Emma a high achiever, a quiet achiever, gets all her work done, achieves and exceeds expectations, stakeholders love her, clients love her and she is also a team player. The perfect colleague to work with and the perfect employee to have in a team. She has a lot of work to do and too busy working away that it is difficult to make time for herself and no time to get recommendations on LinkedIn. Being a quiet achiever, modest, it is very hard to ask people to provide feedback on your work, isn’t it?
This is a true story of Emma. Recently we had a coffee and I encouraged her to ask for more recommendations. I looked at her LinkedIn profile and she only had 1 recommendation. She then took my advice and courage to reach out to ask and within 24 hours she received a recommendation right away.
I was impressed. Especially with high performing professionals, when you ask people for support, people are more than happy to provide a recommendation, ultimately it is helping you position you better in the market as well as enhance their own profile on LinkedIn.
On Saturday 2nd March 2019, I organised a network discussion group. We talked about Building Confidence in your Career. It was one of the best events so far. The participants felt encouraged, inspired, valued and it was an enriching experience.
One of the techniques is asking for feedback. Sometimes when your manager does not know how to manage or lead you. You need to manage or lead them. Take ownership in your career and ask for feedback.
I have coached more than 200 clients over the years. I have given them feedback on their skills and they give me a look of “Surprise,” with a little sadness in their hearts as they have never heard anyone say these words to them. It breaks my heart to know that some people do not have the luxury of a good manager who provides regular feedback.
If you are not getting the feedback in your career, start asking for it. You want to know whether you are on track, off track, what your strengths are and any skills gap, you got to ask.
Here are some great ways to ask:
1. Use the LinkedIn recommendation method.
What a great way to easily ask for feedback. The system already has a template that you can send the request to your connection. I do recommend you to ask your manager, a previous manager, clients and stakeholders (not a work colleague). And be mindful of how you approach it, as you don’t want to make it too obvious if you are looking for the next job.
2. Catch up with clients and stakeholders for coffee and lunch.
Select people who you have good working relationships with and tell them you are reflecting in your career and looking at improving your skills. Let them know you would love to get any positive and constructive feedback.
3. Ask your manager or an indirect manager for feedback and help them understand why you are seeking this feedback, “for your career development of course.”
I personally learnt my unique strengths by asking for feedback from one of my clients who was a Training Manager. I assumed everyone operated like me and when you ask, you will discover that what you do day in day out might be more than the average person.
Take ownership of your career and get more recommendations on your LinkedIn profile now.
If you know of anyone who is looking for work, or you are looking, have a look at the program on my website, it is called A Second Opinion, a 15-minute review of your resume with a small investment of $50.00. Get a second opinion on your resume to ensure you position yourself correctly for the next ideal job. https://www.myfocus.com.au/how-we-can-help/
Our next event is on 11th April 2019, 6.15pm Sydney CBD:
Building Resilience in your Career
https://www.facebook.com/events/1125708850917160/
Kind regards,
Leonie Lam
Career Coach