On your profile page, under Contacts at top, click Add Connections. Go to the right box titled Enter E-mail Addresses. All you need to invite someone to join your network is his or her e-mail. That’s it. Type 1 or 100 at a time in the box. Then click Send Invitations.
Your Challenge: Where do you dig up these connections? Where do they hide? Do you need to contact Homeland Security or Dog the Bounty Hunter to track them down? Pretty much!
TRADITIONAL SOURCES
Start with what you know: your current resources. Where do you store the names of your professional colleagues, friends, associates, and livestock?
Back to ‘ole basic traditional sources:
1. Old faded business cards held together with broken rubber bands
2. Rolodex® cards
3. Print & online directories (your institution, association, conferences)
4. iPhone/PDA directories
5. Other
Tap all of these previous sources. That could be a fairly long list or a tiny one based on the season of your career and your interpersonal skills. Once you have sent out the invitations, be patient. If they’re academicians, expect a very low response rate. Don’t take it personally. Most are not familiar with LinkedIn. Just persevere.
What’s Next? Beyond your current lists of potential invitees, my next blog will suggest 13 other sources I have used to build my network. That could conceivably be my most useful blog of 2010. Just wait for the nominations to come out. You can start on those sources over the holidays and during your break. I hope you get a break.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
Now that you’re convinced, kinda, that you should collect a few recommendations, let’s consider the process.
REQUEST PROCESS
Here are steps to solicit a recommendation:
1. Email-wise, the request usually takes the following form: “Please write 2–3 comments on the value and impact of my consulting on your employees or project plans (or presentation to your faculty or coaching experience). There are recommendations on my profile that may help you compose one.” If he/she requests that you send them a draft, do it.
2. Request a draft first. Then you can edit it and send back for approval. Make sure it is generic enough so it will stand the test of time once it’s posted on your profile.
3. Once both of you are satisfied, go to your LinkedIn profile page, and under Profile, click Recommendations.
4. At the top, click Request Recommendations.
5. For 1, click Choose on the box, and a dropdown will appear of all of your job and student positions. Click the title to which the recommendation will apply.
6. For 2, type the name of person writing the recommendation or click IN and pick the person from your list of connections (Remember, he/she must be in your network.)
7. For 3, personalize the stock message in the block.
8. Click Send. That’s it. A piece of cake with ice cream and a root beer!
Your colleague, client, student, etc. will receive the request and copy and paste the recommendation you both approved into the block provided. You will receive the recommendation by e-mail from LinkedIn and be given a chance to revise or approve, then post on your profile.
FORMAL RECOMMENDATION SOURCE
When you consult, speak, or coach, specify in your contract a requirement that, if the event is successful, the client will prepare 2 or 3 comments about the experience within a couple of weeks. This is standard operating procedure for speakers. (REJECTION NOTE: In academia, it has been my experience over the past 2 years that many directors or faculty who hired me will ignore that requirement and refuse to write anything. Just post whatever recommendations you receive.)
What’s Next? My next blog will deal with how to add connections to build your network. That’s probably the most important ingredient in using your profile.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
Click Edit Profile and inspect the large white box that begins with your Current job positions. If you completed the previous information described in my blogs, Past jobs, Education, and Websites should be listed. If you have a Twitter account, you can add that next.
Public Profile. At the bottom of the box, Public Profile permits you to set up your own personal LinkedIn URL link. Why? you ask. Colleagues can click directly to your profile. Just add it to your signature line. After your title, institution, e-mail, phone, and URLs for your Websites and blog, tack on the LinkedIn URL. You want to make it easy for colleagues and clients to see your credentials and contact you. If they can’t find you, they’ll pick someone else.
Update box. While you’re at the top of your profile, you will notice a white box under your name and location box. In the bottom right, it says Post an Update. When you click that Post, you can announce your professional activities to your network. For example, you can post blog titles (as I do regularly), research activities, attendance at a conference, a new article or book, recent surgeries, dental appointments, and any other info you want your connections to know. When you post your “tweet-size” message, it will be sent automatically to your connections, if you pick that option. In fact, you can have your actual (Twitter) tweets appear regularly in this update. It is recommended that you post updates a few times a week to raise your LinkedIn rank in Google, which is most everyone’s goal in life.
What’s Next? What’s missing in your profile? A PhD from Harvard? A thousand connections? You’re getting close. It’s Recommendations by employers and colleagues who praise your performance and production. You need 3 to complete your profile. How do you get these recommendations? That’s next.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
Turkey-with-stuffing-in-your bellies, nonvegetarian colleagues, it's time to jump back on the LinkedIn train. You vegetarian tofu-turkey types are also welcome to join in the frivolity. We're currently on an hilarious journey through ProfileLand.
Of course, you’re in Edit Profile mode. You'll live in that mode, right, at least until this puppy is done.
Additional Information. In addition to all of the information you have provided, there are other categories you might want to consider (click Edit):
1. Websites: List your institutional, business, personal, and/or blog sites. Click dropdown to identify type of site.
2. Interests: List professional and personal interests and hobbies.
3. Groups and Associations: List professional associations, but hold leadership positions for Honors next. Here you can also list your LinkedIn groups when you join them. There are a bunch of higher education and alumni groups.
4. Honors and Awards: Create headings for this section appropriate to your achievements, such as Editorial Boards, National Association Leadership, and Awards. This is the place for your Nobel, Pulitzer, Tony, Academy, and other awards. Click Save Changes.
Personal Information. Supply your Phone, IM, Address, and Birthday, Year (yeah right!), and Marital Status from dropdowns. When you’re done, click Save Changes.
Contact Settings. Check Types of Messages You Will Receive and Opportunity Preferences. Add Specific Advice to Users if you like. Click Save Changes.
Applications. It's AP time. Click Add an Application on the right to review options.
What’s Next? We skipped some information in the Brief Profile at top and the Update box. We will complete that next. Then I'll move on to Recommendations and how to dig up Connections for your network.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
NEW SECTIONS ALERT
On the profile page in Edit Profile display, after the Brief Profile and before Summary, you will see “NEW Are you published?” To the right, click Add Sections. The following categories will pop up. Complete any or all as they are relevant to your background. If you’re a professor, I strongly recommend that you add Publications and Skills.
Certifications: If you are in medicine, nursing, clinical psychology, accounting, auto mechanics, hair styling, espionage, or other professions requiring professional certifications and licenses, this is the category to list them. Not everyone has these credentials. This is another category that can distinguish you from others in the field.
Languages: If you are fluent in several languages, identify them in the list. You never know when they could come in handy and give you the edge.
Patents: If you possess patents for particular inventions, list them. For example, after someone invented a better mousetrap, if you invented a better mouse, this is the place to mention that achievement. They should be relevant to your areas of expertise and skills.
Publications: I recommend picking a few of your most recent and salient publications related to your research or expertise. Since LinkedIn doesn’t specify a particular publication format for journal articles, enter Title, and in the Publications slot, enter the journal name, volume, number, page numbers, and year in APA format. A Description may be too unwieldy when you list 5 or more articles or books, but you can write a brief one for each pub if the title isn’t adequate. You can also list your books.
Click Add a Publication for each entry. (NOTE: I included my recent books in the Summary section.) (ANOTHER OPTION: In addition to your teaser list or in lieu of it, you can provide a link to your Website, vitae, or other source with all of your pubs.)
Skills: I’m not sure how different Skills are from Specialties in the Summary section. The wording is different. I recommend listing your skills with Proficiency and Years of Experience dropdowns. They should be clear and concise for clients and employers to scan quickly.
What’s Next? The bulk of your profile should now be complete. Additional and Personal Information and Contact Settings will be covered in the next blog.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
Begin in Edit Profile mode. Now you can add your job experience and all of your degrees.
Experience. Click Edit. Starting with your most recent previous job, prepare your job profile similar to your profile you already wrote with Company Name (Institution), Website, Industry from dropdown, current job Title, Time Period, and a Description of your job responsibilities. Save Changes.
Repeat for each job. Click Add a Position. Include significant and relevant jobs. For example, skip reporting your stint as a Capital One Viking, but DO include your visiting professor position at the University of Siberia. You can add your acting jobs under Interests.
Education. Click Edit. Starting with your most recent degree, pick Country, State, and School Name from dropdown lists, then fill-in Degree, Field of Study (Major and Minor), Dates from dropdown, Activities; Societies. Click Save Changes
Repeat for each degree chronologically. Click Add a School. Make sure to include special certification programs and other significant educational training at accredited institutions and fly-by-night mail-order diploma factories.
What’s Next? As of 2 months ago, this would have been pretty much the meat of your profile. However, Surprise! Surprise! Academicians and vegetarians throughout the universe, guess what? LinkedIn added sections on Publications, Certifications, Patents, etc., basic material that we normally include on our institutional Website and CV. My next blog will address these sections.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
Make sure you’re in Profile Edit mode. Now we are going to tackle a super-important element in your profile: Summary. It is the first glimpse at who you really are and what you do. If a colleague, consulting firm, or job-recruiter glances at your summary and is not impressed, he/she probably won’t read any further. It’s lights out on your profile.
Before drafting this section, you need to determine the purpose of your profile. Is it to network, to promote you, to promote your business, or a combination of the preceding? Who will see it? Your summary must be written to fit your profile purpose(s). This section will be tailored to the image you want presented.
Summary: Click Edit. This section consists of 2 parts:
(1) Professional Experience & Goals which is a highlight “film” of your background, experience, and what you can offer a client, and
(2) Specialties field to highlight your areas of expertise and what distinguishes you from the rest of the pack
Professional Experience & Goals (max. 2000 characters). This blank white area should be filled with your “elevator speech.” Remember my blogs on that topic? NO! That’s okay. Format-wise, use lists, if possible. They’re easier and faster to read than running text. Carefully craft a capsule description of
a. who you are (teacher, professor, researcher, writer, secret agent, GEICO gecko, etc.)
b. what you do (conduct psychological profiles on the men in the Capital One commercials) or produce (books on rodents and lizards used in GEICO commercials)
c. what you can do for your target audience (create hilarious commercials for rich insurance companies)
The last-named focus is for consulting and business purposes. Consulting firms and clients want to know specifically what benefits or outcomes you can provide for them.
Beyond these outcomes, identify your goals.
This section should be brief and pop off the page so a colleague, client, or recruiter will stop and take notice. Since LinkedIn only formats in PLAIN TEXT, not HTML, you’re limited in popping options. I recommend UPPER CASE for important words and heads or “apostrophes” around other words for emphasis. Don’t get carried away.
Specialties. Identify your categories of expertise. These can be more specific than b above. What can you do differently or better than others with a similar background? Why should a client or employer hire you as a consultant, speaker, or CEO?
Click Save Changes.
What’s Next? I’ll add information on experience and education, which you can copy from your CV. Your profile should be taking shape.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
So far, you should have completed Snapshot and Photo. Under Profile, click you know what: Edit Profile mode.
Brief Profile: The next white box is a brief profile of your current and past job titles, education, recommendations and connections when you start accumulating them, your business, blog, and other Website links, Twitter link, and personal LinkedIn URL.
Current. For now, just click Edit to the right of Current and plug in your Company Name (Institution), Website, Industry from dropdown, current job Title, Time Period, and a Description of your job responsibilities. Spend time drafting a clear and succinct portrait of your job tasks and accomplishments in the description box. When you’re done, click Save Settings.
If you have a 2nd job, for example, you’re a professor Mon.–Fri. and an NFL quarterback on Sun., repeat the entry for that position so both will be listed.
All of this information will appear below under Experience, but your Title(s) will appear in this profile box. Ignore everything else in the box for the time being.
What’s Next? Let’s move on to one of the most critical parts of your profile: Summary box. If you want to start drafting that material, do it. I’ll give you some pointers in my next blog.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
PROFILE MOTTO
It’s profile time in the big city! My MOTTO for this profile: “Do it right or don’t do it at all.” If you do not complete your profile, it’s like sending a colleague or employer half of your CV. It says, “I don’t care.” You want your BEST possible image to be presented to the people who may matter most in your profession and to those who you haven’t even met yet. Your professional reputation is on the line. What you display can be a career maker or breaker. You decide.
Make sure every entry is accurate and spelling, mechanics, grammar, and word choice are impeccable. If possible, type everything in Word first because LinkedIn doesn’t have spelchek. Dig out your CV. You’re going to be copying and pasting a lot.
Snapshot & Photo
Are you ready? Let the games begin. At the top of the LinkedIn page, under Profile, click Edit Profile. You will always start in “Edit Profile” mode to enter new information or change your profile. “View Profile” is what people will see.
Directly below is a blue box. Click Edit.
Snapshot (light blue box): This is your electronic business card. Provide basic information, including Name, Professional Headline (current job title or tagline), Country from dropdown list, Zip Code, and Industry from dropdown list. When you type your zip, LinkedIn translates that into a geographic area under your name. If you don’t enter the zip, the area will just say United States or your country name, which, to other LinkedInners, may convey, “I can’t be bothered to complete this or I don’t care.” When you’re done, click Save Changes.
Photo: On the right side of the box, click Edit. Upload a professional, flattering picture (headshot) so people can easily remember you. [NOTE: Photo must be no larger than 80 X 80 pixels.] When you receive business cards from new colleagues at a conference and invite them to connect, it will be easier for them to match your name to a picture than nothing. Please DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT post a frog, ugly baby, barnyard animal, stuffed toy, or your book cover that you might find on Facebook. This is a professional network. What image do you want to convey to professionals who may not know you or a prospective employer? They want to know you’re for real. Click Upload Photo.
Click your choice for who you want to see your photo. I chose “Everyone.” Then click Save Settings.
Status Update: Ignore the white box below your snapshot and photo. I’ll come back to that later.
My next blog will cover the next white box below to begin your brief profile. I will focus only on your Current job title and description. You can start working on that if you like.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
WHY AM I WRITING THIS BLOG SERIES?
Available Resources. Great question! If you Google LinkedIn, you will find barrels of resources that provide tips and tricks for preparing your “profile” and how to do a job search. You can even go to LinkedIn and use their resources to learn how to do everything on the site, as you may already have tried. Having read most of this material to prepare myself for this blog series, I will tell you that those materials are excellent, especially the LinkedIn User Guides.
Why Moi? I have nothing vested in LinkedIn. They don’t know me. All of the Google sources are written by and for the business community, not professors. LinkedIn’s guide is probably prepared by an IT specialist.
Academic Spin. My purpose is not to replicate the available resources, because I couldn’t begin to do that, nor is there any need to reinvent the LinkedIn wheel. My intention is to address the needs of academicians and put an academic spin on certain critical aspects of the site. The profile headings have always been slanted toward business and industry. For example, one of my complaints has been “no place to list my publications” that are central to my credibility.
Guess what, academicians? Faculty crying and yelping paid off. LinkedIn just added sections on Publications, Patents, Certifications, Skills, Languages, and other areas you present in your CV. Do those headings address an academic gap in LinkedIn? You bet. How many of you knew that? Oh, you did. Sorry. I haven’t seen a pub listing by anyone in my network yet. I will be covering those sections in an upcoming blog.
Business Spin for Academicians. Further, I have dealt with the pain of starting a formal speaking business. Some of the wounds related to writing copy for business brochures and to developing and executing marketing strategies are healing, but they may be of value to you before they become infected.
We’re All Consultants. Since my first year at Johns Hopkins, I was told that one of the criteria to determine my value and worth as a professor is the number of requests I receive outside my institution to consult and speak. I was in business and didn’t even know it. Outsiders affirm your expertise; they build your credibility. The number and type of invitations to the White House and Capitol Hill to advise the President and testify before Congress really count when you come up for promotion.
Had I known then what I know now about running a business, my consulting life might have been more productive. If you’re a newbie, some of my tips may be helpful.
My next blog will begin with the Public Profile you display. How different is it from your CV and what you present on your institution’s Website? What professional information is critical for your colleagues, clients, and students to know about you? You have total control over what is presented and who sees it. We will work through the profile step-by-step with an occasional hop or 2.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
Although I’ve been a LinkedIn user for only 1.468 years, I’m pretty sure that among the 10 reasons for not joining LinkedIn listed in my previous blog, the site can execute ALL 10. Let me know if I’m wrong. My take on LinkedIn’s purposes is boiled down to the following five.
FIVE PURPOSES OF LinkedIn
1. Display your professional credentials to promote your expertise and job-hiring potential
2. Communicate with professional group members, colleagues, clients, and students all over the world on any topic
3. Market your business, whether individual consulting or a large corporation, or products to obtain clients
4. Search for a job, while employers search for you as a candidate to fill a position
5. Search for the best candidates to fill positions in your business or institution
So how does this affect your professional life as you now know it? Consider the fit between the major purposes for using LinkedIn and your professional needs. Will it make your life easier, add or create opportunities you want to pursue, expand your professional aspirations? Only you can answer that.
COMMITMENT TIME
Remember that LinkedIn is just a tool or vehicle to do the above. If you don’t commit to using it properly, the preceding purposes may not be realized. It provides FREE professional services (of course, there are upgrades) you can use to propel yourself forward in your career. Once you take the time to set up your profile (and we can do that together), it will require only a few minutes a week to update and keep your activities visible to your network.
C & P YOUR CV
Now that your head is beginning to spin like the kid in the Exorcist about your career and whether LinkedIn is worth your time, trust me on this: IT IS! Let’s do this together. The best part of this profile posting is that you already have most of the information in your résumé or curriculum vitae (CV). [SIDEBAR DEFINITION: If you’re a nonacademician, the term “curriculum vitae” is Latin for “résumé on steroids.” It typically contains education, previous employment, grants & contracts, publications, presentations, patents, professional membership & leadership, editorial boards, expert witness testimony, financial portfolio, pets & livestock, and other pertinent activities. It averages 1000 pages. The longer it is, the more impressive and pretentious it is.] I NOW RESUME THIS PARAGRAPH, WITHOUT ACUTE ACCENTS ON RESUME, ALREADY IN PROGRESS. Most of your CV will be pasted into LinkedIn’s format. You can do this.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
At present, LinkedIn is the largest professional network with 80 million members (compared to Facebook’s 500 million).
So, now let’s consider 10 reasons why you should NOT join LinkedIn:
TOP 10 REASONS
You have NO need to:
10. consolidate resources 1–8 and your institutional Website profile into 1 location (see previous blog for 1-8)
9. build a network of like-minded (teaching, research, writing, clinical) colleagues
8. contact colleagues and students in your field easily and quickly
7. market your expertise and build credibility with colleagues
6. share your writing or research with colleagues
5. consult, speak, or provide other professional services
4. hunt for another job in or out of your field
3. search for the best candidates for job openings you're trying to fill
2. be part of multiple communities of scholars other than your association
And the NUMBER ONE REASON:
1. have important questions answered promptly by experts you don’t even know who are all over the world (beyond your association listserv)
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
If you are convinced that you have no need for any item on that list, then get back to work. Stop fooling around with my blog. If, however, there is at least one reason you might benefit from LinkedIn, then stay with me.
This blog series will describe how you can use LinkedIn with minimal time investment, but with the possibility of a worthwhile ROI. Future blogs will describe how to prepare your professional profile and other critical elements.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH SOCIAL NETWORKS?
Social networks are not just the rage, they have revolutionized the way we communicate. There is even a movie about Facebook, but I forgot the same. The networks are free and open to every age, from diapers to diapers.
So what’s the problem? The networks have different purposes and require time to contribute. If you don’t contribute, they don’t serve their purposes and benefit you. And TIME is a major issue with all of us.
This blog series is about one specific network, designed for “professionals”: LinkedIn.
TRADITIONAL NETWORKING RESOURCES
Consider our traditional networking resources:
1. stone tablets
2. business cards, held together with a rubber band or paper clip
3. napkins with smeared ink name and phone no. (WAIT! That was for dates.)
4. Rolodex® cards
5. printed directories from institutions, associations, and conferences
6. mobile phone directory
7. PDA directory
8. other “on the fly” techniques you have used
Over the past decade, our institutional Website posts our profile with publications in some set format, which complements 1–8.
WHAT OPTIONS ARE THERE?
Now there’s another option to 1–8: your iPhone® or Black’n Blueberry®. Well, your phone is an option since it can contact anyone and connect with just about every piece of electronic equipment, but that’s not what I meant to type.
What I meant was: LinkedIn. It’s kinda the professional counterpart to Facebook or Twitter. Instead of tweeting or facing, you are linking. Is it a gimmick or a waste of your valuable time?
ARE YOU ON LINKEDIN?
Academicians, in particular, seem to be unaware of LinkedIn and those who are on the network rarely use it to its full potential. “Why?” you’re thinking, or maybe not.
Administrators and faculty are overwhelmed with a bazillion tasks that usually do not require a vast network of colleagues and the need to build a network, advertise a business, and/or hunt for a job. According to my latest calculations, there are about 4 administrators and 3 faculty who use these services on LinkedIn.
Academicians teach, write grants, conduct research, advise students, mentor faculty and students, grade, administer departments, plan faculty development events, write journal articles and books, present at conferences, consult, attend a quadrillion meetings, plus other activities I missed. So why aren’t you on LinkedIn? Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?
So, let’s consider 10 reasons why you should NOT join LinkedIn in my next blog.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
TOP 10 RULES (continued)
Here are the 1st 3
NETIQUETTE DON’TS or AVOIDS:
7. DO NOT TYPE IN ALL CAPS: Messages typed in ALL caps or grossly enlarged scripts are interpreted as shouting, screaming, or yelling. It also hurts your eyeballs. DON’T DO IT!
Caps and monster script are okay for heads or occasional emphasis. Just don’t overdo it. (note: typing in all lower-case letters may be interpreted as not caring.)
8. AVOID FLAMING: Do not make or respond to personal insults called “flames” or pick a fight, attack, or disrespect a colleague for any reason at any time. Rudeness is rampant on the Internet. It is so much easier to insult someone in print than face to face. With the rather spirited discussions on listservs and group member comments, don’t be tempted to step over the line by insulting or harassing someone. When in doubt, don’t comment.
9. AVOID MULTIPOSTING, CROSSPOSTING, OFF-TOPIC POSTING, AND HIJACKING A DISCUSSION THREAD: If you send out an announcement, promotion, discussion question, or any other message, try not to post on every group, network, or listserv where a large number of the same colleagues will receive it. For example, this overlap can occur between a professional listserv and several LinkedIn groups in the same discipline. That overlap with repeated messages can be very annoying, even if you apologize upfront for crossposting, which most people do. Be careful with your posts.
Also, don’t derail discussions with irrelevant comments. Stay on point with the flow of the conversation. Your contribution should keep it moving forward. This includes jokes that can interrupt the discussion.
On occasion, I have violated this rule by injecting some incongruous humor when the discussion gets very heated. Such levity may not be appreciated by all, although listserv members totally ignore it. I’m ashamed of myself for doing that. I regret that violation, but I repented and smacked myself with a whisk broom. There is an appropriate time for humor and I have to be more sensitive to that timing.
My final blog in this series will describe the number 10 “don’t,” plus provide a summary and epilogue for the previous 57 varieties of blogs. Can you guess number 10? I don’t know about you, but as a sifter and violator, I’m learning a lot from this series.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
TOP 10 RULES
The rules are divided into “do’s” and “don’ts.” Here are the 1st 3
NETIQUETTE DO’S:
1. USE APPROPRIATE PROFESSIONAL LANGUAGE: Avoid smiley faces and other “social” symbols (save them for Facebook), Web jargon, unfamiliar abbreviations, and any offensive language, such as sarcasm, profanity, vulgarity, and sexual innuendo. Your writing should be that of a professional, not a buddy on a social network. If Google detects your use of “blue material,” your Website, blog, or other network may be demoted in the search engine ranks. This rule also applies to jokes.
2. USE PROPER GRAMMAR AND SPELLING: Chek adn thowroughlee pruf-reed alll mesags. Use SPELCHEK! Don’t hurry to hit the send button. This applies when you e-mail, tweet, text, blog, face, goog, wik, or some other 3–5 letter communication. Although, we are all our own worst proofreaders, try to let your message sit for a while, at least a minute or 2, but a day is best. Seeing it again totally cold often makes the errors jump off the screen. Wait for this jumping. Your writing ability and the care with which you produce any written product will be reflected in your messages and blogs. Your communications also reflect on the institution that hired you. Send only your best work into cyberspace. Anything less may come back to bite YOU in your butt-tocks.
3. BE HONEST AND TRUTHFUL: Don’t even think about it. If you lie or even streeetch the truth in what you communicate, especially your online profiles on your Website, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other networks that display your credentials, your career will hang in the balance. Be truthful in everything you say. Professional credibility is almost impossible to regain once it’s lost. Who will believe you?
If you use humor in your writing, as I do frequently, make sure your readers know you’re joking. Most professors and students, in particular, interpret everything they read seriously, unless they are familiar with the source as a jokester. Also, be careful with the types of humor you use. Self-effacing jokes are usually the safest.
This list continues in my next blog with 3 more do’s related to copyright, signature lines, and timely responses. Stay tuned.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
2ND BLOG FROM TAIWAN:The final blog in this series on journal publishing comes to you from Taichung, Taiwan, home of Chung Shan Medical University. Traveling outside of the U.S. to another country and culture always puts my life into perspective. This trip has been no different than my previous trips. This experience has been incredible and the people I have met on this journey have been so gracious. It is with the deepest humility as a professional, that I present this blog.
TOP 3 TIPS
This blog series and the comments in the discussions on the LinkedIn Higher Education Teaching & Learning group have been larded with advice, tips, and insights. I wish I had known all of this when I started publishing.
To end this series, I thought I’d list the 3 most valuable tips I could offer to improve your success in journal publishing:
1. DO YOUR JOURNAL HOMEWORK: Study the journals thoroughly for what they publish, writing style, readership, theory or practice, and special issues past and future to which you might contribute. Write your article for a specific journal in the pub style they require. Don’t shotgun your article to any random journal in hopes that it will hit the target.
2. REQUEST COLLEAGUES FOR PRE-SUBMISSION REVIEWS: Send your manuscript to trusted experts on your topic who can provide input on everything about your manuscript before submitting to a journal. They can greatly improve the accuracy of the content, style of writing, and quality of writing that can markedly improve your chances of success, plus suggest appropriate journals.
3. PERSEVERE: Never give up no matter how stinging the editor’s or reviewers’ comments may be. After you get off your knees, bounce right back and hit every criticism in your revision or cover letter. KEEP MOVING FORWARD and have several manuscripts in review and in progress at all times.
POSTMORTUM
I’ve learned sooo much from reviewers’ comments over my 35 years of writing articles for journals. I can’t do it alone. Further, a regular diet of editors’ and reviewers’ comments can sustain a spirit of humility throughout your writing career, plus it may even result in a few worthwhile contributions to the published literature.
BEST WISHES IN ALL OF YOUR PUBLISHING EFFORTS!
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
UP CLOSE & PERSONAL: Here’s some intel on my perspective for writing these blogs. I’ve published nearly 150 articles in 80 different journals in education, psychology, medicine, nursing, and public health with probably 95% of the decisions requiring some type of revision. The number of rejections per submission usually far exceeds my expectations. I’ve been rejected by the best. On the other side of the editorial process, I have served on several editorial boards of psychometric and medical journals and as a reviewer for 16 other journals. In the academic arena, rejection becomes a natural part of the job. Promotion at research universities, in particular, hinges, in part, on your publication productivity.
COMMENTS YOU SHOULD READ: If you are on LinkedIn professional network, you should join the Higher Education Teaching and Learning Group. It’s the largest group of its kind, plus you can contribute to discussions and learn from them. Why mention that here? I needed filler. Kidding.
Recently I listed a previous blog title on that group discussion and received some excellent, very thoughtful and insightful comments from experienced writers and editors, including Deborah Lafky, Linda McPhee, Michael Coolsen, Tamar Almor, Rob Kleine, and David Brock. Please read those instructive comments if you write for journals. BTW Also, join LinkedIn if you haven’t. It’s for professional networking, not social communication.
CAN PRE-SUBMISSION FEEDBACK IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF JOURNAL ACCEPTANCE?
MAYBE! So why do it? Read on.
Suppose instead of submitting your “final” manuscript to a journal, you send it to a few content-appropriate colleagues for their reaction first. Always put a deadline for their reviews. By colleagues here, I mean anyone in the world you know who can provide meaningful input.
Can that step improve the manuscript and its chances of acceptance later or just alienate your colleagues?
What happens? There are 2 results:
(1) rarely will I receive feedback from all of my colleagues because they’re so busy, and
(2) the feedback I do receive is often invaluable.
Usually, your colleagues will tell if they can review it in your timeframe. Although their reviews are not anonymous as in the journal blind-review process, they will be very honest and supportive. They catch editorial errors as well as suggest substantive changes, plus they can suggest appropriate journals so you don’t get whacked immediately by a journal editor.
I always make the changes and ask their permission to acknowledge their contribution to the manuscript with a credit line. My manuscript is always improved, but this step never guarantees it will be accepted by a journal. I’m still on my own and left to hang out and dry in the editorial review process. However, at least, I’m submitting a better quality manuscript. I also return the favor and review colleagues’ papers when requested. I highly recommend this step before journal submission.
Have any of you engaged in the process I described above? Let me know your thoughts and recommendations.
How do you revise your manuscript after receiving several single-spaced pages of comments? This can often be a painful task. My next blog will address this pain.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
THE 7 HABITS
This series has addressed the following categories of offensive material:
1. PUT-DOWNS
2. SARCASM
3. RIDICULE
4. SEXUAL CONTENT AND INNUENDO
5. PROFANITY
6. VULGARITY
7. SENSITIVE PERSONAL ISSUES AND TRAGEDIES
There’s been a lot of reaction to these topics on the LinkedIn higher education groups. Since most professionals do not systematically consider these categories and the consequences of offending people in their daily conduct in the classroom or workplace, I hope that some of the content, examples, and guidelines in my blogs and the healthy discussion of these topics will generate some thought on WHERE TO DRAW THE LINE.
The consequences of disregarding my OFFENSIVE ALERT can be devastating to your students and your co-workers. Remember: This is all about them, not you.
If you are serious about making this work, you need to consider a pre-emptive strike to set standards everyone can accept before you or your students offend someone.
SHOULD YOU MIRANDIZE YOUR STUDENTS OR CO-WORKERS?
This blog level one head conjures up the mental image of a Shawshankian line-up of our students or co-workers facing a wall, with their hands up and feet spread, as they’re read their rights on what offensive content is out-of-bounds in the classroom or workplace. While some you may be drooling at the idea of executing such a sweep, I don’t recommend it for two reasons:
1. It may be difficult to find a clear wall long enough without pictures of dead past deans or college presidents on it.
2. That’s probably not the best approach to get these people to buy in to these rules of behavior or conduct for their learning or work environment.
The final blog in this series will proffer specific guidelines for executing a pre-emptive strike against offensive material in your classroom and workplace. It’s almost over.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
After a year like 2009, we should resolve to do something differently for 2010, unless we want to experience the same stuff again. While driving on several occasions this year, I’ve had thoughts of getting one those jobs as a highway construction flagperson or greeter at Walmart. These thoughts seem to be more the side effects from a cerebral hemorrhage (that I didn’t have) rather than the real employee images of a professor emeritus. What would it be like? Soon I expunged those thoughts from my noggin.
Thinking about the events of 2009, from “Cash for Clunkers” to “Dancing with the Corpses,” should one try to predict what will happen in 2010? Right now I’m just going to share a few of my resolutions to simply do better in 2010. God’s plan will take care of the rest.
In the past, many of my resolutions have been unrealistic, so this year I will tack on “realistic” default resolutions in case I don’t attain the “unrealistic” ones. Hold on to your mouse tightly. Here we go:
#1 UNREALISTIC: To learn a new language, such as Chinese.
#1 REALISTIC: To order Chinese carry out.
#2 UNREALISTIC: To train over the next 9 months for the New York City Marathon.
#2 REALISTIC: To take the train to NY to watch the marathon.
#3 UNREALISTIC: To lose 30 lbs.
#3 REALISTIC: To lose 10 lbs., but then find those 10, plus 20 more.
#4 UNREALISTIC: To write another book.
#4 REALISTIC: To write a LinkedIn message without typos.
#5 UNREALISTIC: To go surfing on the ultimate wave in Hawaii.
#5 REALISTIC: To channel surf to find a National Geographic special on Hawaii.
I don’t know if this list helped you at all, but it made me feel better. Now I’m headed out to find a flag and an orange vest. I think I have traffic cones in the garage.
Have an incredibly successful and prosperous 2010!!
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
This past weekend I was able to again apply the time-management travel strategies I listed in my 4-blog series on Nov 11-13,16. Remember those? Me neither. I think they dealt with time during travel, plus 20 destinations.
This trip was my 14th to the 29th annual Lilly Conference on College Teaching at Miami University in Oxford, OH. I love this conference and the people who run it. It’s the premier teaching conference in the universe. I thought it would be worth calculating the available work time in transit at this professional conference. This is a time-management test of my own skills. Here’s my analysis:
• BWI Airport wait-time: 2.5 hrs.
• Dayton Airport wait-time: 3.5 hrs.
• Travel time to and from conference venue: 2 hrs.
• Between session and evening work time at conference (3 days): 14 hrs.
Rounded to 8 decimal points, that’s a total of 22 hrs. of available work time, about 36% of which involved travel-related time.
You have some tough decisions to make about how you want to spend it. A lot of work can be completed if you are disciplined to stay focused; or you can play and socialize, or do some of both.
“What did you do, Bucko?” Hmmm. Here my rundown:
1. I used the 6 hrs. of airport wait-time to draft future blog material on time-management tips for faculty, managers, and other employees. That content was derived from previously published material in my time management book, including the idea of writing this one. I also computed all of my conference expenses.
2. At the conference,
a. I reviewed, edited, and practiced my 2 presentations (I can never practice too much to insure a seamless presentation), plus 2 1-hr. technical rehearsals in the venues prior to the presentations (Note: My PowerPoints are 1.3—1.5 GB with all of the music and video clips.)
b. I answered all of my e-mail requests
c. I sent out 92 LinkedIn invitations to faculty who attended my sessions (only those who consented to receiving those invites; 4 refused)
d. I wrote 1 blog and posted it
e. I reviewed book chapter content to be covered in my next book in progress.
That's all I completed. I also played and relaxed.
What did you accomplish at this or another conference? Did you use your time productively or wastefully? Do you have suggestions on how to make more efficient use of travel time? I welcome any creative ideas. We’re all in this time-management battle together.
COPYRIGHT © 2009 Ronald A. Berk, LLC & Coventry Press
