Market Me First - The Positive Career and Work Action Plan Market Yourself | Make Money | Be Happy

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Since 2005. Market yourself. Find better work. Make a name. Survive Layoffs. Be successful.

Wednesday

The Career Manifesto (viral'd)

From Seth Godin's blog, a viral'd piece from Gaping Void.

To quote:

"6. Your technical skills may impress the other geeks, but if you can't get along with your co-workers, you're a litigation breeder. Don't be surprised if management regards you as an expensive risk."
- Gaping Void

See the rest here.

Good stuff.

LinkedIn Invitations

LinkedIn is a great application - it must be judging by the number of users, the press releases and the size of its users networks.

I receive about 2-5 LinkedIn emails a day for network requests. At first, most LinkedIn users want to accept every single invite and thus grow their network (and get to the coveted 500+ connection ring).

This is all well and good, but I always carefully consider all LinkedIn invitations before I automatically accept them. Why?

Some invitations come from LinkedIn users who only want to have a large network number. How do I know? Try sending a response email or request first. If the sender does not respond, they most likely have sent out hundreds of invites and are not actually interested in networking on LinkedIn.

Also, I see a direct correlation between the actual networking interest of the LinkedIn user and the type of invite they send. For instance, the generic LinkedIn invitation encourages the recipient to join LinkedIn. If I receive this type of invitation, clearly the sender did not put much thought into their invite.

But a lesson from the other side of the fence.

I have accepted invitations from some LinkedIn users that left me thinking, "What is this guy going to do for me?" that left me eating my words later. It is through many of these invites I have received job interviews, speaking and writing opportunities and sales prospects. You never know so tread carefully.

Finally, LinkedIn has some great new buttons which will help you promote your LinkedIn profile on your blog or website.

Go to your Profile and check Promote Your Profile right above your Summary. There is a link to a number of buttons and code for publishing right on your website.

Now if only LinkedIn had a referral button and revenue plan, that would be cool!

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Writing articles to grow your brand

The Internet has several great services, most of which are free, which can help build and grow your personal brand, i.e. Marketing Me.

Writing articles is a great way to increase your reputation and awareness of your talents and capabilities.

First, always have at least one blog. Your blog will be the test bed for your articles prior to widespread publication and it helps hone your writing skills.

Next, there are several "free" article submission sites which are clambering for content. These sites, like EzineArticles, EzinePlug, and Ezinehub allow you to open a free account and upload your articles for others to read and reprint.

Regarding reprinting, you will be asked to sign off on others reprinting your articles on their websites and blogs. Realize that this will result in a viral transmission of your name and reputation.

Make sure your articles include your name and a URL of your personal website or blog.
(Make sure you create that website or blog first! As always, see my Marketing Me ToDo List for more information and how to get started).

Many professionals report astonishing results from their article submissions. Job and consulting opportunities, speaking engagements, and requests for additional articles.

Writing and submitting articles can grow your personal brand and reputation as long as you submit them to Internet-based e-article websites such as the ones listed above.


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