Listen In

We've all done it -- dropped a name to hopefully pave the way for a meeting with someone who could have influence in our career. Most of us have done it by using a name of someone close to us -- someone who could vouch for us. But there are times when people do a little inappropriate name dropping, and that's when your outreach will go off the rails. In this episode, Angee shares a couple of cautionary tales about name dropping gone wrong and how to mention those valued people in your network in a way that will serve you well. Visit https://linseycareers.com/podcast/ for show notes and other available downloads. © 2020 Angee Linsey

Many companies are asking marketing and communications candidates to show a little proof of what they can do by asking them to create original content, write a comms or marketing plan, or even do a full analysis of a website or social media campaign complete with presentation to share the findings. Is that asking too much? In this episode, Angee shares why it's better to put some limits on when and how you "audition" a candidate. Asking anyone to invest hours of their time to create original content too early in the process is a huge turn off for most people -- especially your top tier candidates -- and likely will result in you losing them before you have a chance to get to know them. Save those kind of assignments for the top two finalists -- and make sure you limit the scope of the assignment. Angee also offers an approach for team fit that she's recently added for some clients and has seen some great results. If you're looking to hire, give Linsey Careers a call to help you identify and select the right p

Andrea Driessen has dedicated her career to helping companies, non profits and teams to become more communicative, effective and capable. She also has a deep understanding of the importance of recognition, reward, appreciation and productivity in the business world and has developed a powerful, actionable tool that helps people express themselves to those who matter. Founder of Grace-notes.org, Andrea shares her message and method for recognizing people for who they are, not just something they did. Beyond a thank you note, Grace Notes are a way to give the gift of seeing the value someone brings just by being who they are. In today's world of feeling a bit disconnected, this week's conversation will hopefully inspire you to break out pen and paper and send a few Grace Notes of your own. Visit https://linseycareers.com/podcast/ for show notes and other available downloads. © 2020 Angee Linsey

When actively looking for a role, sometimes you throw your hat into many rings – just hoping that something good comes back. But if you aren’t ready for every single conversation, you could end up getting eliminated for roles that would be great for you – or even worse – come across as unfocused and unprepared. This episode is to help you make sure that never happens. Here’s a little formula for how to think about preparing for every interview and the stories you want to share in order to demonstrate that you are a fit for the role. Review the job description and look for what you have done that is relevant. Make a few notes and prepare to share some examples. Go back and review it again - this time looking for your gaps of experience. How can you overcome those objections? Are the gaps things you can quickly learn? Review your positioning statement to make sure you're coming out of the gate framing your experience with the most relevant information when describing who you are professionally. A little prepa

As we continue to slog our way through 2020, many of us are finding ourselves at a crossroads. Is it time to reinvent ourselves? Or do we hope that the world will somehow return to the way it used to be? I’m of the mindset that the world is likely not going to look the same on the other side of this. Our jobs will not look the same either. That means agility is the most important skill we all need to strengthen. There are a few things you can do to reshape your career so that you are staying ahead of how the world is evolving around you. It begins by committing to take action. Once you commit, then you can begin the self-assessment process, figuring out what you should be moving toward, creating your key messages to tell the new story and enlisting your network to help you get there. Listen in to hear more. Visit https://linseycareers.com/podcast/ for show notes and other available downloads. © 2020 Angee Linsey

In this episode, Angee talks about a few different approaches to answering the salary question. That way - you, as a candidate, can not only determine if this opportunity is one that is aligned with your level and compensation needs, but also get a little insight on the job market. Recruiters have deep insight regarding what the market bears and how that target is moving in this pandemic. Turn that dreaded salary question into an opportunity to learn more, calibrate your value and negotiate from a stronger position in the future. Download our free salary negotiation tip sheet here. Visit https://linseycareers.com/podcast/ for show notes and other available downloads. © 2020 Angee Linsey

It all started when Angee saw a LinkedIn post where CMO Emily Carrion shared that her mother gave her 10 informational interviews as a college graduation gift. That led to a connection and conversation between the two of them about career journeys, great advice and life hacks for being intentional in your career. In this episode, Emily shares a number of her career strategies that have enabled her to move up quickly in the start up world where she now serves as the Chief Marketing Officer for cybersecurity firm Rubica. Learn how her "ballers list" helps Emily not only stay current on what to read, conferences to attend and trends in the industry, but how she uses that information to have more powerful connections when meeting and developing her network. Emily is sure to inspire marketing and communications professionals to take a few minutes every day to dare to be deliberate in their careers. And for a little help, grab Angee's Career Action Plan here. Visit https://linseycareers.com/podcast/ for show notes

Career derailers can be caused by attitude or action. In her book, Dare to be Deliberate: Level Up Your Communications Career, Angee asked the communications executive leaders she interviewed about some career derailers they have witnessed among those rising in the ranks. All of their comments are relevant today, and in this podcast short, Angee adds a few items to fit the unprecedented times we find ourselves in. How accessible are you now that you're working from home? The problem often is not that you aren't available enough - but rather TOO available. There's word on the street that we are not working from home, we're living at work! Boundaries are important, even when it's hard. HOW are you showing up for work? We've all gotten pretty casual, but it's important to retain a level of professionalism, even if only on a video call. These impressions will last far beyond our work from home requirements. And finally, have you updated your career goals as the business needs have changed? Don't wait for your end

Angee often gets asked if recruiters really look at LinkedIn recommendations. For her, the answer is, yes – sometimes. It's not just what people are saying about you, but also who is saying it. Angee loves it when a former direct report, manager or executive leader is willing to say a few things about why you are a great person to work with. But she doesn't give as much credence to those recommendations from peers or friends who simply say “you’re AMAZING!" or "super fun!" Inspired by an article written by Adrian Larssen at The MUSE, Angee shares the five steps to write a great LinkedIn recommendation and then challenges you to pay it forward and write one for someone in your network. Visit: LinseyCareers.com for show notes and available downloads. https://linseycareers.com/podcast/ © 2020 Angee Linsey

When someone is researching an organization to decide if they are going to consider a job opportunity there, they want to know the truth about the culture and opportunities for growth. So often the only thing that a company’s career page shows are the shiny happy stories of how great it is to work there. But is that the reality? To talk about the importance of how an organization tells its story, Angee speaks to Bryan Adams, the CEO of Ph.Creative, one of the leading employer brand agencies in the world having worked with brands including Apple, Magellan Health and Blizzard Entertainment, to name a few. He is known for his creative, unconventional and even controversial approach to how people think about employer branding, talent engagement strategy and employer value proposition. Comment on this podcast using both #GiveandGet and #DaretobeDeliberate and you will be entered for a drawing to win a copy of both Angee's and Bryan's books. Visit: LinseyCareers.com for show notes and available downloads. https://l

Sometimes it feels like those conversations with recruiters aren't really interviews. After all, there are definitely things you can and should tell the recruiter, that you may not say during the interview with a company. Building trust between the recruiter and candidate is essential so that you can share what is truly most important as you seek your next career move. But keep in mind, there are things you can do to make sure the recruiter is getting an accurate picture of who you are professionally. When a video call is how you are going to make your first impression, there are a few things you can do to ensure it's a good one. As a recruiter, Angee often finds herself pointing out those opportunities to make sure the candidates she works with are putting their best foot forward. What's funny is that she has heard more than once, “Oh… I would never do that in a 'real' interview.” When you interview with a recruiter, it is definitely a “real” interview. You are making a first impression. And that recruiter w

As we move from crisis to transformation, communications leaders are taking stock to see if they have the right talent on the team for the work that is ahead. When the doors open back up for hiring, you may be inundated with resumes, and it will take a lot of time to sift through them to find those few that may be right for your specific needs. In your rush to just get help after weeks of communicating in crisis mode, you may take the best of a small batch of resumes hastily screened. But what if the best candidate wasn’t in that batch to begin with? Now is the time to think about the future needs of your team. What roles are going to be critical in the transformation of your organization in a post-pandemic world? How can you start having more casual conversations with potential candidates so they are on your radar when you are ready to hire. That’s what Linsey Careers does best. Let us be your talent scout. Every day we're talking with candidates whose job may or may not have been impacted by COVID, but they

The pandemic world has given communicators some of the greatest professional challenges they will ever face. This is a time where their skills will help organizations manage through this crisis, and will shape their career. In a recent blog post from the Arthur W Page Society, our guest John Onoda wrote, “The Next Phase of Corporate Communications in a Pandemic Stricken World" where he shared how influential communicators will need to be as companies go through a multi-year transformational phase post-pandemic. In this podcast, Angee and John talk about the important focus shift from external to internal communications to help traumatized employees bring businesses back to life. He shares his thoughts and advice for what communicators must do at every level to be an effective partner to the business and, at the same time, take this opportunity to solidify their own career trajectory by earning incredibly valuable experience. Arthur W. Page blog post link here. Visit: LinseyCareers.com for show notes and avail

Recruiters hear stories all the time about crazy things that happen in interviews. When you're the candidate, how do you handle it when the person interviewing you is causing the interview to go off the rails? In this short episode, Angee gives a few examples of interviews gone wrong and offers a few tips in case it happens to you. Add to the "normal" stress of interviewing, we are now in a situation where the only information you have to go on is what you learn through a video call. No matter how many examples and tips you hear, when it comes to making a decision about if a company is the right fit, the most important thing is to gather as much information as possible, pay attention to your gut and be confident that it's okay to say no if the match isn't a good one. Visit: LinseyCareers.com for show notes and available downloads. © 2020 Angee Linsey

With 75% of internships and new graduate jobs being postponed, cancelled or moved to remote work, there are a lot of young people who are going to have a delayed start to their career. Angee is asking for your help by talking to students and new graduates about your company and various roles that may have never been on their radar. And we're not talking about OPEN positions. This is an opportunity to uncover possibilities for the future. In an effort to help new graduates facing an incredibly daunting job market, Angee is rolling out a four-session web course that will give students and new grads the tools they need to set themselves up for success as hiring begins again. As professionals, we know that building our network takes time and effort. Actually, finding people who are willing to share their wisdom and provide guidance is a gift. There is no better time than now for you to give that gift to the college students and new graduates. Who knows? Maybe it will be as good for you to serve as a mentor and co

Too often, when in an organization, we make the assumption that everyone knows what we do when we sit down for that cross functional team meeting, about to embark upon a new project. But if you are introducing yourself as "the comms person" rather than talking about what you do as it relates to the mission at hand, you're missing an opportunity to position yourself as an expert and a valuable team member. In this episode, Angee expands on the concept of positioning yourself and shows how even people you know may need to be reminded of who you are and what you do today -- because their perception of a "comms person" may be based on past experiences with others -- good or bad. Also -- you may have grown since you last worked with someone on the team. Maybe you have better leadership chops or you’ve expanded your knowledge or skills in a certain area that is beneficial for this project team you’ve joined. This is exactly the time to re-position yourself early by describing how you will be contributing to the tea

In uncertain times, the role of the communicator is vital and the future of this function continues to evolve. Listen in as Angee Linsey speaks with Hanson Hosein, co-director of the University of Washington's Communication Leadership graduate program, about the importance of communications leaders being the antenna of an organization and how the future of our work may change. In this episode, Hanson shares some insights on our world in the age of acceleration and the age of anxiety simultaneously. With exceptional communications, leaders can help everyone through both. And as we look forward to the future of work, he shares his own philosophy of how to stay ahead of the curve. Not only should we all be thinking about what we can do that people will pay us to do, but what do we enjoy and how can we lead those efforts to create what will be new and needed in our evolving reality. While it's nearly impossible to be intentional in our own career development during a time of crisis, this episode gives a few morse

In today's era of the threat of Coronavirus, we've entered a world of wanting to avoid shaking people's hands in professional settings. When interviewing for a job, can you decline the handshake greeting or farewell and still make a good impression? In this episode, Angee will share a couple of tips for taking the lead on not shaking someone's hand - whether in an interview, sealing the deal or saying goodbye. It will feel a bit awkward at first, but as we all get used to this "hands off" culture, people will begin to get more comfortable with other forms of connecting. One example of a way to convey warmth and openness when greeting someone without a handshake is to put your hand on your heart as you look the person in the eye and say hello. This may be a natural gesture for some, but if not for you, then find something that works better and practice with friends or colleagues to get more comfortable. For now, and for the unforeseen future, staying healthy has to be the priority of all of us -- avoiding the

Every candidate and every hiring leader I work with always puts an emphasis on the importance of culture fit. For candidates, they want to know what the organization's culture is so they can be sure it aligns with who they are and how they work. For hiring leaders, they want the team dynamic to be enhanced by the new hire. Noreen Pratscher recently made a career move to lead communications at JELD-WEN in Charlotte, NC. As she does with any move, she evaluated the culture of the organization and did a little self-reflection to make sure the move was right. In this conversation, Angee and Noreen talk about some of the questions she asks and ways she evaluates culture when considering new opportunities. Then they turn it around and talk about how to evaluate candidates when hiring to ensure that culture fit is there. This podcast will leave you with a few great tips for hiring and getting hired with culture fit top of mind. Visit: LinseyCareers.com for show notes and available downloads. © 2020 Angee Linsey

Communicators are often much better at talking about their company, their team or their products, rather than talking about themselves. But when asked that seemingly simple question, "What do you do?" or "Tell me a little about yourself," so many of us get stuck with where to begin. In this episode, Angee talks about how to position yourself in a way that describes who you are, and what you do, with a tone that conveys why you love what you do. When people hear that enthusiasm with HOW you describe yourself and the work you do, they tend to assume that you like what you do. And... if you like what you do, you are likely good at it! Rather than relying on a dry or dull "elevator pitch," think about how you are positioning yourself to the listener. Frame your description in a way that makes the person you're talking to want to learn more, and a worthwhile conversation is sure to be the result. Visit: LinseyCareers.com for show notes and available downloads. © 2020 Angee Linsey