Four Ways To Dominate With LinkedIn Video

Lacey Abbacchi

Since being introduced in 2017, LinkedIn Video has become a popular type of content on the platform — and for good reason. It can help you build your online presence and build trust and credibility with your target audience. Having created more than 450 videos myself, I can certainly attest to the opportunities it will bring your business.

However, though I believe video should be a part of every business's marketing strategy, many people are still lost when it comes to knowing what to say and how to say it on video. There is so much content floating around that sometimes, it can feel like your message is just going to get left in the dust.

Below are four strategies I've learned that can help you dominate with LinkedIn Video and stand out above all the rest.

1. Always give value.

Whether you're giving sales tips or sharing a life lesson you've learned, always aim to give your audience value — no matter what you're talking about.

There has to be something in it for them. Ask yourself the question, "Why should they care?" That's not meant to make you feel bad, but to remind you to always have a takeaway for your audience.

Make sure that when someone has finished watching your video, they walk away having learned something. You should always seek to educate, inspire or motivate.

And remember, their curiosity is a huge opportunity for you. They’re spending time watching your video for a reason, so make it worthwhile for them.

4. Don't be afraid to get personal.

No one cares about what you do until they know who you are. This sounds harsh, but in my experience, it's the truth. Contrary to popular belief on LinkedIn, people actually want to know more behind the professional.

Historically, the platform was only about business, and (sorry, LinkedIn) I found it a bit stuffy. However, when video was introduced, I believe LinkedIn took a whole new turn. Now it's a beautiful mix of professional and personal content that gives others context and meaning into your career.

So, one of the best ways that you can dominate on video is to simply be you. Don't be afraid to tell your story and get a little vulnerable. Share your failures, lessons, life experiences and how your journey got you to where you are now. People buy from people. They want to see that you're human, too.

Be open, and share things with your audience that you feel they could learn or get value from. But no matter what, always come from a place of honesty and authenticity.

See all 4 ways and the complete Forbes article

 

 

 

 

4 New LinkedIn Features for Job Seekers

By Jane Jackson

LinkedIn has  been busy rolling out multiple new features in 2020  to help job seekers to build their brand on this platform to make applying for jobs, getting noticed by hiring managers & recruiters, and preparing for job interviews easier.

Let’s take a look at my favourite 4 features for job seekers that LinkedIn has added recently – some of them are VERY exciting, others are definitely worth experimenting with.   

2.    The Build a Resume Feature

This is handy LinkedIn feature if you don’t have a resume and decide to create your LinkedIn profile first. I have no idea why anyone would do things in that order, but assuming you do, then LinkedIn’s Build a Resume feature makes it easy for you.

What’s handy about it is that it pulls all your LinkedIn information within seconds into a document that is already formatted into a resume. Yes, within SECONDS! I tried it out and ended up with an 11 page document which is far too long and required a huge amount of culling to get it succinct enough for a resume! Remember this:

A RESUME IS A SYNOPSIS OF YOUR CAREER HIGHLIGHTS THAT IS RELEVANT TO THE READER.

So I suggest you try it out and then spend time tailoring it to suit the job to which you wish to apply. It needs to attract the attention of the screener and have the right key words so that you’re a good match.

Here’s my YouTube video that explains exactly how to find the Build a Resume feature and how to use it.

3.     Job Interview Preparation Feature

Now THIS new LinkedIn feature is truly wonderful for job seekers as it guides you, step-by-step to prepare for job interviews and provides the opportunity for you to record yourself.

You can watch how you did and also send the recording to your career coach to critique and provide feedback. In fact, you can send the recording to anyone you’re connected to on LinkedIn who is willing to give you feedback!

I know you might feel a bit shy about recording yourself but if you get used to seeing yourself on camera, and you become comfortable with speaking to a webcam, it’ll be good for you when you have your video job interviews via Zoom or Microsoft Teams or whatever your recruiter or hiring manager may schedule for you.

For a step-by-step guide to this feature click here

See all 4 new features and the complete article

10 LinkedIn Profile Mistakes You Want to Avoid and Why

by Neal Schaffer 

LinkedIn Profile Tips.  A lot of people tell you what you should be doing, but what about what you shouldn’t be doing?

LinkedIn is the place to not only find others but also to be found.  And that is why you need a profile that not only helps you get found but also will entice people to contact you once they view your profile.  I see many people making fundamental mistakes that actually work against them in this aspect.  If you’re going to spend time putting together a profile, I assume you want to maximize your chances of being contacted by the right people, right?

With that in mind, I have created an easy-to-understand list of a few LinkedIn profile tips to check for with my reasoning.  If it sounds like an exercise in search engine optimization, you are on the right path.  Just like any website owner, you want to stick out and be found!

LinkedIn Profile Tips: The 10 Mistakes You Want to Avoid and Why

LinkedIn Profile Tips.  A lot of people tell you what you should be doing, but what about what you shouldn’t be doing?

LinkedIn is the place to not only find others but also to be found.  And that is why you need a profile that not only helps you get found but also will entice people to contact you once they view your profile.  I see many people making fundamental mistakes that actually work against them in this aspect.  If you’re going to spend time putting together a profile, I assume you want to maximize your chances of being contacted by the right people, right?

With that in mind, I have created an easy-to-understand list of a few LinkedIn profile tips to check for with my reasoning.  If it sounds like an exercise in search engine optimization, you are on the right path.  Just like any website owner, you want to stick out and be found!

2. Headline is Not Branded Enough

See that space underneath your name?  That is your “Professional” or Profile Headline.  It will appear in search results next to your name, as well as next to any questions you ask or answer.  It is, in essence, your elevator speech in a few words.  Are you just putting your title and company name here?  Don’t!  This is the place where you need to appeal to anyone who finds you in a search result to reach out and look at who you are.  Your Profile Headline is the single most important piece of real estate you have, and you need to brand it as such.. 

6. Too Few Connections

This is a topic for debate, but too many people have too few connections on their profile, and thus are not getting found.  The idea is simple: when you do a search you will see results from your network.  And vice-versa.  So the more connections you have the more search results you will appear in pure and simple.  Combining this is the fact that Windmill Networking is about finding value in online networking with people that you don’t know.  So what are you waiting for?  If you don’t know who to invite, here are 15 Ways to Grow Your LinkedIn Network as well as 10 LinkedIn LIONs & Super Connectors You Must Connect With!

8. Not Claiming Your Personal URL

When you sign up to LinkedIn you are provided a public URL which you can then include on your email signature or wherever else you want to lead people to your profile from.  You can customize this when you edit your profile.  Claiming your name here is one of the first things you should have done on LinkedIn.  For instance, I can memorize my LinkedIn Profile URL, which is www.linkedin.com/in/nealschaffer, because I customized the last text to “nealschaffer.”  If you have a common name, make sure you claim your URL before others do!

See all 10 mistakes and the full article

 

 

Seven Tips To Improve Your LinkedIn Presence As An Entrepreneur

 Chris J "Mohawk" Reed

LinkedIn gives wannabe and current entrepreneurs an amazing platform to achieve their entrepreneurial goals, not just locally, but regionally and globally, too. It is a catalyst to become a successful entrepreneur if used wisely. Here are seven tips on how you can become a rock star entrepreneur using LinkedIn.

1. It’s who you know, not what you know.

My grandad told me this when I was 9 years old, and I have never forgotten it. It describes being an entrepreneur on LinkedIn perfectly: It’s all about who you network with, who your first connections know and who your second connections know. That’s your network: millions of potentially interesting people who you can help and who can help you.

The more you curate your connections, the more you will see the power of your network. The more you say yes to people who wish to connect both online and offline, the more you will see the power of knowing the right people who can help you directly and indirectly. It’s all about who you know on LinkedIn. Embrace it.

3. Authentic personal branding is the key to success.

Being authentic comes in many shapes and sizes. For me, it’s wearing my mohawk, wearing my black rock t-shirts and ripped black jeans, and saying what I honestly feel, without caveats on who I might offend. For others, it’s wearing a suit and not "saying boo to a goose," as the phrase goes. Others just like a plain white t-shirt with blue jeans and to pick and choose their moments to say something.

The key is to be yourself. People will see through you if you're not. This applies to how you come across on LinkedIn with your personal brand, too. People can tell if you’re putting on an act. People find authenticity refreshing and are more likely to buy from you if you're authentic than if you're a great pretender. Be yourself and be authentic. As Oscar Wilde said, "Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken."

5. Your posts on LinkedIn are not Shakespeare.

I’m always amazed that people spend weeks or months agonizing over their posts. It’s not Shakespeare. In 10 years' time, no one is going to look back and say, “Do you remember that post on LinkedIn that mohawk fellow did in 2020? Wasn’t that something?”

Your post is read (if you’re lucky), and it might spark a thought or smile. Someone might comment (if you’re very lucky), like it or share it. Then they move on. Another post or photo or video catches their attention.

Your post may go viral for a week or so, but then everyone moves on to something else. You build up your personal brand, but people forget the posts. So don’t overanalyze your post. Just get it out there. Then move on to the next one.

See all seven tips and the complete Forbes article

 

 

 

5 Ways To Supercharge Your LinkedIn Profile In 15 Minutes

 Steven McConnell

You have probably noticed that very lucrative jobs are being advertised on LinkedIn these days.

It can be tempting to hit the “Apply Now” button and potentially be in the running for a job with better conditions, more interesting challenges, better perks and more responsibility.

However, if your LinkedIn profile looks boring and neglected, then doing so is unlikely to get attention of recruiters.

The good news is, you can significantly increase your chances of getting a job through LinkedIn if you invest some time to breath life back into your profile.

If you have time to do a comprehensive revamp of your profile, that’s great.

But if you’re short on time, you can still add a healthy dose of professionalism to your profile in less time than it takes you to grab a coffee.

4. Rewrite Your Summary.

When you’re writing your profile you try to showcase your skills – because that’s what you think recruiters care about, right?

That’s true, but it’s also true that one of the key factors which recruiters use to make hiring decisions is culture fit.

In other words, potential employers want to know if your personality will suit their team and whether your motivations are in line with philosophy of the company as a whole.

It means you must ensure that your summary communicate a healthy dose of your personality. Unlike a resume, it shouldn’t sound dry and mechanical.

5. Publish A LinkedIn Article (BONUS).

OK, this is a bonus because it should take you longer than 15 minutes.

However, I’m including it here because it will add huge amounts of authority and credibility to your personal brand.

LinkedIn recently opened its publishing platform to every one of its members. It which means you can now publish blog posts directly on your profile.

If you’re a manager at a law firm, for example, you could write an article which discusses the intricacies of moving from in-house to private practice and provides solutions to common problems. A recruiter who is taking a closer look at your profile is likely to notice it and take a closer look to find out more about how you think.

See all 5 ways and the complete LifeHack article

 

 

How to Write a Professional LinkedIn Headline (With Examples)

by Aja Frost

When it comes to icebreakers, "describe yourself in three words" is by far one of the toughest. You're a complex person, with unique ambitions, experiences, preferences, and traits -- how are you possibly supposed to distill yourself down to three mere words?

Unfortunately, get-to-know-you conversations aren't the only time you'll face this prompt. LinkedIn headlines are essentially the professional version: They ask you to describe who you are and what you do in just one line. It's not surprising most people end up with the platform's default option, their current job title.

Letting LinkedIn choose your headline for you is a mistake. With a customized headline, you'll instantly distinguish yourself, give prospects and recruiters a reason to view your profile, and start building the case for your product. You'd say that pay-off is worth the effort, right?

What should your LinkedIn headline be? 

Now that you know what a LinkedIn headline is and why a custom one is the best choice, it's time to put pad to paper. One one hand, you want to simply describe what you do, but at the same time, you want your headline to be attractive to prospects (and avoid scaring them away).

To make coming writing your headline easier, here's a simple formula:

In this formula, X will represent your ideal prospect, and Y will be their ideal outcome or state of mind after using the services you're selling. 

But how do you come up with the right wording for each of these elements? Read our 4 tips for writing the perfect headline.

How to Write a LinkedIn Headline

1. Tailor it to your audience.
2. Include your value proposition.
3. Use your prospect's language.
4. Avoid hyperbole.

1. Tailor it to your audience.

SDR, BDR, account representative, client advisor -- if you work in sales, you're probably familiar with these titles. Your prospects, on the other hand, typically have no idea that these are all code for "sales professional."

When you're prospecting on LinkedIn, using a job title that throws prospects off the sales scent is confusing at best. At worst? It'll make your prospects trust you less. After all, if you look like a sales rep, talk like a sales rep, and act like a sales rep, why are you going by "account growth manager"?

There's an easy fix: Use the title your prospects will recognize. That's probably "Sales Representative" or "Sales Associate," but if you're higher up, it might be "Sales Manager" or "Sales Director."

As a bonus, including "sales" in your LinkedIn headline will also make it easier for prospects to find you. People researching your product are much likelier to click on your profile if they can tell you're a salesperson, rather than a random employee. And the same goes for recruiters -- if they're looking for a rep in a specific industry or vertical, using the most common version of your title lets them easily track you down.

2. Include your value proposition.

Of course, simply calling yourself a salesperson would be pretty boring -- plus, it doesn't communicate the value you add. Use the next part of your LinkedIn headline to describe how you improve your customers' lives.

For instance, say your mobile IT solutions enable IT professionals to manage their infrastructure on the go. Your headline could be: "Sales Representative: Helping IT professionals provide support anytime, anywhere."

Or maybe you sell automated expense tracking software. In that case, you might go with, "Sales Associate: Saving companies time and money with automated expense reports."

Not sure how to describe your value? You can usually adapt it from your company's value proposition. Alternatively, try browsing through your company's customer testimonials for inspiration.

3. Use your prospect's language.

When you're creating your headline, watch out for company, industry, or role-specific jargon your prospects won't know. It doesn't matter how compelling your description is if they don't understand half the words.

To give you an idea, while doing research for this piece I found a rep with the headline: "Our ground-breaking PaaS integrates and abstracts underlying Hadoop technologies."

I asked a potential buyer if he had any idea what this meant, and he said no. But when I rewrote it in simpler terms ("Our software helps developers easily and quickly manage their big data apps"), he immediately said, "Oh yeah, sounds like something our team could use."

As you can see, there's a huge advantage to skipping the jargon. But thanks to the curse of knowledge, it's not always easy for you (an expert in your product or service) gauge if buyers (often beginners) will understand the terminology in your headline. If you're unsure, reread the first few emails from previous customers to see how they described their challenges and needs. Any words, phrases, or situations that show up, again and again, are fair game for your headline (not to mention the rest of your LinkedIn profile).

4. Avoid hyperbole.

Don't brag. There's nothing more off-putting (or less believable) than someone who publicly compliments themselves. For that reason, you'll want to strike these adjectives (and others like them) from your headline:

• Expert
• Top-performing
• Winning
• Capable
• Proactive
• Dedicated
• Hard-working
• Best
• Superior

Even though these adjectives likely apply to you, they won't make prospects or recruiters more interested in you. On the contrary, you'll seem arrogant.

The best way to show off your skills is including customer success stories in your summary and prior experience. Lines like "Helped online bicycle retailer increase sales by 30%" and "On average, clients reduced support tickets by half" stand on their own without any commentary -- and as a result, are far more impressive.

LinkedIn Headline Examples .....  Read the full article to see the examples and why they work

 

 

5 Classic LinkedIn Blunders

Adrian Dayton

Everyone knows that the most famous of blunders is getting into a land war in Asia, the second is to go up against a Sicilian when death is on the line, but blunders aren’t just limited to the world of the Princess Bride.

LinkedIn, with its 660 million users, is filled with numerous opportunities for mistakes, mess-ups, and yes, even blunders. Some of these are easy fixes and some might take a bit more work, but all in all, if you can make these changes, you will become more successful on the platform.

4. Don’t Be Todd the Sales Guy

Let me tell you a quick story. There’s a salesman named Todd. When Todd first started, he was doing great, making calls, landing meetings. All-around having a grand ol’ time. But as time went on, he was landing less and less calls and more often than not, having a bad time.

So he sat in his office for hours upon hours, thinking of a solution to his dismay. How could he ever bring in more business and have that commission save the day? But then the light bulb clicked, the epiphany crashed, and Todd knew what he must do.

“I must connect with everyone I see on LinkedIn and let them know about this wonderful thing I am selling!”

Look, we all know a Todd. We’ve all connected with someone that we don’t know and immediately gotten a sales message from them. And let’s be real, when has that ever worked out?

I don’t want to be that guy who quotes Field of Dreams (which is definitely a Todd move), but I’m going to do it anyway: “If you build it, they will come.”

Instead of sending out desperate messages to randos on LinkedIn, try building an audience. Post relevant articles about your expertise, get involved in the conversation, and put forward your thoughts. 

If you do this, I promise you that you will have more success than Todd, and you’ll get to avoid lurking around in messages.

Nobody wants that.

5. Personalize Your LinkedIn Invitations

Getting the message “I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn” is one of the most disappointing messages a human can get, right behind “you have lice” and “the Patriots won the Super Bowl again.” This LinkedIn default is the written equivalent of a Nutella jar filled with butter. Not real butter, that I-can’t-believe-it’s not-butter fake butter.

Luckily, this is pretty easy to avoid. When you want to connect with someone, instead of going straight for the Connect button, tap ‘menu’ (the three little dots).

Go for ‘Personalized Invite,’ and voila, you’re set. Throw in a nicer little message, maybe why you’re wanting to connect with them (remember, don’t be a Todd), and boom, you’re off to the races.

All in all, these blunders are all pretty easy to avoid, and with a little extra work, you will be able to stand out from the crowd of 660 million that fills the LinkedIn world.

If you want to learn more about enhancing your LinkedIn profile, check out my FREE webinar, 10 Strategies of an Epic LinkedIn Profile, today, October 22nd at 12 pm EST. I’m going to be diving deep on advanced techniques to improve your profile. Hope to see you there!

See all 5 blunders and the complete Forbes article

 

 

 

5 Ways to Help Your Employees Shine on LinkedIn While Elevating Your Own Brand

BY AMY GEORGE

Does the thought of your employees being active on LinkedIn scare you? It shouldn't.

Rather than fearing they are on there looking for new jobs, you should hope they're there representing your company well. Your employees are an extension of your brand -- on LinkedIn and everywhere else. Here are five ideas for helping your people shine on LinkedIn in ways that cast a positive light on your company, too.

1. Host a headshot event at the office.

Hire a photographer to spend a couple hours, half day or whole day at the office taking everyone's headshot. This will save your employees time and money and say to them that you care about them and they are valued. Individual headshots might cost $100 or $200 each but by hiring a photographer or a longer period of time, you can work that price down and give your people a really nice treat.

3. Encourage team members to write articles on LinkedIn.

If you have team members who write blogs on your company website, encourage them to share those blogs to LinkedIn or maybe even write original content for the platform. If you don't have a company blog, consider using LinkedIn as the means for your company's subject matters experts and leadership to write articles to share their industry knowledge, market trends and exciting ideas.

See all 5 ways and the complete Inc. article

 

 

7 Ideas For Personal Branding Using LinkedIn Stories

Vidhi Bubna

LinkedIn has introduced a new feature called LinkedIn Stories wherein people can upload videos and images which will be present on the platform for 24 hours. The feature works like Instagram Stories. However, since LinkedIn is a platform dedicated to professional conversations, LinkedIn Stories can be a powerful tool for personal branding.

Many working professionals are trying to build their personal brand on LinkedIn to increase their credibility in the workspace. Here are seven ideas for personal branding using LinkedIn stories.

1) Give tips about your area of expertise to build your niche

Sharing your expertise with your followers can help to grow your niche. Moreover, it can also help you to network with people who have the same interests as you, thereby increasing chances of future collaborations. Since personal branding involves portraying yourself as a leader in the industry, your stories need to have qualities of a leader. You need to give more advice to people which can help them in the long run. This will not only help you to earn more respect from your peers, but will also help you to gain a decent number of followers who share your interest.

Shreyasi Singh, co-Founder of Harappa Education, has harnessed this power often. Singh posts content about personal growth in the workspace which resonates with the philosophy of Harappa Education. Since, her content follows a theme and is narrowed down, it helps her to associate connect with her audience. According to student Sanjna Mishra, who has been following Singh since a long time, “I can relate with her content because it’s always niche. I know that it will be about personal growth in some way every time.”

The same formula applies to LinkedIn Lives where posting content around a theme can help you build a niche.

2) Go the extra mile and attach a personal branding logo to each story

LinkedIn stories can be pre-recorded using a camera before being posted to LinkedIn. If you want to establish your follower base, you can add a personal logo to the stories. This ensures that when people see the stories, they connect with your brand name faster. Moreover, since the page is all about professional connections, adding a logo to your story can make it more professional. Just like we connect better with brands which have logos we easily remember, it is a good idea to have a personal logo which can be used in numerous places to add recall value. Ankur Warikoo, LinkedIn personal branding expert, uses his signature as his logo. It is present on every slide show and video he has posted on LinkedIn. Adding a logo has a psychological effect on the audience because they see you as a well-known personality.

3) Talk about your work and don’t shy away from highlighting its impact

LinkedIn stories have added a more personal touch to virtual conversations. It is much more interactive than reading what someone has typed. In the pandemic era, where people are not meeting each other, LinkedIn personal stories can play a role in increasing trust between two professionals who have never met before. To build your personal brand on LinkedIn, you need to highlight more about the work you are doing and how it is impacting businesses and stakeholders involved. When people realize that you are impacting a lot of people, they want to associate with you. Everyone wants to be a part of a larger story.

Tannisha Avarrsekar, founder of Lokatantra, highlights, “It is important to talk about the impact you are creating. On LinkedIn, I often talk about the impact of my work and I think it plays an important role in drawing people towards me. With LinkedIn Live, I will be sharing the impact of my work with people because I know that everyone wants to be a part of an impactful story.”

Read all 7 ideas and the complete Entrepreneur article

 

 

Five Steps To Create A Rock Star Personal Brand On LinkedIn

Chris J "Mohawk" Reed

Does everyone want to be a rock star on LinkedIn? No, but there are variations of rock star that can enhance your personal brand to achieve whatever goals you wish to in a professional context.

How much of a rock star depends on you, your time, your expertise and how much you do on LinkedIn. But' let's start at the basics of what you need to do to enhance your personal brand and start your journey to become a LinkedIn rock star. Here are five tips to get you started:

3. Create a content marketing strategy and become a thought leader. Start sharing. Only 1% of people on LinkedIn post on a weekly basis. Yes, it's that low. So by sharing any content, you immediately become a thought leader setting an agenda. How brave and controversial you wish to be is entirely up to you and your personal brand values. Start slowly by sharing content from trusted news sources that you admire. Write an introduction to why you like that article and pick out a key phrase or fact that you think your followers would find interesting. Then get braver and start writing your own posts. Only 200 words, or 1,300 characters, are allowed on LinkedIn, so anyone can do it. Pick a topical subject or work subject that you're passionate about, start writing and then post and see what happens.  

4. Create a connection strategy. Yes, have a plan. Who do you want to connect with? Why? First, personalize all your connection requests. Make sure that they are active and are a second connection, so that they know that you have shared connections they can reference. Make sure that they're in the same industry as you, or that you're both Forbes Business Council members, or founders or alumni from the same business school or same city, and personalize the introduction. If they have commented or liked your posts or viewed your profile, there's an introduction that you can use. Always personalize it. Never automate it.

See all 5 steps and the complete Forbes article

 

95% Of Recruiters Are On LinkedIn Looking For Job Candidates. How To Impress Them.

Robin Ryan

LinkedIn is the hottest career development tool out there right now. It is where Recruiters and HR personnel are looking for candidates. Whether you are passively looking, or actively engaged in a job hunt, making sure you have an enticing LinkedIn Profile that effectively advertises you is essential.

Here is a brief guide to improve your profile and help you stand out to employers.

The HEADLINE

By default, LinkedIn lists your current job title as your headline. Crucial mistake. This section is the most searched section on LinkedIn’s platform especially by recruiters and HR. This headline is your big advertisement to market yourself to the world. It needs to be well thought out, concise, and strategically written. It uses words that will attract someone to check you out in the search. But first, they must find you. In your headline, use the appropriate job titles you want to hold. Use a straight slash -  l  - between each job title. You can also add the industry you want to work in.

For example, Mary, 57, was a career counseling client who was stuck at the Director level and kept getting passed over. At 57, she needed to make a move and needed help with LinkedIn. She said, “I never realized you could optimize your headline. Certainly, I never thought of using it to target where I want to go.” So we developed this headline: 

Healthcare Consultant l Vice President Pharmacy l Vice President Healthcare l VP Pharmacy

Caution: when you add a new job to your work experience, there is a checked box that automatically changes your headline to this new job title. Be sure to uncheck it, so the new headline you have created does not get erased. 

Read the full Forbes article for more tips and tricks

The Summary or ABOUT section

Use a background photo  

Choosing your personal photo

Recruiters read recommendations

Skill Endorsement   

 

 

Want Recruiter Attention? Use These Proven LinkedIn Messages

Robin Ryan

I got another email from a Baby Boomer who asked me for a list of good headhunters he could approach to find him a job. I had to shake my head because this is not how recruiting works. I spoke to Biron Clark, a former Recruiter and the Founder of CareerSidekick.com, a popular job search advice website. He worked for two agencies and recruited for small tech organizations, midsize, and Fortune 500 companies looking to hire new employees.  

"Many job hunters make fatal mistakes when they approach recruiters on LinkedIn," Clark stated. "Job seekers, especially Baby Boomers, have no clear understanding of the real role a recruiter does." Biron shared his personal experience and insight. He said, "Before you ever send a recruiter one word, you need to realize how recruiters work and how they get paid. A recruiter is compensated by the hiring company to find appropriate people to fill the specific job openings. They are not paid to find jobs for people." That means a headhunter or recruiter is NOT going to shop your resume around and find a job for you.

"Recruiters get a job opening assignment. Then, the Recruiter looks for individuals with certain types of skills to fill that specific job," Clark continued. "Research the recruiter before you email them. Find the appropriate recruiters who do searches in your field," he recommended. "You will be more successful if you target five appropriate recruiters than if you randomly blast 50 recruiters that don't have any job openings for people in your industry or with your skills." For example, if you are in healthcare sales, seek out 4-5 healthcare sales recruiters, and research them. Look at their LinkedIn profile and google the company they work for. Recruiters do not want you to waste their time. "Be targeted now when we have so many people job hunting," he cautioned.

Clark has received hundreds of messages from job hunters on LinkedIn trying to get his attention. Most got ignored. He talked to colleagues, including fellow recruiters, coaches, and other experts. He found that they follow a similar pattern when deciding which messages to respond to. Here are his guidelines on what LinkedIn messages are effective and which ones won’t work. 

Making Initial Contact

Any time you are messaging an HR person or recruiter for the first time, follow these rules, and you will get more responses.

Read the full Forbes article to see how to reach out and work with recruiters.

 

 

The Four Biggest Mistakes You're Making On LinkedIn

Lacey Abbacchi

LinkedIn should be an essential part of every business, especially as the world's largest professional networking platform with more than 690 million members. However, it can be tricky to navigate if you're not familiar with it, which means a lot of mistakes are made. Here are four mistakes that you're making on LinkedIn and how you can fix each one.

1. Treating Your Profile Like A Resume

Unless you're a job seeker, you don't want your profile to look like a resume. Of course, people need to know what you do and how you do it, but it's also important to show them the things that make you who you are.

On a platform of millions, why would someone stop and explore your profile? Take some time to think about this question.

People are much more likely to hear what you have to say if they feel like they know you. So when creating your profile, make sure to answer these questions:

• Why should others do business with you?

• How can you help?

• What makes you relatable?

• Who are you as a person?

Adding personal components to your profile position you to build more meaningful relationships and make it easier for people to approach you.

2. Sales Pitching Immediately Upon Connecting

It's happened to all of us at least once on LinkedIn. You receive a connection request, decide to accept and then bam! Five seconds later, here comes the dreaded sales pitch.

Would you go up to a random person without shaking their hand and say, "Hello, I'm Lacey, and this is what I do. Are you interested in buying my services?" Of course not. This also applies to LinkedIn. You must build rapport, trust and relationships. 

We are all on LinkedIn to promote ourselves and our businesses and the platform is full of so much opportunity. But, you must remember that before people buy from you, they want to know who you are and if they can trust you.

So instead, focus on building the "know, like, trust" factor and then thoughtfully plug in what you do, when appropriate. (Here's a hint: It's not 5 minutes after first connecting.)

See all 4 mistakes and the complete Forbes article

 

LinkedIn unveils new look and messaging features, plans to release Stories globally

Queenie Wong 

LinkedIn Stories, like on other social networks, lets you post photos and videos that vanish in 24 hours.

LinkedIn said Thursday that it's rolling out a new design for the business-oriented social network, introducing more messaging features and planning to offer Stories, which lets users post photos and videos that vanish in a day, globally.

LinkedIn has been testing Stories in certain countries such as Brazil, Australia, France and the Netherlands. Now the company said it's launching Stories in the US and Canada but will also roll out the tool globally during the following week.The upcoming global rollout of Stories shows that LinkedIn, like other social networks, is fueling the creation of more video and ephemeral content on its platform.

LinkedIn is also pushing further into messaging as more members use the tool on the social network. Users will be able to select multiple messages at a time to archive or delete. They'll also be able to delete or edit a sent message and react to a message with an emoji. And messaging on LinkedIn will include icons for videoconferencing services BlueJeans, Zoom and Microsoft, so users can video chat with the tap of button. 

Read the full cnet article