Keep LinkedIn From Sending Those "Say Congrats" Notifications To My Network

Got this question from a resume writer:

"Does anyone know how to keep "say congrats" from being sent to someone's network once they've changed jobs? Thank you in advance!! 

Because LinkedIn has several places to control your privacy settings and notifications, this one can be a bit tricky. But here's the answer:

On your LinkedIn profile, click "Edit Profile":

Click on the existing job you're editing in your Experience section (or Add a position). If updating a current position, click the "Edit" button:

After you've made your changes, look in the upper right-hand side of the page and check what settings you have for "Notify Your Network" --

If you do not want LinkedIn to notify your network of the update or addition (and you do NOT want a "Say Congrats" notification sent), make sure the line is RED and it says, "No, do not publish an update to my network about my profile changes."

Want more information? Check out this LinkedIn help page:
http://help.linkedin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/78/~/showing-or-hiding-activity-updates-about-you

Want to learn more about LinkedIn?

Three of My Favorite Resume Writers To Read

Every day, I read the excellent writing of my resume writing colleagues ... and I wanted to make sure you're aware of them too! Got five minutes? Check out these three blogs. They're all "Bridget-approved" as being "resume-writer friendly." That means you won't find information on these blogs that I wouldn't share with my own clients.

Here are three of my favorites (in no particular order):

Julie Walraven of Design Resumes
Practical advice you can put "to work" right away
Here's one of my recent favorites from Julie:
"The Secret To Finding Your Accomplishments Or Resume Stories"

Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter of CareerTrend
She uses nautical themes and imagery to guide career journeys.
Here's one of my recent favorites from Jacqui:
Disrupt Your Resume Beyond LinkedIn's Borders

Jason Alba of JibberJobber.com
Sometimes controversial; always thought-provoking.
Here's one of my recent favorites from Jason:
"How To: Word Cloud and Key Word Analysis of Job Descriptions and Resumes"

What NOT to Do On Your Facebook (& Twitter) Page

I am friends with lots of careers industry folks on Facebook. Some of them (Barbara Safani, Jason Alba, Dawn Bugni, Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter, etc.) do a fabulous job with their online brand.

Others, not so much. The screen shot on the left is from MJW Careers. I'm not sure who the resume writer behind this page is, but I do know that they write resumes for $50.

I am amazed they have 308 friends, since the majority of their posts are ... for lack of a better term ... spam.

For the past week or so, once or twice a day, they blast 3-4 posts on Twitter (that are automatically reposted on their Facebook page) about their cheap resume writing services. If you go back through the history, though, you find that they also apparently provide recruiting services. It actually was more interesting when they were posting "people needed" status updates for various *specific* positions versus the basic, blanket posts.

Some keys for resume writers to keep in mind with Facebook:

1) Remember the 80/20 ratio. Eighty percent of your posts should be content (resources, opinions, encouragement, links to good articles) etc. Only 20% should be promotional. And don't just rely on Twitter to update your status. Because of the way it's tagged, we can tell when it's a Twitter repost. Give us something original on Facebook every once in a while.

2) Think about your brand. For most resume writers, it's a good idea to set up a Facebook page for your resume writing business. While you can use your personal page to promote resume-related items, you're better off getting "Fans" (or "Likes") for your business page than to add friends to your personal page. You can then drive traffic to your business page by linking to items on your personal page.

3) Don't forget to have a personality. If you link to an article, provide some brief commentary. I always like hearing about resume writers whose clients are having success. But remember that -- like we advise clients -- anything you post online is totally public (even if you have your Facebook privacy settings locked down, there's nothing to prevent one of your "friends" from taking a screen shot of it.)

Best of Today: 9/9/2010

This was an easier task today. I just kept track of cool & interesting stuff as I came across it. (Oh, and just so you know,  I looked through about 10x as many articles as I posted links ... I'm trying to "edit" the volume of stuff for you guys.)

Today's question is: Do you want me to provide some commentary with the articles? Like a sentence or two on what it's about, and why I thought it was cool/interesting? Let me know. Comment below.

Jason Alba blog post on I’m On Linked In – Now What? "Who Owns Your LinkedIn Profile" 

Michael Lunsford blog post (via Julie Walraven): "The Best Success Story I’ve Ever Heard: Burn That Star Wars T-Shirt"

Denise Wakeman (The Blog Squad), article on Biz Tips Blog: "Keyword Research Can Help Your Content Get Found by Your Ideal Client"

"Hire Me: Your Employment Prospects for 2010 (Results of Manpower Survey)"

Great example of an online “Resources” guide for clients – courtesy of Donna Svei, AvidCareerist: 

Avid Careerist Blog Post: "How to Use Google Alerts in Your Job Search"

Love Wendy’s Humor – Wendy Terwelp Blog Post (Rock Your Career) – “I Don’t Kiss on the First Date – LinkedIn Tips”

Resume Confidential (Karen Siwak) Blog Post – "A Conversation with David Graziano– Social Recruiting Strategist"

Bonus content from me --

Quote of the Day (QOTD):

Via @TheJobQuest RT @steviepuckett: Your job security no longer lies in having a job. It lies in knowing how to work the job market.

Advice to Those Seeking A Job In HR: Interesting Insight

Thanks to Jason Alba of JibberJobber for the link to this blog post from Punk Rock HR. It's HR professionals responding to a question of a blog reader who is wondering if she should get into a career in HR.

Free Teleseminar: Eight Ways to Enhance Your Personal Brand

How do you correctly apply personal branding to two of the hottest online networks (LinkedIn and Facebook)? This teleseminar -- scheduled for Thursday, March 13, 2008 at Noon Eastern time -- will give you the information you need to get up to speed quickly.

The one-hour teleseminar will be lead by William Arruda, founder of Reach, the leading global personal branding organization. The presenter will be Jason Alba, author of "I'm on LinkedIn- Now What?" He also co-authored "I'm on Facebook-Now What" and is CEO of JibberJobber.com.

There is no cost to attend -- but enrollment is limited to the first 200 participants. Register here.