I’ve been noting a few things about social networking that I thought I’d bring up, and comment on. This post is on introductions within LinkedIn.

The issue that always comes up is, do you use the generic template to do an introduction? The template looks like this (thanks Scott!):

Most people say you need to change the template if you want to be effective. That’s probably true if you are sending out tons of invitations to connect, especially to people that don’t know you very well.

What do I think? It doesn’t matter. I don’t care. If you invite me to connect, and you use the generic template, it doesn’t phase me.

I don’t change the template when I invite (I don’t invite much)… and the few times that I have I change it to “Yo.” That’s because I invite people that I already have a relationship with – and they are expecting it (see Jack Yan‘s comment). Shoot, I don’t even really read the invitation, I just go and accept (I do scan to see if there is anything different, a request, etc.).

But if you want to send something different, or be “unique,” there is a post by industry expert Scott Allen that is a must read. This is the most clever thing I’ve seen on the topic… he brings in examples from WorldWIT founder Liz Ryan and career expert Daniel Sweet – you have to read the post but here are some teasers:

From Liz:

VALLEY GIRL

I’m like, totally using this LinkedIn thing, and it’s like, everyone’s doing it and if you’re like, not connected, you’re like, so not even ANYONE. So I’m all “let’s connect,” and you like only have to hit this one button and stuff, so like do it, and let’s GET TO KNOW SOME PEOPLE!!

From Scott:

SMS (When is LinkedIn Mobile Edition coming out?!?)

u hv 2 chk out li
gd biz tool 4 u

From Daniel:

HANS & FRANZ

I saw you on LinkedIn and you seemed like kind of a Girly Man. But, read my e-mail now, hear my next week, and believe me in a month, if you connect to me, your network will be PUMPED! UP!
Click on the link to the right if your pathetic Girly-Man finger can handle it.

So now you know where I stand – what do you think? Is this going to change how you do invitations?

In my post yesteday announcing my new relationship with a company that specializes in helping you rollover your retirement accounts into a personal account, here is more information…

Yesterday I had a question/comment to my post from David Grubman:

But Jason…. you can roll over your old retirement savings plans (401k or 457 or 403….) to any qualified IRA. Not sure I get the unique value proposition of these guys.. you can do the same with Vanguard or Fidelity.

Good question… I’ll let the CEO (Brandon Small) answer it:

Absolutely. You can rollover to anything – from anything. But neither Vanguard or Fidelity do the tracking. And the paperwork leads many to not do their rollover.

I’m not saying we invented the wheel. But we are focusing our efforts on a specific niche. It’s like your site, there are other “similar” sites, but you do it differently – choosing to focus on topics you think are important.

I’ve found Brandon’s service to be exactly what I needed. When I went through this process I had a number of questions to ask, and he had the time and knowledge I was looking for. I didn’t want to be sold a complementary service… it was very straightforward, but he respected my “unique situation.” I like service providers that provide… old fashioned service. I can vouch for Brandon and his company.

Here are a few more “details” that came up:

401k Accounts only??

No, that is my myopic name for “retirement savings account”… it applies to various plans, which you can see on their website. When in doubt just fill out the form and they’ll get back to you to discuss it.

What is the cost to do a rollover?

On the transfer (rollover) we are charging nothing nor does the client incur any cost.

How does Rollover Express make money (I get this question all the time):

The fee is between .5 % and 1.5 %, charged quarterly – so 1/4 of that will be deducted as a fee (from your principle (total assets)) every 3 months.

Most advisors that provide fee-only have a minimum of $150k to $200k. We have no minimum – this is a function of our lower costs and competitive edge. This is the preferred fee structure for investors.

What is your motivation for serving me, as a client?

We charge a flat annual fee for managing assets, .5-1.5%. Commission advisors charge 4-6% upon investment. Because of this compensation structure we are naturally service centered, not sales centered. Fee-only is also the direction most advisors are going.

Discount brokerages, like ETrade and TDAmeritrade and Scott Trade, charge for every transaction – like $10 for a stock trade or other, but you get no investment service/advice.

I asked my LinkedIn network (using the new Answers feature) and got some outstanding replies and information – here’s one that I think it really noteworthy, from Frank Galea, CFA, who is a Mutual Funds Compliance Manager:

The only hitch is that you would not want to commingle rollover funds with additional personal contributions because the latter will not be eligible for rolling into a future employer plan and can lead to accounting headaches to figure out ratio of eligible vs. non-eligible funds.

One of the answers I got on LinkedIn was from David Craker in Australia – it kind of suprised me:

Jason, this is a global forum, please remember this… A 401k is nothing that anyone else is interested in other than the USA… We do not have these issues and constraints by the US Government rulings in Australia unless we are directly US citizens that need comply with this for the USA… Here we are ruled by Australian Taxation Office, possibly the Corporations Act and Australian Securities and Investment Commission if it involves investments.

Why did this surprise me? The point of this entire topic is managing your own career, which includes planning for and managing retirement. I don’t care where you live, or what great company that you work for that has a great retirement plan (can you say E-N-R-O-N??) – I don’t even pretend to know the options in other countries – but my message is FIGURE SOMETHING OUT. Don’t leave this to an employer, or a government. You can if you want, but I’m a little skeptical after my experience last year of getting booted out the door. I’m all about figuring out what YOUR plan is for YOU.

Is this interesting? Do you have a plan? If you are in the US (thanks for the reminder David) then go fill out the form and get the ball … er, rolling

Last year I wrote an article about having a “master 401k account.” Its based on the idea that you’ll change jobs (employers) nine times before you retire, and I thought it was quite ingenious So here’s the basic idea:

You get a job and begin to invest in the 401k program. The company matches a certain amount and if you are lucky there is no vesting period (which means that you “own” the amount the employer contribute from day one). Two years later you change to a new employer… what happens with your 401k?

Your new employer will likely encourage you to roll your last 401k over, and keep it all in one place. They’ll probably have different policies, perhaps there is a two year vesting period. The policies and fees will most likely be different than the one before, and if you care then you’ll get to read through a bunch of legal documents to see how your retirement money will be handled.

For the average worker, repeat this seven more times. Sound fun? Not to me.

So my article, which is in the JibberJobber library (just login and click on Library, Articles), talks about having a personal master 401k account. The idea is simple, and its all based on taking ownership of your career (in this case, your retirement).

Find a service provider that you trust that will help you take your 401k account(s) and roll them all into one master account. This is completely independent of any employer account. Each time you change employers you don’t have to worry about rolling the 401k into the new employer’s outsourced service provider — you just roll it into your own master 401k account.

I still strongly recommend taking advantage of a company 401k account, especially where the employer matches the contribution!! Don’t miss out one a 100% return on investment! But managing all of these accounts… blah!

What if you could just fill out a simple form and your 401k will be rolled over into a personal master account? Actually, you can.

I’ve partnered with Rollover Express (an Invested Interests company) and personally went through this process last year. When you go to RolloverExpress.com and fill out the form, you’ll be contacted by a specialist in rollovers… the process is simple, painless and quick. And the customer experience I got was awesome.

I wanted to go through the process and work with them for a while before I promoted them, or partnered with them, but now I feel very confident in recommending their services.

Now I’m no expert in finances, but this seems to be a very smart move in managing your retirement money.

If you have any retirement accounts just laying around (from previous employers), go sign up at RolloverExpress and begin the process to create your master 401k account. Make sure you tell them you came from JibberJobber!

I’ll blog later on some specifics in a process like this, but there is NO COST to you to do this. There are plenty of financial advisors that will charge you to fill out the paperwork and submit it – this is a no-cost transaction for you. And it was a no-brainer for me.

What are you waiting for? Go sign up now – its just a “contact us” form, and they’ll get back with you to get more information.

Be sure to let me know how it goes.

Yesterday I announced Mike Schaffner as the You Get It winner of the month. I have been intrigued by Mike’s blog and the strategic thought that is behind it. I think you’ll find this interview interesting, I did…

Why did you start blogging?

Our good friend Kent Blumberg actually got me started. I saw what he had done and I felt it was a good way to “brand” myself and to communicate it. My brand is that I’m not your typical CIO (Chief Information Officer), I have a business background of engineering, finance/accounting, and manufacturing operations in addition to IT and that helps me to lead IT to achieve business objectives and support business strategies. Basically, a blog helps get this message out since it gives me a more open format to talk about this than you could ever do in just a resume alone.

How has blogging benefited you and your career?

It has helped in a number of ways. First, it has expanded my network. I now have a number of new networking contacts that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. Second, it has helped me refine my message. Having to think about the interaction of business and IT and then to articulate this on a frequent basis really helps you refine and strengthen your message. Third, as a form of “pull” marketing it helps in my marketability. For example, I was recently contact by a journalist for a major print and online trade journal. They will be publishing an article in April about blogging and will be featuring my blog. What fantastic exposure.

What kind of relationships have you made from your blog?

I’ve developed a number of great friendships with people that I’ve met through blogging. Not only has it expanded my network, it has expanded my circle of friends. What could be better?

I have a friend that wonders why a senior level exec would blog – he isn’t IT and you are, so he’d slightly discount your answer if it comes from an IT slant – why would you suggest that a senior exec has a blog (if you do suggest that)?

First let me say that blogging is not for everyone. You have to be willing to invest the time and effort to do this and you have to be dedicated to keeping it up. It needs to be your message and reflect your style and personality. This isn’t something you can delegate to an assistant. I think there are 3 basis reasons why a senior level exec would blog.

1. As I mentioned earlier it is a great way to brand yourself and is a great pull marketing technique. Even if you aren’t currently looking for a job, isn’t it nice to be known as someone knowledgeable on a particular subject.
2. It is a great way of communicating with an external audience. Bill Marriott has a great blog. What a great way to interact with your customers.
3. It is a great way for a senior exec to communicate with his employees. This is especially true where your people are widely dispersed. Blogging allows you to address topics on timely basis – no waiting until you can go see them in person and it allows them to ask questions. Plus everyone sees the same message.

If you’re willing to invest the time and effort blogging can be a very effective communication vehicle.

What are the downsides of blogging?

The only downside that I can think of is the time it takes to do it. It can take a significant amount of time. I spend at least 5 hours per week and frequently more. However as with anything you enjoy doing (and I do enjoy blogging), it is worth the effort.

I noticed that you don’t have your picture on your blog, why not?

One of the reasons I started my blog is partially an age issue. The general perception is that anyone over 40 can’t program their VCR/DVR much less use the computer systems that have become an integral part of the business world. By using new technology in an innovative way, branding via a blog, I hope to overcome the age issue by demonstrating mastery of and comfort with technology. This is a long winded way of saying it had to do with age.

My initial thought was why reinforce the age perception by putting up a picture of a gray haired guy? Since then I’ve decided I am what I am. Any one that reads my resume or sees me knows I’m not 30 so basically it was – get over it. Once I find the time and can locate a good photographer so I can get a good photo at a reasonable price I’ll post one.

In your humble opinion, what are some components of your blog that contribute to winning this award?

Well, I noticed you cashed the sizable check I sent. Seriously though, I hope it is based upon my using technology as a way to establish a personal brand. I try to stay “on message” without an overt effort at finding a job and I attempt to discuss technical issues in business terms without the technical jargon. Part of the reason I try not to push the job search effort is that I plan to continue it after I land – it’s fun.

Seems a little early to be announcing the You Get It award winner this month but it was decided a while ago. I’m pleased to recognize Mike Schaffner and his excellent blog Beyond Blinking Lights and Acronyms!

I met Mike in Houston a few weeks ago and we spent the better part of a day at the same meetings. It was really cool to get to know him in person, and to put a face and personality behind this blog.

I’m going to list a few things that I really, really like about his blog, and then tomorrow I’ll post an interview that I had with him. Here’s why I like his blog so much:

Remember, this award is for people who “get it” – that is, use technology (yes, heavy on the bloggers) to quantify their breadth, depth and passions.

1. Mike has a title and kind of two taglines. I’m not sure what branding experts would say about this, but I like it.

The title is Beyond Blinking Lights and Acronyms – which says “I understand IT but I’m not the “throw-the-pizza-under-the-door-and-leave-me-alone-geek.”

The first tagline introduces his name: “Mike Schaffner on Creating Real Value Through Information Technology“… the thing that stands out to me as a hiring manager is “creating real value through the tools”… good priority for a CIO!

The second tagline is just the three words on the top left: Communicate, Execute, Adapt. I’ve been in IT for a while and I think its fair to say that most non-IT executives want these things most from the IT executive!

2. Excellent, transparent content. CIO’s deal with a multitude of issues, and they have to prove business smarts as well as technical and strategy smarts. You can go through Mike’s Favorite Posts as well as his Categories and see a good mix of all of these.

Mike’s style is smart and will effectively communicate to other CIO execs (or wannabees like me). But none of it is dry – its all about discussing important matters. As for transparent, the “Ah Ha” post show’s that he is current on his reading and isn’t afraid to admit that he doesn’t “know” everything. This is a super-important trait in the blog world.

3. Community builder. One thing I haven’t commented on with the other winners is their proactive efforts to build communities in and around their blogs. This is the difference between just well-written vs. well-visited!

Mike has done an excellent job few months since he started to help others know about his blog. He actively participates by commenting on other blogs – here’s a an excellent example of how Mike contribute to the community environment on Harry Joiner’s (the Marketing Headhunter) post on CIOs. Mike’s response is much better than just writing “great post! Keep it up!”.

Also, when it was “tag season” Mike reached out to some pretty big bloggers and had a good response from them – it was a good strategy to either initiate a relationship or strengthen the relationship. Why is this important? Once you get other bloggers to link to you in their posts and their blogroll, you might get some of their readers. In networking, its like going into someone else’s “circle” and meeting their buddies.

4. Ease of subscription. I don’t remember if I’ve posted on this before either, but I think it is critical that blogs give me an easy way to subscribe to them. I know RSS is the most common way to subscribe to a blog but it has its own problems. My favorite method is e-mail subscription, and I consider it a best practice to offer this to your visitors. You can see the “Subscribe to Mike’s Blog” section on the left, towards the top … just put your e-mail address in and hit subscribe. This shows that he considers non-RSS people (like me) to be worthy of his updates

5. Another thing I haven’t commented on before (for bloggers) is the involvement in other technology. Mike’s “About” page shows involvement in LinkedIn and Ziggs and makes it easy for you to find his profiles there.

Lots of the comments that I made about Kent and Adelino apply here to Mike – its an excellent example of how to quantify your personal brand. Tomorrow I’ll post the interview that I had with him.

Mike, congratulations! You are hereby awarded a cyber-high-five, six months of premium access to JibberJobber, and a coveted link from my blogroll to your blog!

Its true – I’m cosponsoring a free series of calls on job search feature author Susan Strayer! The other sponsor is Steven Rothberg of CollegeRecruiter.com!

I met Susan a few months ago and we hit it off right away. She has just released a new book called The Right Job, Right Now: The Complete Toolkit for Finding Your Perfect Career. I have flipped through the book and am amazed at what I see (I’ll do a book review on it in a few weeks). Kent Blumberg did a book review on it a few weeks ago – you can read his review here.

I heard Susan interview on a radio show Sunday evening and was really impressed. Her message matches her enthusiasm – I’m really excited about this series and know that I’ll learn a lot from it. I strongly encourage you to register for the free series (there are three topics with a choice of two dates for each topic), and let others know about this.

If you are a recruiter, counselor, coach, etc. feel free to encourage others to sign up – space is limited so don’t delay.

Help! I still don’t know what kind of career I want. — Monday, February 12 at 8:00 p.m. EST or Wednesday, February 28 at 8:00 p.m. EST

How do I start my job or internship search? — Wednesday, March 14 at 8:00 p.m. EST or Monday, March 26 at 8:00 p.m. EST

How do I prepare to start my new job or internship? — Monday, April 9 at 8:00 p.m. EST or Wednesday, April 25 at 8:00 p.m. EST

One cool thing about this is that we are taking questions before the calls – when you register put your questions/issues in the box and we will address the ones we can! Click here to register!

Think you should pass on this opportunity? There are some heavy-weights in the employment space that are recommending it (I’m a light-weight )… check these guys out (I’ll update this list if you e-mail me and let me know you are posting on it):

Dennis Smith, T-Mobile recruiter and expert in the wireless space.

Carl Chapman, executive restaurant recruiter.

CM Russell, author of “Ultimate Job Hunting Secrets” and many blogs on the space.

Mike Murray, author of “Forget the Parachute, Let Me Fly the Plane!” – blogs on career issues for geeks.

Dan Sweet, blogger at FRACAT (Free Resume And Career Toolbox).

I’ve been quiet on any announcements of new features/fixes – but that doesn’t mean we haven’t been working! There have just been other things to blog about

Here’s a list of things that were released lately (one release almost a month ago and one release yesterday):

Jan 12 release:

A bunch of “behind the scenes” things that have made certain parts of the site faster and more efficient. Fixed some inconsistencies with the List Panel, and stuff like that. Special things for some partners… its all good stuff.
This was a quiet release as it was a good move towards making the site better, smoother, faster

Yesterday:

Keep me logged in – there is a checkbox when you login that allows you to say “keep me logged in” … this was a much requested feature! Note this changed how the login form looks… a little different – I had to get used to it… but its worth it!

New Format for phone fields – we had this really cool formatting where you could fill in a US phone number that was like this 111-111-1111 – with three text boxes. But there were issues – international numbers, no letters (1800PizzaEater), etc. My hangup was that I couldn’t copy and paste an entire number very easily! So now its one big text box and you can enter it however you want … this was a much requested feature!

Category management – people have asked how to edit or delete a category… now there is a little category list panel manager to easily manage your categories … this was a much requested feature!

Categories on Companies – you now have the ability to categorize your companies … this was a much requested feature!

Reformat of the Interview Prep page – this has always bugged me since the page was so long with lots of words (yes, I’m a long-winded writer!). We cleaned it up a lot!

Coach enhancements – (here’s more info on coaching) the first of many enhancements to the coaching interface – when you try to add a coach there are new things, including

• a message if they are not a coach yet
• an e-mail to them telling them you want them to be a coach (if they are a JibberJobber user, and a coach)

…

I feel like I’m forgetting some stuff – I probably am since we occassionaly put up a new feature that is outside of the common “release cycle”… but nothing huge to report.

There are some HUGE things coming – I’m very excited about them but they are at least a week away

I remember many small successes last year that brought my job search to a halt. It might have been the most incredible interview. It might have been establishing a really “powerful” network contact. It might have been finally finishing a resume packet (or at least a customized resume/cover letter) and getting it sent in to the target company.

There were times when this success made my job search go backwards. For example, one incredible series of interviews was going really well (I thought). After the first interview I was about 100% sure I had the job. This was an extremely exciting opportunity for me as I would be working under an ex-Microsoft hero (supposedly), in a super-cool new high-tech startup that was well funded, and in a capacity that I wanted to be in to expand my depth in that area. The salary was a little low but everything else had “dream job” written all over it.

So I actually spent time, in my mind, doing the job! I thought about systems and programs to put in place. I thought about how I’d work to fit into the culture. I thought about the thing I’d need to accomplish in the first year. I thought about what would happen if there was an acquisition or IPO. I even took my handy-dandy notebook and began to map all of this stuff out.

After two more interviews I got the wierdest e-mail. It was some lame canned e-mail – something about “we have chosen someone else for this position…” This was wierd was because:

1. In my interview process I found that no one knew there was a position open
2. I found that there weren’t any other candidates (remember? There wasn’t a position open!)
3. I had spent a good four or five hours with these people, and we were getting to know eachother pretty good. Why did the tone of our discussion go from “interview mode” to “canned e-mail”… ?????

This was the absolute lowest part of my job search. I read the e-mail about four times and then did something that I hadn’t done for a long time – I worked out for about 30 minutes (I hadn’t allowed myself time to do this before because I was too busy looking for a job). I was speechless. I was hurt. I was confused.

I vowed to not get emotionally involved in this process again.

But I did – the next big thing, as the interviews progressed, was too exciting. I found myself thinking about what I’d do in the job, mapping out a strategy, and all that.

The problem, I found, is that when you get too wrapped up in a pending success you put other things on hold. And for me, getting wrapped up in something that wasn’t a sure thing only took away from my job search.

So celebrate the successes, but the best thing to do after an excellent interview is to get another interview! The best thing to do after an excellent phone call is to get on the phone again! Don’t get sidetracked and steal time from your search – rather, build on the successes to have another one.

And now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to share my last success with you, just to prove that I still don’t abide by the above (when mind = jelly, its hard!)…

My most recent success turned my mind into jelly. Yesterday I started seeing multiple signups on JibberJobber by the minute. Everyone was saying they were coming from Yahoo.com… so I went to Finance.Yahoo.com and didn’t see anything special. Finally, a new signup told me it was on the front page of yahoo.com – and it was amazing! I had a very hard time concentrating during that time – it was only about 3 hours (and then they put different content up), but it was amazing. Welcome to the hundreds of new JibberJobber users! And thank you Yahoo!

These are the cool videos that show how awesome it is to work at a company… have you seen them? What do you think about them? Leave your comments below…

Also, I have a friend who is writing a piece on video job ads. Here is what she is looking for:

I need to find job hunters who have seen a video job ad and can comment on how it affected their decision to apply to a company, and if they got the job, how well the video matches up to reality. If you or someone you know has seen a video job ad and would like to share an opinion on them, please contact me by Friday, Feb. 9. Thanks.

If this is you, shoot me an e-mail (Jason at JibberJobber.com) and I’ll put you in touch.

Here are some examples (click on “View Video”):

Employer Video 1

Employer Video 2

One thing I don’t talk about much on this blog is “what do you want to be when you grow up.” For those of you that have not found career elation, I’ve got a recommendation for you.

Mike Murray of Episteme.ca has been working on an eBook. I knew it was coming but didn’t really know how involved it was going to be. I’m guessing he is the first IT security expert to write a book on career management, and I wasn’t sure what he’d have to say. Anything new? How to get security geeks to network? Industry specific stuff? Nothing of the sort. This was literally a book that I had a hard time putting down – I’ll tell you why.

First, I love the title: Forget the Parachute, Let Me Fly The Plane. Obviously a play on the most recognized book in this space, What Color Is Your Parachute. And he gives proper props to Bolles, while going in an entirely different direction. The reason I love the title is because it fits me – I don’t want to have to be prepared to use my parachute (or plan b, and plan c, and plan d), I want to have more control over what direction my career takes.

Second, this book doesn’t even talk about a job search for the first 65 pages. It walks you through a series of exercises (called games) to help you get to a point where you can identify what jobs you would really enjoy, could really be successful at, and are really qualified for. If you won’t enjoy them, wouldn’t be successful at them, or aren’t qualified for them, you’ll see what’s missing and either create a plan to fix it or move on to other job ideas.

I went through the games and found them to be logical and effective. Its cool because this is like a mix between the IT security professional logic and human psychology. The end result may be dissapointing (that is, you may want to be a high-powered attorney but you just don’t have it!) but it is a reality check.

Third, Mike carries the “game” model through to the next step – now that you’ve figured out what you could or should do (or at least what you would be very happy with and have a probability of success) you are guided through finding jobs that will fit you. He teaches you how to evaluate companies in the same methodical process, and best of all, he teaches you how to go after those positions (or create them).

Mike spends time talking about rejection, and moving through the rejection. His premise is that you’ve identified the right role for yourself – and that’s what you need to end up with.

One of the things that surprised me in the book was Mike’s peppering of how to use JibberJobber. There were various places where he said “this is where you use JibberJobber, to manage…” It was cool because his suggestions were more proactive, in career management mode and not in job search mode – and its always nice to hear someone else’s ideas of how to use JibberJobber!

Would I recommend this book? Absolutely! If you are tired of being tired of going to work, you need to get this book and really go through the games. One thought that kept going through my mind was that this is excellent material that career counselors could use to help people understand who they are and what they want to be when they grow up. It would fit perfectly into a semester course at a university on career management!