Make LinkedIn Your Story
You think LinkedIn’s your golden ticket to the next big gig? Wake up. Here’s some advice that doesn’t smell like the same recycled garbage.
🔴 Cut the Brown-Nosing: Everyone’s busy liking and sucking up to bigwigs, thinking they’ll get noticed. Newsflash: You’re drowning in a sea of suck-ups. Stand out. Post bold, smart takes. Dare to disagree with the big dogs. Stir up real talk.
🔴 Your Profile? Make It a Saga, Not a Snoozefest: Everyone’s profile is a yawn-inducing resume. Yours? Spin it into a saga. How did your epic fail become your biggest lesson? What makes you the black sheep in your field? Stories stick, bullet points don’t.
🔴 Outsmart the Algorithm: Ditch the bland industry updates. Post stuff that’s so gripping, it’s irresistible. Videos, infographics, controversial queries — make the algorithm your best friend. Be unique, be loud, get noticed.
🔴 Network Horizontal, Not Just Vertical: Forget schmoozing with the top brass. Network with your equals. These are the folks who’ll climb the ladder and pull you up or tip you off about gigs in their world.
🔴 Be a Giver, Not a Taker: Stop reaching out only when you’re desperate. Be the person who hooks others up, who lends a hand with zero strings attached. People remember good deeds, and they’ll have you in mind when chances pop up.
🔴 Leverage LinkedIn Learning: Everyone’s got skills, but who’s sharpening theirs? Dive into LinkedIn Learning. Brag about your brain-boosting journey. Employers crave people who never stop evolving.
🔴 Ditch the Copy-Paste Message: Reaching out to someone? For heaven’s sake, personalize it. Show you did your homework. Make them feel like they’re the only one in your universe.
🔴 Sync with the Times: Link your professional story to what’s hot in the headlines. Show you’re not just aware, but ahead of the curve.
🏁 Get this straight: LinkedIn isn’t just a job-hunting playground. It’s where you build your brand, your tribe, your career. Don’t just play the game, change the game. Be unapologetically you. That’s how you don’t just land a job, but the job.
Brian Fink is the author of Talk Tech To Me. He takes on the stress and strain of complex technology concepts and simplifies them for the modern recruiter. Fink’s impassioned wit and humor tackle the highs and lows of technical recruiting with a unique perspective — a perspective intended to help you find, engage, and partner with professionals.
