Let me begin Linkedin 106 (the conclusion of the Linkedin Training Series) with my parting words in the previous segment (Linkedin 105), "You have now learned how to connect the dots between the Open Job, Hiring Company and Employee Contact(s), but the biggest dots are still left to be connected: What is the best strategy utilizing the RIGHT contacts that can get you an initial phone or face to face interview?".  If you have followed the series and done your homework you should really have an awesome profile that would…

As a former Medical Sales Hiring Manager and Medical Sales Recruiter I have seen thousands and thousands of resumes for our industry (more years than I care to admit); I know when I see a professional, well written resume suited to our industry. On the flip side, I also know immediately when a resume has been written by a so called professional resume writer who is unqualified in our industry. I am excluding resumes that have been composed by the Job Seeker themselves, which are often better constructed than those of the hired unqualified professional!

The resumes falling short of industry standard are often lengthy with huge paragraphs of verbiage laced throughout the resume within an unfamiliar…

Everyone knows that a follow up thank you note should be sent after each interview during the hiring process. Some feel it is just a task to hurry up and do, a two liner note that shows the hiring manager that you have a great sense of urgency by whipping the thank you e-mail out within 10 minutes of leaving the interview! It is quick and it does show a great sense of urgency and it can show a few more things too; like you didn't take the time to prepare a well thought out or written thank you!

That is exactly what happened to a man that I wanted to hire when I was a Division Sales Manager, let's call him Tom, it is a true story.

Tom was a native of the state where my open sales position was located. He knew all of my customers and they loved him! He was well known in the area and he was a workhorse. Tom could sell and I knew it, he knew it and…

Do you have a growing feeling at work that you are not quite part of the gang anymore; co-workers are acting a little funny to you or perhaps you are feeling a little chill in the air every time you speak to your manager?  If you are in outside sales perhaps all of a sudden your sales manager seems to be living with you or maybe it is as subtle as the manager moving up the routine field visit day from every 8 weeks to every 4 weeks (and from 2 days solid to 3 or 4 days in one week!).  You start to wonder, "Am I getting set up to be fired"? 

Maybe you are one of the lucky ones with an in-your-face manager who tells you flat out, "You better start looking".  Why lucky?  These manager are sophisticated ENOUGH to be open in communication with you (even though it is…

If you have made it this far in my LinkedIn Training Series, then you are becoming a serious student and clearly see the value in of getting the RIGHT contacts to become Linkedin with you!  Job Seekers and those wishing to build a base of long term contacts that can power your career into the future should focus on one goal; to successfully expand the career reach beyond immediate contacts and begin the art of attracting SMART outside contacts.  Yes, SMART contacts, not that plumber I mentioned in my earlier Blog (I am sure there are SMART plumbers out there, but they are not going to help your career in the medical sales industry!).

These tricks are much easier to learn than pulling a rabbit out of a…

Wow!  Here is something that just didn't line up for me!  I took a job candidate, John, who I just placed into a new job, to lunch this past week.  He starts his job in a few days.  I asked him what he did to get the job.  He indicated that there were at least 7 steps to the process and he obviously did well in all of them, but there is one thing he felt set himself apart.  

I was hanging on every word, because we just had a top candidate in another job opening with the same company and the SAME regional VP conducting the final interview (with the hiring manager) and she also did very well in each step, but SHE DID NOT GET the job.  Maybe THIS thing he did is what that other person didn't do.  So I took mental notes as he spoke.

"Linda, I…

OK, I am getting paid 0 to post this LinkedIn piece, but I still get a number of calls from professionals saying they do not know how to really use Linkedin or how it works.  First of all just trust me on this, YOU NEED a free Linkedin account!  I will go one step further, once you get your free account, you need to know how to set it up FULLY...yes 100%.  Linkedin will become part of your Job Insurance Plan for the future; if anything happens to your company or your job you need to have an immediate resource to go to find another one!  Build your network now, think of it as you would any other insurance plan that you wouldn't think of going without, like car or home insurance; you may never need it, but it makes you feel safe knowing you have it!  This insurance plan can even be free and cost you maybe an hour a month of your time to build little by little!  How strongly do I feel about this?  Read on!  See the entire…

This is an open blog to the the members of the Linda Hertz Group:

A bit about me.  I was a successful Real Estate Agent for over a decade working in a small town near Santa Barbara.  With the downturn in the economy and the crises in the real estate market I was forced to find a new career path.  I joined a great company and had two successful years as an Opthalmic Sales Rep, in Los Angeles, until the company downsized its entire sales force.  With the Real Estate market still floundering, I have been seeking out a new career.  Now I should say that I feel very fortunate to have found another job to pay the bills, but its not in sales, and certainly not nearly as lucrative, challenging or exciting as a working in sales and marketing.  One of the main reasons I enjoyed being a sales rep was meeting new people everyday, the thrill of landing the next big sale and financial rewards that come with hard work.

This brings me to the reason why I've written…

I outlined an unfortunate and very true story on how a Thank You note cost Tom a job offer. I encourage you to read what happened to Tom in my earlier article to fully appreciate the simple techniques I outline below that could have prevented him from losing the job (see Tom here).

Thank You Notes do matter during the interview process! Just think, these notes are often the first impression of your writing ability, sense of urgency, attention to detail and perhaps even a glimpse of how you will handle future clients and business dealings.

Most professional interviewing situations will require up to 5 interview steps and often an equal number of people involved in the process! Wow, that is a lot of Thank You Notes and a great number of opportunities to either fail, sail or simply miss the opportunity to utilize this tool to your…

Larry put down his phone, frankly he felt like throwing the company issued phone at his company car sitting in his driveway.
No wonder, he thought to himself,
Dave wanted me home this morning to receive his call.  He then thought about Dave, his bosses boss....actually his
former bosses boss, and that strong, firm handshake.  The type of handshake that immediately startles you and feels electrified, like a bolt of lightening transcending from your hand, up your arm and then rocking the sensors in your head. No matter how many times Larry would prepare himself for THAT handshake, it always took him by surprise.  It was a firm grasp that most strong leaders seem to have.  

It was a handshake he knew well and was always eagerly waiting for him as he…