Neal Schaffer - Linkedin Expert

Animal Show. Wed Dec 23 - NOON EST

LinkedIn
Web Site
Twitter
Book

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Profiles For Analysis
01. Ami Givertz
02. Cincy Recruiter
03. Larry Engel
04. Jeff Terlinden
05. Cindy Ausman
06. Tyler Durbin
07. Glen Loock
08. Richard Twumasi
09. Steve Garnsey
10. Stephen Palmer
11. Rebecca Michaels
12. Amos Tayts
13. Jon Wainwright
14. Billy Deyamport
15. Maureen Sharib
16. Jeremy Worthington

Comments

[Amitai Givertz]

As usual, a load of rubbish. To the remarks about my LinkedIn profile...

1. LinkedIn profiles are not resumes per se. Comparing them to such indicates the extent to which you and your guest fail to recognize both the medium and its diverse uses. It's not [just] a job board, except for one-dimensional recruiters like you. Nor is a LinkedIn profile simply a branding device as suggested by your self-appointed guru.

2. Your guest asks: "Who would would hire an 'activist?'" Well, the same could be said for a podiatrist too until, of course, you actually needed one.

I describe myself as an "activist" because "militant change agent" and/or "disruptor" may carry negative connotations whereas, in my mind at least, an "activist" - while those thing in deed -- stand up for what they believe in and for causes which are just. For that I make no apology or correction.

3. To my name...Michael, you can call me Ami or whatever you please. My name is Amitai Givertz and that is how I like it. It was clear no one on your panel had problems either pronouncing my name or associating it with who I am although, frankly, I don't give a toss what you or they think.

Your suggestion that I change my name because it doesn't sound English enough indicates your one-dimension thinking about English people too. If I had to pick between Enoch Powell and Ahmed Salman Rushdie for a proper English sounding name I'd pick Rushdie over Powell.

I understand that your name may have been changed somewhere along the line because it may have sounded too Jewish. If that's where all this is coming from, I understand. My grandfather changed the family name to something more "English" until my father changed it back to "Givertz." It was good enough for my father and its good enough for me.

To close, here are some other names that you might consider before suggesting "hard to spell" and "hard to say" is the basis on which to "re-brand" your LinkedIn profile:

Arnold Schwarzenegger
Barack Hussein Obama
Martina Navratilova

5. As for Mike Rimmer and his comment, who the hell is Mike Rimmer anyway?

In the spirit of things,

Amitai Givertz
Innovator, activist, advisor and coach

[Recruiting Animal]

Hi Ami,

You obviously didn't listen too closely.

No one suggested changing your last name.

We suggested that you use Ami instead of Amitai - because Ami is easier for an Anglophone.

And if it's so awful why is it the name you use on a daily basis?

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ACTIVIST

Neal's probably right in saying that some people might find activist an issue.

Perhaps the sign of a loose cannon - but it wasn't one for me.

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LINKEDIN is a resume bank plain and simple.

The only difference is that rather than leaving the design of the resume completely to the writer's own devices, LI gives her a format to follow.