Mike McRitchie | Resume and LinkedIn Profile Writer | Telecom Marketing Content Writer

Writing Resumes that Communicate Your Unique Value | Writing Marketing Content for Telecom Business Growth

5 Ways to Boost Your LinkedIn Profile Visibility in 2022

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Did you know that six people are hired through LinkedIn every minute? When used strategically, LinkedIn can serve as a highly effective tool in your job search efforts. However, with over 830 million members, how can you make sure that your profile gets noticed by employers? 

Fortunately, LinkedIn has plenty of features designed to help job-seekers create stand-out profiles. This guide from Berkley Recruitment will walk you through five simple steps you can take today to boost your profile’s visibility in 2022. 

  1. Complete Your Profile 

If you’re seeking a new role and want to promote yourself to employers/recruiters, then profile completeness matters. 

The LinkedIn search algorithm prioritises complete profiles over incomplete profiles. LinkedIn has gamified the process and will reward users with an All-Star status upon reaching 100% profile completion. According to LinkedIn, All-Star profiles are forty times more likely to receive job opportunities.

So what do you need to do to reach 100% profile completion?

  1. Upload a professional, high-quality profile photo.
  2. Write a personal summary about yourself.
  3. Include an engaging headline that succinctly sums up who you are.
  4. Add at least two previous positions, along with written descriptions of your roles.
  5. Add five or more skills.
  6. Fill out your industry and location.
  7. Include where you went to school or college. 
  8. Connect with a minimum of 50 people.
  1. Add Skills, Skill Tests & Endorsements

Did you know that you can add up to 50 skills to your profile? Taking the time and effort to add a carefully curated list of hard and soft skills to your profile will make it easier for recruiters and hiring managers to see what you’re good at. It will also affect which LinkedIn searches you show up in, how many searches you show up in, and how highly you rank in those search results.

In addition, LinkedIn has launched many new features that allow users to validate their skills: 

  • First-degree connections can endorse your skills. When someone gives you an endorsement, it further strengthens your profile and increases the odds that you’ll be discovered for opportunities related to these skills. 
  • You can take a brief assessment to showcase your technical skills. If you score in the top 30% of people who have taken the quiz, you can earn a badge to display on your profile. 
  • As of 2022, you can now add skills to each position within your work experience section. 
  1. Get Recommendations

Recommendations are a powerful tool that add greater credibility to your LinkedIn profile. These are written testimonials from your connections that offer a step up from the endorsement feature (which doesn’t have a written component). 

Recommendations are a form of social proof and allow you to validate your skills and personality. What’s more, they can provide a way to draw attention to elements of your personality, skill set or experience that you may feel too awkward to mention yourself. 

You can request recommendations from anyone in your network. As a starting point, we advise reaching out to your CV references, colleagues, clients, classmates and friends. You may wish to offer one in return. 

  1. Engage

Once you have completed your profile and generated some recommendations, now you can shift your attention to engaging with others. Ideally, you should dedicate a few sessions a week purely for LinkedIn engagement through commenting, writing posts and re-sharing content. 

The strategic use of commenting and sharing can allow you to build connections, demonstrate thought leadership, and highlight your subject matter expertise. All of this will help you to get noticed by the relevant people.

Here are some tips to keep in mind when crafting the perfect comment:

  1. Read the original content carefully to make sure you fully understand it before adding to the conversation.
  2. Aim to write a relevant and thoughtful comment that enriches the discussion (e.g. add a practical tip, share your personal experience, ask a question, or make a respectfu counter-argument etc.).
  3. Take the time to write an original and engaging comment that is at least 2-3 sentences long.
  4. Avoid the temptation to be salesly.
  5. Use the tagging feature to mention the post’s author and get their attention.
  1. Try Out New Features 

In order to keep the platform fresh and current, LinkedIn frequently rolls out new features. Oftentimes, they will prioritise profiles that use these features to encourage users to try them out. Some examples of new features launched in the past year or so include:

  • Video cover stories on the mobile app
  • The ability to add your preferred personal pronouns to your profile
  • The ability to upload an audio file to demonstrate how to pronounce your name 
  • Image carousel posts 
  • Newsletters that your connections can subscribe to

Molly Forsythe is a Digital Marketing Executive with Berkley Recruitment. As part of her role, she enjoys writing helpful guides for job-seekers who are looking for their next dream job. Berkley is an Irish-based recruitment consultancy specialising in the areas of Business & Technology, Life Science & Engineering, and Supply Chain & Procurement. To discover the latest career opportunities in your area, talk to Berkley today. 

Important Safety Precautions to Implement At Your Plant

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Nothing is ultimately more important at your workplace than the safety of your employees. Without proper workplace safety, you won’t be permitted to operate as a business. The number of injuries, payouts, and legal fees will soon drive you to bankruptcy. This is why you need to implement these crucial precautions now.

Give Your Workers the Right Safety Equipment

It will be up to you to do all that you can to make sure your workers are fully safe in every way. One of the very best things that you can do in this regard will be to make sure that they have all of the required safety equipment. This should be the chief means that you can make use of in order to ensure proper process safety and risk management.

The correct safety equipment can include everything from gloves to helmets to protective padding of all types. Some areas may require the use of specialized safety goggles. These are items that you should never try to cut corners on. The more of this equipment you have available, the safer your workplace will be.

Your Workers Need to Follow Safety Regulations

There should be no excuse for your workers not to know all of the necessary rules and regulations for safety in your workplace. These are the rules that are in place to safeguard the health and safety of everyone in the building. If an accident should occur, your workers need to know the correct protocol to follow.

All of the rules regarding safety in your workplace should be given to your new employees when they join your workforce. They should also be clearly posted in the relevant areas. These are rules that you can’t afford to let anyone bend or break. If you spot someone doing so, they should be disciplined or terminated.

Your Workplace Needs to Be Kept Clean

Another good method that you can make use of in order to ensure proper workplace safety will be to insist on it being kept tidy. A clean area is a safe area.

This is a courtesy that each worker extends to their fellow employees. A clean and tidy area ensures that any potential hazards will be much easier to spot.

Plan a Series of Workplace Emergency Drills

One of the very best things that you can do to ensure a safer workplace will be to plan a series of emergency drills. These drills will let your workers know what to do in case of a fire, flood, hurricane, or other hazards. You should practice these drills on a regular basis so that everyone is fully up to speed.

Plan Visits From a Workplace Safety Inspector

If you are unsure that conditions at your workplace are up to speed, you can arrange for a visit from a safety inspector. This is the expert who can spot potential hazards before they occur. Once they do, they can fill you in on all of the proper precautions. This can save you time and money in the long run.

All Exits Need to Be Clearly Marked

Another crucial factor to keep in mind is that all of the exits in your place of work need to be clearly marked. If an emergency should occur, your workers need to know where to go in order to quickly exit the building. All exits and safety areas within the structure need to be ready to use.

Machine Safety Protocols Need to Be Followed

Working around heavy machinery can be a very dangerous experience. All of your workers need to be trained in all of the proper machine safety protocols. They need to know how to shut off the machine at the first sign of trouble. Knowing what to do can save lives.

Workplace Safety is Always Concern Number One

There should be no higher priority at your workplace than the safety of your employees. It will be up to you to make sure that every detail is in place to prevent spills and other hazards. The more you do to keep your workplace clean and tidy, the less prone it will be to accidents that cost you time and money.

What hurts our work-life balance – the hustle culture or smartphone addiction?

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Contacting employees after working hours is prohibited in some countries, such as Portugal or Belgium. In contrast, nearly 70% of US working professionals use mobiles for work during their downtime.

The question arises – is it the hustle culture or smartphone addiction? 

The latest study conducted by Passport Photo Online about vacation smartphone usage shed some light on this issue. In their survey, 1,000+ Americans answered many questions related to their smartphone use habits, such as:

  • How often did you check your cell phone per hour?
  • Did your boss expect you to stay connected during your most recent time away?
  • Do you regret overusing a mobile phone during your most recent holiday?

Curious about the results? Read on to find out more.

Smartphone Use On Travel: Travelers’ Habits

In the past, to make a long-distance trip, people went to a travel agency. But times have changed. Now travelers have all functionalities at their fingertips – on their smartphones. Indeed, more and more Americans are comfortable planning a vacation using only a smartphone. As much as 84% of Americans feel at ease with it, compared to 48% in 2020.

But planning the trip is not the end. Of course, people use smartphones also during their holidays – and they use them a lot! Most American vacationers (71%) pull out cell phones 2–5 times per hour. Also, 10% admitted they take a peek 10+ times per hour. Assuming we are awake for 16 hours a day, it translates into over 160 times daily. So, it’s not surprising that only 14% of respondents can go longer than 4 hours without checking the phone.

Unfortunately, this smartphone addiction doesn’t work well for travelers. As much as 58% of people regret overusing mobile phones during their last trips, and at the same time, leaving a phone while traveling is not an option. A whopping 75% of American travelers claim that a smartphone is their number one travel accessory. 

So maybe a return to travel agents will be a good idea after all.

The Hustle Culture – Working On Vacation

Vacations mean exactly a time without working, right? Well, not in our hustle culture. As mentioned before, a full of 68% of US professionals admitted they used smartphones for job-related purposes during their last vacation. 

The consequences are unpleasant. As a result of using a cell phone for work, 62% of Americans could not recharge their batteries. Also, 60% of US travelers said using smartphones for work affected their vacation plan. 

Unfortunately, the pressure comes from above. Nearly 6 in 10 US workers say their bosses expect them to stay connected during vacation. 

But, on the other hand – maybe we don’t know how to relax? Over half of employees (55%) feel pressure to reply to work emails or messages during travel, even without any requirements from the employer.

Put the leisure time first

In the words of Winston Churchill – 

Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.

Without any doubt, we can’t expect results without putting some effort into our work, and at the same time, working too hard lead to burnout, low work satisfaction, and poor overall well-being. Unlocking your full potential doesn’t matter if you feel drained rather than happy. 

So – 

Maybe it’s about time to change priorities and put leisure over labor.

Interested in the complete study? Read Smartphone Use On Vacation [2022 Study].

Short bio: Karolina Zając, a writer at Passport Photo Online. With a background in cognitive science and communication, she is fascinated by how language influences our perception of reality. It’s more likely to find her in the forest than at the dance club.

12 Ways to Unlock Your Employee’s Potential

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Are you looking for ways to unlock your employee’s potential? If so, you’re in luck! In this blog post, we will discuss 12 strategies that you can use to help your employees achieve their maximum potential.

Many employers make the mistake of thinking that their employees are not capable of doing more than they are currently doing. This is simply not true! Employees have a lot of untapped potential, and it is up to you as an employer to help them unleash it. So, without further ado, let’s get started!

How to Unlock Your Employees’ Potentials

Employees are a company’s most valuable asset. They are the ones who drive the company forward and contribute to its success. It is therefore essential that employers invest in their employees and help them reach their full potential.

There are many ways to do this, but in this article, we will focus on 12 strategies that can be used to unlock your employee’s potential.

1. Know what motivates them.

One of the most important things that you can do as an employer is to know what motivates your employees. Everyone is different, and what motivates one employee may not work for another. It is therefore important to take the time to understand what makes your employees tick. Only then will you be able to help them reach their full potential.

2. Encourage them to set goals.

Another way to help your employees reach their potential is to encourage them to set goals. Setting goals gives employees a sense of direction and motivates them to do their best. When setting goals, it is important to make sure that they are realistic and achievable. They should also be specific, measurable, and time-bound.

3. Help them develop a growth mindset.

A growth mindset is a belief that one’s abilities and intelligence can be developed through effort, good teaching, and practice. Individuals with a growth mindset believe that they can improve with hard work and are not limited by their current abilities. On the other hand, those with a fixed mindset believe that their abilities are set in stone and cannot be changed.

4. Persuade them to take on new challenges.

Another great way to help your employees reach their potential is to encourage them to take on new challenges. Taking on new challenges helps employees expand their skill set and grow as individuals. It also helps them build confidence and develop a can-do attitude.

5. Urge them to think outside the box.

Another strategy for unlocking your employee’s potential is to encourage them to think outside the box. Thinking outside the box helps employees come up with new and innovative ideas. It also allows them to challenge themselves and push their boundaries.

6. Allow employee input.

Another great way to help your employees reach their potential is to encourage employee input. This allows employees to share their ideas and opinions. It also shows that you value their input and are willing to listen to their suggestions.

7. Rotate job roles.

Rotating job roles is another way to help your employees reach their potential. This will allow them to gain new skills and knowledge and become more well-rounded. It will also make them more engaged in their work as they will be constantly learning new things.

8. Provide employees with feedback.

Another important strategy for unlocking your employee’s potential is to provide them with feedback. Feedback helps employees understand what they are doing well and where they need to improve. It also shows that you are invested in their development and willing to help them grow.

9. Let your employees network.

Networking is another great way to help your employees reach their potential. Networking allows employees to meet new people, learn new skills, and gain valuable experience. It also helps them build relationships and develop their professional network.

10. Have a well-managed leave allowance system.

If you want your employees to be productive, it is important that they have a good work-life balance. This can be achieved by having better leave allowance management. Employees should be given the opportunity to take paid vacation days and sick days when they need them. This will help them recharge and come back to work feeling refreshed and energized.

11. Reward top performers.

Another important strategy for unlocking your employee’s potential is to reward top performers. This helps motivate employees to do their best and strive for excellence. It also shows that you are willing to invest in your employees and their development.

12. Provide training.

Finally, one of the best ways to help your employees reach their potential is to provide them with training. Training helps employees learn new skills and develop their abilities. It also shows that you are committed to their development and willing to invest in their future.

Bottomline

There are many different ways that you can help your employees reach their potential. The most important thing is to find what works best for your organization and your employees. Try out a few of the strategies listed above and see what works best for you. With a little effort, you can unlock the potential of your employees and help them reach new heights.

Do you have any other tips for unlocking your employee’s potential? Let us know in the comments below!

4 Steps To Take a Remote Workation

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Photo by Mikey Harris on Unsplash

Working remotely is the future for many industries, from content marketing to telecommunications. If you feel like you can’t focus as a remote worker, it might be time to get out of your home office. 

Whether you’re in charge of an entire team or report to a manager, a workation (work vacation) might be exactly what you need to get out of your home office and out into the world. 

Since remote work is the future of the workplace, workations will become a household term. This guide will teach you four steps on how to take advantage of working from wherever you please. 

  1. Get it approved

The first step to taking a successful workation is similar to the first step of taking a normal vacation: Get it approved before you start packing any bags. Odds are your employer wants to show appreciation to their remote employees. Submit a request in your online platform and carefully lay out how you plan on getting work done while you’re in a different city or state. It also might be a good idea to take your travel days completely off so you don’t have to worry about working at 30,000 feet.

  1. Keep your work secure

It doesn’t matter if you’re working from home or from a Kiahwah Island vacation rental in South Carolina, you need to ensure that your work is secure. You can do this by installing a VPN on your computer so prying eyes can’t get ahold of sensitive work information and email exchanges. Other ways to keep your password safe while traveling include using a password manager or two-factor authentication. 

  1. Set Boundaries

Ensuring that you set personal and professional boundaries is essential to having a successful telecommuter vacation. If you are taking a workation with your family, make sure that you set clear parameters for when it’s time for work and when you can relax. The same can be said for remote work boundaries: Manage your remote team to ensure your coworkers know when you will be online and when they are not allowed to contact you. 

  1. Enjoy Yourself

This step should go without saying, but it’s important that you enjoy yourself on your workation. Don’t overload yourself with work but don’t slack off, either. It’s important to find a balance so you can really enjoy the “-ation” part of your workation.

Now that you have all the steps to take a workation, it’s time to get on your HR platform and take some travel days off!

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