Lately I’ve been adding new Contacts to JibberJobber via email.  It’s one of the coolest features we have.  I simply find someone I want to put in my system, send them an email, bcc my ultra-secretive email address, and if the person isn’t in my database it will be added (along with the email contents, as the first Log Entry).

If you don’t know what I’m talking about (a) you are missing out and (b) you need to watch the video on this post (Email2Log – here is Part 3 where I talk about how to do this).

Anyway, back to how I find that person.  I’ll email them but I keep their LinkedIn Profile up so I can grab their picture, title, location, etc.  When I create the Contact record using Email2Log I am only adding the first name, last name and email address.

Normally my Contacts List Panel is ordered so I see the most recent Contacts I’ve entered at the top of the list.  But sometimes it is not ordered like that… and sometimes I feel it takes to long to come up and then reorder, or clear a filtered search or something like that (yes, I’m that impatient).

I have found a better place to find the new Contact.

Instead of going to the Contact List Panel I mouse over Reports and then click on the Log Entries and Action Items Report.

Anytime you use Email2Log you are creating a Log Entry, so it will show up in that report (which is a List Panel).

I have this report ordered so that I see the latest Log Entries or Action Items at the top.  I simply come to this report and look to see if the email is on the top.  I am showing the Contacts column (if you don’t see it, click on the manage columns icon and add it), and I simply click on the person’s name and it takes me to their Detail Page.

The Email2Log is on a 5 minute cycle, so it might take a few minutes before it shows up, but this is my fastest way to getting to that newly created Contact record so I can put more details on the record. For some reason I like doing it this way rather than going through the Contact List Panel.

Cool, huh?

Tomorrow I’m doing a webinar you can join to learn how to be more proactive on LinkedIn.

That kind of sounds like work, huh?

I continue to hear people say “I don’t get any value out of LinkedIn.”

I’m convinced you can get value out of LinkedIn, if you put some strategic effort into it.

Tomorrow at 9am Mountain Time I’ll share how to do that.

Of course we’re going to talk about the three foundational things: share your brand, grow your network, nurture individual relationships.

We’re going to go deeper in each of those areas and talk about tactics.  As I’m preparing my notes I am getting excited because the stuff we’ll go over are things that I’ve done to grow my business.

These things work.  I’ve tried them.  Not just this week but over the years.

I don’t think I would be in business if I had just put up a website or a profile and waited for things to happen.

I needed a strategy with tactics to get in front of people.

I needed to help people talk about (aka, evangelize) me and my company.

I needed to figure out how to nurture relationships and follow-up as my network grew, so I didn’t leave easy opportunities on the table.

I needed to go to people instead of twiddling my thumbs hoping they would come to me.  Because I’ve learned that even if they want to come to me, they are too busy or distracted.

That’s what we are going to talk about in this webinar.

If I would have known this stuff in my job search I’m sure I would have gotten job interviews and offers.  But I was too busy applying on job boards.  You know, because it felt right.

But it wasn’t right.

Tomorrow.  9am MST.  Details here.

NOTE: This webinar will be available as a recording later, just like the New LinkedIn Profile webinar is available.  But if you get it by the end of the day tomorrow you’ll get sweet bonuses

After doing the two hour and twenty minute webinar on the New LinkedIn Profile, I realized there has to be a Part II.  Not because I want to string this on all year but because I am NOT a believer in “if you build it they will come.”

I am a firm believer in “if you want it, go after it.”  And that’s what this webinar is all about.

On March 1 at 9am MOUNTAIN TIME I will spend at least 90 minutes (that’s what I said last time, but there were so many good questions we went much longer) talking about the PROACTIVE side of your LinkedIn strategy.

Having a killer Profile is, in my opinion, passive and reactive.  It is important… even critical.  But if no one knows about you, and if no one hears from you, and if you are too chicken to actually reach out and start the conversation… what good will the Profile do you?

It might be awesome, but let’s not sit around and wait for awesome.

Let’s proactively be awesome!

I haven’t figured out what the bonus options will be yet for non-career professionals.  Career professionals have different bonuses (ask and I’ll tell you, but I don’t want to blog about it).

Here’s the information page with more information.  Here’s the signup page.

Same as January 17th:

1. This will be start-to-finish full of meat and content.  No frills, no wasting time.
2. This will be recorded and you can access it streaming, as often as you want, through your JibberJobber account. (not downloadable)  As long as I don’t have emergency surgery the next day, the recording should be available within 24 hours.
3. I will not use this as a time to try and upsell you on something else.  This is a content presentation, not a vehicle for me to sell more stuff to you.  No “and if you buy NOW you’ll get a free pony!”

Want to get in on this?  Here’s the link.

Note: this webinar is optimized for anyone serious about getting value out of LinkedIn.  That includes job seekers, recruiters, entrepreneurs, business owners, career professionals, etc.

In another case of pure awesomeness I found this from Dan Schawbel’s Facebook post:

Wow!  That is so awesome!  I’m actually surprised no one has done this before now.

Check out the page here.  I hope Amazon doesn’t make him take it down.

This approach has gotten PhilDub (or Philippe) some chatter, I’m sure.  Awesome personal branding… well played Philippe!

Wait… did you catch what I just said?

This approach has made it easy for others to talk about Philippe.

Is who you are, or what you are doing, easy for others to talk about?  Do people want to talk about you? Have you given them something interesting to talk about or share?

Take some time this week to think about WHAT you can DO to help others want to talk about you!

At the end of this very exciting story are Bryan Braun’s three tips:

1. Be Bold.
2. Be Lucky.
3. Be Ready.

Aren’t those so cliche? So cliche they are meaningless.

But, this isn’t a story about cliche.  This is a story about awesomeness.  And Bryan doesn’t just throw those three ideas out there without having done/lived them.

Check out the entire story here: Bryan Braun: In which I explain how I got my dream job.  Bryan wrote this post in September 2012, in the thick or this years-long crummy economy. You know, the economy where it’s so hard to get a job?

Yes, it is hard to get a job.  But if you are really bold, and lucky and ready, maybe you can get your “dream job.”

Please read Bryan’s account.  It’s more meaningful than what I could write.

Here are my thoughts: Many people will be bold.  But not up to the point of shaving your head.  And that’s kind of the beginning of Bryan’s boldness.

How many people will be bold enough to make their head a replica of their target company’s logo?  Bryan was bold enough to do that.

And he was bold enough to create a media campaign, including paying money for very targeted Facebook ads which got in front of his audience, and caused a commotion to the point where people were talking about him.

Bryan was lucky and ready for an interview, but then circumstances paused the whole thing, for MONTHS.

But Bryan remained ready, and when it was the right time, he was the right guy.

Did he have a brand within the company?  Like no other candidate, I bet.

When it was the right time, I bet he was on THE TOP of the lists.

And he landed his dream job.

Very cool Bryan Braun, very cool.  You deserve what you got because you were bold and you executed.  You were patient and you followed-up.  You were ready and you delivered.

Awesome.  Even in a bad economy.

How bold are YOU going to be?

A week ago I did the a 2 hour 20 minute webinar on the new LinkedIn Profile.

It was awesome.

I planned to do 90 minutes but there were lots of questions submitted before, and lots coming in during the webinar. I think I answered all of them.

In this webinar we talked about everything we could think of on the Profile.  The cost is $97, and the feedback I got from participants is that it was awesome and well-worth the money.  I’ll be putting up testimonials as time permits (the surgery has taken a toll on my work hours).

If you are interested in improving your Profile please check out this webinar.  Details on this page, purchase on this page.

I was recently asked for a resume.  This is for what I think can be an exciting writing experience (I’d essentially have my own “column”).

The person who asked me said I would need to submit a resume.  Folks, I haven’t had a resume for about seven years!  And that resume is for a project/product manager, not for a writer.

In the last seven years my career has taken a dramatic twist, and what they want me for is for my writing.

I asked if I could send them my LinkedIn Profile and they said that might be fine, but to please put it into Word.  So I exported to pdf, then copy-and-paste to Word.

As I was looking at the “document,” which was liked a stripped down Profile and nothing like a resume, my thought was “the LinkedIn Profile CAN’T take over the resume.”

Perhaps if my Profile had only resume-like stuff on it… maybe it would work.  But putting my exported Profile into Word and thinking it was going to be a “resume” was a joke.

I think there will always be people who ask for a “resume.”  And your Profile will not look like a resume.  To get it right you’ll have to do a lot of reworking… might as well start from scratch.

I would love to hear your opinion and experience on this.  Mine says NO WAY.

Here’s my recording of Tuesday’s Ask The Expert call. I thought it went very well… it was fun, and there are 13 things for you to think about with your career management for 2013.

Some of them should surprise you.  On the video I invited you to email me what you will do after listening… and I extend that to YOU.  Leave a comment on this post OR email me (as instructed in the video).

You can sign up for future Ask The Expert calls here.

I’m doing a 90 minute webinar on optimizing the new LinkedIn Profiles. Supposedly everyone should have them by the end of 2013.

This webinar is… how do I put this: not free.  I like doing free stuff, but my accountant likes it when I charge for my services, knowledge, passion, etc.

I have done over 100 presentations on LinkedIn, and I know this is going to be worth it the price.

Who should come? Everyone who is on LinkedIn, period.  These new changes have a HUGE impact on your Profile.  Some have said LinkedIn “blew up” their Profile, others have had things disappear without their knowledge, and others have their picture messed up.

Not only that, but changes with the Apps (changes = they went away) and what they are replaced with is powerful, but I’m sure we’ll see gross abuses of the power (embedding video for Funny or Die?  Oh boy… :/)

Come join us on the 17th.  If you can’t, I’m recording it and you can access the recording.

Click here for more info… including one of three bonuses to choose from, and my commitment to not pressure-sell at the end.

Oh yeah, the price goes up after 1/11. Sign up now…  Here are some changes… and that’s just the top:

I finally got it… the new LinkedIn Profile   Now I can dig into the Profile and see what’s up.

First thing I notice, I need a new picture since the current one emphasizes my balding too much.  I even had a company contact me and say they could doctor up the image to make me less balding :p

Second thing I notice is that my slideshare is slideGONE.  I’ll dig in more, but more than one person has said LinkedIn has “blown up” their Profile, and they are frustrated.

Check out this comment from John who is pretty made about the changes… he even uses ALL CAPS to stress his unhappiness with it (and signs off as “Disgusted in PA”)

On another note, do you know the difference between Like, Comment and Share on LinkedIn?  One is useless, the other is all-powerful, and the third is… hardly useful (but still okay).  Check out this post to learn about it:
LinkedIn: Like vs Share vs Comment

Finally, I’m doing a New LinkedIn Profile webinar on January 17th. It is discounted right now to $97 and includes bonus goodies, and my commitment to not upsell you on anything during the webinar. Learn more here and sign up.  The new Profile, and the announcement that Apps went away (and are being replaced) is HUGE, and impacts about, oh, 187,000,000 people.

If you’ve been on my webinars you know I tell it like it is, I don’t drink the kool-aid and try to convince you to upgrade, and I don’t go through link by link to tell you stuff that is boring.  This is for busy people to optimize their LinkedIn Profile.  You can sign up here.