The Long Hard Goodbye: The Job Connection Tuesdays Revolution

The landscape has changed and I am at peace.

It seems weird that making a decision on what to do with a social media post would bring up so many emotions, yet as I watched the trends over the course of the last year, I knew that this day was coming. For a variety of reasons, I had trouble pulling the plug.

Part of it was my promise to those that relied on me that I would always keep the post going. Another part was worrying that people would forget about me. For 35 years nobody cared where I was or what I was doing. Then I created this movement and suddenly thousands of people are looking at me, listening to what I have to say.

After finally coming to terms with who I am, I did not want to fall back in the shadows.

As time has gone on, I have understood that this weekly post that once routinely generated 90k views per week was maxing out at around 40k. The time I used to have to devote to ensure it reached its full potential is now fleeting.

I have been pulled in so many different directions that devoting too much time to one task, takes away from another.

Spending eight hours on one post has become too much.

Therefore, I am sad to announce that after over 80 straight weeks, my Job Connection Tuesday post will be coming to a modified ending sometime in September.

*To be clear, the post, not the group will be stopping.

Hold On, this Newsletter does not stop there...

If you thought I was going to leave you on that sad note, think again. This will be the longest newsletter that I have created. There are a number of things that I want to dive into so grab some coffee and buckle your seat belt.

Video below created for the one year anniversary of Job Connection Tuesdays by Tracy Borreson . Featured first in the video is Peet's Coffee own ??Claire M. Davis??? .

The Job Connection Tuesdays Blueprint

A lot of people over the last two years have asked me how I was able to create a movement like I have. Other people ask for permission to do their own version. It makes sense, at its peak, JCT helped people in over 40 countries. The dexterity to go from market to market was there.

In many situations I tried to explain how much work it was and the dedication it entailed. More often than not I think those that asked assumed I was just showing off or trying to dissuade them to keep it for myself. The fact is I was not.

My keys to success are not some secret recipe that I will go to my grave with. I want people to continue helping others. In the following paragraphs I am going to lay out the blueprint for how I created Job Connection Tuesdays.

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Before we do a deep dive, I think it is important to note the differences between a targeted niche post and a post targeting the public at large like #SocialSaturday.

Given the fact that most people are aware Social Saturdays are not something I am particularly fond of, let me state the following is not meant to be an insult.

The point in delving into these definitions is that noting the differences in posts may help explain how #socialsaturdays can have 50 people doing their own version and all of the posts do well, while a singular post like mine took a more deliberate and dedicated approach.

Niche Targeted Post

A niche post has a targeted demographic and limited market. What this means is that if I am targeting #jobseekers, there are only a finite number of people globally looking for a role and within that finite group are subsets. Subsets would include the industry and the job title.

The post, at its maximum reach is only going to attract the people that are looking for work. If one specific subset sees that there are a lot of posted openings in the comments of the post, that is going to attract that subset. If the comments of the post has little traction for another subset, then that subset is not likely to interact.

As an example, let's assume there are 3000 job seekers in my network. When I first create the post LinkedIn may test it by showing it to my 100 most engaging connections who they determine are job seekers or follow #JobSeeker. [In] watches for if and how much time they spend on my post (Dwell Time) and if they engage, Like, Comment or both, as a measurement of Value. That measurement of Value determines if and who [In] then shares my post with, and the cycle continues. No or Low Views, Likes, Comments or short Dwell Time means the reach of my post will be drastically curtailed.

Post Targeting the Public at Large

Posts targeting the public at large are posts that have no specific targeted demographic. They are looking for anyone and everyone to interact.

Without limitations, the post can generate a massive audience. Using #SocialSaturdays as an example, this is why Jonathan Lee can do a post that gets 5k reactions and 2k comments and at the same time Teegan A. Bartos can do the same exact post and get the same statistics.

The core difference is that with 850 million people on LinkedIn, each posts reach will be based off of the poster's network and then expand to their second and third connections(depending on who from their first connections interact). While it is inevitable to have some overlap, the sheer number they are starting from is so massive that the overlap creates a barely noticeable decrease in reach.

Having not researched this, I can not state that these numbers are 100% accurate, but this is why you can have 50 people doing the same post every Saturday and collectively, you are looking at over a million people that has read, touched or commented on them, and that is on the low end!

The Actual Blueprint

The differences between the two posts will provide better context when I get into everything I did to make Job Connection Tuesdays successful.

Anna Morgan ?once asked me to write down everything I have done to make my post successful and it wound up being like 135 steps. For the purposes of clarity, I tried to break it down into more manageable segments.

The Logistics

Timing of the post

From a logistics standpoint, continuity is key. I've done the post at 6am pacific standard time 9am est every Tuesday for the last two years. This was not because I wanted to be on that early in the morning. After testing different times for the first few months, I found it was an ideal time. I was able to catch East and Central time zones before they went into meetings. The West Coasters got notified when they were waking up and the UK audience at the end of their workday. In India the post went live at 6:30pm and even Australians were able to make the post due to the time difference. The other aspect of the timing is when you do it at a consistent time, people learn to expect it, as does the algorithm. I would have people messaging me letting me know that they woke up or put an alarm on to make sure they posted during the first hour to ensure their comments were seen.

The Style of Post

Going back to January 2020, I did not know what posts did better than others. To see what worked best, I tried to think about how viewers would get the most value. This included putting links, videos and pictures on the post.

One of the most important lessons I learned was when I asked Dominic Imwalle if I could use one of his job seeking videos(2 minutes in length) in the body of the post. I thought it would be HUGE. Here I had an expert giving advice while job seekers also got to connect; However, to say it did not go according to plan would be an understatement. The results of that day really changed my outlook.

Since then, I don't deviate from it being a text post and furthermore, the language in the post stays 85% the same. The one area I change is the top paragraph every week.

The reason is that for a long time I averaged 85k views and 750 comments on the post. When I would make an exception or accidently add a link, the posts generated 5-7k views or fewer in the same timeframe. That is nearly a 90% drop.

Tagging

I do not tag many people in the body of the post. This is because when you tag someone in the body of the post, you actually get hit by the algorithm if the person whom you tag, does not respond.?Therefore, I only tag people I know will comment.

As far as I know you do not get hit when you are tagging in the comments. Hence, this is where I tag recruiters that I know are hiring. Most weeks I include the same recruiters but I do occasionally switch it up and tag a few I have not before.

Commenting

To keep the post active you have to respond to comments within 20 minutes. That includes needing to respond with reactions and text response. When you don't do this the algorithm senses the post slowing down and stops pushing it. (this has been the major difference the last few weeks) For me to get to those 80k+ views, I was having to work the post for at minimum 6-8 hours. I could have continued on but what I found is after 6-8 hours, we were hitting around 50k views,and about 15 shares. This essentially created enough traction that even when I stopped, the comments kept coming in and while that slowed the post down, it would never come to a complete halt. The data showed that if I got that 50k in the first 8 hours then without doing a thing, by the time I was due to post the following week there were 35-40k more views and a couple hundred comments. This was ok with me.

The Network

The final aspect is who is seeing the most. I sit right in the sweet spot where my network is a blend of job seekers, coaches, resume writers, recruiters and influencers. All of which have a vested personal interest in the post. This was not by accident. When I started the post I was well aware that for it to do well, I had to make sure I was connected to the point that needed it. I would focus on connecting with other job seekers, recruiters, resume writers and coaches. I would send them messages showing appreciation for their work. When I saw an influx of people that worked for a profession that I did not have contacts in, I looked for recruiters that could help them. When I started getting a lot of Canadian Citizens looking at the post, I reached out to Canadian Recruiters and when I began begging a lot of international attention, I went about finding those that could help them.

In short, my network was curated to maximize the effectiveness of the post.

Being a Content Creator

The last area that is important to mention is being a content creator. While this may not seem to relate I can assure you it does.

If I was a random joe creating this post and it is all you ever saw from me, nobody would pay attention, and even if they did, it would not be consistent.

Now, if I post and comment a lot and people start to see me as an expert, that creates the visibility I need to get people to make my profile and posts part of their daily routine. In the last 2 years I put job seekers in front over over 7 million people. Had I not had the visibility I did, I would venture to say you would be looking at about 2 million.

As you can see from the above it takes a ton of effort.

Why is Now, the Right Time?

The landscape of LinkedIn has changed. 2 years ago it was Carolyn Christie and I as the main two sources of this type of content. Carolyn was doing her Friday connection posts, which as far as I am concerned is the Jazz of LinkedIn content, and I was doing the job posts.

Since that time, Social Saturdays has become an unstoppable train when it comes to connections and more and more people are creating job posts.

Though it would be easy to get angry, I was never in this to be the only person out there. If I was it would be incredibly selfish. The more posts connecting job seekers to jobs, especially as we enter this recession, is a good thing.

Instead, I am choosing to embrace these posts and call it a blessing. Instead of spending six hours on JCT, I can focus on helping #Jobseekers other ways.

Primarily, I can shift my focus to the Job Connection Tuesdays Collective...

In anticipating of this, a few weeks ago Teegan A. Bartos Amanda MacNeven - CSM and I started to compile a list of preferred coaches and resume writers so people knew who they could go to in order to receive quality, vetted work without fear of getting ripped off.

We also brainstormed other ideas, including creating another list of professionals at the top of their fields that were open to doing informational interviews.

The end result is going to be comprehensive and something I truly think people will find value in.

Oh...speaking of the Job Connection Tuesday Collective, we decided it was time for rebranding. It needed to be something that exemplified what this community has turned into...so...here it is.

The Collective: An Equity & Inclusion Based Resource Community.

The name says it all.

The Future of Job Connection Tuesdays

While I am admittedly still pondering it, the actual post may carry on in a once a month event, potentially even using LinkedIn Audio.

I would also say that while I feel confident that now is the time to walk away from the post, that does not mean if the need arises in the future, that I will not be back to support those who need it.

Who to Turn To

Prior to making the final decision to end my run with JCT, I reached out to a friend to see if he had any intention of stopping the work he is doing. When he said he had no intention of stopping, I knew what I wanted to do.

If you are looking for a post, an expert, a content creator with the best of intentions, then I fully endorse Jonathan Lee as the person I see being in the best position to provide the value you have come to expect from me.

In many ways, Jonathan is better than me. He uses spreadsheets and data to create lists of jobseekers and openings. He has sponsors and he is backed by some of the top career professionals in the business.

More than anything, he is just a REALLLY good guy that you can trust.

Final Thoughts

I look back at the last two years, the 560 hours I have spent on the post and the number of people I have been able to help and I am both proud and astounded.

Not once was the post picked up by LinkedIn News, it was never mentioned by Andrew Seaman or the other Daniel Roth . I never went super viral or had any celebrities stop on by...yet we made a heck of a difference in so many people's lives.

For some we found jobs, others found community and for many, they found hope for the first time in a long time.

WE did that.

I beam with pride as I think about it. I reminisce over the thousands of private messages received.

Every time someone that has posted finds work, regardless of if it came from my post, a smile comes across my face.

It is a beautiful thing.

To every single one of you that I met along the way, thank you.

To those experts that volunteered their time, I appreciate you.

To Anna Morgan my lifelong bff...we did it.

and to Teegan A. Bartos ...my sister and partner in crime...I may have started this journey but without you, we never would have made it this far.

* Kevin D. Turner contributed to this newletter. Thank you #ElPresidente