Starting today, LinkedIn will let users list their public-spirited deeds and philanthropic efforts alongside job experience under a new section called “Volunteer Experience and Causes.” According to a survey by the social network, more then ever volunteer experience is valuable information that could give job hunters the boost they need to get promoted or hired.

LinkedIn randomly selected and surveyed 1,942 people and found that a vast majority of them–89%–had volunteer experience. But their philanthropy went largely unreported. Only 45% of the respondents actually reported volunteer experiences on their career profiles. Survey responders said they didn’t think such experiences would count for much, and they didn’t think managers would be interested. The thought to add that experience to their profile hadn’t occurred to some of them.

But when the question was turned around, 41% of the same people polled said they considered volunteer experience as valuable as paid work experience. And 20% of the hiring managers polled in the survey admitted to making hiring decisions based on volunteer work.

Nicole Williams, Connections Director at LinkedIn, tells Fast Company that hiring managers are looking at volunteer experience as real work experience, if job candidates are able to talk about their achievements while volunteering in a quantifiable way. For example, talking about how you grew the Twitter following for an event you managed as an event coordinator would make a strong impression. The goal is to translate the description of your volunteer work into the vocabulary of employment, Williams says.

Managers today are also impressed by someone with a social conscience, Williams adds, but it’s also another way they distinguish between people who have the same kind of education and traditional work experience. “Volunteer [experience] is that next level of assessing if that person is someone worth hiring,” Williams says. The fact that hiring managers are looking at volunteer experience as adding a little glitter to a resume is a good reason for recent grads to showcase their Teach For America experience on their resumes and job profile, or talk about their time in Mongolia while with the Peace Corps. But this shift in attitudes toward volunteering could also give mid-career folk who are aching for a change of pace or vying for a raise a shot at a new job or promotion.

Volunteering at an organization in the area in which they’d like to work could put people who are looking for a mid-career switch-up in a plum spot to woo potential employers. It’s a good way to build connections at a time when hiring decisions are often made based on who you know. And it can help you stand out in a tough job market. “Volunteering helps put you in touch with the people in the industry, and it’s a great way of getting in front of people who have similar values and are leaders,” Williams says. “It puts you in front of people who may be connected with hiring opportunities.” Today, volunteering is as much about adding a layer of legitimate experience, as “about the people you’re meeting and being able to build those connections.”

You’re more likely to perform well and get noticed, too, when you’re working for a cause that you’re committed to. “You can try your hand at something in a professional capacity without the pressure of hard dollars,” Williams says. “There’s a passion attached to [your work], there’s a chance you’ll perform at your optimal level.” And, there’s good chance now that a potential employer or future boss will take that experience seriously, on par with a paid “real” job. Neatly packaged, a wholesome volunteer experience could be parlayed into a job opportunity.

Nidhi Subbaraman writes about technology and science. Follow on Twitter, Google+.

1. Excellence 2. Ethics 3. Employee Focus 4. Enthusiasm

Barry shared three (3) core principles to success : 

1.   VISION (4 pillars below) – “Must have a vision before you can do & you must do before you can have – often we look and strive for the have only”

• Mission – Who or what am I going to be.  Does my definition of who or what I’m going to be match my Vision and if so, how to do get there?
• Values – The Why to your vision.  Why am I (or are we) going to be this?
• Strategy – The How to your vision.  How am I going to achieve my vision?
• Measures – The realistic expectation of When.  When will I be successful and how do I measure my success?  Create timelines and reflect often on your progressive.  Have someone hold you accountable.

Bible Verse – Proverbs 29:18 – “Where there is no vision, the people perish:  but he that keeps the law, he is happy.”

 2. RELATIONSHIPS (5 key components below) – Everything we do is about relationships.  Relationships will ultimately define your personal and professional career.

• Care about other people – take time to care about other people
• Know the other person – Get to know your friends, business partners, coworkers, and most importantly, your family more
• Communicate – Find time and ways to open up a dialogue and take that next step with them
• Plan – Be consciously intentional about moving a relationship further
• Deliver – always under promise and over deliver

Bible Verse – Proverbs 18:2 – “Fools have no interest in understanding; only that they want to air their own opinions.” – Remember to listen and apply these 5 components to avoid isolation, as isolation is a constant struggle and battle for any individual.  Look at finding a “life partner group” to keep each other in line:  personally, professionally, mentally. 

3. PARTNERS (detailed below)

• The most critical relationship in an individual’s their full time partner in their spouse.  Be cognizant, mindful, open, trusting, and honest with them.  Make sure to try to incorporate them into your professional life as professional and personal should be one in the same.
• Business Partners – Don’t be lucky, be smart.  It’s important you have other business types and personalities in the mix.
  • Intention à Emotion à Execution – need to have someone evaluate this process.
• Understand the impact one right person can have
• 3 key elements – Life partners, faith based community, friends

 Recommended books:

• Golf’s Sacred Journey  by David Cook.  Also, you can check out Barry’s budding career as a Hollywood star at http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/seven-days-in-utopia/trailer - personal note – one of the best books I’ve read (6-7xs).  S-F-T
• Good to Great by Jim Collins

About Jackson Walker – JW is the 5 largest firm “attorney wise” in the state of Texas and the largest exclusively Texas Based Firm with over 340 attorneys in 6 cities.   Jackson Walker is a full service law firm and if you would like more information, please visit their website: http://www.jw.com/

David shared his Top 10 business practices:

1. Slow and steady will always win the race – do not be overly eager to immediately succeed. Take time to learn from those around you and be patient, as it will always pay off.

2. What goes around, comes around – make sure to always be honest, above board, and in the right. Short term success is never worth your loss of credibility, reputation, or values.

3. Success is hard work and disciple – the smartest guy in the room is not always the most successful. Success, whether monetary or personally, is achieved by hard work, diligence, dedication, loyalty, and discipline.

4. Friendships matter – in the end game your friendships can last a life time and your ability to maintain them can benefit you greatly. We all end up doing business in some form or fashion with those people we call friends, more importantly, trust. Call up an old friend you haven’t talked to in a while and make sure to nurture those relationships to the best of your ability.

5. People – we are all in the people business and appreciation is a key factor. At the end of the day, those people you work with all want to know that you appreciate the effort and time you put in to make each individual successful. Always thank them for all they do, treat them with respect, and find ways to help them in whatever way possible.

6. Great 1st impression – We all know that you have one opportunity to make a first impression. A first impression can make or break you.

7. Admit mistakes sooner rather than later – we are all going to make them, but, irreparable damage can be done by continuing to lie or avoid admittance of a fault.

8. Less is more – Take your time, be thoughtful, be methodical. Do not always react to emotional situations as many times that can only escalate the problem.

9. Under promise, over deliver “Don’t be all hat and no cattle” – Hard work, persistence, and at the appropriate times, humility, are values to success.

10. Golden Rule…do unto others as you would have them do unto you – treat people with respect, quite simply.

But once you have the idea, where do you go from there?  How do you sell it, fund it and make it a reality?   On April 26 the Young Professionals launched their Entrepreneurship Breakfast Series with two serial entrepreneurs, Lea Nesbit and Eric Lenington, both members of the North Texas Angel Network, to discuss what it takes to make it in a high-risk and fast moving industry. 

Lenington, a software entrepreneur, angel investor, and technology generalist started his first company at the age of 15 selling software “before software was a legitimate business.”  Since that time, Eric has launched 15 business ventures.    Nesbit is the CEO of Natural Dental Implants and co-founded Lingualcare, Inc., a Dallas, Texas based dental technology company that developed and marketed disruptive technology for the mass customization of invisible, orthodontic braces with operations in the U.S., Germany and Mexico. Lingualcare won the prestigious Dallas 100 Entrepreneur Award in 2007 for being one of the fastest growing, most dynamic companies in Dallas. Lingualcare was purchased by 3M Company in November, 2007. Lea served as Lingualcare’s CEO from the company’s inception in January, 2003 until the sale and as president until April, 2010 managing the integration with 3M Unitek.

Lenington and Nesbit offered words of advice to more than 50 young professionals who attended the breakfast at Cityplace. 

• Find partners (Lenington suggested 3) – not friends, but the ‘right’ people
• Have the support of your spouse or significant other before you move forward
• Have the ability to adapt and not give up, as well as be able to tolerate risk

They also talked about why you should start a business, which shouldn’t be primarily to make it rich (although that is a nice perk.)  “It’s not about money; money is not the end goal – creating something is the end goal.” Lenington stated.  Both agreed that most great starts came from identifying a problem and trying to solve it, but added that it has to be a problem that people are willing to pay to solve. 

YP will host two more events focused on entrepreneurship.  To find out more about the series, email yp@dallaschamber.org.

Thank you to our event sponsor, The University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business.

A highlight was meeting with Dr. John Deasy, new superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), and hearing of his plans for major transformation in the second largest public school district in the country.  Senior leaders of the LAUSD Innovative and Charter Schools Division and Teacher Effectiveness Task Force also provided information on key initiatives.  In a jam-packed day of presentations, we also met with the Los Angeles Deputy Mayor for Education, education reporters from the Los Angeles Times, and representatives from PartnershipLA and the LA Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

David Rattay, Senior Vice President of Education and Workforce Development of the LA Chamber of Commerce, shared information on the LA Compact, an unprecedented commitment of key Los Angeles institutions coming together to support  significant directional changes necessary to prepare Los Angeles students  for college and the 21^st century global workplace.

Similar delegations have made trips to Denver and Indianapolis for first-hand learning in the areas of innovative and quality public school options, human capital initiatives, teacher effectiveness, and successful community support programs that feature engagement with the business community.

Up next is a visit to Houston, followed by a day in Dallas for additional learning, and then discussion and evaluation.   The goal is to develop focused initiatives in support of the Dallas ISD and the education goals in the DRC’s Blueprint for Economic Prosperity.

Date: Friday, April 1, 2011, 9:27am CDT

Some things just don’t seem to ever change, as evidenced by the Dallas Regional Chamber continuing its dominance in the rankings of the Top 25 Largest North Texas Chambers of Commerce.

For the 12th consecutive time, Dallas Regional Chamber still sits at the top of the list. This year, it reported 2,300 corporate memberships. Membership totals have fluctuated over the years, still no one has been able to overtake the chamber, which has been in existence for more than 100 years. In 1909, the Commercial Club, the 150,000 Club and the Freight Bureau merged with the Board of Trade to form the original Dallas Chamber of Commerce.

Coming in second on this year’s list was the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce with 2,167 corporate memberships. Third place went to the Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce with 2,000 corporate memberships.

The complete listing of the largest North Texas Chambers of Commerce is available via the digital edition or on page 20 of this week’s print edition of the Dallas Business Journal. Also, a listing of Economic Development Agencies can be found on pages 23-25 of the print edition. ——————————————————————————– jgunter@bizjournals.com Read more: Top 25 list: Chambers of Commerce | Dallas Business Journal

Soon thereafter, the first meeting began with a staffer from Rep. Diane Patrick’s office discussing SB 468, TEXAS Grants and Tier 1 funding.  Then it was off to the Belmont Hotel on 6^th Street for lunch and to hear from our speaker, Mr. Barry McBee, Vice Chancellor and Chief Governmental Relations Officer of the UT System.  Mr. McBee gave an excellent talk on his role as Vice Chancellor and then opened the discussion up to a Q&A session for the YP members. 

At 1 pm, the Young Professionals met with Rep. Rob Eissler who is the Chair of the House Public Education Committee.  Rep. Eissler was very generous with his time and provided some great insight into how the state budget shortfalls will effect public education.  Next up at 2 pm, the YP group met with Dallas’ own, Rep. Eric Johnson.  Rep. Johnson had previously spoken last year at a YP Government Leaders Breakfast and was just as impressive this time around.  As a newcomer to the legislature, Rep. Johnson shed some light on his work during his first legislative session and how he is making a difference as a freshman legislator. 

Our meetings for the day wrapped up at 3 pm with a discussion with Lauren Pacek, staffer from Sen. Florence Shapiro’s office.  Ms. Pacek provided additional color to SB 468, the school relief bill authored by Sen. Shapiro. 

At 5:30, the Young Professionals headed over to the Driskill Hotel for the 2011 Reception Honoring the Dallas Area Legislative Delegation, which was hosted by the Dallas Regional Chamber and the City of Dallas.  Several local and state dignitaries were in attendance including Dallas Mayor Dwaine Caraway and several Dallas City Councilmembers, Rep. Dan Branch, Sen. Royce West, DRC President Jim Oberwetter, and DRC Chairman Mike Baggett, among others. 

After a delightful reception, the bus headed out of Austin at 8 pm carrying YP members back to their Dallas homes, and another successful YP legislative trip had concluded.  See you again in 2013, Austin!

With legislative agendas in hand, we made our way from office to office, meeting with Governor Perry, Lt. Governor Dewhurst, Speaker Straus, Senator Royce West (D-Dallas), Senator John Carona (R-Dallas) House Appropriations Chairman Jim Pitts (R-Waxahachie), House Higher Ed Chairman Dan Branch (R-Dallas) and others. Our group was tired after making our way up and down stairs between meetings this year.

To end the trip, the DRC, along with the City of Dallas and Brinker, hosted a reception at the Driskill Hotel. Man, what a beautiful place and great turn-out! And the food…amazing.

Not to name-drop, but Mayor Caraway, and most of the city council attended the reception along with many members of the City of Dallas senior staff.

Also, I should give a shout-out to the members of the DRC Young Professionals (see their photos on Facebook!) who spent their day lobbying the capital and stuck around to enjoy the reception. We had a great turn-out from our legislative delegation and appreciate the words offered by Reps. Yvonne Davis and Dan Branch at the reception. Even Senator West dropped by between committee meetings.

The trip was a success, and relationships were strengthened with elected officials. They know the Chamber is here, and that we are actively working towards our mission statement to make Dallas the best place to live in the U.S.

http://www.dallaschamber.org/files/TXLegAgendaFULL.pdf