Before I started at LinkedIn I began my career in Recruiting and spent a few years in Career Services. At that time I worked day in and day out with candidates. Now in my role at LinkedIn I work every day with Recruiting teams helping them find candidates (like you)!

When I first moved to NY 11 years ago I embarked (unknowingly) on a career in Recruiting. I was a temp with a staffing agency who eventually brought me in-house. And it turned out that even though I started out having no idea what it was, I loved Recruiting. I enjoyed the interaction with people, the conversations, the ability to truly help them to progress in their career or land their next gig.

One of the number one things I hear from recruiters and candidates alike is that LinkedIn can feel... well... overwhelming! It's hard to know where to start. There are a ton of resources available for those wanting to know how to best use LinkedIn (for whatever reason they may want to be using it)... the trick is... finding those resources!

Long before I came to work for LinkedIn, I used to teach people about LinkedIn. And after years of 'research' I can report that the questions I get MOST often are about Profile Pictures!! And I've had many an interesting debate on whether or not someone should smile in their picture. I've heard every reason under the sun why someone believes they should NOT smile (although I do encourage additional debate in the comment section below- go for it, try something I haven't heard). But, I can honestly say I've never heard a compelling enough reason for me to change my belief system

According to website traffic for job boards and career sites- December and January are the BUSIEST months for job seekers. As people end one year and plan for another, many find themselves wondering "what's next?"If you find yourself interviewing in the weeks and months to come, there are some key things you can do to calm your nerves and set yourself apart. 

We all have a great networking story (if not many great networking stories). Even if we have never thought about it in the context of 'networking'.

Networking is one of those buzz words that has been defined in many different ways over the years. But at its core- it's community. And at our core, we all know why community matters.

In the past couple of years there has been a lot of hype and 'buzz' around the idea of individuals creating their own professional brand. It seems in this day of media and marketing, where content is king,  and we are inundated with messages all day every day, that we all have to become professional marketers. If you're in sales- you need to know marketing. If you are in recruiting- you need to know marketing. Own your own business? Run a nonprofit? Marketing, marketing, marketing.