Like any business owner, I’m always looking for effective ways content marketing tactics to raise the visibility of my business and awareness about Karmic Ally Coaching’s brand.

Content marketing for me means getting my message out to my audience using mediums that appeal to them. Blogging is one way but there are other mediums where we can repurpose our content to reach a wider audience such as videos, podcasts, ebooks, infographs and sharing slides to name a few.

These mediums enable us to raise our profile and build our brand in the same way that career professionals do.

In my book Get Noticed! 15 Insider Tips guaranteed to improve your Executive Presence  I write about building your own brand and also address looking for opportunities to raise your profile because you’ve got the power to create your world.

The same tactics can be used to build your brand and raise your profile with a much larger audience where you might find fellow professionals who can provide you with information for advancing your career.

I’m talking about LinkedIn, which I consider the best networking platform for professionals and businesses.

The best tool you can use is LinkedIn SlideShare (formerly Slideshare) that allows us to upload Presentations, Documents, Videos, Infographics and even create Clipboards with slides from presentations that we like and then share them with the world across social media sites that include Google+, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn (similar to Pinterest).

When you link your LinkedIn Profile and SlideShare together your uploaded presentation, gets shared in your LinkedIn update which means indirectly, you’re maintaining your presence in front of your connections.

Who knows? One of them may Like, Comment or even Share your presentation with their circle which means added exposure to their network.

You can also add your SlideShare presentations to the summary portion of you LinkedIn profile with a single click (see how I’ve done it here).

SlideShare also has an internal search function that people use to find presentations on topics of interest to them and this increases your visibility in front of professionals already using this.

In case you are new to SlideShare, here is some information that will put my recommendation in perspective.

9 Facts about the awesome social tool LinkedIn SlideShare

The data and statistics below have been collected from LinkedIn Slideshare’s website, Wikipedia and research on the internet. Figures may change from time to time and this information is relevant as of June 2018.

• Slideshare was founded in October 2006 and acquired by LinkedIn in May 2012. So once you link the two (the resources section of LinkedIn provides information on how to do this) you can easily reach a wider audience with your uploaded presentations and documents.
• SlideShare was rebranded to LinkedIn SlideShare in August 2015.
• LinkedIn SlideShare ranks among the top 156 most visited websites in the world (Alexa ranking in June 2018).
• LinkedIn SlideShare has 80 million users worldwide.
• Total number of pieces of content shared to date is 18 million.
• There are 40 content categories in this slideshare hosting service which is available in 5 languages.
• In February 2011 SlideShare added a feature called Zipcasts, a social web conferencing system that allows presenters to broadcast an audio/video feed while driving the presentation through the Internet. Zipcasts also allows users to communicate during the presentation via an inbuilt chat function.
• Google indexes your SlideShare presentations, including notes and transcripts which means you can be found via a Google search that raises your credibility for the topic of your presentation and any keywords that you want to be identified with in relevant queries.
• If you are in business and want to amplify your lead generation tactics, then the good news is you can insert Calls to Action and live links anywhere after the first 3 slides. Please note, this can’t be done in the description of the presentation.

I mentioned earlier that you can share your presentations on other social media platforms as well as embed on your website.

To give you a live examples, here is one of my presentations on SlideShare.

You can see all my presentations at SlideShare Vatsala Shukla Presentation. (remember to follow me!)

Do you use LinkedIn SlideShare to raise your presence and enhance your brand image?

Share you experience with other readers in the Comments Box below and raise your profile!

This blog post was written in March 2014 and has been updated to take into account all the wonderful changes that have since taken place at LinkedIn SlideShare.

Written by Vatsala Shukla

Quite possibly the title of this post would have caught your attention. We all know about networking. We do it all the time, whether with the clients that we meet and contacts that we make at seminars/workshops/cocktail parties.

Even when we strike up a conversation at the pet shop with a stranger and find mutual interests that lead to an exchange of phone numbers or Facebook/LinkedIn connection requests.

One aim of networking is to identify and connect with people who can help us to further our goals and ambitions or even assist us when required.

The big question in our minds is very often, “how can this person help us” or even a unilateral, “what can I get out of this person”.  

The agenda of the latter is clearly one-sided.

Personally, I prefer to think the other way around. I ask myself, ‘what can I do for this person” or “how can I contribute and add value to my network”.

In other words, I think of netweaving. It’s more gratifying.

Think about the times that you have been down or in trouble and a friend or acquaintance have stepped in and bailed you out or helped find a solution to your problem. Think a bit about how you have felt to receive timely help and have waited to return the favor or pay it forward. 

What the other person has done has netweaved. They have established credibility and standing in your eyes. You perceive they are resourceful. Good ingredients for creating social and professional standing among one’s peers.

In addition, net weaving helps to build the foundation for a longer-term association. This doesn’t mean that you cannot do networking. I suggest you do both.

Networking and netweaving both require seeking opportunities to work together. The difference lies in the context of the connection and the balance being sought.

My most successful friends and colleagues who have survived recessions, redundancies and bad patches have been net weavers. Their credibility and credentials being established as impeccable. People take their calls even when they have nothing tangible to offer or are in the wilderness. No wonder they bounce back magnificently!

How effective Netweavers create value for their network

Next time you have a networking opportunity, try connecting with others based on what you think you or your network can do for them.

Think along the lines of how the person can be beneficial to others in your network and create an introduction at an appropriate time. Consider areas where you and your new contact can collaborate to create a win-win situation all around. 

Tip: Consider how you can create an all-round win-win over lunch or a meal like I did in my post Networkers who Lunch.

There is nothing worse than having a card book, or a social profile full of names without substance.

Think about your most recent networking interactions, whether in business, work, personal life or social media.

Would you say you were networking or netweaving?

Is there any area where you can add value to your network? Do share your views in the comments box below, I’d love to read them.

PS. Do you use LinkedIn for expanding your network? Want to try out your new skill of netweaving? It all begins with knowing what you shouldn’t do. Click here to download my short guide 5 Mistakes Professionals Make on LinkedIn or on the image below and become the contact everyone wants in their circle!

This post originally titled ‘Do You Network or Netweave?’ was written in March 2012 and has been updated for relevance and new content.

Written By: Vatsala Shukla

Establishing contact with recruiters, HR personnel and potential rainmakers for job hunting has become easier through LinkedIn because you can connect with the target professional through your 2^nd degree connections, Groups and even boiler template invites via the People You May Know section with 3^rd degree connections.

The latter are often accepted if the other person’s agenda is to build a wider network or they see merit in your profile.

But (and I mean a really big but), if the invitation isn’t done properly, it also raises the possibility and danger of inadvertently insulting those very professionals who you need to be in your corner to achieve your end goal – an introduction and a chance to get your resume on the right desk and  job interview invite.

I’ve written tons of posts about LinkedIn etiquette, as well as a free downloadable ebook 5 Mistakes Professionals Make on LinkedIn that addresses professional conduct when connecting with people whom you don’t know in real life. The same etiquette and good manners that you demonstrate in the offline world is required in online networks.

I’m observing a break in code of conduct especially among the millennial generation. I wish someone would tell them that just because a professional is on LinkedIn doesn’t mean they are open to accepting your invitation or giving you access to their network unless they feel the connection is mutually beneficial.

There’s a Haitian proverb

Don’t insult the alligator until you’ve crossed the river.

I think this proverb applies to the situation.

You don’t behave obnoxiously with people who can be rainmakers or help further your career aspiration.

Here’s a real life example.

Way back in 2009 when I first joined LinkedIn, I received an invite from a young professional whose profile was incomplete, no profile photo and who didn’t respond to my inquiry about how we knew each other. It was a polite request on my part because I meet a lot of people and simply wanted to be reminded. I had no reason to remember him until he resurfaced in a shocking manner.

He started trolling me in an IFRS Group where I had numerous 1^st degree connections from the offline professional world.

This person started abusing me instead of providing value to the technical questions that were the topics of discussion.

Then he made the mistake of mentioning my former employer and something very nasty which wasn’t true and  provided grounds for defamation and slander against the Troll as well as my former employer for their staff’s conduct.

I did 2 things – reported him to the LinkedIn Group Manager who blocked him and issued a warning to the Group to maintain propriety and secondly, contacted the HR Manager at my previous employers to discuss this person and his so-called connect at the firm.

Imagine my surprise when the Manager told me that there was no such manager in the firm (I had left in 2007 and attrition is high in that company). He took it seriously though and asked me for details of this young professional.

A few months later, the Manager called me to tell me that the person had applied for a job at the company and he had issued a notice that the person was blacklisted and wasn’t to be interviewed because ‘he wasn’t fit to be employed’.

A couple of Group Members including my connections wrote to me personally about how they admired my handling the situation and their own sense of disgust.  I emerged a stronger and respected member of the Group.

The difference between Troll and the others is the former didn’t recognize the alligator while the others did.

He made another mistake which can be summed in this Creole Proverb:

Don’t call the alligator “big-mouth” till you have crossed the river

Had the Troll played his cards right, the story would have been different. 1 phone call from me or my forwarding the resume would have helped him at least get noticed in a pile resumes because I had left on good terms to follow my dream.

Troll had caught my eye for all the wrong reasons. A Google search indicated that the same conduct had led him to be debarred by the professional body whose qualification was important for him.

This shouldn’t put you off from making introductions when you can or request introductions but be aware that when you make a request, the other person may do more research on you and an uncomplimentary Google search might mean a dead end to your request.

This brings me to the second tip for effective job hunting.

6 Degrees of Separation: networking with influential alligators

Six degrees of separation is the theory that everyone on Earth is 6 or fewer steps away, by way of introduction, from any other person on Earth, so that a chain of “a friend of a friend” statements can be made to connect any two people in a maximum of six steps.

In fact, it’s the same concept behind the parlor game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon where a group of players to try to connect any such individual to Kevin Bacon as quickly as possible and in as few links as possible. (Kevin Bacon Trivia: In 2007, Bacon started a charitable organization named SixDegrees.org).

The concept is well explained in this video by Veritasium and I encourage you to watch it in full.

The point is, it can work in your favor or even against you like it did for the Troll where there was a second degree of connection which went terribly wrong in his job search.

5 ways to stay in the Alligator’s good books

The adage “it’s not what you know; it’s who you know” applies to both job hunters and   self-employed professionals.

Having the right connections that are able and willing to recommend you is as important as a resume that makes you stand out above the crowd. Make sure you are adhering to the following 5 pointers to make your network viable:

Courtesy is not old fashioned – Manners still Matter

Assume everyone you meet whether in the offline or online world is either an alligator or has the potential to be one for you and needs to be treated with courtesy & respect. You don’t know who they know who might be someone you need to know (remember The Troll).

Even when you are leaving a job that you hated, make sure you part on an amiable note. Potential employers often do reference and background checks or if it is a closed industry, they know each other. You certainly don’t want to be given a verbal reference that is in conflict with a written one.

On the alligator note, here’s another Haitian proverb worth remembering

Only when you have crossed the river, can you say the crocodile has a lump on his snout.

Build your Network before you need it

Make networking a part of your regular professional activity and not something you do when you suddenly need a job. Start building your network of professionals with whom you share common interests, industry and professional backgrounds.

This will not only keep you abreast of industry developments but quite often provide you with an inside tip-off for a potential job.

Many companies offer incentives to their staff for recruitment referrals. You want to top of mind if your contact is in a position to recommend you.

Know Like Trust Factor

Make sure your network really knows you. People like to help out those whom they know, like and trust. If you make a new connection, whether it is offline or on social media, cultivate that connection with useful information and generally get to know them better. That way, if you need help the alligator who is in a position to recommend you would be able to do it with confidence and you’ll avoid the disappointment of a no response.

Exercise your Gratitude Muscle

Remember to always thank your connection for leads whether they work out or not. Acknowledgement of their stepping out to help you ensures they will do it again if required.

Become the Alligator!

Networking is a 2 way street. Just as you may need an alligator to help you achieve your goals, avail every opportunity to be a rainmaker alligator to someone who needs your assistance or recommendation.

It demonstrates your prowess as a well-connected professional. Helping others often results in help when we need it. The Universe always makes sure that assistance given is returned even if it isn’t by the same person.

Have you ever experienced the 6 degrees of separation in your job hunt or in setting up your business?  What about the alligators? Ever experienced the wrath of an angry alligator?

PS.  Do you understand the dynamics and purpose of this professional networking platform?

I invite you to check out 5 Mistakes Professionals make on LinkedIn. In this short guide, I’m sharing 5 key mistakes and potential areas where you need to be careful. If you’re making any of these mistakes, you’ll find doable tips to course correct.

Click on the image of the ebook to get download directions and start creating meaningful connections with alligators on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is an important professional networking platform whether it is for business or career professionals. I’ve written 3 blog posts about this networking platform over the years and honestly thought I had covered my bases after my last post on LinkedIn Etiquette in the Social Media Etiquette series.

The one exception was touching the topic of LinkedIn’s Social Selling Index that was rolled out after my etiquette series which I covered in my January coaching teleclass. (This is now a bonus when you engage me for the Building Your Brand on LinkedIn service)

I guess I was wrong.

My LinkedIn Experience last week

Last week, I received a connection invitation from a stranger – the kind I wrote about in my post Networking Alert: How to connect on LinkedIn without Trusting Strangers, but worse.

The chap had not bothered to personalize the invitation, had an incomplete profile with an Andy Warhol type of profile picture, no connections or groups in common with me.

I’m guessing he was the anonymous profile viewer that week who hadn’t taken the time to read my profile till the end and literally went off the other end when I asked how we knew each other.

I was accused of needing an email address to connect when in fact there is no such restriction but yes, just so that you know, LinkedIn automatically activates this control if you receive ‘I don’t know this person’ alerts 5 times and can even restrict your account if there are too many complaints..

Given the fact that there are lots of fake profiles, scammers and spammers out there, my question was perfectly legitimate as I will explain later.

Just because you send an invite to someone to connect on LinkedIn or befriend on Facebook doesn’t mean that they are obliged to connect or make friends. Since I don’t like abusive people and wanted to put a stop to such behavior in future, I’ve become as blunt as a few of my other connections and like them, now clearly state in my advice to connect or contact section that I will ask questions with the request to be professional and not get abusive via LinkedIn Message. I’ve also marked that specific invite saying that I don’t know this person.

Maybe I should have asked ‘So What?’ and put him on the hot seat instead of being polite. I certainly don’t want to connect with a fellow who is rude, obnoxious, and disrespectful.

When we connect with professionals on LinkedIn, whether known or unknown to us, we give an implied endorsement within our network that we know the inviter and that it is okay for our known actively engaged connections to believe that this person is trustworthy and they can also connect with them.

But then I would have been out of integrity and not me. Instead, this chap is the Muse for my blog post about why I or anyone who takes their network seriously may not accept your LinkedIn connection request if you make any or all of the 9 mistakes that I am sharing in this post.

In many ways, this post is a continuation of the one I wrote in July 2014, Networking Alert: How to connect on LinkedIn without Trusting Strangers.

I’ve seen a lot of posts in LinkedIn publisher on this subject by LinkedIn experts and gurus so I guess I am not the only irritated person out there but have joined the growing majority who don’t want to be part of an online rolodex of people on the planet. We want to connect with real humans.

9 Reasons why your invitation to connect may not get accepted

In previous blog posts, I’ve given suggestions from your perspective on how to be a good networker on LinkedIn. Here are my top 9 from the perspective of the invitation receiver. It is understood that personalizing your connection request is a must and the tips that I gave in Are You the Missing Link on LinkedIn are essential.

Reason 1 – I don’t recognize your name

Maybe we have met in the past but memories do fade with time unless you did something so wonderful or so disgraceful that I have a solid reason to remember you. So if I ask you to jog my memory, don’t be offended. Just offer an explanation even if it means that we haven’t met but you want to connect having read my profile.

Reason 2 – There has been no interaction in the past

Maybe our paths haven’t crossed yet and now, the time is right for both of us to connect. There has to be a reason. The suggestion for 1 holds here too.

Reason 3 – Your LinkedIn Profile is a company name with a company logo

Or your profile is a company name with a person’s picture but there is no way that I can determine who you are because there is no other information. So what if you have 500+ connections? LIONs specialize in having thousands. You are leaving me clueless!

In fact I once wrote to one of these invitees to and the response was with a human name who I then asked to connect via the professional individual profile. I never got the human face invite so I guess that was that. If I want to connect with a company, I’ll follow them on their company page.

Reason 4 – Your profile is incomplete and key sections that should be completed aren’t

If you are a stranger, I will look at your profile to find some common ground to connect and if I can’t find anything, I will write to ask a few questions and if you don’t respond, I will decline the invitation.  So please complete at least the portions that I have mentioned in my Missing Link post.

Reason 5 – You don’t have a profile photo and if you do, it is a small one with your car or dog or cat being more prominent and I can’t see your face

Or like I mentioned earlier you have the logo of your business. I agree that some people love their privacy and don’t post their profile photo. Quite a few of my former colleagues are guilty of that but then their professional reputations are such that we would know it is them. It is their conscious decision and they are not very active on LinkedIn anyway.

Make sure that your profile is complete enough for the other person to either recognize you or make them want to reach out and accept your connection request.

There is another reason why one has to proceed with caution in accepting faceless invites. It might be a fake profile with the intent to harvest information about you. More about this in the next reason- so keep reading!

Reason 6 – You’ve used a fake photo

I’ve seen this on Facebook as well and using the photograph of a celebrity will result in an immediate decline, especially if the rest of the profile is incomplete or inconsistent.

The best way to find out if a photo is fake is Google the name to see what images turn up. I’ve actually declined invites on this ground because it was clear that it was a fake or a potential spammer.

If you want to learn more about finding fake profiles, then these 2 articles that were published in December 2015 are a good starting point. They also share information about the technique of reverse image search on Google to determine if a profile is a fake.

BBC: Fake LinkedIn profiles used by hackers

Or the one in Indian Express Cybercriminals using fake LinkedIn accounts to scam users: report

Reason 7 – We have no common connections – not even 3^rd degree or a group

This is a real red flag. It doesn’t mean I won’t connect with you, just that I will be more careful because there are lots of scammers and fake profiles out there whose sole purpose is to get connected with you to gain access to your email address and to your network.

My suggestion to anyone who genuinely wants to connect with someone outside of their network is to personalize their invitation. You won’t be able to do this from the People you may know section and perhaps not from your mobile. So better to do it from a desk top computer and directly from the profile of the person you want to connect with.

Reason 8 – Your first interaction with me is a Sales Pitch

That is a big no-no. Connecting with someone who may be a good target for your business or career progression is a first step. Nurturing the connection is the second step and then once you have built your credibility and trust factor, should you even consider pitching about your agenda.

Also refrain from sending mass sales emails where everyone can see everyone else. That is not professional.

This has happened twice with me on LinkedIn where junior Alumni requested to connect. The next email was a sales pitch to buy an Accounting Technician’s course that would help me get a job in USA. The brush down was immediate with a suggestion to look at my profile to see that firstly, I was holding a qualification that was at the top of the accounting education echelon and secondly, I had a new business.

One lady apologized, the other was thrown off my list but not before she had connected with 20 of my colleagues who had accepted her invitation via my profile.

This is what I mean by a tacit endorsement and yes, I’m more careful now. You can learn more about savvy networking on LinkedIn here.

The way I see it, if I don’t ask, I won’t get information and if someone really wants to connect then they shouldn’t mind a few questions.

Reason 9 – You lie about how you know me

Okay, so you want to justify a reason for connecting but remember, the other person is intelligent and may not realize it immediately, especially if their career is over a decade old but what happens when they do find out? Did it ever strike you that they will disconnect and maybe report you as Spam or worse?

Social media networking is all about transparency. If you build the right professional network, the doors can open for mutual benefit. But it means starting off on the right foot and your first step is to appear professional enough for the other person to want to accept your invitation.

Your turn – any LinkedIn connection peeves that have stopped you from accepting an invitation or are you happy to connect with people who are just a part of an online directory?

Need more help? Karmic Ally Coaching’s ebook on the 5 Mistakes Professionals Make on LinkedIn is a must read. Download it by clicking the preceding bold link or the image below. A new window will open giving you the details of the ebook and the download procedure.

You will also be added to my subscriber list and given access to tips and resources that every professional needs for career and life balance. Be assured your email is safe with me.

As a newbie to LinkedIn back in 2008, I learned something from a L.I.O.N in disguise.

I promised myself, I was not going to be a chimp and decided to set up my first LinkedIn policy long before I knew that there was something called a social media policy.

This week, I’m taking out another real story from my life on social media and sharing precious lessons learned.

The story about connecting with the Missing Link

A few years back, when I was still deeply into my IFRS consulting practice, a trusted friend introduced me to a gentleman whom he knew through his family. Since the gentleman and I had a similar profile, his intention was that perhaps we could work together on projects. Preliminaries went well.

It was decided that we would get in touch when the right opportunities arose, and I happily accepted an invitation to connect on LinkedIn.  At that point, the new contact had about 25 connections.

A month later, I saw his name on my news feed bouncing with contacts, many of whom were personally known to me. These were not the ones you see in the People You May Know section and blindly click to connect with, but people who I had actually worked with.

So out of curiosity I checked his LinkedIn Profile.

In 2 weeks, he had jumped to over 250 out of which at least 12 were former colleagues of mine.

I thought to myself, this is great; I can get more references about his professional style from my colleagues.  What happened next left me gob smacked.

My colleagues said they did not know him from Adam and connected for 1 reason – they saw my name and that was good enough for them.

I went back to my friend and told him what was happening.  Seems the same had happened with him and he was angry. I remember him saying something to the effect that if street dogs had LinkedIn profiles, this guy would connect there too!

In subsequent chats he was jokingly referred to as the Missing Link.

We both disconnected from him as did many others.

The last I heard of him, he had managed to get himself featured as a LinkedIn Power Profile for the 5 most viewed profiles in his niche that same year and he actually has that as an accomplishment on his profile.

My friend and I know how he did it and I admire him for his strategy. No harm in giving the Devil his due, but even now, I cannot help but wonder – does he have a strong connection with his contacts or is it a numbers game for him?

How do you ensure you don’t end up being called a Missing Link? Or much worse by people behind your back when you try to connect?

Here are 10 pointers:

1. Understand that LinkedIn is a professional social media platform. People want to connect to further professional or business interests, not win popularity contests. They want to know you professionally and not learn about your private life. Keep it professional.

2. If you are trying to connect with someone who is outside of your circle, find a reason to connect. Make it worthwhile for the other person to accept your invitation. Is it an author whose books influenced you years ago? Mention it. Is it someone who posted on a Group Page and caught your attention? Mention it. Do you think that connecting would be beneficial to the other person? In that case, why not mention it? People like to know that there is a common thread that ties you together. Not just an open networker playing a numbers game.

3. Following from the above point, when you send out your invitation to connect, don’t use the generic

“I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.”

Instead, introduce yourself telling them how you found them and why you would like to connect.

4. Alternatively, if they are a Group Member, send them a mail asking to connect. Let them take the call. Some of my best and most meaningful connections to date have started that way.

5. If you are inviting someone to connect whom you have met at a networking event or at a seminar, mention it in your invitation. The same applies if you are connecting with someone after many years. Remind them of who you are. Not everyone uses LinkedIn like Outlook Express. Some log on once or twice a week. Unless they are able to remember you, they might just put you in Spam or report that they do not know you, which is embarrassing.

5 important tips once you’ve created the LinkedIn network connection 

6. Once your invitation is accepted, send an acknowledgement. If you have not already mentioned how you could benefit the new contact at the invitation stage, now is a good time to bring it up. (Refer to my blog post Do You Network or Netweave?)

7. By this point, you are ready to start creating a meaningful and mutually beneficial network connection. You need to nurture it and the best way is to pay attention to them. By this, I mean, look at your activity feed. Have they shared a post? Have they had a promotion? Communicate and connect. Hit the Like button or write a few words. Maybe send them a private message?

8. Keep your interactions professional and do not spam them. Refrain from getting personal in front of everyone. If they share a post make sure your comments lead to further professional interactions which enable others to join in and keeps the conversation flowing.

9. Don’t assume that if the other person has accepted your LinkedIn invitation, he will also accept your Facebook request. It can give the impression that you are trying to stalk them or worse.

10. Mind your manners at all times. If the new contact can accept your invitation to connect they can easily disconnect and even block you without your knowledge which I feel can be quite embarrassing.

There are so many other rules of engagement – don’t make these mistakes

What’s your experience of networking on LinkedIn? I’d love to read them. Share your LinkedIn experiences with me in the comments box below! 

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Written By: Vatsala Shukla originally in February 2013 and updated for content.

Sometime back I read an article in the newspaper that said that youngsters spent too much time in the virtual world and especially on social media sites which made it difficult to interact with others in the real world.

I even read about a young girl who took her own life because her parents banned her from spending time on Facebook. It got me thinking about how much social media has become a part of our lives and possibly control of us.

Way back in 2008 when 3 of my closest friends invited me to join them on Facebook, I discovered a tool that helped me to keep in touch with friends despite my hectic work schedule. I also found old school friends right from my primary school days and it was great. I felt reconnected.

Then one of my friend’s posted that she was going into Facebook hibernation. Another said she was closing her account, which she ultimately didn’t because we all raised a hue and cry. Their reason was that they were spending too much time on Facebook and it was affecting their productivity and life balance.

Some of my friends had become so obsessed with Facebook that they were updating it by the minute and expecting comments. I wasn’t seeing them anymore in person but seemed to know everything about them, the minutest detail about their mood swings and in one case even when they were entering the building or leaving it thanks to mobile application.

Of course I was online. I commented, I viewed and sometimes didn’t comment. But I was online. After all, I didn’t want to miss anything. If there was a group called Facebook Anonymous, quite a few of us most probably could have been sponsored!

Was it Fear of Missing Out or Facebook Addiction? 

It was not just Facebook. If I got a message that I had a new follower, I felt the compulsion to log in and say thank you. Was I being tweeted or retweeted? One message and I was running to Twitter to engage. Ditto for LinkedIn.

The number of times I felt the need to check on Facebook, LinkedIn discussions and Twitter for that matter was unbelievable; such was the lure of social media. My moment of clarity was the turning point for me.

I realized that if I didn’t do something fast, Social Media would take control of my life.

In all fairness, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Zoom and Skype have made it possible for us to have discussions and online interactions with dozens or even more people every day.

Used wisely, social media can be a tool which helps us to connect on both professional network sites like LinkedIn and social sites like Facebook. If you are blogging, it facilitates reaching out to a wider audience.

How to fit Social Media into your real-world Life

The dark side is that social media can also take up a lot of your time. In time management lingo, I would classify it as busy time or wasted time depending upon how one uses social media.

From a time management and balance perspective to ensure focus and time for high priority matters, I suggest allocating specific time to social media on a daily or weekly basis. It goes without saying that the time allocation should be when you are actually relaxing or non-productive.

If the self-discipline is a problem, then consider going cold turkey. You will experience withdrawal symptoms depending upon the level of your addiction but you will live.  In either case, it would be good to disable features in your social sites so that notices and messages do not land up in your email inbox prompting a mad scramble to log in and checkout news or post comments.

If you are managing a Facebook or LinkedIn Page or Group, then perhaps timing may be a challenge. Work out a system that will ensure that you are present to engage but not an excuse to loiter around.

A few timely actions and you might find yourself having more phone chats, writing emails and letters or even meeting up with friends a lot more. In any case, real-life relationships are always better than real time ones.

What about you? Have you ever felt that the internet and social media in particular had taken control over your time and life? How did you get out of it? Please do share!

Habits can be hard to change. Are you geared to win this challenge? Find out with Karmic Ally Coaching’s Change Quiz by clicking here or on the image below. You’ll also receive some of my best tips and yes, your email is safe with me!

Written By: Vatsala Shukla

I wrote about connecting on LinkedIn sometime back in my blog post “Are You the Missing Link on LinkedIn?”.

It became so popular with spammers that my IT guy deleted all comments as a safeguard. Considering the spike in the number of trusting strangers wanting to connect with me in recent times, the topic merits a revisit.

Now, I am immune to the generic invitation

I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn

If I know the person, I accept the invitation immediately. Then I drop a line to them telling them how delighted I am to reconnect and catch up with what’s been happening.

I’ve updated my contact details on LinkedIn clearly stating how I can be contacted. If the person does not know me, they have to tell me the reason for wanting to connect & not pretend to be a friend.

Not that some people read the bottom of the LinkedIn profile or bother to honor my request. That’s okay. I’ll simply ask them to jog my ageing memory and remind me how we know each other.

Their reply decides my next course of action.

Since you are a person I trust, I wanted to invite you to join my network on LinkedIn

Imagine my surprise when I first received an invite with the above statement and could not place the person.

(Update October 2017: Since I wrote this post, this particular boiler plate template seems to have disappeared)

So, I logged in and went to look at the profile and found no picture, no details and 3 connections.

The only word that made sense was real estate and that too because as an IFRS specialist. I had done some work for real estate companies being listed on overseas stock exchanges.

Maybe this person is just starting out on this platform. Maybe we have worked together, and I made a good impression in real life.

Wanting to know more, I wrote back asking to be reminded how we knew each other. There was no response and I ignored the request.

You trust me enough to want to connect on LinkedIn but won’t answer a valid question?

Then I got another one where there was a picture of a beautiful model in great clothes.

This time my query resulted in a long message telling me about this apparel company and how they were exporting clothes to so many countries. I was instructed to immediately like their Facebook Page and promote them.

No second guessing, I declined the invitation and marked them as not knowing them. I couldn’t bring myself to mark them as spam but thought more about my reasons for declining these 2 invitations.

Here’s why I declined your invitation.

• I have no idea who you are
• We’ve never met in real life
• Your incomplete LinkedIn profile as the only reference point didn’t pass muster
• The profile shows we have no Group or mutual connection in common
• Your agenda is not clear (I don’t want to like you on Facebook or promote a strange stranger)
• My parents told me not to talk to strangers
• My dog doesn’t trust strangers and neither do I

What you should do instead to get your invitation to connect accepted

This holds true not only for me but others whom you trust but don’t know.

Once my irritation with the clothes horse subsided, I went searching on the platform. That’s when I discovered this being a trusted person is actually another default invitation template.

Nothing wrong with using it except that it makes me think that you are collecting connections, that you are not interested in real networking.

Using a template? Please personalize it!

Read the profile, find something or someone in common and let me know that you want to know me and not my name.

Take a minute to personalize it. I’m not obliged to accept your invitation. If you catch me on a bad day, I might just mark you as spam and if more people mark you as spam, LinkedIn may block you from trusting another stranger for a long time.

Quite possibly you may know the person from another social media platform like Twitter or Facebook Group. You may be in a LinkedIn Group, school alumni or visited their blog in which case mentioning this   takes the sting out of the person I trust business.

It demonstrates that you are not a stranger, just someone who, for whatever reason selected a default template.

The stranger who made a difference

I got the “I trust you” invite from someone who had a photograph and the headline “looking for a job opportunity”. The profile was somewhat complete. We had 4 connections in common and I sent a communication asking how we knew each other.

To my pleasant surprise, I got an immediate reply that was honest, respectful and confirmed that we did not know each other. We were from the same professional background. She was looking for a job and hoped I could help her.

My heart melted. I’m a veteran of 3 economic recession-based redundancies. I know it takes courage to reach out and say that I need a job.

I gave her a few tips on how to improve her LinkedIn profile – things that I provide in my Build Your Brand on LinkedIn service gratis. She was grateful for the assistance which was implemented immediately. I was happy to have made a difference.

A few more to and fro by email with more suggestions for her job hunt and I accepted her invite.  Knowing enough about her, made it easy to share her CV with my circle and ask if someone could help.

My point is, when you want to connect professionally with someone, be upright and honest.

Take the time to craft an invitation that shows you have put some thought into it.

Remember, in the online world, our terms of reference are very different.

You wouldn’t allow a stranger on the street into your home. Similarly, it stands to reason the same applies with someone online.

Have you been bombarded with the person I trust invitation by a stranger? How did you handle it? I’d love to know so please share your experience in the comments box below.

Need help to optimize your LinkedIn profile? Learn more by clicking the image below

Written by: Vatsala Shukla

Update 29th April 2020: When I first wrote this blog post in 2013, the recessionary times referred to in the post that we were dealing with were normal economic ups and downs.

7 years later, we’re stepping into another recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

There are going to be job losses and yet, there will also be hiring of the right people for the right jobs as well as some stepping into self-employment and business.

While the strategy for job hunting during COVID-19 times will require skills and activities that might be outside of your comfort zone, these tips are a good starting point if you are facing the specter of layoffs and redundancy and want to get an early start in getting job interviews.

How to land an interview and get an opportunity to prove one’s capabilities during recessionary times

Sometime back, there was much discussion in one of my LinkedIn Groups on the topic of experienced unemployed professionals trying to land interviews.

The discussion took an interesting turn when a young, soon to be qualified professional joined the debate with the same problem.

Early in the discussion, I had suggested looking at one’s contacts that could at least get the resume through the door and onto the right desk and improve the chances of getting the much desired interview.

One’s credibility goes up as the introducer is also a reference. Worst case scenario, you may not get the interview or get interviewed but still not get the job.

You can learn more about it in my post Career Networking Tip: Keep alligator happy if you want success

We all go through tough times at some point in our lives and the best thing to remember is that this too shall pass.

Think you might need more help? Check out Karmic Ally Coaching’s Fast Track Career Success Action Plan here.

Additional Information on Job Hunting especially when unemployed

Since the time this blog post was written in 2013, I have added additional guidance and tips and recommend the following for additional help.

5 Reasons your job hunt isn’t giving desired results (Kindle ebook)

5 honest job loss truths that need to be shared

Dealing with the Gremlin called Unemployment Stress

Unemployment is not the end,  it is a new beginning

Written By: Vatsala Shukla

A few months back, there was a discussion in one of the Groups that I subscribe to about whether people actually found jobs through LinkedIn.

The answers were more towards Nays than Yaes with lots of other comments.  However, LinkedIn is the number One social media network for professionals looking for jobs and business.

Whether you would vote with a Yes or a No, there is always the possibility that you might land a job or a project through your LinkedIn network. It’s safer to err on the side of caution.

Executive search firms and others do Google your name when you apply for a job. It’s a good idea to have a strong profile on LinkedIn. It might just prove to be the differentiator in your getting an unexpected job interview call.

This week’s post focuses on 5 key profile-raising tips for you to try. Who knows, you might just make it to the top percentiles of most viewed profiles this year!

Claim your unique LinkedIn URL

When you first subscribed to LinkedIn, you might have noticed that your name appeared as say, JohnDoe123. Consider what happens when there are dozens of John Does’ on LinkedIn?

If someone is trying to connect with you, they would have to go through the whole list until they find you, especially if you haven’t uploaded a profile picture. The easiest way to demonstrate professionalism is to claim a unique URL for your profile. For example: www.linkedin.com/in/JohnDoe.

If you are thinking WIFM (what’s in it for me), well, when people type your name into a search engine, the chances of your name appearing increase. It becomes easier to include your LinkedIn URL in your email signature. May I add it also looks more professional?

Bonus Tip: Remember to set your LinkedIn profile to ‘public’.

Upload a professional photograph

Whatever you do, please upload a professional and high-quality photograph of yourself. In the event your unique LinkedIn URL draws someone to your profile page, they’d certainly like to see a face that goes with the profile.

At the same time, keep in mind that LinkedIn is a very different platform to Facebook and other social networking sites. Cute photographs of your pets or those of you in casual attire are to be avoided, as are cartoon characters. Keep that for Facebook.

I remember a Coach with whom I am connected on LinkedIn had a photograph of him in a sweatshirt with yellow stripes. We connected as we knew each other but others would not have thought him professional enough.

Things have been very different for him ever since he put on a suit – He made it to the 1% most viewed profiles for 2012!

Craft an eye-catching profile headline

Apart from your photograph, anyone who might stumble on your profile through the People You May Know Section or through a search engine would look at your profile headline. Optimize this section of your LinkedIn profile by creating an interesting, informative profile and eye-catching headline.

I suggest that you think about what you do and not what your qualifications are. Like an elevator speech but shorter and to the point.

Develop a professional summary statement that makes you shine

Your professional summary statement should make a viewer want to learn more about you and if there is a match of interests, want to connect with you. Make sure it is short, concise and confident.

Talk about your qualifications and goals and a brief history of your career and your proven skills. Make it easy for the reader by putting in the information in paragraphs or by using bullet points.

List your key skills

This section is a great place to bring out all your skills. These are the key words that a headhunter or executive search professional will be typing in during his search. You want to make the cut.

Use key words and phrases that relate to your actual skills and work experience. Remember, your assertions will be verified at a later date. Be authentic. You are allowed a limited number of skills, so choose well.

The best part of listing your skills is that it is easy for your contacts to endorse you if they don’t have time to write a recommendation or do not know what to write. When you receive an endorsement, consider reciprocity for a skill that you know your endorser has. That too will bring viewers to your profile.

Bonus Tip: Update your status at least once a week

Most professionals that I know visit LinkedIn once a day; some keep it open all the time. It all comes down to what works for you.

I recommend updating your status at least once a week. This could be anything – liking a conversation in a LinkedIn Group, commenting on a post, connecting with someone new, sharing an interesting article that you have read.

The end objective is to keep your profile on the radar screens of other people- to engage in dialogue to meet with professionals with similar interests.

Pick up some more job-hunting tips on LinkedIn in my post 5 LinkedIn Tips you need to apply if you want Job Hunting Success.

Think of your LinkedIn profile as an interactive business card. It’s a summary of your professional experience, interests, and capabilities. It is your online curriculum vitae without the 3-page rule.

A strong profile is a key differentiator in the job market. Make sure your profile is 100% complete and make it one that a fellow professional would want to view and connect.

Have you tried any of these tips? How did they impact your Profile Views or Invitations to Connect? Please do tell me in the comments box below.

With a proper professional profile and savvy 15-minute actions on a daily basis, you can leverage LinkedIn to increase your visibility and credibility. This, as you know are hallmarks of a credentialed professional.

Here is an easy way to do it yourself with my help – Build Your Brand on LinkedIn. Click the preceding link or the image below to learn more.

This post was first written by Vatsala Shukla on April 13,2013 and has been updated for relevance and new information in 2023.

Sending a cold email with your CV takes courage – plenty of it, because the move can boomerang.

However, you can also hit pay dirt with this tactic. You may discover a rainmaker who might either help you to find a job or at least point you in the right direction.

Would your CV make the right impression on a stranger with 10 seconds to peruse it? 

A Tale of 2 Cold Call Resumes

A few years back, I received an application seeking employment.

The covering email and the Curriculum Vitae would have been appropriate except for one thing – it was sent to the wrong person. It was not my field and I was not hiring.

Yet I was impressed enough to pick up the phone and make an inter-city phone call to the job seeker who I didn’t know. I gave a few leads that I was aware of and tips on doing a focused job search. The candidate went on to send me a thank you email and all was well.

On the other hand, around the same time, I also received an email that inspired me to pen this blog post – for ALL the wrong reasons.

Impression?

Yes

Impressed?

NO!

For starters, the cover email was too generic quoting LinkedIn and social networking sites as reference sources that did not match on checking.

When you are cold-calling and claim references, be aware that your target recipient might actually do a few checks.

There was no career objective other than wanting to change jobs and a short description of the various processes handled.

The recipients (undisclosed and bulk email) were being asked to forward the CV to friends and peers. It felt like a chain mail except for the dire consequence part.

The CV in question was a 1 MB pdf file, 4 pages long and full of images from free sites.

Critical information was strewn all over the document and at the end of it, I was wondering if the sender was joking or serious? If you’re looking for a picture book, then it did the job.

Sadly, it wasn’t a document one would forward to one’s network and put one’s credibility at stake.

It was apparent that the individual, who was ironically looking for a Human Resources position, had worked hard to create the document.

It did not achieve the goal – using a stranger’s network to circulate the CV.

Did you know 85% of CVs get binned; they never get read or even looked at?

Most employers don’t spend more than 2-3 minutes reading the CV, so getting your covering letter and CV right is crucial. Especially if you are cold emailing and expecting that the recipient will forward the entire cover email and CV.

Update: Surveys show that perhaps this time is now down to 6 seconds max unless you stand out.

Pick up 19 of my simple tips that will improve your chances to appear viable here.

Both your covering letter and your CV are the first impression a prospective referrer gets of you – Make it last for all the right reasons!

Many executive search firms have tips and techniques for candidates for not only formulating their CVs but also for covering letters and interview preparation.

10 pointers if you decide to send cold-call job hunting emails

• Do your research and select target prospects that would be able to help further your interests, not wonder why you are sending a general email. If you are a specialist in industrial relations and send your CV to a sole proprietor, your specialist skills in managing flash strikes will have no relevance!

• Personalize your covering letter/email – Unless you are writing to a company and do not know whom to address it to, write the name of the person; particularly if you are claiming to have received the reference from LinkedIn. If you are members of a Group, mention it.

• Consider putting in a link to your LinkedIn Profile so that the receiver has a place to check your references and endorsements.

• Make sure your contact details are available both in the covering letter email and at the beginning of the CV.

• Put your career objectives or a career statement after your name and contact details. Your career objectives/statement should reflect what you intend to do with your career now and in the future, your career aspirations and level of ambition.

• Focus on what will get you that prized introduction for an opening. Consider whether the CV format should be a Reversed Chronological CV or a Functional CV.

• Format it in the manner that prospective employers would be interested in looking at it. If you are targeting multiple strangers – make a Master CV and customize it to make it relevant for the recipient to send it forward.

Don’t ignore these last 3 pointers!

• Make sure your document is no more than 3 pages. If you are a new entrant to the job market, make it 1 page.

• Check and double check for formatting, spelling errors, typos & poor grammar.

• Make your CV readable – remember the other person does not know you from Adam (or Eve) and is doing you a favor by even opening your email, leave alone reading your CV. Bullet points and indents work better than long paragraphs. Try the 10 second test by asking a friend or family to read your CV for just 10 seconds. Did the key points come across? If it did not for them, then they certainly will not for the stranger.

If you get the elements right, then you might just land an introduction for the opening you want.

In any case, if the recipient writes back to acknowledge and regrets they cannot help, do make sure that you write back to appreciate the time they took to read your CV. That way, they will remember you when the right opportunity comes along.

Think Professionalism.

A new job-hunting trend you need to avoid

There is a new trend that I’ve observed on the social media/networking platform LinkedIn. This involves connecting with a senior professional and then immediately sending them a resume asking for help in getting a job.

Please note, this isn’t how professionals operate. Just because someone accepts your invite doesn’t give you a permission slip to badger them without first introducing yourself properly.

You shouldn’t include them in a bulk email with a demand to share your resume within their network.

It doesn’t mean you can expect anything of them. By accepting your invitation to connect, they are already tacitly endorsing you to their network.

Build the relationship first and ask politely. Do your research and if a connection can get you an introduction, then ask for it with politeness and professionalism.

Would your CV make the right impression on a stranger with 10 seconds to peruse it? I’d love to read your answer in the comments box below.

Additional Resources for Job Hunters:

In the years since I first wrote this blog post, I’ve compiled different resources to help job hunters. I invite you to check them out as they supplement the 10 points I’ve shared in this post.

Job Search Success – Find your hidden professional opportunities 

Are you successfully positioning yourself for a job interview invite with your resume?

Are You Successfully Alienating People in 10 seconds over the phone?

Your social media profile job search jeopardy

Getting your CV past the online gatekeeper

Online Job Applications Guide

5 Reasons Your Job Hunt is Failing

This post was originally published in March 2013 and has been updated in June 2024 to improve its relevance for serious job seekers.