Now that the New York Primaries have clearly told us who the two likely nominees are in our Presidential election I decided to stop watching the various news channels providing saturation coverage obfuscated by the various contradicting pundits’ opinionated views on the candidates, and to dig a little deeper into each of the two presumptive nominees. Cable new channels mostly produce noise, with the anchor rounding up “experts” from each side, all of whom cannot help but shout at each other uncontrollably, producing a harsh cacophony of confusing messages! Honestly, I learn more about the candidates on the late-night comedy shows than I do watching the 24-7 news channels!
Reverting to LinkedIn to learn about the candidates seemed like a good idea!
So, I started with Hillary Clinton. Yes, she has a website and she is also on LinkedIn. Her website was not of much help other than what I see and hear on TV every day from her. I wanted some specifics and what she considers to be her key leadership traits described clearly with examples of accomplishments that I could relate to, not just her activities in her various roles. So, when I first looked at the Headline: “2016 Presidential Candidate,” I was struck by its imposing banality.
Next, I scanned her Summary. And, here it is in its entirety: Wife, mother, grandmother, women and kids (sic) advocate, FLOTUS, FLOAR, Senator, Secretary of State, dog person, hair icon, pantsuit aficionado, 2016 presidential candidate.
Wow! With all the resources Hillary has from her campaign staff and knowing what constituency she is appealing to through her Profile—highly educated professional working class with wide influencing power and some 50 million or more in the US alone (my guess) likely to be looking at her Profile, I was both surprised and disappointed. She could have also used a copy editor before posting her skimpy Profile Summary (two errors of grammar in that short fragment). Her entries in the Experience part are no different: Just the positions she held at different times and nothing else!
Hillary Clinton is listed as an Influencer on her LinkedIn page. As a career coach, who works with clients to show them how to showcase their value to a reader visiting their LinkedIn Profile, I was struck by how poorly her Profile comes across for anyone interested in checking out her accomplishments, not just her positions, stints, bona fides, and her activities. Hillary still has an opportunity to upgrade her Summary and list what her agenda is for her first term as our next POTUS with a credible list of her actual accomplishments, not just her duties. When she states herself as FLOTUS or FLOAR I have no idea what that entailed on her part to deliver something of value to her constituency and how she leveraged that position to benefit her résumé for future roles, especially as the future President of the United States. Knowing the spirit of what LinkedIn messages convey about its members to the community that relies on their ability to deliver value Hillary’s Profile needs serious rework, especially as a LinkedIn Influencer.
To be fair to Hillary, she at least has a presence on LinkedIn, skimpy and disappointing as it is. Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders do not have any. Each of the candidates has their Facebook page, but it is no different from watching the TV newsfeed or YouTube videos.
For all the candidates running for the highest office in our land this still is your chance to communicate to an important constituency your message and to convince us why we should vote for you.
I think a Presidential campaign deserves more than what these candidates and their campaigns have done to inform the curious public wanting to cast their informed votes for the most important job in our country and the world!