Articles by Upendo Ventures

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Our team loves to share our thoughts, research, experiences here in our blog. Please enjoy our articles and leave a comment to let us know what you think.

Should You Accept That LinkedIn Connection Request?

Bruce Lee:

In most social networks, connecting with someone else can feel like a personal decision.  After all, if you accept a friend request in Facebook, you’ve just given access to all of your “private” images and updates.  They’ll see that embarrassing photo of you at the beach.  {GASP!}  This has trained us to be weary of who we allow to be “connected” with us online.  So much so that some people have private Twitter accounts.  (Something that I have yet to understand.)

Avoid the 7 Deadly Sins of LinkedIn Photos

Avoid the 7 Deadly Sins of LinkedIn Photos

In many ways, LinkedIn is just like every other social network.  It allows you to create a profile.  You add details about yourself, upload your preferred photo, and connect with other people.  You post status updates, and like and/or comment on updates by others.  However, as we continuously point out on this site, LinkedIn is not like every other social network.  You need to carefully consider how you update your profile on LinkedIn, beginning with your profile photo.

Why You Should Focus on LinkedIn to Build Your Brand

LinkedIn chocolates

When LinkedIn first came about, we weren’t sure what to do with it.  MySpace was still around, and it was battling with Facebook for our social networking attention (albeit, at this point, MySpace was in the decline already).  It wasn’t unusual for most of us to think, “Why should I use LinkedIn? I already use Facebook (or Twitter).”  The fact of the matter is this, LinkedIn isn’t going anywhere, and it’s the single most powerful thing that you can use to build your brand. 

The Challenge of Wearing Multiple Hats

Hiring Manager's Desk Full of Résumés

There’s few people these days that don’t wear multiple hats where they work.  You might be applying for and holding the title of events coordinator, but you’re probably also dabbling in website updates, PPC marketing, marketing automation, and who knows what else.  Employers love to do this for many reasons, not the least of which being that you might be very good at those other things too.  This makes you much more valuable to your current employer.  Unfortunately, this doesn’t do you any favors for your personal branding.  You simply look like the proverbial “jack of all trades, master of none.”  Don’t forget that you’re one of many in a sea of applicants trying to vie for the attention of the great employers out there.

5 Easy Ways to Build Your Personal Brand

Personal Branding: YOU!

Personal branding is very important.  More and more, you’ll realize this.  If you’ve ever known or been a hiring manager, you know all too well how hard it is for a single applicant to stand out in that tall stack of résumés when a job is open.  You’re the proverbial needle in the haystack.  Here are a few easy ways to get out of the haystack and in front of that next great opportunity.