CAREER ADVICE FROM THE MAN BEHIND LINKEDIN
Linkedin’s recent success can be attributed to many factors, including a growing user base and a strategic shift to becoming a content and news provider. But In order to understand the what behind the site’s success, it might be helpful to understand the who as well, and no one has provided more value and insight for Linkedin than it’s Executive Chairman and co-founder, Reid Hoffman.
Hoffman’s professional exploits expand well beyond Linkedin. When he’s not running the internet’s largest professional social network and 15th most visited site on the web, he’s helping Graylock Partners, Silicon Valleys top VC firm, grow and develop wildly successful startups like Airbnb or Dropbox. And with the time he has left over, Hoffman continues to offer his advice by sitting on the board of directors for companies such as Zynga, and Shopkick. While he could have spent plenty of time counting the insane amount of money he has made over his career, Hoffman decided to share his tips and insights by writing a career advice book.
Hoffman’s book on professional career advice, entitled The Startup of You, was released in the spring of 2012 and quickly vaulted to the top of the bestsellers list for both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. In just over 200 pages,Hoffman draws upon his experience as a successful entrepreneur and investor to give simple and down to earth advice that applies to working professionals in any and all industries. Despite the book's corny title, Hoffman makes effective comparisons between creating a startup company and creating a successful career. For example, he artfully crafts an early chapter in the book that urges workers to identify their own competitive advantage by discovering an unique intersection between their assets, aspirations, and market realities:
Hoffman’s professional exploits expand well beyond Linkedin. When he’s not running the internet’s largest professional social network and 15th most visited site on the web, he’s helping Graylock Partners, Silicon Valleys top VC firm, grow and develop wildly successful startups like Airbnb or Dropbox. And with the time he has left over, Hoffman continues to offer his advice by sitting on the board of directors for companies such as Zynga, and Shopkick. While he could have spent plenty of time counting the insane amount of money he has made over his career, Hoffman decided to share his tips and insights by writing a career advice book.
Hoffman’s book on professional career advice, entitled The Startup of You, was released in the spring of 2012 and quickly vaulted to the top of the bestsellers list for both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. In just over 200 pages,Hoffman draws upon his experience as a successful entrepreneur and investor to give simple and down to earth advice that applies to working professionals in any and all industries. Despite the book's corny title, Hoffman makes effective comparisons between creating a startup company and creating a successful career. For example, he artfully crafts an early chapter in the book that urges workers to identify their own competitive advantage by discovering an unique intersection between their assets, aspirations, and market realities:
If you want to chart a course that differentiates you from other professionals in the marketplace, the first step is being able to complete the sentence, “A company hire me over other professionals because . .. “ How are you first, only, faster, better, or cheaper than other people who want to do what you’re doing in the world”
A handful of sections in the book as well as its hardback cover sometimes make The Startup of You feel like a 200 page ad for Linkedin. Fortunatley, Hoffman fights the urge to write a book that focuses solely on the value of a professional network by offering helpful career planning tools and insights for professionals fresh out of college up to seasoned managers, and everyone in between. His consistent yet well founded tips to “invest in yourself” and “pursue breakout opportunities” could certainly pay dividends well beyond the corporate world for anyone who chooses to read. Those not interested in purchasing the entire book should at least spend some time checking out the book’s website or blog.
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