Does your profile page look like an alien wrote it?
Want to WOW your friends with a cool, new tool? (without having to do any work)
LinkedIn can improve your labor market knowledge, help you keep your job and/or find a new one faster. Learn about it bit by bit through my Social Media series of posts.
Not sure if you are aware of this, but LinkedIn has an amazing new feature. I just discovered it myself. To access it, you need to sign up for LI messages and alerts from the LI technical team. Like many other social media sites, the LI team gathers statistics from your contact list by using data mining and algorthm review. Who cares about this technical mumbo jumbo - you ask? Well, they are willing to share it with you!
One example of it's usefullness - I learned that 48 percent of the people in my address book, have changed jobs in the past year! Crazy right? It gets even better, LinkedIn technical team has sent me a detailed, report about who these career changers are, their names, industries, new companies they've joined etc. I just click on on my connections, highlight a member in my contact list - and can see it all. I can see their previous career path, current career path and potential future career path. I'm even able to see potential predictions about my own future path! Kind of creepy, but interesting at the same time.
So, what does this mean? It's quite disconcerting to know that about half of my personal contacts have changed jobs recently. It puts a face on this recession. After being amazed by these facts and figures, I began to ask myself about the circumstances of these "job-changers" in my contact list. Was it voluntary, forced retirement, reduction in force, furlough days, frustration with lack of raises, salary and promotion freezes? Why?
All of this information, can be used to analyze labor market trends in your particular field and in your geographic local. Armed with knowledge of what sectors are dying, you can determine which ones are growing. After reviewing your report, research and investigate the report findings. For confirmation of your hunches, meet with a local, career advisor who works with candidates and employers. Ask them about local trends and trends in your field. Think about how this will impact you? Think about career risk, not just for your current job, but your overall sector and/or industry. Remember, astonishing as it may sound - less than 5% of North Americans ever receive any formal training or career education. Yet, the average N. American will change jobs 3-4 times each decade!
We probably spend more time and money on gym memberships and gyms which we never attend, than on career advise. Thus, job-search skills are as esssential as driving skills. Spending quality time with a career professional is a good investment. Break away from the competition, plan to become a more valuable employee and a savvy job-seeker.
Stay tuned for a post on my "career risk" research. It's essential to always stay a step or two ahead of the career game, whether there's a good economy or not. Don't be caught off guard.
More Social Media Posts: Read up - it's free!
10 HOT LinkedIn Groups for Career Transition!
LinkedIn Fashions What's Hot, What's not! (Fresh ideas)
5 New LinkedIn Fashions for Personal Branding: What’s Hot, What’s Not!
11 Facebook Applications To Launch Your Job Search!
7 Essential Paper-tools and Social Media Tools for your Job Search Portfolio!
How The Hidden Job Market Found Me Pull Method Of Marketing
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Author: © 2011 - Present. All Rights Reserved - Sharon Cohen, MA,CPRP, NCDA. Virtual Career Counselor and Career Transition Specialist.
• Twitter http://twitter.com/MyCareerManager
• iGoogle http://www.google.com/profiles/sharonbcohen
• My Career Manager Blog (daily view) http://mycareermanager.blogspot.com/
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