LinkedIn works, or rather LinkedIn works if you know how to use it properly. Yes, it requires time. Yes, not everyone is actively engaged in LinkedIn and yes, there are privacy concerns. But the reality is – recruiters view this tool as one of their top tools to find talent. If you are that top talent, LinkedIn is a pretty useful place to be found.

So, when I go on LinkedIn and I’m faced with a barrage of unprofessional conduct, it makes me cringe. For LinkedIn to work, you need to stop treating LinkedIn like Facebook. In no particular order:

Profile Pictures

• Don’t post a half naked picture of yourself.
• Avoid a profile picture that has you as cute as pie, or posed as a sex god, or goddess.
• A picture of your pet dog, or cat is just not appropriate.
• Don’t have a picture of yourself surrounded by your family.

By all means, post these wonderful pictures of yourself on Facebook. Just keep in mind, that unless your Facebook is locked down into private mode, recruiters and headhunters will also see these pictures of you, as most recruiters and employers will be checking your social media profiles. A picture of you having a great time at a party is entirely appropriate on Facebook.  It is not appropriate on LinkedIn.  Keep the profile picture professional!

I’m a self-confessed introvert and over the years, I have owned several online businesses. Yes, I consider myself highly creative. Yes, I love solving problems. Yes, I love serving my clients, but I’m also an introvert, who would rather curl up with a good book, than face another networking meeting.

Now the typical business owner is generally seen as gregarious and extroverted (and from an introvert perspective loud). So, the question I had to ask myself, will the fact that I’m a definite introvert make it almost impossible to succeed?

Initially I thought the whole startup and business scene was entirely dependent on acting as an extrovert. Think open office plans in startup hubs (could not think of anything worse), pitching to a room full of investors, and networking an entire room, (like your life dependent upon it) and heaven forbid engaging in small talk (sad face).

Yet despite these so-called limitations, I’ve quickly learnt that I’m not only in very good company (Bill Gates, Larry Page, Mark Zuckerberg, Warren Buffett, and Marissa Mayer are all introverts), but there are huge advantages and strengths in being in introvert. So instead of becoming a pretend extrovert, I’m embracing my ‘true’ nature and just leveraging off my strengths.

And then this got me thinking, many of the job search tactics are like those faced by entrepreneurs, such as networking and the ability to think on your feet (in particular during job interviews). After a quick search of Google, I discovered a series of articles that provided suggestions on how to overcome the burdens of being an introvert. Not only did I find the articles condescending – but also in my opinion to suggest that somehow you are severally disadvantaged being in introvert, is just plain wrong.

If you are an executive, senior manager or a well-paid professional, you should consider delegating all the key job search tasks out that you can.

Depending on your background, the job search process can take anything from 1 month to 8 months or more. Generally, the higher-level positions such as a C-level job takes longer than job seekers looking for a gig in retail or hospitality.

The reality of a modern job search is that it is time-consuming and often a very frustrating experience.  You need to search across a multitude of job boards, repetitively upload resumes; complete online applications; dig up networking contracts and manage comprehensive research. It can be quite a burden if you are doing all of this and working 40 – 80 hours a week as an executive. 

Job-hunting is currently so time consuming, that it is estimated that a job seeker can average 40 hours per month searching for a new job. So, if you are a busy executive or professional, it makes sense to delegate out what you can. 

The benefits of delegating could be significant to your overall job search success.

Now, when I say delegate, I’m not saying you should delegate tasks such as networking or nurturing and building contacts. What I am suggesting is the following: