LinkedIn-profile input needed
February 18, 2015 6:44 AM Subscribe
Ok, so I would benefit from some sensible critique on my LinkedIn-profile. I'm new to the US workmarket and updated my profile according to the many (many) good advice that fills up my LinkedIn-feed. But I still feel as if I'm missing something. My upbringing makes it difficult for me to "toot my own horn", as they say. Please point out glaring mistakes, omissions and lost buzzwords!
I got my green card, work visa (yay! Happiness!), and are now actively looking for work in the US. I've tried to translate my swedish workbackground into something thats readable for american recruiters and hiring managers.
Due to several reasons, I find it difficult to bang my own drum and might have put my light under a hamper as the resume goes.
You'll find my resume on LinkedIn. (And yes - if you want to connect, please do).
Concrete questions I wrestle with:
• Do I have enough buzz words that catches the eyes of recruiters?
• Should I describe my experiences in even more detail?
• Have I made any glaring mistakes - what should I take out?
• What - in general - are the weakes points in my resume? (For instance : Should I build on my BA to a MBA?)
• I've left a lot of stuff out, since it does not relate specifically to my desired job. For instance: I do not mention that I've been a yoga-teacher for 14 years. Should I mention this - or would it give of hippie-vibes?
• The most important question. What kind of person do you picture after reading the resume: A starter, a finisher, a joy spreader, a bore or something else?
• Any other advice about how to migrate work experience from Europe to the US - just lay it on me!
Thank you so much for assisting me in crafting a resume, that's readable by american recruiters.
I got my green card, work visa (yay! Happiness!), and are now actively looking for work in the US. I've tried to translate my swedish workbackground into something thats readable for american recruiters and hiring managers.
Due to several reasons, I find it difficult to bang my own drum and might have put my light under a hamper as the resume goes.
You'll find my resume on LinkedIn. (And yes - if you want to connect, please do).
Concrete questions I wrestle with:
• Do I have enough buzz words that catches the eyes of recruiters?
• Should I describe my experiences in even more detail?
• Have I made any glaring mistakes - what should I take out?
• What - in general - are the weakes points in my resume? (For instance : Should I build on my BA to a MBA?)
• I've left a lot of stuff out, since it does not relate specifically to my desired job. For instance: I do not mention that I've been a yoga-teacher for 14 years. Should I mention this - or would it give of hippie-vibes?
• The most important question. What kind of person do you picture after reading the resume: A starter, a finisher, a joy spreader, a bore or something else?
• Any other advice about how to migrate work experience from Europe to the US - just lay it on me!
Thank you so much for assisting me in crafting a resume, that's readable by american recruiters.
Best answer: my thoughts:
Use a different picture. You look neither sincere or happy and instead come off kind of intense and.. and weird. (sorry!)
Make your summary a little more personable. It's the first thing people are going to read about you and it translates to "a bunch of buzz words that doesn't mean much." What do you do? What drives your motor? Who is this guy? Also make sure it's all in first-person.
Games Blogg Editor - Redo this entry. "Video Game Blogger" or some such. The rest of your entries use past tense but this one doesn't. Also don't say why you resigned.
posted by royalsong at 7:02 AM on February 18, 2015
Use a different picture. You look neither sincere or happy and instead come off kind of intense and.. and weird. (sorry!)
Make your summary a little more personable. It's the first thing people are going to read about you and it translates to "a bunch of buzz words that doesn't mean much." What do you do? What drives your motor? Who is this guy? Also make sure it's all in first-person.
Games Blogg Editor - Redo this entry. "Video Game Blogger" or some such. The rest of your entries use past tense but this one doesn't. Also don't say why you resigned.
posted by royalsong at 7:02 AM on February 18, 2015
I did not explore in detail, but, especially as a communications professional, you should fix the English grammar in your summary: "who've" -> "who has", "customers" -> "customers'" (or even better, "the needs and wishes of customers), and "lives" -> "live" (there's no explicit subject, but first person is implied by the previous sentence).
posted by ubiquity at 7:03 AM on February 18, 2015
posted by ubiquity at 7:03 AM on February 18, 2015
Well first of all you have a couple typos and errors. (In Summary, "I am a communications professional, who has been adding value..." and "Born and raised in Sweden but now lives(delete the s) and work in Phoenix, AZ." A couple times you also neglect the apostrophe in "Sweden's.")
Beyond that, I have some content questions. In the Education section, Americans will have no idea what "20 points" means. Is that like credits? I am actually an international education specialist and I have no idea what that means.
If you did not do an MBA, you cannot say that your BA was an MBA. And furthermore, BA typically means Bachelor of Arts, not Bachelor of Administration.
My overall impression is of a person who is knowledgeable and enthusiastic about web development and tech journalism, but since that's so totally not my industry, I can't really comment on whether that impression is accurate. I actually like the picture, with its wry smile.
posted by Liesl at 7:07 AM on February 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
Beyond that, I have some content questions. In the Education section, Americans will have no idea what "20 points" means. Is that like credits? I am actually an international education specialist and I have no idea what that means.
If you did not do an MBA, you cannot say that your BA was an MBA. And furthermore, BA typically means Bachelor of Arts, not Bachelor of Administration.
My overall impression is of a person who is knowledgeable and enthusiastic about web development and tech journalism, but since that's so totally not my industry, I can't really comment on whether that impression is accurate. I actually like the picture, with its wry smile.
posted by Liesl at 7:07 AM on February 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: From your work history, it seems as if you already have a job. Do you?
If not, consider changing your professional headline from "Web Editor & Product Manager, MyPages Web Portal" to something along the lines of "Seeking Engagement as Web Content Manager" or whatever kind of job you're seeking.
I also learned that changing that description every couple weeks is a good idea as LinkedIn looks for profiles with changes and adds them to their weekly emails.
posted by bricksNmortar at 7:12 AM on February 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
If not, consider changing your professional headline from "Web Editor & Product Manager, MyPages Web Portal" to something along the lines of "Seeking Engagement as Web Content Manager" or whatever kind of job you're seeking.
I also learned that changing that description every couple weeks is a good idea as LinkedIn looks for profiles with changes and adds them to their weekly emails.
posted by bricksNmortar at 7:12 AM on February 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
For your Games Blogg editor position, unless "Games Blogg" is the actual name, it's spelled "Blog."
Also, I would remove "Due to other engagements, I've resigned from this position." You don't typically put why you left on a CV or LinkedIn (unless they've asked).
posted by Enchanting Grasshopper at 7:28 AM on February 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
Also, I would remove "Due to other engagements, I've resigned from this position." You don't typically put why you left on a CV or LinkedIn (unless they've asked).
posted by Enchanting Grasshopper at 7:28 AM on February 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: You're going to need a native speaker of English to help you do your CV and update your profile. I sent you an invitation to link. I can help if you like.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 7:36 AM on February 18, 2015
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 7:36 AM on February 18, 2015
Response by poster: Thank you all!
it's been so eye opening to read your comments. It is truly beneficial to get a friendly strangers' opinion.
Some comments on your comments:
Yes, it lacks somewhat in the grammar departement. I'm blushing.
Lisl: What I meant was: Would it be worth the effort to do the academic work to get the title MBA. In no way was i suggesting that I would put "MBA" there without having the academic credits. I have my BA (which reads Bachelor of Administration - but I'll connect to my alma mater and check if this is an older designation).
Thank you for the point about "points" vs "credits". I have to find out what is the correct equivalent would be.
Ruthless bunny: Thank you for reaching out. I will take you up on that offer.
posted by Rabarberofficer at 11:39 AM on February 18, 2015
it's been so eye opening to read your comments. It is truly beneficial to get a friendly strangers' opinion.
Some comments on your comments:
Yes, it lacks somewhat in the grammar departement. I'm blushing.
Lisl: What I meant was: Would it be worth the effort to do the academic work to get the title MBA. In no way was i suggesting that I would put "MBA" there without having the academic credits. I have my BA (which reads Bachelor of Administration - but I'll connect to my alma mater and check if this is an older designation).
Thank you for the point about "points" vs "credits". I have to find out what is the correct equivalent would be.
Ruthless bunny: Thank you for reaching out. I will take you up on that offer.
posted by Rabarberofficer at 11:39 AM on February 18, 2015
I'm adding my voice to the importance of proper grammar and spelling. I understand that English isn't your first language, but when you're all done with deciding what to include and what you want to say, I recommend hiring an editor or proofreader to check it for you. You can find plenty of them online. (But be careful whom you hire. There are good proofreaders out there, but I've also noticed plenty of mistakes in proofreaders' advertisements.)
One thing that stood out for me in your question, however, was this: "Do I have enough buzz words that [catch] the eyes of recruiters?" You have this backwards. Get rid of all the buzzwords you can. Write in language that's as clear as possible.
For example, your profile's lead statement is "I am a communications professional, who [has] been adding value to companies through my talents of translating customers' needs and wishes into actionable goals for my team."
I really don't know what this means because it's basically made of buzzwords like "actionable goals." I was going to try to rewrite this for you in plain English but I couldn't because I didn't know where to begin. What are you trying to say here?
In other words, what do you do? What can you bring to the table? Answer these questions first. Do it in Swedish in your own mind. Once you know this, the answers to your other questions such as which experiences to include should fall into place more easily.
posted by Leontine at 7:23 PM on February 18, 2015
One thing that stood out for me in your question, however, was this: "Do I have enough buzz words that [catch] the eyes of recruiters?" You have this backwards. Get rid of all the buzzwords you can. Write in language that's as clear as possible.
For example, your profile's lead statement is "I am a communications professional, who [has] been adding value to companies through my talents of translating customers' needs and wishes into actionable goals for my team."
I really don't know what this means because it's basically made of buzzwords like "actionable goals." I was going to try to rewrite this for you in plain English but I couldn't because I didn't know where to begin. What are you trying to say here?
In other words, what do you do? What can you bring to the table? Answer these questions first. Do it in Swedish in your own mind. Once you know this, the answers to your other questions such as which experiences to include should fall into place more easily.
posted by Leontine at 7:23 PM on February 18, 2015
Best answer: Okay, then that was a misreading on my part of your original question. Do the jobs you're looking at require an MBA or do you think that having one would give you an edge? If you have the time available and it's a reasonable cost, why not go ahead and do a further degree?
If that's what your degree says, then leave it. It's not a common designation (the closest would be a BBA: Bachelor of Business Administration). But be prepared to (politely) explain it if someone questions. You might give the title of the degree in Swedish and then say "equivalent to BBA" or something like that.
posted by Liesl at 7:53 AM on February 19, 2015
If that's what your degree says, then leave it. It's not a common designation (the closest would be a BBA: Bachelor of Business Administration). But be prepared to (politely) explain it if someone questions. You might give the title of the degree in Swedish and then say "equivalent to BBA" or something like that.
posted by Liesl at 7:53 AM on February 19, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by mysterious_stranger at 7:01 AM on February 18, 2015 [2 favorites]