Marc MillerKnow Your Stuff
How do others know that you know your stuff?
Where are the proof points?
Where do you keep examples of your work?
It is no longer acceptable to tell prospective employers that you accomplished X or Y—you need to demonstrate it.
Building A Portfolio
I used to think that having a portfolio of your work was for creatives. When I taught High School math, the school system encouraged us build a portfolio of lesson plans and teaching aides that we had developed. Portfolios are not just for creatives anymore.
Rich Media
You can now connect your LinkedIn profile to anything on the Internet. You can place rich media links in your LinkedIn Summary section and within each position in your LinkedIn Experience section. You can link to YouTube videos, presentations on Slideshare, articles you’ve written or been quoted in, or anything that demonstrates that you know your stuff.
You can also upload files to your LinkedIn profile. These could be PDFs, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, or anything the demonstrates that you know your stuff.
What if your work is proprietary in nature, or you do not own the material? Having worked for two tech startups, I have seen that first hand.
You need to get a little creative.
Create A Blog Or Website
Create your own repository for material that demonstrates that you know your stuff. A great example of this is Daniel Elizalde. I will be writing about Daniel’s pursuit of changing industries as a product manager in the coming month. Daniel needed to demonstrate his expertise as a technical product manager. He created his blog called TechnicalProductManagement.com, and he went about interviewing thought leaders in his new industry (Clean Tech). He built a repository of information that demonstrated that he had enough expertise in his new industry to be considered for a position. More on this in a few weeks.
Daniel’s blog is a classic example of creating a portfolio. He published on a regular schedule, once a month, and over time it became quite apparent that he knew what he was talking about!
LinkedIn Publisher
LinkedIn Publisher is LinkedIn’s publishing platform. It is rapidly becoming a game changer.
This is a free service that allows you publish your own articles. They will appear in your LinkedIn profile. It is a professional, simple, and low cost way of demonstrating that you know your stuff.
It is very likely you have read one of these LinkedIn Publisher posts:
5 Things on Your Resume That Make You Sound Too Old (582K views)
Are You a Perfect Fit for the Job? Then You Won’t Get It. (112K views)
How Long Will Your Job Search Take? Longer Than You Think. (43K views)
Each of these posts can be found on my LinkedIn profile.
Take Action
Building an online portfolio of work products is the best way to demonstrate that you know your stuff!
What is the best way for you to demonstrate that you know your stuff?
This will not happen overnight. Be persistent and the fruits of your labor will pay off.
You can download my latest white paper “The Multi-Generational Workplace – Making Generational Diversity Work” to learn more.
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