The Write Resume Career Strategies Weblog

Change Your LinkedIn Email Address!

LinkedIn. It's a great tool to connect with former colleagues and friends. It's also used by employers and recruiters to find candidates. I believe that everyone should have a LinkedIn account (it's free). However, the manner in which you set up your LinkedIn account is very important.

Clients often pay me to set up a new or update their current LinkedIn profile after we have completed their resume, as they want to be sure to be "found" in the search results.  Being kind of a search engine optimization geek, I love to figure out the best keywords and keyword phrases to get them top rankings.

However, there is one issue that I have been finding lately. Many of my clients are either currently using or want to use their email address associated with their employer.

While it may seem like a great idea at first since you can import contacts from various email programs, I would caution against it. Or, at the very least, set up the account FIRST with your company email, and then change the email address to a personal address (instructions are below).

Here's why. First, your employer may have a policy against using your company email address for anything outside work. So, check your company's policy.

Second, you could be fired or laid off. If either of those situations happen, you will not have access to your contacts or be able to update your profile, as your email address will likely "vanish" from the company's system.

I have also heard stories of employer's "claiming rights" to your contacts - especially if any of them are customers. If that happens, you would likely have to rebuild your list.

And, if you have a company-owned laptop or desktop computer where you receive email, and they take it from you, you've now lost all of your contacts.

Further, some employers have "rules" about supervisors or other employees providing recommendations for you in any manner (whether on LinkedIn, elsewhere online, or in writing).

While you will have to check your company's policy on this, I think it might be harder to enforce that rule if you have your LinkedIn account is attached to a personal email address. Of course, I'm not an attorney, so I would suggest you consult with one!

So, how do you change your work email address to your personal address in LinkedIn? Here are the steps:

1. Sign into your account
2. Go to the "account & settings" link in the upper right-hand corner
3. Scroll down to the Personal Information section in the right-hand column
4. Find and click on the "email addresses" link
5. Enter a new email address in the box provided and click "add email address"
6. You'll be directed to go to that email address to confirm it
7. Go back to the "email addresses" area,  check the box next to the new address, and click "make primary"
8. Check the box next to your company's email address and click "remove."

As an idea, you might want to let your contacts know you are doing this. Send them all an email (you can import your contact list into an Excel file - good idea to do this anyway) stating that future LinkedIn emails will come from your personal address.

As a final note, I always suggest that my clients obtain an email address from a service such as gmail.com to be used only for job search. Use that email address on your resume and when setting up accounts on job boards, replying to online ads, or making contacts with recruiters.

Why do I suggest this? Well, you won't have to wade through "Aunt Martha's recipes and Uncle Bill's jokes" to find a response about a great job!

A Very Wise Spouse!

While speaking with a potential client, we came to the question I am always asked: "How much will it cost to write my resume?"

When I told her the price, she was fine with the investment level since she understood that her "image" and "qualifications" on paper would make the difference in being competitive for a highly coveted position. However, she needed to check with her spouse to ensure he agreed with the money she was about to spend.

Having been in a marital relationship at one time in my life, I encouraged her to discuss this matter with her husband. As a true partner with her husband, she understood the value of communicating with him to ensure agreement and avoid spending money which may have been earmarked for something else so close to the holidays.

She agreed to contact him right away and would call me back to complete the transaction if he agreed.

Within about three minutes, the phone rang. It was my potential client.

When she told me what her husband said, it was as if a wise sage sitting atop a mountain had spoken great words of wisdom into the universe.

So, what did he say?

"Honey, you don't hesitate to spend $200 on a pair of boots. Why would you think that spending money on a resume that could land you your dream job would be a foolish purchase?"

In my 22+ years as a professional resume writer, I don't think I have ever heard anyone put into perspective the value of investing in resume preparation in such a common sense manner!

Think about it. People don't hesitate to spend hundreds of dollars on the latest gadgets or clothes that  will be outdated in a few months. But, when it comes to making decisions about money spent on career-related documents that will ultimately bring people the means to buy those things, they question the value of the purchase.

If you could invest in something that will produce an immediate monetary return, would you make the purchase? I suspect you would jump at the chance. My client's husband realized the value and potential ROI when he gave her the "green light" to invest in her career.