The Invisible Man - Part 2

In Part 1 I showed you how optimize your profile and what settings to pay special attention to.

Now we will go over few more tips that will have recruiters reaching out to you with opportunities in no time.

So you have the perfect LinkedIn profile - now what?

Having a great LinkedIn profile is not enough. You need to have an ACTIVE profile!

LinkedIn Social Selling Index

The Social Selling Index (SSI) tracks and measures your activities on LinkedIn and how effective you are at establishing your personal brand and connecting with the right people.

The higher your SSI - the more favorable LinkedIN algorithm is to you:

a) you appear in more searches

b) your posts are visible to more people in your network

and as a result a recruiter is more likely to find you and help you land your dream job.

You can find your own score HERE.

So how do you increase your SSI?

1. Complete and optimize your profile - check Part 1 for some great tips
2. Post on regular basis
3. Engage with others
4. Connect with industry peers

Post on regular basis

Now you may be thinking, what do I even post about?

The main goal of posting on LinkedIn is to position yourself as the subject matter expert in your field. If you're a project manager you can talk about some of the tools you've used, how you helped solve a specific issue, or any tips and tricks you learned throughout your career or studies.

Don't assume that your advice is not useful to anyone, or that just because you only have X amount of years in your field, your insight is not as significant as of someone who has XX years of experience.

We are all on different journeys and points at our life. Sharing things from your PERSONAL perspective, showcasing how YOU did something, or what YOU learned from a certain situation will be a lot more valuable and relatable for people on LinkedIn than you think.

DO:

• Pick 1 to 2 days of the week to post - then post on those days every week - be consistent.
• Create a list of possible topics and write the posts ahead of time
• Check your grammar and spelling
• Avoid links to external websites (LinkedIn algorithm may "hide" your post from others)
• First 2 lines of your post are the most important – make them as catchy and appealing as possible so people want to click on “read more”
• Have a Call to Action (CTA) = ask people to comment/share their own perspective or experience
• Posts with images get 2x higher engagement than posts without (1200 x 627 pixels work the best)
• Try LinkedIn Video (keep it under 2 minutes)
• Comment/like/share other people’s posts
• Be respectful of others

DON'T:

• Talk about religion, politics or any controversial topics just to drive engagement or get a reaction out of people
• Talk badly about other people or companies who have done you wrong or you don't agree with (or worse yet, tag them in the post where you talk badly about them). The world is a small place, and karma is a B!t$&
• Tag way too many people who have nothing to do with your post in hopes of getting more views, likes, or comments.
• Join pods - they may work to increase your post engagement at first, but really are of no value in the long run.
• Argue with others in the comment section, whether it be on your own post or on other people's posts

Engage with others

LinkedIN is a social network - we are supposed to be engaging with others.

You can do this by:

1. Liking other's posts
2. Commenting on other's posts by sharing your own perspective or experience, or telling them more about why you liked it or why it made you laugh. The comment section is meant for conversation - don't be afraid to keep it going by asking follow up questions
3. Sharing other people's post
4. Sending messages to people in your network - say happy birthday, congratulate them on their new job, or just tell them how much you like their post.

The more you do this, the more engagement your own posts will get as well! It's a WIN WIN.

Connect with industry peers:

I'm sure you've heard of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon - the idea that any actor can be connected to Kevin Bacon through a chain of no more than six connections based on their work in films.

The same principle applies to LinkedIn!

The more people you are connected to, and the bigger your network - the more likely you are to be at least a 3rd degree connection with a recruiter.

(If you remember from my previous post, recruiters can only message people who are at least a 3rd degree connection)

LinkedIn allows you to send 100 connection requests a week. Take advantage of this as much as you can....

BUT..

don't just connect with anyone. Remember, just like with posts engagement, it's better to have a smaller network with a targeted group of people, than a huge network with no focus.

Connect with:

1. People that work in your industry/the industry you are trying to work in
2. RECRUITERS that focus on roles and industry you want to work in

I know it might be intimidating at first to send a connection request to complete strangers, so here's a sample template I suggest:

Hi [name], I'm trying to expand my network here on LinkedIN and noticed that we both work in [industry]. I'd love to connect.

Very simple, and to the point. And more often than not, people will accept your invitation.

When they accept your connection request you can send them a thank you message - but no more than that. Don't immediately start asking them for help or for a job, UNLESS they ask if they can help you in any way after connecting with you.

Once you apply these tips in combination with those from Part 1, recruiters will be knocking on your inbox in no time.

Just remember - these things are not magic, and take time to develop. Keep going, stay consistent and soon you'll see the fruits of your labor.

Till next time,

Your Favorite Translation Industry Recruiter