Happy Father’s Day, Fatherhood and Careers; and Get More Recommendations on Your LinkedIn Profile – June 2017

Brand Career Management Monthly Tip Sheet

The first time I met Dick Bolles at the 2012 MACCA conference when he signed my copy of What Color is Your Parachute?

Enjoying a dinner al fresco with my Dad on Father’s Day weekend 2016 in Westhampton Beach NY.

In recent weeks my Dad was not doing so well but I was lucky to spend quality time with him before he went away, and I’m thankful that I got to say goodbye. His strength and fortitude have always been an inspiration to me and these qualities kept him pushing forward until the very end. After leaving the seminary and then serving in the Korean War stationed in Germany, my father got a job as a recruiter with the Sperry Corporation. At work, he met my Mom and they married. He also earned his MBA from Columbia University. While building a family of six children, he began his path from a recruiter to industrial relations expert and ultimately to successful entrepreneur.

In 1963, my Dad took a leap of faith and started his own headhunting firm called O. William Battalia & Associates. The name and company evolved into Battalia & Associates with an international reach and is now called Battalia Winston. A few years after opening, his firm was one of 16 founding members of the Association of Executive Search Consultants and he was established as a leader in his field. In 1973, he published The Corporate Eunuch, which revealed how company executives might get caught in a trap of channeling, instead of contributing to the bottom line.

After retiring in 1996, he continued to share his expertise through volunteering for many years. Initially, through the International Executive Service Corp (IESC), he spent months in Zimbabwe lending his expertise to a local start-up recruiting firm. Later on, he served on the Board of The Guidance Center of Westchester County. In his last volunteer effort, he devoted many years to the Senior Core of Retired Executives (S.C.O.R.E.) Chapter 306 in White Plains, NY, where he started as a volunteer and rose to Chairman.

My Dad was a great Father and role model. Throughout his life and work adventures, he continually challenged himself while providing guidance to our family and maintaining a playful sense of humor. He always encouraged us to do well, but he also challenged us too. In fact, I remember when I told him I was considering a career/major in sociology, he asked me to name five jobs you could do with that degree, beyond teaching sociology (he had a point).

I will always want my work to honor these two amazing men. My Father will always be in my heart and mind, and I will continue to share his advice on job search and entrepreneurship. I only met Dick Bolles a few times in my life, but I will never forget his words of wisdom and I will continue to honor his legacy by helping people find and land jobs that are a great fit.

Thanks for letting me share my pride in knowing these men and some memories about my Father. Please don’t forget to honor and thank the father figures in your life!

Paula

P.S. Thanks for all of the feedback about my Mom’s story from the May issue. As a follow-up, on May 17^th she was honored by the Town of Mamaroneck for her work on affordable housing, and May 18^th was declared Dolores A. Battalia Day in Westchester County, NY.

P.P.S. I only want to send things to those who want to receive them. If you want to unsubscribe at any time, please follow the instructions at the bottom of this message.

Get More Recommendations on Your LinkedIn Profile
Recommendations are important because they give objective proof of your skills and abilities. You should have at least three, at a minimum (preferably not all tied to one job). Keep in mind that all recommendations are sent through the LinkedIn system and must come from the sender’s account.

Here are a few more tips to get you started:

1. Don’t be afraid to ask others for a recommendation on LinkedIn. Sometimes that’s all it takes.
2. It might take more than just asking. Sometimes it’s helpful if you offer to start a draft that the person can review and edit. Making it easier for the person will make it more likely they complete the task.
3. Write a recommendation for someone else. Giving to others is a first step towards receiving. In fact, this happened to me. I wrote an unsolicited letter of recommendation to a former supervisor and hours later, she returned the favor (unsolicited).
4. Be strategic. Think about which skills you want to emphasize on your profile and then think of others who can speak to your abilities in that area. It’s OK to ask someone to focus on a particular project or skill when writing the recommendation. That’s much better than a vaguely general recommendation stating that you’re a great guy, nice guy, etc.
5. With the new LinkedIn design, it’s not so easy to find the recommendations section anymore. Read below to find out how to find your way there.
   1. If you have ever given or received a recommendation, click on any one of them to get to the recommendation area or click on this link when you are logged into LinkedIn.
   2. If you have never given or received a recommendation, you need to go to a person’s LinkedIn profile to give or request a recommendation. Once there, click on the three dots (. . .) to the right of their picture. You should see the last two drop down options are about recommendations (see image below). This link from the LinkedIn Help Center provides more advice on recommending someone else.

The posts below deal with fatherhood and careers. Starting with some sadness, we say “Goodbye” to two large figures in the career and recruiting industries. Next, we share some inspiration with stories from two fathers and we end with some data on parental leave in the US and how parents spend their time.

First off, a sincere farewell to Dick Bolles, the founding father of career counseling. I remember Dick joking at a conference a few years ago that the New York Times (NYT) had already called him to start writing his obituary. He said with a chuckle that he told them to call back later, because he wasn’t gone yet. Still, they did a nice job of sharing his life’s story in this NYT article by Paul Vitello.
A service will be held in San Francisco on June 17th and donations can be made in his honor to the Episcopal Community Services of San Francisco.

Second, I’d like to share the NYT obituary for my dear Father. These words are a very accurate representation of his life’s work.

On a lighter note, this humorous and well-written post by James Ryan, Dean at Harvard Graduate School of Education, elaborates on using the phrase “Wait, what?”

This inspiring post by Paul Andrew Smith offers fatherly encouragement for pursuing your career dreams.

The US Department of Labor (DOL) shares updated statistics on how American parents spend their time (including an infographic on the amount of time women and men spend on certain tasks). It may not seem obvious at first, but getting insight as to where we spend our time, in general, has implications for our work life.

The latest Jobvite survey results (from 2016) shows data revealing why the US gets a failing grade on paid parental leave.

I am presenting a series of workshops in late May and June from 8 am to 9:30 am at the Anne Arundel Medical Center (AAMC) on Jumpstarting Your Career (May 30), Résumé Writing 101 (June 6) and Mastering the Interview (June 13). These are for AAMC staff (register using HealthStream).

Have you purchased a copy of the 3rd Edition of The Essential Guide to Career Certifications yet? This 2017 electronic publication features 50+ career industry credentials. Each entry includes the certification name and area of focus, a verified link to the training provider’s website, costs involved, program length, eligibility criteria and renewal requirements. Our spring sale will end on June 21.

Buy it now to get 30% off and pay only $17.47!