Over the past couple of weeks there have been a larger-than-usual number of emails and LinkedIn messages from my connections telling me about a move from one position to another, up the career ladder.
Great news is always fun to receive.
I always congratulate the person via LinkedIn’s stay in touch function and email separately to remind him/her to update their LinkedIn profile to fully document the move from one position to another:
- Go back one position and tell us what you learned and the values you carry to the next one.
- Get a LinkedIn recommendation from a former supervisor or colleague telling how and why you were instrumental there.
- Add some comments to the new position you took to say how you are accelerating the learning curve in your field.
“What a great idea!” is often the response.
Really? Should this be a great idea? Or better, shouldn’t this rather be an automatic function taken to document one’s career path.
So I return another email and advise that they take another larger look at what they tell us all throughout their personal profile. I get it–you’re busy acclimating to the new role, new city, new living conditions. Stop for just a minute to review, and if needed, to rewrite, your own history.
Be sure it properly tells your story–in your words.
Marc W. Halpert
LinkedIn personal coach, group trainer, marketing strategist and overall evangelist, having a great time pursuing my passion of connecting professionals so they can collaborate better!