Michael DeSafey | Executive Recruiter and HR Professional
LinkedIn for Environmental Professionals: Building Your Online Presence
In today’s digital age, establishing a strong online presence is crucial for career growth and networking. LinkedIn, as the leading professional networking platform, offers a valuable opportunity for environmentally conscious individuals to connect with like-minded professionals, showcase their passion for sustainability, and advance their green careers. This guide will take you through the process of building your online environmentally conscious presence on LinkedIn, from optimizing your profile to engaging with relevant content and networking effectively.
Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile
Your LinkedIn profile is your digital resume and the first impression you make on potential connections and employers. Here’s how to optimize it for an environmentally conscious presence:
- Professional Photo: Use a high-quality, professional photo that reflects your personal brand. Dress appropriately for your field while ensuring a friendly and approachable demeanor.
- Compelling Headline: Craft a headline that highlights your commitment to environmental causes and your area of expertise. For example, “Sustainability Advocate | Renewable Energy Enthusiast | Environmental Consultant.”
- Customized URL: Customize your LinkedIn URL to make it more memorable and professional. Ideally, it should be linkedin.com/in/yourname.
- Summary Section: Use the summary section to tell your story, emphasizing your passion for sustainability and your career journey. Include relevant keywords and showcase your unique perspective.
- Experience and Education: Detail your work experiences and educational background, emphasizing roles and accomplishments related to environmental initiatives.
- Skills and Endorsements: List skills relevant to your environmental interests, such as sustainability, renewable energy, conservation, or environmental policy. Encourage connections to endorse your skills.
- Recommendations: Request recommendations from colleagues or supervisors who can speak to your environmental expertise and dedication.
- Publications and Projects: Highlight any publications, research projects, or initiatives related to environmental issues that you’ve been involved in.
Connect with Environmental Professionals
Building a network of environmentally conscious professionals is a cornerstone of your LinkedIn presence. Here’s how to connect effectively:
- Connect Strategically: Send connection requests to professionals who share your passion for sustainability. Personalize your requests by mentioning common interests or experiences.
- Join Environmental Groups: LinkedIn offers a wide range of environmental groups and communities. Join these groups to connect with like-minded individuals, participate in discussions, and gain insights.
- Follow Environmental Influencers: Identify and follow influential individuals and thought leaders in the environmental field. Their posts and updates can provide valuable insights and networking opportunities.
- Engage in Conversations: Comment thoughtfully on posts, share relevant articles, and engage in conversations within your network and environmental groups. Active participation enhances your visibility.
Share Relevant Content
Sharing environmentally conscious content demonstrates your commitment to the cause and positions you as an informed professional. Here’s how to share content effectively:
- Share Articles and News: Post articles, news, and research related to sustainability, climate change, renewable energy, and other environmental topics.
- Highlight Achievements: Share your achievements, such as completing a sustainability certification or participating in a successful eco-friendly project.
- Participate in Challenges: Join LinkedIn challenges related to environmental awareness and sustainability. These challenges often involve sharing insights, statistics, or personal commitments.
- Create Original Content: If you have unique insights or experiences to share, consider writing original LinkedIn articles. This can help establish you as a thought leader in the environmental space.
- Use Hashtags: Incorporate relevant hashtags in your posts to increase their visibility and reach a broader audience interested in environmental topics.
Showcase Your Environmental Projects and Initiatives
LinkedIn offers features for highlighting your environmental projects and initiatives:
- Add Projects: In your profile’s “Projects” section, detail your involvement in environmental initiatives, from sustainability programs at your workplace to volunteer projects with environmental organizations.
- Document Achievements: Describe the goals, impact, and outcomes of your environmental projects. Include any awards, recognition, or certifications earned.
Follow Environmental Organizations and Companies
Stay updated on the latest news and opportunities by following environmental organizations, nonprofits, and environmentally conscious companies on LinkedIn. Many of these entities share valuable insights, job openings, and sustainability updates.
Engage in Meaningful Discussions
Engage in conversations that matter to you and the environmental community:
- Share Insights: Offer informed perspectives on environmental topics. Sharing your knowledge can establish you as a credible voice in the field.
- Ask Questions: Pose thoughtful questions to your network or in environmental groups to spark meaningful discussions and gather insights.
- Collaborate: Seek collaboration opportunities with professionals in your network who share your passion for sustainability. Collaborative efforts can lead to impactful projects.
Attend Virtual Environmental Events and Webinars
LinkedIn frequently hosts and promotes virtual events, including webinars and conferences related to environmental issues. Participate in these events to expand your knowledge, network with industry experts, and connect with fellow environmentally conscious professionals.
Use LinkedIn Premium for Enhanced Networking
Consider upgrading to LinkedIn Premium for additional networking benefits, such as increased access to profiles, advanced search filters, and InMail credits. This can be particularly useful for job seekers and those looking to connect with specific professionals.
Be Consistent and Active
Consistency is key to maintaining an active and impactful presence on LinkedIn. Regularly update your profile, share content, engage with your network, and participate in environmental discussions. Your commitment will be noticed by your connections.
Webuild Staffing Agency is a leading executive search and staffing agency dedicated to the construction, engineering and environmental industries. To learn more please visit: www.webuildstaffing.com
10 Unique Ways of Building Your Social Media Presence While Advancing Your Recruiting for Construction, Engineering or Environmental Professionals
10 Unique Ways of Building Your Social Media Presence While Advancing Your Recruiting for Construction, Engineering or Environmental Professionals
Thanks to the advent of technology; social media platform is now significant in recruiting staff for the construction and engineering industry. Its importance is growing consistently, and other sectors also have embraced social media in finding its workers. According to a survey, 92% of recruiters worldwide use social media to find their best candidates for various positions. Statistics also indicate that companies which hire through social media increased from 82% in 2010 to 92% in 2015.
But finding the best talent in the construction or engineering industry is not easy. Often, the kind of workers you require in your firm may not be what the labor market has to offer. But building your company’s reputation on social media can attract the kind of candidates your construction or engineering company needs. It is, therefore, essential to develop your social media presence. If you are wondering how, then continue reading for insight. You will also get to know how to advance your career as you develop your social presence. Here are the methods;
#1. CREATE AN ONLINE REPUTATION FOR YOUR COMPANY
Always consider the relationship with your customers when creating your social media presence. Try to establish yourself as an authority in the construction or engineering industry and become active online. As a result, you will enjoy not only effective recruitment but also the right candidates. Potential employees prefer specific social media platforms; ensure you get active on such channels.
#2. CHOOSE THE RIGHT PEOPLE TO CONNECT WITH
Connect with the right persons such as the experts and leaders in the construction and engineering industry. Relate with people having a niche specialization. Communicate authentically and appeal to their tastes and preferences. As a result, you will attract not only the right candidates for your job but also business partners.
#3. STREAM LIVE VIDEOS
Social media such as Periscope offers businesses and individuals an opportunity to engage with professionals and candidates in their industry. You get to stream and converse live with your audience.
#4. USE THE RIGHT HASHTAGS
Hashtags increase your message scope in social media like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Identify those hashtags that most job seekers prefer following, and especially those in the construction or engineering industry.
#5. HAVE A PROFESSIONAL LINKEDIN PROFILE
Many candidates use the LinkedIn Profile to look for jobs. It is, therefore, logical to have your business LinkedIn profile updated.
#6. HAVE AN INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT
You don’t have to get strict and very serious on your hiring, add some fun on the table! Display pictures of your workplace and what you do. Potential candidates might get attracted.
#7. SEEK HELP FROM YOUR EMPLOYEES
Ask your workers to help in your recruitment process. For example, they may recommend great candidates or post adverts on their social media platforms.
#8. ADVERTISE ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Both paid and free social media adverts work out great in generating the kind of candidates you require for your company.
#9. BECOME INNOVATIVE IN ENGAGING POTENTIAL CANDIDATES
Use social media to engage your potential candidates continually. For example, through video calls or sharing of useful content.
#10. USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA TO CHECK ON CANDIDATES
Some candidates may not reveal all about themselves and previous experience, but you can get a lot of useful information on their social media platform.
In Summary
The above-mentioned methods will not only build your social media presence but also help in advancing your career. If you have no time for recruiting, seek professional help.
Michael DeSafey is a leading executive recruiter for professionals in the construction, engineering and environmental industries. He is currently the President of Webuild Staffing www.webuildstaffing.com . To learn more about Michael or to follow his blog please visit www.michaeldesafey.com
How LinkedIn Can Boost Your Professional Brand..
How LinkedIn Can Boost Your Professional Brand..
Harness The Power Of LinkedIn And Boost Your Professional Brand
With over 259 million members on LinkedIn, there is no better platform to tell your professional story on than LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a great place to show others who you are, connect with them, and keep them updated on your career and professional life.
Using LinkedIn to boost your professional brand can help you stay in the minds of others when they are looking for people like you to do business with. This is because users with more complete profiles are ranked more highly in LinkedIn search results and have higher visibility. In addition, using keywords in your profile and joining LinkedIn groups will also affect your search ranking.
Thus, to get started with revamping your LinkedIn profile, you will want to see how strong your profile is – which you can easily do by checking your LinkedIn profession strength notification. LinkedIn suggests you have a photo, detailed descriptions of your professional experiences, a summary, at least five skills, 50 connections, and your postal code to ensure “profile completeness”.
Now you’ll want to make sure your headline has keywords relevant to your skills and experiences. What would people be searching for if they want to find a professional like you? Think of that keyword and make it a part of your headline. Repeating strategic keywords throughout your profile will cause you to rank higher in search results. You can check your work by searching for specific keywords in your profile to see where you rank in the results.
Recommendations and endorsement are also a great way to show recruiters and other people in your industry that you’ve made good impressions in your professional circle. This being said, it’s a good idea to reach out to co-workers and colleagues and ask for a recommendations. Publishing documents or project literature will also help increase your overall professional appearances.
If you are comfortable with writing, another way to boost your professional brand with LinkedIn is to write content. Have you been involved in a professional situation that you learned a lot from? Do you have insights in your industry that have not been written about before? If so, share these experiences with your LinkedIn peers. Post updates, links, etc, this is a great way to engage people, demonstrate your professional aptitude and start conversations.
Should you need some professional assistance to develop your LinkedIn Professional Profile, there are many great articles online, as well as, many consulting services available that are affordable and get you results effectively within the LinkedIn Platform.
Michael DeSafey is a leading executive recruiter for professionals in the construction, engineering and environmental industries. He is currently the President of Webuild Staffing www.webuildstaffing.com . To learn more about Michael or to follow his Blog please visit www.michaeldesafey.com
How to Write a Great LinkedIn Profile for Construction, Engineering and Environmental Professionals
LinkedIn Profile Tips For Construction, Engineering And Environmental Professionals
How to Write a Great LinkedIn Profile for Construction, Engineering and Environmental Professionals
Over the past decade, the construction, engineering and environmental industries have seen tremendous shifts in employment demands and competition for jobs. Now more than ever, it is important for those who work in these industries to diversify their marketing efforts and present the best possible professional image to the industry to be considered for emerging, exceptional job opportunities.
One of the most effective ways to be noticed within the industry and diversify your job-seeking efforts is to use LinkedIn. LinkedIn is the leading social media site to network with potential employers who are searching for associates like you. However, just opening a LinkedIn account and listing bits and pieces of your experience in your specialized field will probably not produce the results you are looking for.
It is important to understand how to create an amazing LinkedIn profile that makes you stand out from all the rest and get noticed by potential employers.
Understanding that the most important step in creating a LinkedIn profile that will get noticed is to make sure your profile is complete, has relevant information and presents the best possible image of yourself to the industry.
Following these basic tips will greatly enhance your presence on LinkedIn:
LinkedIn Profile Summary
The profile summary section is one of the most important parts of the profile on LinkedIn. This is the area of your profile that you can really show off your skills, qualifications / accomplishments and present to the viewers what makes you different from every other person within the construction, engineering and environmental industry.
When you read most profiles on LinkedIn, they almost seem a little generic. So spending a little time to draft a compelling narrative and utilizing all the creative tools available on linkedin will greatly enhance the visibility of your overall profile.
Picture and Tag Lines
Be sure to upload a picture of yourself; Profiles with pictures are much more highly viewed by users. You should additionally pay a lot of attention to your tagline. This offers you an opportunity to be a little creative and showcase your business mission statement; who you are, what you do and your skills in a short and brief statement.
Add Attachments
A great way to build an exceptional LinkedIn profile that is effective is adding videos and pictures that are relevant to your field. For example, if your industry is residential building, you could upload pictures and videos of houses that you have built or other projects you have worked on. Seeing video of a project or of a beautiful home that you created is much more interesting to a potential employer than simply reading about your experience and expertise in engineering.
In addition to videos, LinkedIn allows you to incorporate beautiful and eye-catching presentations and graphics. If you have a PowerPoint presentation that you use when applying for positions in-person or along with emailed resumes, you should certainly include those presentations within your LinkedIn profile. Great presentations demonstrate your knowledge in the area of construction, engineering and environmental work while substantiating a level of professionalism in your field.
Keywords
If you have a specialize skills in your field that you want to market, consider using specific keywords to drive traffic to your LinkedIn profile. For example, if you specialize in green construction, you can use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner to search for terms that relate to your specialty and can help people searching for that particular type of specialty or trade find your LinkedIn profile. When done correctly, this can be very powerful in bringing viewers to your LinkedIn profile from outside search engines.
Recommendations / Endorsements
You should also take the time to get endorsements from associates in your field and past clients. By doing this, people you have done work for in the past can vouch for certain skill sets you have mastered, thereby making recommendations for you. Endorsements, especially from past clients who are happy with your work, are one of the best ways to encourage potential employers to hire you.
Utilizing LinkedIn for professional networking will greatly assist you in finding a job. When you incorporate all of the items discussed here you will harness the power of social media, create a networking tool that will evolve over the years and continue to benefit you throughout your career.
Michael DeSafey is a leading executive recruiter for professionals in the construction, engineering and environmental industries. He is currently the President of Webuild Staffing (www.webuildstaffing.com ). To learn more about Michael or Follow his Blog please visit www.michaeldesafey.com
Google And Your Social Media Image? Check It Out Before You Begin Searching For A Job.
Google And Your Social Media Image? Check It Out Before You Begin Searching For A Job.
As a professional recruiter who has been working and recruiting professionals in the environmental, engineering and construction industries for over 18 years now at Webuild Staffing, I have seen many candidates learn after the fact how important it is to have a professional image on the internet.
Just a few years ago the main source of information your interviewer had to go on regarding your background was your resume and references, but as technology and the internet has advanced we have become a knowledge driven society and our professional image needs to be cared for.
and thoughtful to meet your responsibilities and ensure project timelines remain on schedule and within budget. Thankfully, utilizing these project management tips can help you reduce the risk of failure and deliver projects more efficiently.
Plan Strategically
Strategic planning is among the most important elements of project management. It helps you and everyone involved to know where you’re going and how you’re going to get there. When planning out a project, you’ll have to identify deliverables – establish project milestones, determine required labor as well as equipment. Planning strategically will go a long way in maximizing efficiency.
Establish a Flow of Communication
Effective communication is essential for successful project completion. In fact, 59 percent of the US workers believe that communication is their team’s major obstacle to success. Therefore, as a PM you’ll need to establish a flow of communication with the stakeholders and suppliers as well as other team members on the ground. Good and bad news alike will need to circulate in a timely manner. Failure to do so will lead to delays, misunderstandings and other problems in the long run.
The contract documents, including the drawings, progress records, request for information (RFI), and change order forms establish the basis for all communication in any project. Thus, it’s vital that any direct communication that’s not stated in these documents be acknowledged, documented and reported via the right channels; this flow of communication will make preparation and implementation smoother.
For large and more complicated projects, tools such as Collaborative Work Management (CWM) will come in handy. Such tools will dramatically improve communication by syncing attachments, comments, news, budgets, and calendars and enhance real-time scheduling of changes. As a result, it will allow you more time to coordinate work at the site and direct your efforts towards success.
Form a Habit of Monitoring Progress and Making Adjustments
Managing a project requires integrated effort and more attention. A good PM should be an essential part of the project, working closely and figuratively alongside others. You’ll have to carefully analyze daily progress reports as well as keep an eye on schedule and budget. Many are the times you will need to actually see an issue in person before you can resolve it. In case the set timelines start to slip, you’ll need to identify the possible root cause and discuss ways to bring the project back on track.
In conclusion, the key to a successful project completion is being firm but flexible. Always ensure you’re looking ahead to understand the risks involved in the project and try to mitigate them before they become big problems.
If you are looking for a career as a project manager, Webuild Staffing is here to help. That’s what we do best every day – find exceptional professonals, exceptional jobs!
Michael DeSafey is a leading executive recruiter for professionals in the construction, engineering and environmental industries. He is currently the President of Webuild Staffing www.webuildstaffing.com . To learn more about Michael or to follow his blog please visit www.michaeldesafey.com