about needs of the industry and/or specific companies, obtaining leads to companies that may have “hidden opportunities,” and developing a group of folks that he would often go back to for gathering vital information—particularly learning of solutions or strategies used to solve particular types of industry problems (e.g. increase the perception that he could help because he was familiar with industry techniques).

In addition, he used informational meetings to:  

  • Volunteer information that he uncovered about the industry in general.
  • Connect folks to someone who might be able to help them with an issue brought up in conversations. Pay it forward.
  • Provide expertise to solve a problem, mentor someone, or crunch numbers and put them in a user-friendly format.
  • Develop a sharing network for the future.

Researching companies websites worked.

Jim focused on investigating 10 companies per week. He would research two large companies (over 100 employees) per week and eight small ones. In reality, he investigated big ones only if he received a lead or submitted a résumé for a job board opening. He usually knocked off six small companies per week and feels that this will be his primary approach next time.

Making calls, albeit frustrating, worked.

Jim cold-called companies or went to their doors, acting like a reporter and/or sales person sometimes. This was very hard being rejected 80-90% of the time but paid the best dividends when successful. Here’s why:

  • He often got very good leads with other small companies (60+% success vs. 10% with large companies). The owners of these companies had large networks and often could provide contacts and information about numerous companies.
  • He was offered a number of short-term contract jobs which he politely refused.  In three instances, he volunteered his time to help with specific opportunities.  All those for whom he volunteered were willing to give him a reference and one actually knew his new boss. He believes this played a big part in being hired.
  • Four folks asked him to stay in touch, and he’s pretty confident that a fulltime or consulting opportunity will arise in the future.

Volunteering really worked! 

Jim used a not-for-profit Lean Six Sigma training and facilitation organization a lot while at his previous job and did a lot of things to support them, such as hosting tours and training sessions, running a booth at their shows, providing case studies, writing referrals, etc.  He writes that, “MY BIGGEST LESSON: YOU ARE INTERVIEWING EVERY MOMENT OF THE DAY.”

The not-for-profit organization got him twice as many real interviews via their network and their team pushing his name than everything else combined. They also allowed him to take $2,100 worth of six sigma classes while he was out of work and defer payment until he could afford it.

Networking ultimately worked!

Jim volunteered to coach and work one day a week for two different companies that had employees attending the six sigma classes. He worked days, nights, and weekends as necessary to support them while job hunting.

The Lean Six Sigma class instructor knew he was looking for a job and saw how hard he worked to support classmates and the two specific companies. The instructor was working one day per week at [the company for which Jim now works]. During one of his weekly trips, he proposed that the CEO hire a Continuous Improvement Manager full time and that the CEO plan long-term to promote this position to VP of Operations as the business grows.

After selling the CEO on the idea, he gave him Jim’s résumé and stated that Jim was the person that should be hired. Breakfast with CEO, Interviews with core team, and unsolicited calls from small business owners mentioned earlier all led to him obtaining a job.

 Jim is one of the brightest individuals to walk through the career center’s doors. He diligently attended workshops and worked with career advisors. But the thing that stands out for me about Jim is his positive attitude and never-say-die attitude. This type of thinking is perhaps the secret to success in the labyrinth of the job search.

Update at least Weekly…at least

7 Replies

Weekly, you ask? Yes, weekly. Better yet, daily. What have you been up to? What articles have you read that were particularly helpful in your job search? Read any good books? Did you have a great interview? Did you get a job? Do you have any leads for people? Is your business thriving?

Update often. The more you update, the more people will see you and keep you in the forefront of their mind. This is an important part of networking, staying fresh in peoples’ mind. Most people have a tendency to remember those who they see often. With frequent updates, you’ll appear on your contacts’ Home Page, hopefully with your sharp photo and key-word-rich title.

When is too much? Please don’t treat LinkedIn as though it’s Twitter. A daily update would be great, but four in an hour can be a bit much. When I see someone’s face too frequently, I Hide them. This is a great feature that allows you to turn off tweets…I mean Updates…without having to delete the offenders completely. Before I learned of the Hide feature, I deleted a few contacts because their presence on my Home Page became annoying. I wish I had known about this feature.

Practice networking etiquette. I like to post an update once a day if I can, but I don’t want the information to be frivolous. If I have nothing of value to share, I’ll skip a day…or two. I also like to see my contacts on my Home Page. I never thought I’d say this, but I look forward to opening my Home Page to see what’s going on in my contacts’ lives. I have to say that the information my contacts share is usually relevant and useful, and I think this is because LinkedIn has provided a platform for professional individuals, both business people and jobseekers.

I miss you. When I haven’t seen someone in weeks, I wonder what’s happening in their professional and daily lives. Please take the time to send an update. I’m feeling old and want to enjoy every day as it comes. No, I’m not being a wise guy. I enjoy seeing people come out of hiding and sharing their news.