Do More of the Right Things.

For any new readers, you can check out some of the previous stuff we’ve put out here.

• The Cover Letter is dead. Replace it with this. Click here.
• Do this and let jobs come to you. Click here.
• Why you should go all in on LinkedIn. Click here.
• Nail your next interview with these 5 tips. Click here.
• Make sure these three things are not on your CV. Click here.

I seriously empathise with anyone in the market at the moment for a new role. It can probably feel like an uphill battle with no end in sight.

Some of the most common complaints we know to be true from the market are:

1. Replies are rare given the volumes of people applying for each and every role.?
2. Processes are long as clients are inundated with options and will take their time exploring these.?
3. There’s not as many jobs as there have been in previous years as the world figures out what’s going on.??

With that being said it’s easy to work out what?doesn’t?work when it comes to finding a new role, it’s harder to work out what does.?

Here’s two easy tips you can start accommodating into your weekly search to drive more responses and promote a more proactive job search.?

Done consistently and well over a period of time I can near guarantee an improvement in terms of your reply rate from Hiring Managers and an increase in your personal network.?

Reach out to Hiring Managers directly.

I’m not going to talk to you about how ineffective LinkedIn Easy Apply is, because I feel like I do this every week and you’ve got the message on that already.?

The (much more successful) alternative to this is to take the time to reach out to Hiring Managers associated with roles directly with a thoughtful message.?

It’s as easy as clicking on the LinkedIn profile associated with the role, hitting ‘connect’ and adding a thoughtful message.?

Even if there isn’t a LinkedIn profile listed on the role, the relevant contact can be quite easy to find. A Product Manager vacancy would naturally report into a Head of Product.??

Anyone in a Talent function is also likely to be well equipped with helping to point you in the right direction.?

I had a really interesting conversation with a Senior HR lead here in the UAE who said that they were told by their CEO that they had to respond to everyone that reaches out to them directly to maintain the brand image.?

While this might not be true so much anymore in today’s market, you will never hear the same said about applicants on a Job Advert.

If you go to the company LinkedIn page and across to ‘People’, you can search by title and location (If they are multinational) and narrow down to the relevant profiles.?

Avoid using the LinkedIn boilerplate templates for this also. What might be unique to you isn’t to the Hiring Manager that has also received the same message a thousand times over.??

LinkedIn also encourages you to reach out through an AI template that highlights mutual connections. I’d avoid this one too.?

I have over 14,000 connections on LinkedIn and when someone references a mutual connection we have in common - and I have no idea who they are - the message falls flat.?

Be authentic, take the time and be real. That’s what is going to cut through the crowd and get responses.

Make sure to follow up on this too. You can see if your message is read on LinkedIn and also if the individual has viewed your LinkedIn profile.?

Engage.?

This is one of the most underrated ways to build your brand on LinkedIn and draw awareness to your profile.??

We’ve used it before in a few previous posts without really expanding on it much further, but?engagement?is a seriously underrated method of boosting your brand and reach.??

When we say engagement we are referring to your interactions with other users' posts/videos on LinkedIn. This is usually in the form of comments or likes.?

It is important for you as it’s a surefire way to tap into their audience and draw eyes towards your own page.?

Take this example. If you were to put out a LinkedIn post and you had 1000 followers, they are the first line of contact to your post.??

You are relying on them to interact with your post in order to compound the growth across their network where it appears on their connections page that they have liked your post.

Engaging on industry leader’s posts and content is one of the most powerful growth hacks available.

By leaving a thoughtful comment on someone else’s post (don’t use Chat GPT) which genuinely adds value - you are putting yourself front and centre across their entire audience.

This gives you a chance to access their audience and an opportunity to draw their attention towards your page.?

If you comment on a CEO/Head of X’s post who works in a relevant industry to yourself, you’re going to put yourself on the map of hundreds, if not thousands of similar profiles in the space.?

Chances are eventually someone in the right position that will either be hiring or know someone hiring will view your profile.?

BEFORE YOU GO:?I'm on Instagram and will be active trying to give an insight into life in the UAE. Drop me a follow here !

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