Why LinkedIn is so much more than a recruitment site

South Africans love to be different, and when it comes to LinkedIn, they prove it. While the rest of the world uses LinkedIn to great effect to build personal brands and connect with like-minded people, in South Africa, it’s still largely the domain of recruitment agencies.

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There’s a sense that it could be used to greater effect, but people are reticent, shy almost, to put themselves out there. And for many, it feels like a grudge platform – you have to be on LinkedIn for recruitment purposes, many of my clients feel, but then what?

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After half a lifetime spent in the corporate world before I branched out on my own, I’ve realised that in South Africa, to a large degree, people’s employers prevent them from speaking about work on social media platforms – even professionally related ones like LinkedIn. The general approach seems to be, “You can’t speak, because you’ll ruin our reputation.” My international clients, however, realise that LinkedIn is a wonderful way to market themselves.

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Especially in the wake of the pandemic, the platform is a great resource for those who want access to global opportunities – and being a shrinking violet isn’t going to cut it.

If you want to position yourself to work anywhere in the world, you need those clients or employers to be able to find you. And it’s noisy on many of the other platforms – whereas the LinkedIn algorithm is built for networking.

?In fact, LinkedIn recently said they’ve tweaked their algorithm to discourage posts from going viral.

"When things go viral on LinkedIn, usually that's a sign to us that we need to look into this, because that's not celebrated internally" - says?Dan Roth, LinkedIn's editor in chief.

Dan Roth, LinkedIn’s Editor in Chief, said the algorithm is designed now to help professionals sharing their experience and offering advice to stand out. Essentially, it’s the new way to network.

Think about attending a work cocktail party where you don’t know anyone. You’re clutching your drink, your canapes and perhaps a bag, and your nametag is pinned awkwardly to your lapel. You have to scan the room and decide who to talk to – how do you do that? You probably start with their nametags and try to find people with similar interests, or who might need you. LinkedIn is no different.

And that’s why your profile is so important – because it tells people who you are, why you’re interesting, and why they might need you. And that’s a great place to start your renewed LinkedIn journey – because just updating your profile to really tell people what you’re about will immediately raise your visibility.

And then it’s about practice. Go on every day or every other day, and just post something. Share your own knowledge, or comment on other people’s post – demonstrate your unique perspectives, your expertise and experience through thoughtful engagement.

And tell your stories. They’re yours and they’re valuable – and no one can call you out on them.

It does require that you be a little vulnerable, but that’s the ticket in a marketplace full of people pretending to be something they’re not – authenticity always shines through.

And I get it. It’s a bit like public speaking but in social media form, and it feels vaguely terrifying. But if you want to both get and give the value that LinkedIn offers, you’re going to have to practise. The more you do it, the easier it will become, and the more you will benefit from all the opportunities a platform like LinkedIn has to offer.

Besides – if your fellow South Africans are being shy, now is the time to get ahead of the curve!