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Thanks for dropping by! Please connect with me on LinkedIn as well.
© 2007-2010 Tim Lovelock
About a week ago I wrote that I was going to try some of LinkedIn’s applications. Here are my thoughts:
Installation was super-easy. Just point and click. It took about a day for the WordPress application to pull in my posts properly – I wanted to only pull in those posts I’d tagged with “LinkedIn”. I also tried out the Amazon “What I’m reading” application.
I removed both applications after a week, though. I didn’t like that they installed in the middle of my resume between the summary and the job history. It broke up the whole profile, in my opinion. I would have preferred these be installed in the right column of the profile. If it’s possible to move the applications (a la WordPress widgets) I was too dense to figure out how.
As for the Amazon application, I don’t see the benefit to me of keeping up with my reading list just to sell a few books for LinkedIn. Now, if I could tie this reading list in to my Amazon Associates code perhaps I might be more motivated. But, allowing users to make money from their profiles could lead to the sort of behavior that would turn LinkedIn into another Facebook or Myspace where it is all about the size of the network rather than the quality of the network.
I have not tried the slideshow app, but need to set aside time to do so. I have not filled my profile out beyond the chronological info, instead providing links to my resume from the profile. I can see where building a slideshow app with bullet points of my accomplishments might be beneficial. I am sure it will be huge for those people in creative fields where portfolios are a key component of the job search.
If I come across new information that causes me to re-think the above and try these or other new applications, I’ll be sure to provide an update.
Good article about LinkedIn on Time.com this week. They’ve added applications for users, and I’m testing the WordPress app that imports recent posts from timlovelock.net into my LinkedIn profile. It allows you to set it up to only bring in those posts with a Linked tag… so we’ll see how it works. This would be my preference because I don’t necessarily want every post to be visible on my profile.
Click here to go to my resume page.
Like I said previously, it is time for a resume refresh. On the resume page, you can read the full page in standard web format (there mostly for SEO purposes), you can download a nicely formatted PDF version, or you can click through to my linkedin.com profile.
Am I looking to switch jobs?
Obviously, it is a big world out there and I am always listening for new opportunities. With the economic developments of the last few weeks, I can’t ignore any opportunity. However, I am happy in my current position with Sanmina-SCI and I am not actively scouring the job boards. Job security is very important to me these days, and I have not been given any reason to believe I need to be worried.
But, it never hurts to prepare and plan.
I started the new job in Huntsville a week ago and I have to say I’m impressed by the sophistication of the training materials.
However, it made me think about what is more important – the person or the tool. I wrote down my profound revelation:
I can give a Master Carpenter a hammer and he will frame a house in a week. But if I give nail guns to 100 monkeys, all I will get at the end of the week is 99 dead monkeys.
I know – deep. Learn it. Live it. Love it.
And be cool, give me attribution.
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