This Valentine’s week, I wanted to share a few items to freshen up and show some “love” to your personal LinkedIn profile or company page.
This week I held an informal LinkedIn workshop for some friends and connections, and wanted to share the big takeaways, capturing some of my tips and best practices to keep your profile up-to-date, active, and mutually helpful as you grow your network.
Sticking with the theme of love, the structure I wanted to use comes from Gary Chapman’s “The 5 Love Languages,” which you can read more about here. (If you’ve never heard of the 5 Love Languages, I encourage you to take a quiz and find out what yours are)!
So here’s what I challenge us to practice (myself included!) — in no particular order– to show some love to your LinkedIn profile, page, community, network, etc:
Quality Time: Yes, it can be hard to keep up another social media channel and seem like an extra item to add to our to-do lists, but carve out a recurring time each week to spend 15 – 45 minutes checking in, reading updates, and connecting. I also recommend aiming for one post or post share per month. This can be anything from personal announcements, current trends, company news, shout-outs, or other content.
Physical Touch: This looks different in our current pandemic situation, but there’s still availability to touch that keyboard regularly and plan some face-to-face time (virtually or safely socially distant). It may not be the in-person handshake, coffee date, or informational interview we were hoping for, but a video chat works great too.
Words of Affirmation: Encourage others, celebrate personal and professional news, and lift others up. Check out these “reaction” options for posts. Be sure to react, comment, and lift your connections up through positive words.
Gifts: Complete a Recommendation for a former colleague, mentee or intern; endorse skills of others as they pop up on your feed — both of these can really help strengthen others’ profiles and support them in their professional development and networking.
Acts of Service: Share about job openings, give referrals, post opportunities for collaboration or recognition. These can be in posts, comments, or personal direct messages. Connecting two individuals together can be an invaluable chance for connection.
After tackling some of these challenges, I encourage you to take advantage of the Featured section under your About section, as well as the Media option underneath each individual item in your Experience section. You can upload or link media items to showcase assets from your work or volunteer experience — think about any brochures, videos, handouts, speeches, email campaigns, visual elements, graphic design, ad, reports, etc. to strengthen your Experience item. If not linking a URL into this section and looking at uploading a file, I strongly recommend saving it as a PDF before uploading, so it’s less editable for others (just an extra step as a best practice, to protect your work online).
There is plenty more to dive into when it comes to optimizing, updating, and showing some love to your LinkedIn profile and network. I encourage you to check out the wide array of free LinkedIn workshops on Eventbrite and tune in for more expert advice.
What else has proven successful for you in your LinkedIn experience? Share in the comments below! This is an evolving, improving learning experience altogether as a community and I invite your comments, additions, or feedback.
If you’d like some 1:1 time to review your personal LinkedIn profile or company page, schedule some time with me and I’d be happy to give my personal review and feedback, pro bono.
By: Jenna Watson Gudgel, Communications Specialist, B.S. Journalism, Public Relations
[This post was originally written for and posted on Valley Christian Center’s blog].
With the oversaturation of news and information, it can be confusing to know where to look or what to trust. Information is the most accessible it has ever been. However, we are living not only in a COVID-19 pandemic but also an “infodemic,” a blend of ‘information’ and ‘epidemic’ coined in 2003 by journalist and political scientist David Rothkopf in a Washington Post column, when the world’s attention was on the current SARS crisis.
Over the last year, The World Health Organization (WHO) has increasingly warned of the dangers of our current infodemic – the challenges we are facing as a society bombarded with too much information. Too much information, in fact, that it can easily turn into massive miscommunication and confusion, leading to the creation of misinformation and disinformation.
What is misinformation and disinformation, you may ask? I’ll let the experts explain and share an excerpt from this September 2020 joint statement by WHO, United Nations (UN), United Nation’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and other international institutions:
“The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is the first pandemic in history in which technology and social media are being used on a massive scale to keep people safe, informed, productive and connected. At the same time, the technology we rely on to keep connected and informed is enabling and amplifying an infodemic that continues to undermine the global response and jeopardizes measures to control the pandemic.
An infodemic is an overabundance of information, both online and offline. It includes deliberate attempts to disseminate wrong information to undermine the public health response and advance alternative agendas of groups or individuals. Mis- and disinformation can be harmful to people’s physical and mental health; increase stigmatization; threaten precious health gains; and lead to poor observance of public health measures, thus reducing their effectiveness and endangering countries’ ability to stop the pandemic.
Misinformation costs lives. Without the appropriate trust and correct information, diagnostic tests go unused, immunization campaigns (or campaigns to promote effective vaccines) will not meet their targets, and the virus will continue to thrive.
Furthermore, disinformation is polarizing public debate on topics related to COVID-19; amplifying hate speech; heightening the risk of conflict, violence and human rights violations; and threatening long-terms prospects for advancing democracy, human rights and social cohesion.”
The Lord calls us to seek truth and love thy neighbor. If we aren’t hypervigilant about staying informed with the truth, it can be more than detrimental to our neighbors, it can even cost lives. I know I have been guilty of sharing headlines too quickly before checking the source and making sure it is from a reputable outlet. Fact checking takes extra time, but it is more important than ever to slow down, pause, fact check, and really think hard about the news we are consuming and sharing.
Media literacy is one of many areas we do not get taught or trained on in school (at least when I was going through school). It is the critical thinking skills required to evaluate and understand the mission, angles, goals, and endorsements behind various media sources. This includes discerning fact from opinion, in which the lines can easily blur on lots of mainstream news talk shows and segments. Media literacy is not restricted to one medium. Without media literacy, we are not equipped with the tools to seek the complete truth; we may turn to the familiar, or what we like to hear, using selective hearing.
There is a term in psychology/sociology called confirmation bias. It is defined as “the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one’s existing beliefs or theories.” Without intentional care, this bias can distance a person from counterarguments to the point it eliminates any room for discussion other than affirmations to that bias. Confirmation bias shows up in many areas of life, such as snap judgements we may make about other people, brands, or cultures. When it comes to media literacy and being vigilant about what we consume, we must be aware of our confirmation biases. We all have them.
Additionally, ALL social media platforms utilize algorithms (a set of rules and formulas used to rank, filter and organize content for users within certain social media platforms. Its major role is to show users the content according to their preferences and previous activities on social media) that are specifically designed to increase confirmation bias and keep us in a state of heightened emotion – this leads to increased polarization and can make us much more susceptible to misinformation.
When it comes to identifying the news sources you would like to intentionally hear from regularly, it is important to think critically about who is giving you information. I often get questions from friends who are skeptical of the media where they can find unbiased, down-to-the-brass-tax reporting, and in my experience and opinion, two great ones include The Associated Press (AP) and National Public Radio (NPR). Feel free to comment down below with others. In my experience, these are two sources where you can find simply straight facts (AP) and/or unbiased reporting, hearing from multiple perspectives (NPR). See the resources list down below for more.
When it comes to news sources, it is important to think critically about who is giving you information.
In this Christian Statement on Science for Pandemic Times from BioLogos, signed by over 7,000+ individuals and organizations, including well-respected pastors, theologians and community leaders, the petition claims:
“Because of our faith in Jesus Christ, we will: Correct misinformation and conspiracy theories when we encounter them in our social media and communities. Christians are called to love the truth; we should not be swayed by falsehoods (1 Corinthians 13:6). We will actively promote accurate scientific and public health information from trustworthy, consensus sources, and use this information when making decisions for our families, churches, schools, and workplaces.”
I strongly encourage you to read and reflect on the rest of the statement – they have some other really great knowledge nuggets addressing the polarization and politicization of science in the public space. It goes on to implore that “Christians should listen to scientists and doctors when they speak in their area of expertise, especially when millions of lives are at stake.” In touching on the medical field, they also add, “Pursuing medical treatment is not a sign of weak faith in God, but a grateful acceptance of God’s gifts.”
I am a fan of satire and comedy. Sometimes a poignant piece from the likes of “The Onion” can get a few laughs when shared with friends. Beyond sharing satire and comedic commentary, it has become more pertinent than ever to be vigilant against what we consume and share online. This is a life-or-death situation.
My challenge to all of us as a community of believers is that we hold each other accountable – check what we are sharing and posting online, look for fair, balanced reporting. We can encourage one another to take more time away from news and social media, which we know can do a world of good for our mental and emotional health.
When you do log on to catch up the latest, please do your part so we can fight this infodemic, together.
Firing up the ‘ole blog to bring you, yes YOU, some insights and perspectives on the state of the world today. From social justice, media literacy, allyship, mental health advocacy, current events, DEI topics and beyond, I have a wide array of areas I am so passionate about and need to write about.
Writing here and now at the beginning of 2021, we find ourselves in extremely difficult and challenging circumstances — between the infodemic, the current political climate, our global COVID-19 health epidemic, the climate crisis, and rising tensions in our nation, I find myself treading lightly and avoiding a lot of these tough conversations outside of my own household.
Something has changed within me (cue Elphaba in ‘Wicked’) and I know sharing and dialoguing through this medium will be a way to process and digest at least some of the chaos and confusion going on.
After some rather uncomfortable and surprising conversations with neighbors, community groups, and friends, I know I can’t stay quiet on some of these “hot button issues” any longer. I’m now aware of how dangerous misinformation can be, as well as taboo topics that we don’t really address. I’m ready to share and open up my thought process, and also hear from you.
It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted online or blogged. Looking back today, my last post was from Valentine’s Day 2015. It’s been almost 6 years! It’s time to start writing again.
For those of you who may be new here, check out the ‘About Me’ section, drop a comment to say hello or suggest a future topic to tackle.
I wanted to send an encouraging message out to all of you reading this, at all stages and ages in life and love. There are so many awesome articles, listicles, advice pieces, and more revolving around the most romantic day of the year. I realize so much of what there is to be said has been said (including a motivating article by CNN for those of my fellow single friends out there). But this year, I wanted to present a few new ways of thinking about HOW we feel and express admiration in all forms. Some food for thought, and your heart…
The 5 Love Languages: Words of affirmation, acts of service, gifts, quality time, and physical touch
A few years back, I read an awesome, thought-provoking book called “The 5 Love Languages” which lays out the ways we show and and receive love and kindness in all types of relationships. (Written by Christian author Gary Chapman, but the concepts can be applied by everyone engaging in any faith or season of life). I was able to identify not only how I feel most cared for by others, but also how to communicate to others how I care for them. For example, my primary love language is words of affirmation- I really enjoy and benefit from hearing what someone liked, how I made someone’s day better, or how I did something right. I have noted this as I grow and do life with friends, in affirming what we are doing correctly and boldly, especially in difficult situations. Separately, a roommate’s love language may be acts of service. So to show I appreciate them I may help them with putting a project together, or helping with specific chores. We all have primary and secondary love languages, and realizing what they are can bring us closer to communicating and appreciating each other better- leading to ourselves feeling more valued. The best way to find out, other than taking the online quiz, is to ask yourself, “How do I show others that I love/care for them?” That usually can answer the way YOU like to be treated and shown appreciation. I love discussing these types of topics and if you take the quiz and/or want to discuss it further, feel free to contact me.
Truly loving another means letting go of all expectations. It means full acceptance, even celebration of another’s personhood. -Karen Casey
I want to leave you with some ideas of how you can make sure to feel valued and the value of loving yourself and others this Valentine’s Day. I will tell you I was inspired by my weekly email inspiration splash from Paul the Ripples Guy (And if you’ve haven’t heard him speak or subscribed to his emails, I highly recommend it!). The one this week read, in regards to Valentine’s Day, “I tend to welcome it as an opportunity to consider love in all its variations, choosing from among several targets of love: romance, friends, family, pets, self, nature, etc. Our quotes this week invite us to expand our capacity to both give and receive love. I hope you accept this invitation, and I hope it helps you grow.” (And you can find the full list of love quotes here).
So what does that mean to you? What targets of love are you going to choose this holiday and how can you celebrate and embrace those? Volunteering your time? Donating blood? These are just two of the ways I’m engaging in spreading kindness this weekend to feel valued and better the lives of others. Another fun idea (that I just learned about because I’m still catching up on Parks & Rec) is having a “Galentine’s Day” event with just the gals all together. Sorry guys, you’ll have to come up with a creative name to get all the guys together I guess. Haha.
With that, I leave you for a wonderful three-day weekend and beautiful day of love. I hope no matter how your day/weekend turns out, whether out exploring nature, watching rom-coms solo at home, out with a sweetie, or sending a long lost pen pal a note of appreciation, that you know how truly valued you are.
[Quick note: I have been on quite the blogging hiatus despite my joy for writing, and then I read some great advice in this article which reminded me that writing is like eating our vegetables in the public relations communications industry. So here I am, back at it over a year later].
Greetings in 2015!
As the first month of this year comes to a close, many of us reflect on the healthy habits that have developed in this first month and how to keep them going strong throughout the year. And I’m not talking about diet and exercise, as the majority of New Year’s articles find themselves focusing on in January each year. This is a different set of habits. Habits to keep our brains sharp.
This is especially valuable for my friends and contacts who are transitioning out of the university lifestyle, like me, where we were constantly learning new material and being challenged intellectually. I believe that we can all be life-long learners if we have enough self-motivation and interest, if only we know where to look and how to develop the right habits. There is so much free and accessible knowledge and information available for us!
APPS
There are handfuls of well-designed apps that can hep you keep expanding your intellect. Two in particular that I personally try to work on each day are Lumosity and DuoLingo. Lumosity trains me in cognitive areas such as multi-tasking, focus, problem-solving and more through fun little daily games. DuoLingo trains me to advance my Spanish skills and continuously practice them as I learn more each day. DuoLingo has dozens of languages to choose from and from what I’ve experienced of it so far, is very intuitive and comprehensive- making your practice all forms of writing, speaking and translating, while also reviewing your weakest words. (I promise this is not an ad or promo post, haha!). These are just two that I have found very helpful and am thankful to have, incorporating them into my daily routine. I like to complete my daily trainings in these apps while walking around the house or on the treadmill to be efficient (more on walking habits in a future post).
PODCASTS
I have newly become quite obsessed with podcasts in 2015, especially since I am on the road a lot and they have helped my drives seem to go quicker. In the iTunes store, there are thousands of free podcasts on just about anything you can imagine. Personally, I have enjoyed Snap Judgement, Serial, Planet Money, and Invisibilia all from NPR, and also Freakonomics, TED Talks, Stuff You Should Know, and Grammar Girl independent from NPR. I enjoy the thought-provoking information while on the road, and gaining knowledge in a time when I usually and used to just be perfecting my pop lyrics from tunes on the radio (not saying I don’t still rock out in between podcasts to stay alert while driving). It’s like hand-picking your lessons for the day, and learning about what you’re actually interested in or want to know more about, not just sitting through a GE required course and disliking being there. I highly recommend checking out a few of these and adding them to your devices for your next road trip, hike, or walk, whether alone or with buddies.
JOURNALING
For those of you who know me well, you know how much I love journaling and I encourage others to do it often. As much I could go on and on about the benefits of journaling, I’ll just simply add it to this list now as an effective tool for keeping your mind healthy. I have found it very empowering to journal about whatever’s on my mind: lists of gratitude, reflections on the day, dreams, plans, highlights from an event, etc. It’s such a treat to read back and see what I accomplished, was able to power through, and how expected plans unfolded. I truly believe that journaling helps clear your mind and organize your thoughts, especially if you’re an over-thinker or highly sensitive person like myself. This can help your mind go to sleep at night and also clear your head so you’re able to focus on new information and new experiences. (Which in turn, contributes to enhancing the practice of these other habits on the list).
NEWS
This one may be a no-brainer but it’s surprising how much young millennials don’t know about what’s going on in the worlds and their communities. This is probably because those of us transitioning out of college are at an age where we’ve all been preoccupied with research papers and group projects with our noses in our textbooks, not leaving much time to read articles online or watch the news. I think many of us would agree that intelligence and mindfulness are both attractive qualities- being aware of what’s happening around us. Not only is it an attractive trait to work on by keeping up with current events, but also, I have come to see how it can come in handy as a young professional when networking and meeting other professionals in various industries. For public relations and communications professionals specifically, it is a must to keep up on current events as we analyze what significance and impact they may have on our clients, campaigns and communication objectives.
So whatever this looks like for you, whether setting daily or weekly goals to keep up with these habits, I challenge you to pick one and commit to incorporating it in your life. Teach yourself and keep your mind stimulated. I’d also love to hear some feedback: what do you do to keep your mind sharp or continue life-long learning? Online lectures? Book clubs?Conferences? What works for you?
Here’s to a happier, healthier, and smarter 2015- training and shaping not only our physical health but our intellectual health to be the best that we can be.
Peace.
mindless TV timewasted hours onlineletting our intellectual health become weak & stagnant
This is what I miss from my independent backpacking travels overseas. And the empowerment I experience from making my own decisions and plans when I do still have days to myself. Well said, Shelby! 🙂
There is certain confidence found in solitude. I miss it. My heart longs for the assurance and trust in myself I had when I was alone. I don’t mean being single or sitting alone in the car, I’m referring to moments when I have been truly alone with myself on backpacking trips, world travels, or solitude weekends. Times when I have truly been without another human being to help me make any decisions. At the beginning, it is frightening to be alone, having to rely completely on yourself to make decisions that could literally make the difference between life or death. Your physical well-being is dependent upon your ability to make good decisions and how you respond to adverse situations. Later you develop a deep trust in your own opinions, thoughts, and decisions. Confidence in who you are and how you reason begins to set in and consume your fears…
Sometimes it’s not just sharing all “the deep stuff.” Emotional vulnerability is a place we get to with trusted friends and family members. But the definition of the word itself tells you why we hold back so much; “capableoforsusceptibletobeingwoundedorhurt.” But if we never take the risk of putting ourselves out there and taking a step into vulnerability, we may miss out on so much potential to connect with the ones closet to us.
In fact, most of our strongest desires come from wanting a truer, deeper connection with people and friends. Just think about it for a moment…
I have not only been told but have also personally experienced the progress and benefits of stepping into vulnerability with friends. (And of course, before going further, there is always a place for those that have been disrespected by certain friends and had their personal information and stories dispelled which can just be part of the process; improving our personal discernment). Efforts to foster a community of connectivity, support, and accountability are practiced throughout various faith-based organizations and many leadership groups. Having grown up in and still a key part of both of these, I’ve had countless experiences of participating in and facilitating this “fostering” of community cultures. I’d like to focus on the participant side of this vulnerability.
We always hear, “don’t keep it all bottled up, you’ve gotta let it out and talk to someone.” However, emotional vulnerability goes a step further than just venting about all of your problems to the first open ear. It gets down to the really tough stuff in life and what may be causing certain things to come up to the surface and affect us. For example, my roommates have regularly asked, “what’s going on, are you okay?” As to then my reply usually includes, “yeah, I’m fine, just stressed with school.” But since I’m continuing to get to know my roommates and wanting to connect with them more, I might take it a step further and instead be vulnerable about the root cause of my current mood and behaviors. “Yeah, I’m hanging in there. I’ve been really homesick lately so that’s hard, and I’m confused about this project so I’m just in a tough place right now,” is a more emotionally vulnerable answer. The latter provides more context- more than a simple, surface-level topic- providing a platform for them to understand me better, possibly relate, and possibly even help in a real way because they now know. It’s a process.
Even though there are probably multiple psychology studies that prove this (such as vulnerability will lead to intimacy in relationships), I can vouch from my experience that getting to a place, or at least taking steps to get to a place of emotional vulnerability really helps fight anxiety and depression. Again, this is much more than just someone to sit and listen to you ramble all your problems to, but a true friend who can give feedback and share what they’ve done when they’ve been in that place.
I’ve learned that when I keep things to myself, I can get so lost in my thoughts and get into a steep downwards spiral fast. This is a dangerous place to get to.
When I reach out and am intentional about my time and conversations with friends and colleagues, I can get advice or even better yet someone that knows exactly how I’m feeling. Sometimes that’s the greatest comfort- knowing the crazy situation or predicament you’re in hasn’t just only happened to you, and that there’s other people out there dealing with the same things right now. As I write this, most situations that come to mind relate to romantic relationships or career choices, but those are still biggies that we need to reach out and get support for.
Lastly, I wanted to touch on the subject of situations that make us vulnerable, including those late-night conversations, staying up with friends, or the laughs you share over a few drinks. These are just two of the many places we can find ourselves in by getting past a mental barrier. The sleepy confessions or tipsy-told stories can be a place we long to reach because we then have an excuse for our honesty and vulnerability. Sometimes we like to have a real, tangible way (or scapegoat) to explain ourselves in case someone asks or a conversation goes to far. “Sorry, I’m just so exhausted, but I’ve gotta tell you….” Or what about, “Yeah, I had a few drinks so it got real with them and we had a great, deep talk.” But why can’t those talks happen every day or at least more often? I challenge you to adjust some of your “normal” conversations. Be intentional with your questions and ask something different besides the obligatory, “how are you?” once in a while. I know I need to take that challenge daily, as I continue to understand the art of being vulnerable.
(Cue song: “True Colors,” Glee cover version of course, for all you Gleeks out there! 😉
After a relaxing weekend of catching up on homework, exploring the city like locals, grocery shopping, and hanging out in our flats all together, we had a nice week of class field trips around the city. Like I mentioned, we had a pretty easy academic schedule with no classes on Friday. So this week I decided to join a small group of our Cal Poly students to leave early for Dublin Ireland on Friday morning, which you’ll read all about in the next post….
This week I made to sure to check in back home with friends and family again. Several different Skype sessions which was really nice to catch up with them and get some support from home in the middle of my trip 🙂 I didn’t even feel like I needed an international cell phone (which I did not get) over there since there are plenty of free apps on our smart phones that we can use when we have Wi-Fi at home or while studying. Whether it’s Skype, Viber, or any of the other ones, it was easy to stay connected for free; very convenient.
Since the London 2012 Festival was going on all summer to kick off an exciting summer of hosting the Games, there were even MORE performances than usual all over the city and different forms of artistic expressions. Including decorative pianos all over the city that were available for anyone to walk up and use. Each time we passed one I had to keep walking and keep up with the group so I never got a chance to sit down and play one 😦 But it was awesome to people playing all along the Thames River as we went throughout the city.
Replica of a royal carriage in the Museum of London
Porgy & Bess opera with our Musical Theater class
Porgy & Bess opera house
Europe’s oldest Gurdwara! Religious studies class field trip
Back from Paris, we had a packed week with something big every single day (for most of us)! Everything from a tour of the Olympic Park, the Houses of Parliament, the Globe Theater, seeing Les Miserables, seeing Chicago on the 4th of July (American decision), Saint Paul’s Cathedral, the V&A Museum, and a field trip to Stonhenge and Bath! Such an amazing week. By this week, three weeks in, we were all very well adjusted and knew how to navigate around the city pretty well. We did some of our exploring and started feeling like actual locals 🙂
walking past Saint Paul’s on the way to the Globe Theater….
Shakespeare’s Globe Theater
Inside the Globe Theater, getting a tour from one of the actors.
testing out my acting skills in the Globe Theater
at the top of Saint Paul’s Cathedral
Our show of choice to be American on the 4th of July 🙂
View of the city from the top of Saint Paul’s Cathedral
Joyful Days, Jenna Ways 