I just spent about 2 hours working on other people’s careers, reputations, profiles. I’m not gaining anything out of it, except of course the pleasant feeling of helping someone out, and yes, it’s reciprocal since I asked them to do the same.
Having decided to move in to the world of contracting recently, I’ve been spending a bit more time working on my LinkedIn profile, because now I’ll be looking for a new job more often. It’s a weird feeling to be open and honest about my job searching activities, because normally, if you’re full-time employed, you don’t talk about looking for a new job in public. You don’t want your boss to know you’re looking.
But my next boss, a client this time, not an employer, knows very well that unless they secure my services after my contact expires that I’ll be off elsewhere. No more ducking out of the office to take a call from a prospective client.
So having amassed 7 recommendations for my time at Sputnik, my profile looks healthier and people have more information on which to base their opinion of my work style and ethic. Time to repay the favour. Next: work my way slowly through the other 250+ connections to see if I want to recommend anyone else, without expectation of one in return.