Resources
OPTIMISING YOUR LINKEDIN PROFILE TO ADVANCE YOUR CAREER
LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 500 million users. It has become a popular talent hunting place for companies, recruiters, and head-hunters. The number one activity on LinkedIn is viewing profiles, so you need to craft a profile that stands out and attract potential employers. Below, I highlight tips and hints on how you can turn your LinkedIn profile into a powerful marketing tool which can be used in advancing your career.
•Create a detailed personalised profile (complete all the sections with detailed and concise information). This should include a short but concise professional summary, background (work experience), education, skills, qualifications, accomplishments, and other necessary additional information
•Use keywords or phrases related to your industry, as you would on your cv. These keywords should be placed in the summary section, in the experience section, your skills section and when presenting your accomplishments
•Include a professional headshot photo
•Connect with your friends, colleagues, former colleagues, former classmates, and former bosses/managers. don’t send any invite to loads of many random people and don’t accept invites from everyone
•Join networking groups and be involved in top industry conversations
•Request for recommendation from former and current bosses/managers. positive recommendations complementing your strengths will make your profile stand out even further
•Include a short but concise introduction when connecting with strangers
•Research and actively approach potential employers
•Share quality content
•Tell a compelling story with your LinkedIn profile
Frequently Asked Interview Questions
- Tell me about yourself?
- Why do you want to work for our organisation?
- Why are you leaving your current job?
- What benefits, skills and knowledge have you gained from university or previous work experience?
- Do you have any additional qualifications or skills that sets you apart from the crowd?
- Why should we give you this job?
- What motivates you?
- How will you handle difference of opinion in a team?
- How do you handle conflict?
- Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
- What values do you cherish most?
- Tell us about a time when you had to be flexible/adaptable?
- Why do you want to work for our company?
- What interest you the most about this role?
- What is the future of this industry in 10 years?
- How do you manage stressful situations?
- How would you manage a very rude customer?
- When would you like to start?
- Do you have any questions for us?
- How do you respond to work stress and pressure?
- How useful are you to teams or are you a team player?
- Why should we select you?
- What is the most significant responsibility you have had in your career and what lessons did it teach you?
- Why should we hire you and what are your long-term goals?
- How do you respond when your supervisor criticises your work?
- What do you know about our company?
- If you were to start your own business or company today, what products or services will you offer?
HOW TO BECOME REMARKABLY SUCCESSFUL IN YOUR CAREER
•Set clear goals, and write down your primary career goals
•Identify and clarify your short-term career goals (1-3 years), medium term career goals (3-5 years) and long-term career goals (5-10 years)
•Identify the resources, skills, qualifications and experience you need to achieve your goals
•Carry out a self-assessment of your current skills, experience and qualifications and seek means to improve where necessary
•Get a Career Mentor or Coach who has been there and done that
•Develop important internal and external networks
•Do your current job excellently
•Promote yourself and be visible within your organisation and the industry
•Go the extra mile for yourself and your current boss and organisation
•Believe in yourself and in your capabilities and competencies
•Take responsibility, act, and measure results
TOP EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS THAT EMPLOYERS LOOK FOR
- Logical and Critical Thinking
- Creativity and Analytical Skills
- Creative Problem Solving
- Leadership Skills
- Interpersonal Skills
- Personal Effectiveness
- Commercial Awareness
- Report Writing Skills
- Teamwork and Collaboration
- Presentation Skills
- Emotional Intelligence
- People Management
- Verbal and Written Communication Skills
- Negotiation Skills
- Influencing Skills
- Research Skills
- Decision Making and Business Judgement
- Time Management
Select Interview Questions & Answers
This is an opportunity to sell yourself and highlight your career success stories in 2-3 minutes. Be brief and as concise as possible.
Demonstrate how you learnt from your mistake or failure and how that helped you grow professionally. Do not bad mouth yourself or organise a pity party.
Explain how you have handled stress in the past. Also, highlight that good pressure can be a motivator for you and that it helps improve your productivity.
Highlight that you are a good fit, highly motivated and productive; and that you will deliver excellent results.
Demonstrate that you are a goal-driven professional. Then, relate your response to the company interviewing you.
Demonstrate enthusiasm and show how your skills matches the advertised role. Importantly, your response should demonstrate that you will get the job done. Besides the job, you can also highlight why you are interested in the company.
Here you should highlight a few examples from your previous experience that demonstrate your team working abilities. What was the situation? The task? What actions did you take? What was the result? You need to basically use the STAR method here.
Explain the positive aspects only. Never criticise or bad-mouth your former boss or manager during an interview.
Do not criticise the current company you work for. State that it is time to move on and you are looking to take on more responsibilities.
Reflect on the role you are being interviewed for and where it could realistically take you. While responding, ensure your medium and long-term career goals align with the company.