Good Afternoon,
I am requesting that the T.A.P. experts look at my Personal Brand.
You requested the following...
LinkedIn
Facebook
Twitter
Thank you in advance...
Michael D. Lewis
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Michael,
I was surprised to see your request to be part of the 'Am I Money' program. As a recruiter, I would assume you must have your own opinions on what makes a great personal brand. And yet, I admire you because it shows you are interested in gaining others' perspective. (A sign of a great recruiter!)
Moreover, it didn't surprise me that you:
A) have such an extensive number of networking connections, and
B) have a large number of recommendations as well.
Overall, I'm going to say you have incredible "money" potential, but there are a few things that would be worth tweaking. So, I'm going to give you a 4.0 to start and offer these observations and suggestions for you to consider:
RE Pictures - An on-line brand needs consistency visually. Your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn photos are all different. I'd suggest finding one picture that works for all three. Also, if you must use different photos, it's best to use headshots from the same angle and with you looking directly at the camera so viewers can be certain you are the same person. Make it easy on HR/hiring manager looking at your candidacy by letting them visually validate they are looking at the right profile. Picture consistency achieves that goal.
RE Twitter - It looks like you are researching and finding people to connect with successfully. I see a lot of acknowledgement of that in your feed. I'd start adding your own thoughts to the mix. I have to assume you read a lot of great articles that would be of value to your followers. If you want to capitalize on your brand as a recruiter for logistics/supply chain marketing, then it's time to prove you know what you are talking about by serving up some content to back it up.
RE LinkedIn- I love that you have over 500 connections and 11 recommendations. You've also made sure you have recommendations from your most recent roles. That is fantastic! I also think the photo you are using in this profile is top notch. What I do worry about is the wording/writing of the 'Summary' section. It's pretty long and covers a lot of different topics. Most people aren't going to bother to read something that long. I think you should decide who the audience is that you are trying to impress upon and cut down your Summary to 1-2 short, concise paragraphs. Personally, I'd also consider not doing the 'hard sell' in this section. Sticking to the facts and listing quantifiable accomplishments seems to be the most successful approach to leveraging a LinkedIn Summary. While our profiles are marketing pieces about ourselves, something gets lost in the translation when you say in all caps, "TO DOMINATE THE RECRUITING SPACE ALL OVER THE GALAXY." My guess is good friends and colleagues that know you read this and know it is you displaying a great sense of humor, but strangers may not take it the same way.
RE Resume: My favorite part about your resume is the bullet points under each of your jobs. I'm always stressing to job seekers to keep bullets short and to stick to the quantifiable facts. Your bullets are exactly that! They really prove your expertise and make it easy for the reader to validate your experience. That being said, I'd make two suggestions.
First, I'd get rid of the Objective Statement. These days, everyone I know says it's a waste of valuable space. People should share their objective in their cover letter.
Second, I'd suggest you revamp your 'Strengths' section. The way it reads now is too subjective. You claim you are accomplished in all the areas listed, but that is your opinion. Unlike the bullets under your jobs, you don't quantify your experience as effectively in your 'Strengths' section. I'd suggest you replace the sentences with skill set listings and the number of years of experience you have in each one instead. Something like this:
10+ yrs - Account Management & Sales
15+ yrs - Candidate Screening, Interviewing & Hiring
12+ yrs - Client Research & Customer development
13+ yrs - Employee Training & Talent Relations
This simple summary immediately draws the eye in and tells the hiring manager you've got the depth of experience they need. It's easy to read and make a strong, positive impression.
I hope the above suggestions are helpful. It's great to see a recruiter who is passionate about their work and has the online profile to prove it!
JTJuly 08, 2009
Good Afternoon,
I am requesting that the T.A.P. experts look at my Personal Brand.
You requested the following...
LinkedIn
Facebook
Twitter
Thank you in advance...
Michael D. Lewis
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Michael,
I was surprised to see your request to be part of the 'Am I Money' program. As a recruiter, I would assume you must have your own opinions on what makes a great personal brand. And yet, I admire you because it shows you are interested in gaining others' perspective. (A sign of a great recruiter!)
Moreover, it didn't surprise me that you:
A) have such an extensive number of networking connections, and
B) have a large number of recommendations as well.
Overall, I'm going to say you have incredible "money" potential, but there are a few things that would be worth tweaking. So, I'm going to give you a 4.0 to start and offer these observations and suggestions for you to consider:
RE Pictures - An on-line brand needs consistency visually. Your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn photos are all different. I'd suggest finding one picture that works for all three. Also, if you must use different photos, it's best to use headshots from the same angle and with you looking directly at the camera so viewers can be certain you are the same person. Make it easy on HR/hiring manager looking at your candidacy by letting them visually validate they are looking at the right profile. Picture consistency achieves that goal.
RE Twitter - It looks like you are researching and finding people to connect with successfully. I see a lot of acknowledgement of that in your feed. I'd start adding your own thoughts to the mix. I have to assume you read a lot of great articles that would be of value to your followers. If you want to capitalize on your brand as a recruiter for logistics/supply chain marketing, then it's time to prove you know what you are talking about by serving up some content to back it up.
RE LinkedIn- I love that you have over 500 connections and 11 recommendations. You've also made sure you have recommendations from your most recent roles. That is fantastic! I also think the photo you are using in this profile is top notch. What I do worry about is the wording/writing of the 'Summary' section. It's pretty long and covers a lot of different topics. Most people aren't going to bother to read something that long. I think you should decide who the audience is that you are trying to impress upon and cut down your Summary to 1-2 short, concise paragraphs. Personally, I'd also consider not doing the 'hard sell' in this section. Sticking to the facts and listing quantifiable accomplishments seems to be the most successful approach to leveraging a LinkedIn Summary. While our profiles are marketing pieces about ourselves, something gets lost in the translation when you say in all caps, "TO DOMINATE THE RECRUITING SPACE ALL OVER THE GALAXY." My guess is good friends and colleagues that know you read this and know it is you displaying a great sense of humor, but strangers may not take it the same way.
RE Resume: My favorite part about your resume is the bullet points under each of your jobs. I'm always stressing to job seekers to keep bullets short and to stick to the quantifiable facts. Your bullets are exactly that! They really prove your expertise and make it easy for the reader to validate your experience. That being said, I'd make two suggestions.
First, I'd get rid of the Objective Statement. These days, everyone I know says it's a waste of valuable space. People should share their objective in their cover letter.
Second, I'd suggest you revamp your 'Strengths' section. The way it reads now is too subjective. You claim you are accomplished in all the areas listed, but that is your opinion. Unlike the bullets under your jobs, you don't quantify your experience as effectively in your 'Strengths' section. I'd suggest you replace the sentences with skill set listings and the number of years of experience you have in each one instead. Something like this:
10+ yrs - Account Management & Sales
15+ yrs - Candidate Screening, Interviewing & Hiring
12+ yrs - Client Research & Customer development
13+ yrs - Employee Training & Talent Relations
This simple summary immediately draws the eye in and tells the hiring manager you've got the depth of experience they need. It's easy to read and make a strong, positive impression.
I hope the above suggestions are helpful. It's great to see a recruiter who is passionate about their work and has the online profile to prove it!
JT
