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Tune in to a special edition of Capital District Business Profiles on Valentine's Day featuring motivational speaker and career counselor Dr. Tom Denham.

Dr. Tom has worked with colleges, students, and career professionals for many years in the Capital District and has great insights on how to make a career transition.

Have you fallen in love with your career? If you haven't, it may be time to listen to your heart and also listen in to our show 330-415 on Valentine's Day.

You may be in a situation now where you are unsure where the next step may lead, and its time to remove the fear from your life by facing it and moving on!

I volunteered my time yesterday at the Times Union Job fair from 10-1 yesterday to critique resumes of those who were seeking jobs at the fair. One of the recurring themes I saw among the resumes I reviewed was the lack of a LinkedIn profile link at the top of the page.

If you have a LinkedIn account, you should put your LinkedIn URL on your resume to use it as an enhanced version of your resume to direct employers to greater details than your resume can provide.

LinkedIn has become such a valuable resource for employers, job seekers and consultants among many others. From finding the right talent to finding the right service provider, having LinkedIn as part of your strategy as a job seeker or business person is crucial.

For those seeking to switch jobs or finding jobs, using the Skills feature on LinkedIn can enable you to stand out from others in your field of interest.

Earlier this year, I wrote about Attitude, Attendance, and GPA and why most employers and schools that matter don't care.

Today, I expand on this thought by coming up with a new meaning for the GPA acronym.

Genuine
Professional
Attitude

With a Genuine Professional Attitude, you can walk into any door and find work wherever you go. Without it, you will end up endlessly searching for work and the right opportunity.

People who are genuine show it not necessarily with their words, but always with their actions.

People who are professional walk their talk, apologize when necessary and carry themselves with a high level of credibility.

People with the right attitude look for the opportunity in every failure and success.

What is your GPA? Have you paid attention to it lately? Think of this new GPA acronym -Genuine Professional Attitude instead of your Grade Point Average.

It doesn't matter if you have a 3.0 or 4.0 if your attitude sucks, you aren't professional or are insincere!

PS - If grade point average meant anything, it would be a field you'd need to fill in on your LinkedIn profile! (Guess what, it's not!)

I have spent the last 4 months participating in an internship with Braathe Enterprises and Saratogacollege.com. I happened upon it while searching internship opportunities online. I don't think I could have found a better company to learn and develop my professional skills and all by accident. On a whim, I contacted Robert Braathe and so began my journey from student to intern began.

During my very first conversation with Robert, I knew that I would gain so much from his expertise and professional experience. His knowledge from running his own company and working for large corporations is invaluable and span from social media to traditional marketing techniques and far beyond. As a mentor Robert is support and pushing you to pursue and find as much information as you can. He frequently forward information, stories or websites of interest. I felt like my development was always top of mind.

The benefits of an internship with Braathe Enterprises include unlimited knowledge, weekly conference calls, real professional assignments, and access to a free online course through saratogacollege.com. Besides all the benefits listed above, I was impressed with my first assignment. I was asked to compile a list of 6 or 7 objectives I would like to explore during my internship. It's unusual to be able to almost dictate the content and direction. I was almost curious in a way to see what and how my list would play into my 4-months. And sure enough we went through each and every item on my list and I had the chance to explore, ask questions, and complete an assign with real-world application. I wasn't forced to fit into a mold and go through the motions....I learned about things I was interested in knowing. That for me made all the difference.

Saratogacollege.com added a unique element to my internship. I was able to have access to an online course at no charge to me. I also had access to a free online textbook. I was able to locate in formation at anytime and to challenge myself with the course work. We all know how expensive college course can be, what a fantastic benefit to have provided to me. I am grateful for the opportunity to take an additional class.

This on my very last day as an intern find myself elated to have completed an internship in a professional arena and be successful, and even more grateful for the opportunity. I very much look forward to taking the skills and knowledge I attained while interning with Braathe Enterprises and Saratogacollege.com and applying it to my next journey.

What defines a professional loser? Someone who

Lets
Others'
Success
Engender
Resentment

You've seen people like this; they see someone get promoted, hit a sales target, win an award, and all they seem to get out of it is rage and resentment towards the achievement. Rather than look at their own shortcomings, need to improve, or appreciate the achievement of another, they take the short road and belittle the achievement or the person.

If you don't win an award, get the promotion, or get a job and someone else you know does, look at it as an opportunity to reset your clock, your goals, and your desires. Make it an opportunity to look inside and see what you need to do next, and why in fact you didn't get what you felt you deserved.

This free hour-long interactive presentation and Q+A session will show you how to create your profile, optimize it, and use LinkedIn as a networking tool in order to improve your job or internship search. Presented by Robert Braathe, founder of Braathe Enterprises, and Kelsey Weiss, Skidmore College '12 and intern for Braathe Enterprises

Skidmore College - Palamountain 202 - Wednesday December 14th

To RSVP, visit the link below or email robertjbraathe@gmail.com
LinkedIn Presentation by Braathe Enterprises - December 10th in Saratoga Springs

Q: Dear Professor Braathe,

I have worked in a variety of roles over the years and am concerned future employers are going to label me as a job hopper. What do you suggest I do to show some more stability on my resume?

A: After looking over your resume, you have some clear patterns here of work in the hospitality sector as well as the medical profession. Rather than line these up chronologically, line them up categorically. If you are looking for a role in an admin position, put the medical stuff first, but if you are seeking a hospitality position, list those first

Q: Dear Professor Braathe,

I've done a lot in my career, and looking at your LinkedIn profile I see that we have followed similar career paths (corporate, family business, starting your own business and consulting). How do I improve my LinkedIn profile to better focus what it is I want to do next?

A: Thank you for checking out my profile on LinkedIn. As you noticed, I have two distinct businesses, I teach at two different colleges, and also recently announced the launch of an internet radio sports talk show. While these positions all are very different, a focused headline and summary make it clear the type of people and business I am looking for. The profile itself is designed to add depth and experience to what people hope to find. Challenge yourself to come up with a catchy headline and summary to focus your experience as well.

I took this free career quiz back in college and it really laid the foundation for what I have ended up doing for the past several years since I took it. Still a great tool many years later.

Send me your results if you take this and I can give you some advice on businesses you may want to start or jobs you may want to pursue

http://www.princetonreview.com/careerquiz.aspx

robert@saratogacollege.com

I'm offering a 12 week course called Career Communications Concepts online. This course goes over the basics of presentations, conference calls, webinars, resume building, LinkedIn profile creation and much much more.

For one lucky winner, I am going to be offering free access to this course. To enter the contest, send a 200 word or less email to me at robert@saratogacollege.com with the reasons why I should give you access to the course. I'll pick the winner on 11/5/11 after reading all the entries.

Whether you are out of work, looking to improve your position in life through better communication, or looking to enhance the skills you already have, Career Communications Concepts is a course at SaratogaCollege.com that you should definitely consider!