The Secrets of Social Selling - a guide for everyone week 7 - your experience

Your work experience is crucial in providing some context as to why I should think you are knowledgable about what you do.

Unlike your about section (which very definitely shouldn’t talk about your job) this section should focus on your current role…but…this is NOT a job description.

One of, if not THE, key thing you need to achieve is standout from everyone else on the platform. Every element of your profile needs to be different from the norm otherwise you will simply become wallpaper.

To begin with, you need to think about what is the dullest and most obvious thing you can possibly say…write it down…and then NOT say it! For example, if you are “Head of design” simply putting those words in a different order is both obvious and condescending “As head of design I am responsible for heading up design for the company”…really? Who knew!

Instead, write about why the job is important, why this resonates with the most authentic you and what you’ve learnt and what challenges you have overcome rather than simply what you do. The point is that yes, this needs to be factual, but it also needs to tell a story that someone would want to read.

A STORY, not a shopping list. A differentiator, not a me-too.

Here’s a sample of what I saw (and what my comments would be):

XXXXX creates memorable advertising experiences beyond the first impression to captivate consumer attention. With a suite of exclusive, full-funnel advertising solutions, XXXXX is the choice for leading brands looking to drive meaningful customer connections across mobile, desktop, connected television, and social.

“creates memorable advertising experiences” - isn’t that the point of every advertising agency?

Also, this is the profile of a person, it says NOTHING about the person, only about the company. Your profile needs to talk about what you do, not what your company does.

By contrast, Adrian here has written something entertaining about a side hustle of his (the whole profile is very much in this vein even though he does some very serious work). My point is that this is engaging and fun and it keeps you reading.

Another no-no is to write about yourself in the third person:

"Adam Gray has a track record of...blah blah blah"

When we are writing this sort of thing we often think this sounds professional and important, the truth is that it simply makes us sound a bit dull and pompous.

The other thing that I often see is where people have been at a role for a year and there's nothing about the role there but loads about previous roles...telling me that this isn't a job they want or indeed that they don't think it's important!

So, what do you need to do:

You need to write a pithy thing about each role you have had, tell your story - what you have learnt, the challenges you've overcome, the changes you have made and key achievement. DO not simply list your responsibility is (unless you are trying to write a job description for your replacement)!

Things to watch-out for.

1. don't write in the third person
2. don't say currently. "Currently I'm working heading-up the..." because this suggest that you might not be there long and that will make it very hard to engage people because they'll think you're moving on.
3. Talk about what you love, have learnt, and key achievement...DON'T focus on what you do.
4. Make sure that you use a reasonable amount of space, this is one of the rare occasions when longer probably IS better. You need to use enough space to answer any questions people might have and so they can get to know you.
5. As with all the other parts of your profile...BE YOU.

View your profile (like this). Click the "me" button at the top.

Then click the "view profile button" on the dropdown menu that appears.

Scroll down to the experience section and either edit a role you already have added.

or add a new role (or career break).

Then go through and do this for every role/break you have had.

Remember, telling a story is key here. Be yourself. Add a little bit of humour. Be honest (everyone likes the story of someone who has overcome adversity). Remember this is YOUR profile you can write what you want and it should showcase who you are.

Well done. You've managed the task for the week.

(or if you haven't...drop me a line)

If you would like to find out more about our team or individual training programmes please drop me a message or an email to [email protected] for a no obligation chat.

Typically Social Sellers have a much greater ability to start conversations with their ideal customers and as a result have a more robust and dependable pipeline and typically close more business than their noon-social counterparts.

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