I was scheduled to chair a networking meeting a couple of days in the future and she will be the spotlight speaker. It was smart of her to schedule a phone conversation with me, not an email or a text as that would not allow creativity and spontaneity, but a phone call.
She started the call with “I wanted your opinion on the presentation I am giving.” Good sign #1. Not to feed my ego, but to ask my honest opinion.
Then she forwarded me the slide deck she wanted to present and asked my verbal input. So I listened to her to roll through the material as a practice run and jotted notes, about 15 minutes for the 10 minutes she would be allowed. It was very good. But there was some alteration neeed.
At her conclusion, I was able to offer my professional opinion and she graciously accepted it and saw why I suggested what I did. I added value to her value and I could tell she appreciated it. Good sign #2.
A day later as I sat through the presentation she gave in my meeting, I heard her own interpolation of my input, in her words and intonation. I complimented her on a job well done, and the other attendees engaged her in a number of pointed constructive questions and obviously appreciated the expertise she shared.
Later that day she emailed to thank me. Good sign #3.
The LinkedIn hook? Take these 3 good signs and use them to ask your most esteemed colleague(s) to review your renovated LinkedIn profile. Get a/some objective observation/s impression/s on the effort your spent time planning, executing, and further perfecting your profile.
But a renovated profile is not a finished masterpiece:
- ask for verbal help on the phone to elicit true creative give-and-take,
- accept their valued observations and suggestions on your work, and
- offer thanks for helping you write your career story more clearly.
Mine is still under construction, as should be yours.
Ask the right people who can be honest and open for input, invoke deeper conversation around their opinions, evaluate and incorporate to your LinkedIn profile.
