You probably didn’t get in on LinkedIn’s initial public stock offering last week, but the company can still get you something more stable than an investment in an Internet stock- a job. But there are three things a lot of LinkedIn users don’t seem to know that can help raise your chances of being recruited.

Post a photo - A few years ago, people who posted photos of themselves to the Internet seemed self centered. In the Facebook, era, though, an account page without a picture seems like the work of someone who didn’t put much effort into it. It doesn’t need to be a professional headshot. Just stand against a white wall in business attire (or, if you’re a software engineer, a Rush t-shirt) and have someone take a cellphone photo of your face and shoulders. To upload your photo, choose the option Profile -> Edit Profile at the top of your LinkedIn page, and look for the Add Photo link.

Think keywords - On the same Edit Profile page, take a good look at your resume. If your past employers gave you odd titles like “gatorbox wrangler” or vague ones like “senior administrator,” replace them with industry standard terms like “sales engineer” and “accounts payable specialist.” Otherwise, you’ll never be found, because no one will type those terms into LinkedIn’s search box.

Search experts call this problem “discovery.” Other people won’t find you if they aren’t searching for words that match your entry. Pack your LinkedIn profile with as many popular job terms as you can think of related to what you do. If you can honestly change a past job title from something like “Web producer,” to something more senior like “product manager,” it’s better to put it in your profile, so you can at least get found and get an interview.

Ask a question - A LinkedIn spokeswoman told me that sending a question to your LinkedIn network is one of the best ways to remind people that you still exist, and are still looking for work. Click the menu option More -> Answers at the upper right of the LinkedIn home page, and look for the box that says “Ask a Question.” Get to the point: “Does anyone know of an office administrator position with a full-time salary and benefits?” These days that might get you a part-time contract, but it’s probably better than blindly sending out resumes and watching your inbox in vain.

Source: YAHOO! Finance

At least once a week, someone contacts me about a great new method of finding star performers. Most turn out to be rehashed old news that is both boring and ineffective. But when Eben Pagan, an entrepreneur and true business genius, said I need to meet the author and organizational psychologist, Brad Smart, and learn about TopGrading, I took notice. Eben was right, and Brad is onto something.

I’ll say from the start I have no business interest in Brad or his company, and my only motivation in writing about it here is to share something truly effective with the BNET community.

Brad’s system has a lot of working parts, but here’s the gold I took from it:

• Identify the areas in which you need the candidate to be a star.
• Identify candidates through your networks of people.
• Ask each one to say how his/her past supervisors would rate his/her effectiveness in each of those areas you identified.
• Ask the candidate to arrange for those past supervisors to call you, and in those chats, ask about the candidate’s abilities in each of the areas.

Although I’m a leadership guy and not an HR specialist, I’ve been to my share of training on how big companies stay out of court. One of the best ways to avoid getting sued is to never give any feedback about past employees. I pointed out the objection to Brad. “Why would any past employers ever agree to that,” I asked him.

In response, he asked me a question: “What if someone who used to work for you–an absolute star–asked you to do them a favor and call a potential employer. Would you do it?” The answer for every star I had worked with: “absolutely.”

He wasn’t done. “But what if a B or C player asked you do it. Would you?” I’d been snared by his logic. “Probably not.”

“And what would you say to the past employee,” Brad asked. “I’d say it was against policy.”

There’s a lot more to TopGrading, but this little bit can save you headaches. Stars can get past employers to tell you about their performance. It’s a red flag if the employer’s evaluations are considerably different from what the candidate said. You might be dealing with a lack of self-awareness, or an inability to assess feedback.

It’s a bigger red flag if the candidate can’t arrange these calls. It may mean you’re dealing with a B player. It may also mean the past employers aren’t willing to say anything good. Either way, passing on the candidate now is better than having to deal with a problem employee tomorrow.

Ever thought you hired a star and got a turkey instead? If so, I hope you’ll share the experience below.

Source: BNET

Times of great change require leaders who have immense vision, courage and the capacity to ignore what everyone else is doing. Many would put BP’s John Browne and the now-imprisoned former IMF president Dominique Strauss-Kahn in this same category.

You don’t necessarily like these people, but they can lead you to great success and may be the only leaders capable of delivering true, galvanic change. Being part of their ride can be exhilarating, instructive, inspiring and lucrative. But they aren’t easy people to work with - and they have very distinct and important drawbacks.

What is a narcissist?

Psychoanalysts describe narcissistic personalities as independent, innovative, drawn to power and glory. They rarely suffer from doubt or second thoughts and can come across as very aggressive. Their extreme absorption in their own vision blinds them to risks, problems or nuance. Being part of their ride can be exhilarating, instructive, inspiring and lucrative. But hanging on for that ride is emotionally and professionally taxing.

If their vision is wrong, they’ll lead everyone over the cliff and never notice. The other problem is that, while their inter-personal skills are poor, they will take all dissent personally. They may not be sensitive to others - but any slight or criticism is felt very personally indeed.

Here are some tips learned on the roller coaster:

1. Play to the upside.

Narcissists are sometimes great leaders because they have vision and are sufficiently self-absorbed not to care (or even notice) how mad they may appear to others. There’s little value in trying to change this. If you want radical change, it won’t be delivered by sensitive leaders but by those so caught up in their own vision that they can’t see anything else. You will have to learn not to mind their faults. But don’t become impervious to them - you need to retain your ability to distinguish their greatness from their potential madness.

2. Don’t even think of competing.

No ego can match, never mind annihilate, the ego of the narcissist. What you have to decide is whether their achievement will facilitate your success. If it will, that’s fine. If these two are at odds, get out now.

3. Help them privately.

While narcissists may think they know everything, the smart ones know they need help. But they won’t show this - or want it demonstrated - in public. So find a back channel: private time alone, email, phone calls. Smart narcissists will absorb all your great insight, data and advice and effortlessly fold it into their own thinking. Don’t expect acknowledgement, gratitude or thanks - but don’t abdicate either. Many narcissists are smart and they need your insights, even if they’ll never acknowledge that.

4. Decide how to deal with the bullying.

Most narcissists are also bullies, subject to tremendous rage. There are 2 ways to manage this: ignore it, like water off a duck’s back (if you truly can) or stand up to it early. Your refusal to be insulted or abused will carry weight because there is nothing a narcissist hates more than losing an audience.

5. Accept that narcissists have no desire to change.

Even if they’re wreaking havoc, they won’t care. They know they’re right. If you think you can change them, you’re wrong, will waste time - and endure a lot of abuse along the way.

The tragedy of narcissists, of course, is that having defeated a mighty foe or delivered epic change, they are the very last people to enjoy the fruits of their labor. If you let them, they’ll destroy what they’ve built. So the critical question, when dealing with narcissistic leaders is this: Are we in a situation that needs this level of drive, radical intensity and vision? If you are, it could be that only a narcissist will get you there.

Source: BNET

If you’re an experienced worker, you might be considering dumbing down your resume to land an interview for a position for which you might seem overqualified. This strategy could include downplaying or omitting work experience, resume skills, degrees and other credentials. But is reworking your resume in this manner a wise thing to do? Employment experts weigh in with their advice.

Special Circumstances Can Warrant It

Tracy Parish, a certified professional resume writer and president of resume-writing firm CareerPlan in Kewanee, Illinois, has encountered situations when dumbing down the resume can work. “Obviously, a person needs to keep bread on the table, so accepting a lower position is becoming more common and the resume needs to be appropriately tailored,” she says.

While you don’t have to include everything you’ve ever done on your resume, don’t cross the line into dishonesty. “Never lie,” Parish says. “It will come back to haunt you.” If you decide to omit some of your credentials on your resume, you still must provide a thorough account on a job application. A resume is a strategic marketing piece, whereas a job application is a signed, legal document that requires full disclosure.

What Are the Risks?

“Job seekers should think carefully before dumbing down their resumes,” says Robert Hosking, executive director of OfficeTeam, a staffing agency based in Menlo Park, California. “Employers can easily learn about job seekers’ work histories, education and credentials online or through references, so they should be truthful.”

“We do not recommend that job seekers hide relevant information,” says Carrie Stone, a former Disney executive and current president of cStone & Associates, an executive search and leadership consulting firm in San Diego. “If job seekers misrepresent credentials, they are seen as dishonest and employers will question their integrity.”

William Finlay, PhD, professor of sociology at the University of Georgia and coauthor of Headhunters: Matchmaking in the Labor Market, also agrees that job seekers shouldn’t dumb down their resumes. “Misrepresentation, if it is discovered, is a deal breaker because it calls the candidate’s honesty into question,” he says.

Overqualified Workers May Have an Edge

Finlay’s research suggests some good news for job seekers who are willing to accept lower-level positions but are concerned about being perceived as overqualified. “We may be entering an era in which being overqualified is no longer a liability,” he says. “A generation ago, a college degree became a requirement for jobs that previously required only a high school diploma. Now, we are seeing evidence of people with JDs and MBAs being hired for jobs that previously would have gone to people with undergraduate degrees.”

Stone has seen this trend in her recruiting career as well. “Previously, employers may have been concerned about hiring overqualified individuals, fearing that when the economy rebounds these employees may leave for other opportunities,” she says. “Since we are not seeing a robust rebound in the market, savvy employers are hiring these overqualified employees while achieving value pricing.”

Smarter Strategies

Parish, who agrees that dumbing down the resume is generally not a good idea, says job seekers should shoot for the stars. “If experienced workers are armed with an extraordinary resume and launch an aggressive job search, they could find their ideal jobs and won’t have to settle,” she says.

Here are three strategies for experienced job seekers who don’t want to dumb down their resumes:

1. Customize: “A resume needs to be custom-designed, highly targeted and well above average to gain interest,” Parish says. Include a targeted resume title so employers understand your career goal, followed by a qualifications summary that provides an overview of your value.
2. Summarize: “It’s perfectly fine to omit details that aren’t relevant to the position you are applying for,” Hosking says. “For example, you don’t need to include a job you held in high school 40 years ago or expound on a job in another field that isn’t relevant to the position you’re seeking.” Parish recommends detailing only the past 10 to 15 years of your employment history, and relegating older employment to an “Additional Experience” or “Early Career” section at the bottom. Unrelated degrees or specialized training can be downplayed or eliminated as long as they are appropriately listed on an application form, she says.
3. Overcome Objections: Stone says job seekers should anticipate objections employers might have, and use the cover letter to address how age and experience can be a tremendous asset to the organization. “Seek to understand employers’ concerns and then sell around those concerns with brevity, clarity and confidence,” she says.

Source: career-advice.monster.com

This post is for managers. Individual contributors already know this information, but for some reason, as soon as people are promoted (or laterally transfer) into a management job, they forget this information. So, here is a reminder:

A pen with the company name on it is not a bonus. It does not make your employee feel fondly about your company or your management skills. It is a pen. You are supposed to provide pens as part of the standard office supplies. Put the company logo on them if you want. Give pens away to customers so they’ll have your phone number handy. But, your employees already know the phone number and just want to be able to write with a reliable instrument.

A supply of coffee mugs in the break room is handy, but they are not a reward. Your employees will drink coffee or water or Diet Coke regardless of whether the mugs have your company name scrawled across the front. They might think the mugs are cute, but they will not consider them a reward.

The reason why that clothing store offered you $50 gift certificates for $25 each is that they know that almost none of your employees will redeem them. This should be a hint that it is a bad reward. Rewards should be, well, rewarding. And trying to convince your employees that they are being rewarded with the ability to get a new pair of pants from a store they don’t like is not a real reward.

Rewards for “everyone” that only benefit a few. Lunch is a great thing to provide from time to time, unless you always do it when you’re in the office even though a good portion of your employees work other shifts. This causes resentment amongst the unblessed masses.

Mandatory Celebratory Dinners are not appreciated. When everyone has been working nights and weekends to get that big account, don’t make the celebration something that requires everyone to spend yet another evening with people from the office.

I feel so much better now. I could come up with a longer list of rewards that aren’t appreciated, but I’m afraid some managers would just tune me out. In fact, I’m sure that right now, there is someone sitting in a corner office going, “She’s wrong. My employees loved the Christmas bonus mugs! They told me so themselves.”

Well, duh. You’re the boss, so they aren’t going to say, “Boy, this is what you got us? Mugs with the dumb logo that you had your 3rd ex-wife design? Seriously? Jerk.” No, they talk about that amongst themselves. Keep in mind what employees really want.

Verbal and written praise. This is even cheaper than the pens. Tell your employees that they are doing a good job, and give specific examples. A 2007 employee survey said that this was the top non-monetary reward desired by employees. Taking the time to pull someone aside and say, “Thanks for your work on the Jones account. You really blew me out of the water,” is a reward that is appreciated. Publicly saying that at staff meeting is even better. However, a patronizing, “good job” on everything your employee does is not a reward.

Money. I’m talking real money here, not the gift certificate kind. Employees want raises and bonuses. If the business honestly cannot afford either one (and before you nod your head to that, check your own bonus check) then see above or below. Otherwise, get out the checkbook. Remember it would cost you more to replace good people than it would to give them raises and bonuses.

Time off. If everyone busted their buns to get a big project done, hand out an extra vacation day to be used at their leisure–and then make sure you don’t pressure your employees not to use the time off. Or close shop on a Friday afternoon. This shows that you recognize they put in extra hours to get the work done. Your employees want the company to succeed. Show them that you recognize that their work does just that. (And if you close shop Friday afternoon, make sure this is considered paid vacation time, not just go home early time. Your non-exempt employees who get a smaller paycheck will not consider this a reward.)

Flex time and telecommuting. If your employees are good performers, let them have control over when and where they do their work. Yes, some jobs must be done in the office, and some jobs must be done on a specific schedule. Some, but not all. If your employees express interest in these types of schedules, give it some serious consideration and grant it where possible. Independence is a great reward.

Employee rewards should be something they actually want. Don’t let the so called “employee rewards” catalogs convince you that your employees will be happy with a clock. Give them what they really want.

Source: BNET

People are always complaining about CEOs having all this wealth and power, it’s not what you know but who you know, the rich keep getting richer, and all that. What a bunch of whiny crap.

You’d think CEOs were born with the title, like royalty. Or they just fell right out of the sky into a cushy corner office chair. Nothing could be further from the truth. Many, if not most, CEOs started with nothing. But instead of whining, they took responsibility for their careers, worked their tails off, and made it.

Here’s a powerful example straight from this week’s news page. Let me introduce you to three executives who started at the bottom, climbed the corporate ladder, and ultimately built two of the “baby bells” from the 1984 breakup of AT&T into giants that now dominate America’s telecom industry:

• Ivan Seidenberg, CEO of Verizon Communications, began his career as a cable splicer’s assistant right out of high school. He climbed the corporate ladder, became head of NYNEX, a Regional Bell Operating Company, and through subsequent mergers with Bell Atlantic and GTE, became CEO of newly formed Verizon in 2000.
• Ed Whitacre, Jr., former Chairman and CEO of AT&T, began his career as a facility engineer at Southwestern Bell in 1963. He worked his way up to CEO, aggressively acquiring companies, and eventually formed SBC Communications. When SBC bought what was left of AT&T, it adopted its brand and AT&T was born again.
• Randall Stephenson, Chairman and CEO of AT&T, joined the Oklahoma IT department of Southwestern Bell right out of school in 1982. He became CFO of the company 25 years later and succeeded Whitacre as CEO in 2007. Yesterday, he took over where his predecessor left off, announcing a $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA.

Ivan, Ed, and Randy weren’t born CEOs. They worked their way up for decades, one day at a time. That said, the question of whether they really are just ordinary, everyday people remains. The answer, of course, is no, they’re not. But what makes them different may surprise you.

Now, I don’t personally know these particular CEOs, but I have known hundreds of successful executives with stories similar to theirs. Frankly, I started out without a pot to piss in myself, so I know something about what it takes to “make it” and what drives many of those who do.

1. They’ve experienced significant adversity in their lives. That’s why they don’t whine and complain; they know it doesn’t do any good. Instead, they become adept at either finding creative ways to resolve issues or brute forcing their way through and persevering. Either way works.
2. They have something to prove, but they’re not necessarily clear on who they need to prove themselves to or the origins of that need. Still, that voice inside their head often drives them in a desperate and persistent sort of way.
3. They believe they’re special, destined for great things. And, although they’re entirely wrong about that - we’re all the same, just flesh and blood people - the belief is often self-fulfilling.
4. They’re like pit bulls with a vision. Once they find something they’re very good at or passionate about, they latch onto it and won’t stop driving themselves and the company to new heights, usually in the name of a bold vision or goal.
5. They’re unusually smart and instinctive. They’re also adept, perhaps even Machiavellian, at using those attributes in the achievement of whatever it is that drives them purposely forward. And I mean that in a good way.

Again, I’m not saying that every successful executive who starts from the bottom has these attributes, but they’re common enough. Also, many of the same characteristics are responsible for narcissistic and other dysfunctional behavior, but you know, everything good comes with a price-tag.

Source: BNET

When measuring the effectiveness of your online recruiting program, it is important to measure what matters to your organization. Program your recruiting websites to maintain records on the number and quality of online applicants. Here’s what to look for:

How many? The first metric for your online recruiting site is simple—how many people are getting on your site and looking at the recruiting area. This will tell you how effective the website is at steering people to the right place. Counting visitors may be done programmatically and may be divided into unique (or new) visitors and return visitors. To measure the effectiveness of online advertisements, create a counter on the advertisement that shows how many people “click-through” the advertisement to your recruiting site.

Where do they go? Once people have clicked through to your recruiting site, you want to see where they go, which jobs are viewed the most, and which information sections are of the most interest to jobseekers. You may also want to know how long a potential candidate is staying on your site—the so-called “stickiness” of the site. If potential candidates are rapidly leaving the site, you will have to investigate to figure out why you are not holding their attention.

How good are they? Measuring the costs and quality of the candidate drawn in by your online recruiting site is very much like measuring the quality of any other type of candidate. However, the costs associated with Internet recruiting tend to be far lower than more traditional recruiting methods. The most common measurements of recruiting success are:

• Cost to hire
• Time to hire
• Turnover
• Absenteeism
• Measuring new employee performance
• Performance versus qualifications
• Reviews
• Time to achieve full contribution
• Compatibility
• Employee attitude
• Hiring manager satisfaction
• New employee satisfaction
• Hidden recruitment costs (additional training, lost employees, bonuses)
• Financial impact of recruiting

In most cases, no single metric will adequately gauge the performance of the recruiting function. The use of several individual metrics to measure a function is often referred to as an HR “dashboard” and will provide a more complete story of how the recruiting function is meeting goals

Is Your Site Applicant-Friendly?

When gauging the utility and “friendliness” of your recruiting site, also consider:

• How much detail you provide on job specifics
• How clear your instructions on how to respond are and how easy it is to respond
• How you acknowledge receipt of résumés and what additional communications you provide
• Whether your site uses internal language and acronyms that an outside jobseeker may not understand
• Whether applicants are asked to fill out lengthy forms
• Whether applicants are asked for their Social Security numbers or other personal data
• How many clicks it takes to locate a list of job openings

To gain an unbiased perspective on just how friendly your site is, you may want to have individuals outside of the organization “test drive” the site as an applicant, and provide feedback on site usability. Test drivers should be totally independent and feel free to criticize site functions.

Optimizing Your Recruiting Website: Hot Tips

In order to fine-tune your corporate employment site even more, think about adding at least some of the following optimizations, if they are not offered already:

• Privacy/security measures to protect applicants’ information
• “E-mail a friend” option for sending openings of interest outside the site
• Elimination of login or registration requirements
• Simple, plain-English keyword terms and phrases that will show up in Internet search results
• Bios of company officers and leaders
• Link to HR e-mail or “ask a question” (and make sure to respond promptly)
• Photographs of facility, people, and company events
• Listing of employment benefits
• Company’s community involvement, “green” philosophy, etc.

Source: HR Daily Advisor