If you are given an opportunity do you take advantage of it? Are you committed to succeeding when someone stakes their reputation by giving you a chance you might not have otherwise been given? How about going above and beyond in all you do on a daily basis?
If you can answer yes to all three questions you are taking responsibility and living your professional life with integrity in mind at all times. By not making excuses, by admitting mistakes and more importantly learning from them so as not to make the same ones twice, you are upholding the faith of those who have believed in you.
LinkedIn has quickly become THE professional networking site. It is quite simply the best place to be seen, to see and to network for business opportunities. Your profile, skills and experience summary, combined with recommendations of your work abilities can lead you to the company and people behind the scenes that just may be willing to give you the break you have been looking for.
Much like a resume used to be, LinkedIn draws the eye and attention of those in positions to hire and offer opportunities. Well-composed resumes that are bereft of typos can still articulate part of your case in terms of finding new work. But, it is just not as big a part as it used to be. Your LinkedIn presence and profile content is now more clearly a difference maker when it comes to landing that wonderful new job or business prospect.
If you are only going to go half-heartedly on LinkedIn, you would be best served to forego it entirely. A weak or poorly crafted presence will at the least compromise your ability to compete and at its worst, sabotage your professional aspirations entirely. In addition, if you are a business owner, your credibility, not to mention, your image, is at stake. It is imperative to get your LinkedIn profile right in every way possible.
Once you get the right kind of attention on LinkedIn (I have received notice from both potential business networking folks as well as potential employers), it is critical that you keep networking beyond initial contact messages on LinkedIn. Oftentimes people who send out communication blasts on LinkedIn do not hear back from many of their blast recipients. If the communications are on behalf of event or service promotions, this is normal.
But if you draw the attention of the right people in companies you are looking to get a foot in the door to, your follow-up contact will either kill or help seal the deal for you. Do not respond to companies and/or persons you are not serious about forming some kind of professional relationship with. Even if you are not looking for a job, it is important to cultivate new professional networking contacts.
So you have a great new polished profile presence on LinkedIn and you have been making new professional contacts, adding to your network. The fact you are able to do so, that you are able to bring constructive, positive, attention-grabbing change to your profile, is professional self-advertisement at its finest.
It will put you in a position to succeed once you are approached for an interview. Just like the resume of days of old, the effective LinkedIn profile will get you these precious interviews. What you do once you hit it out of the park at the interview and are offered the job or business, is up to you.
Now go back and read the first two paragraphs of this post. You should take pride in your work and a job well done. You should also remember you owe it to not only yourself, but to those who helped you secure it, to do the best job you possibly can.