Nicholas Fainlight | Business Development Associate, Hartford, CT

Nicholas Fainlight is an aspiring finance professional.

Tag: leader

2

Common Mistakes Made On Linkedin

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On January 26, 2022

In Education, Leadership, Nicholas Fainlight

LinkedIn has rapidly become a powerful business networking tool with over seven hundred million users worldwide. It is now the world’s most powerful site for executive searches and career development, allowing both employees and employers to find and connect. Users tend to make common mistakes with their profiles, leading to missed opportunities. The following are common mistakes that you must avoid to grow your connections count and advance in your career using Linkedin:

A Linkedin Profile With No Picture

Many people forget about this step and end up with an empty profile image section. Your picture is part of your identity and makes your profile attract other users. Failing to include your picture is a huge mistake since it’s hard to make business contacts with someone who has no picture. Most people are visual beings, so if your face isn’t on Linkedin, your profile looks empty to them, and they will not be likely to engage with it.

An Unprofessional Photo

A professional headshot is best for this section. If you have a group photo of your friends or family, it will be difficult to identify yourself on the picture. Still, this kind of image is considered unprofessional by most people. According to statistics, other users are more likely to engage with you if your profile picture is professional.

No Personal URL

Adding a personal URL to your Linkedin profile is an easy way to make your profile stand out. It allows you to promote your professional website on Linkedin but remember to keep this URL exclusive for LinkedIn and don’t link it with any other site or social platforms. The URL makes a profile to be easily shared, which is a way of promoting yourself.

Lackluster Headline

Remember that your Linkedin profile is an asset and your headline is the first thing people see on your profile, so you need to make it count. It should simply and concisely state what you do and be relevant to the industry of your choice. Avoid using clichés and lengthy headlines, which will only discourage other users from engaging with your profile.

The Wrong Job and Skills Title

This mistake is probably one of the most common found in Linkedin profiles. When you are unsure what to put, keep it simple and relevant. For instance, if you are currently unemployed or doing some freelance work on the side, instead of putting seeker. Being specific is the key to making employers or other users understand you better.

When managed correctly, a LinkedIn profile is an asset that will pay off in the long term and help you succeed in your career. If you avoid these common mistakes and keep your profile accurate and concise, it will help people notice you.

3

Remote Leadership Mistakes

By

On September 14, 2020

In Career, Finance, Investing, Nicholas Fainlight, postgraduate, Technology

Just when you think you have the whole leadership process figured out, a pandemic completely changes everything. Today, instead of face-to-face interactions, you are forced to conduct meetings and catch-ups on video calls. The most important thing is adjusting to the situation and learn how to motivate and manage your team remotely. Understandably, there are new skills you will have to learn. However, many leaders are continuously failing their remotely-working teams by making the following mistakes:

Lack of clear priorities, goals, and directions

As a team leader, you have to set clear priorities and goals to improve team performance. It’s not easy to do this remotely; however, ensure you review your team’s priorities and goals from time to time. An effective team will quickly outline goals, and a good leader will give team members clarity on their roles. Use virtual meeting platforms to update your team about any changes and hold catch-up meetings regularly.

Being Extremely Rigid

Today, most managers are tracking team members’ hours and monitoring daily activities to determine if the employees are working the agreed number of hours per day. Everyone can benefit from a flexible work schedule. Having a better integration of personal and work life can lead to a healthier, more productive, and happier team. As a leader, you should stop micromanaging and tracking how many hours an employee has spent on their screens. Instead you should focus on their daily achievements Give your team some space to breathe and don’t be so rigid. They know what works best for them.

Unproductive collaborations and communication

When working face-to-face, most collaborations and communications take place through informal conversations and interactions. However, this is not there with virtual teams. You need to find ways to foster better communication. The best option is to take advantage of online conferencing platforms such as Zoom.

Unconstructive, inconsistent and non-existent feedback

Giving employees feedback will motivate and improve their performance. It also keeps the team members satisfied since it shows you have their best interest at heart. Be consistent, offer suggestions on how they can improve, and coach them. Let your team learn from you, accept their feedback, and act on it. You can offer frequent feedback to your team through short video calls and creating one-on-one time with individual team members.

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