Career

Get Hired On LinkedIn With These 7 Techniques

. 6 min read . Written by Vanshika Goenka
Get Hired On LinkedIn With These 7 Techniques

Wondering how best to showcase your expertise and knowledge on LinkedIn to better your professional opportunities? Ashi Singhal, LinkedIn branding consultant and founder of DemystifyLI writes for Kool Kanya and shares how you can build an effective network and brand yourself on LinkedIn to reach for the stars.

Did you know that only 1 in 10 recruiters will ever directly land on your LinkedIn profile?  In the other 9 cases, you have to grab the recruiter’s attention through your LinkedIn activities.

If you want to land a job using LinkedIn, then apart from the usual ‘search and apply’ process, keep this in mind – focus less on your LinkedIn profile, and more on your LinkedIn presence.

That’s the real game!

If you want to know more about the importance of LinkedIn and how to leverage it to get the best career opportunities, watch Kool Kanya’s live event with Ashi Singhal on ‘How To Set Up And Use LinkedIn For Job Search’. Watch the full video here.

Get Hired On LinkedIn With These 7 Techniques

How To Effectively Build Your Brand On LinkedIn 

During this pandemic, many people leveraged LinkedIn not just to get jobs, but also to muster up the courage to leave their jobs and begin their freelance or entrepreneurial journeys! Sounds brave, right? Well, LinkedIn provided the window of opportunity, and some people went for it. Once people realised the vast potential of growth LinkedIn provided, they started leveraging LinkedIn’s organic reach like never before. 

Results? Many people actually crossed their last year’s annual income in just a few months’ time! When you discover a path, there’s nothing that can stop you. 

Here are some strategic ways to ensure that you not only get noticed by the right people, but also build a brand for yourself as you go along.

1. Grab the recruiter’s attention by finding them and engaging with them

For example, if you want recruiters or founders of healthcare startups located in Bangalore, find the relevant ones and engage with them via comments that showcase your knowledge. Focus on adding value to the conversation, don’t merely self promote or ask for a job. 

2. Make sure your LinkedIn profile says what your LinkedIn activities show

For example, if your LinkedIn profile focuses on your work as a content expert, you could share your opinions, updates and information regarding the latest content trends in your space. This builds you up as an expert in the space in which you want to grow in, and adds to your credibility. 

3. Engage with your audience regularly to get visibility

Getting job opportunities is all a matter of visibility. The more visible you are in a space where opportunities exist, the higher are your chances of getting those opportunities. 

That’s if you have built that visibility with credibility. 

But first, break the fear of writing on an online platform. If you have to sell, you’ve got to present well. This presentation comes from sharing your expertise through your LinkedIn posts and articles. You don’t need to be a professional writer to write; you just have to be you!

4. Build your brand through these 4 activities

Branding gives you a golden chance to build that credibility. Also, a brand once built and maintained consistently creates a safety net for the future where, if you need to transition to a particular career domain, your visibility helps you to accelerate that process.

Building a brand on LinkedIn is a combination of 4 activities:

  • Commenting
  • Profile building 
  • Content publishing
  • Messaging

Do these four activities consistently and you’ll be able to build your brand. 

5. Keep these 3 things in mind while creating content – relevance, expertise and value

Relevance is the prime factor that determines your network on LinkedIn.

Commenting and posting content on LinkedIn is like making people aware of your existence on a platform.

If they find your existence relevant – which depends on how you comment and publish content – the process of building connections becomes easier.

Really delve deep into your expertise and publish blogs and posts.

Narrate your experiences, tips, tricks, and advice to the audience so that they can find you relatable.

Getting any job opportunity through LinkedIn is about an equation of value. To add value, you’ve got to interact with your audience. Whether you do it through your content, by posting comments or messaging your peers about the great job they’ve been doing, you have to create a passage of interactions.

It’s because of those interactions that you get to know about certain opportunities that are otherwise not easily found.

6. Avoid making these 4 mistakes when trying to establish yourself

While you’re building your brand and engaging with people, remember that there is a way to do it wrong. Here are some common mistakes to avoid when engaging with people on LinkedIn:

  • Using LinkedIn only to look for jobs:  If you’re using LinkedIn to get a job, let it not be your only reason. To be able to get a job, you’re going to need an impressive LinkedIn profile, which can only be enhanced by a solid presence. Your purpose should go beyond the usual I want a job mindset.
  • Being inauthentic:  Instead of being themselves, people often become someone they’re not because they think only a certain voice suits the platform, or that they don’t have anything substantial to showcase. This lack of genuine presence deteriorates the person’s online appeal.
  • Bragging instead of showcasing:  Talking about yourself while adding value is not bragging if done properly. Acknowledge team effort where it’s due; express your talents in a way that comes across as confident. 
  • Impatience and lack of consistency:  Branding requires consistency, and consistency demands patience. So, if one needs to get a job or get clients through LinkedIn, they must give it time. Many people often leave LinkedIn without investing their time and patience, thinking it’s not for them.

7. Finally, Network using these 7 power tips

Networking is a huge part of building your brand. It’s similar to engaging with your audience, but the key here is to engage with the purpose of getting something actionable out of it. Here are 10 solid networking tips that will come in handy especially if you’re a fresher:

  • Always have a long-term vision while networking. Genuinely invest your efforts and time to build your LinkedIn network. It’s NOT a short term process. It takes time. And it’s worth it. A contact you make today might come in useful to you when you least expect it. Don’t focus on transactional networking, build relationships. 
  • LinkedIn is full of diversity. Leverage it. Don’t confine yourself within the boundaries of your career interest or domain. A network’s strength always lies in diversity.
  • Even if it’s a common thing you think people would surely know, share it. The more you share, the more you’ll understand LinkedIn.
  • Genuine appreciation, asking open-ended questions, sharing helpful updates and adding value to a conversation are the best ways to get people to notice you. 
  • Always remember, no one owes you anything. So if you’re not getting any response for your messages, either change your approach or move on. Just don’t take it personally.
  • LinkedIn is a professional network. But professionalism doesn’t mean boredom. So while exploring LinkedIn, use your sense of humour when needed.
  • Don’t chase vanity metrics. 41,893 followers mean nothing if there’s no one in your network who can vouch for you and your skills.

LinkedIn can be a fun networking tool that can help you in your professional journey in many ways – whether you’re looking for a job, a client, a career switch, or just a larger audience to showcase your work to. In any case, building your brand on LinkedIn can do wonders for you.

Use your unique voice to stand out of the crowd and fulfil your purpose. It’s not as difficult as it seems – if you’re passionate about work, LinkedIn is the best platform to invest your time on! Have you taken a good look at your profile yet?

You’re invited! Join the Kool Kanya women-only career Community where you can network, ask questions, share your opinions, collaborate on projects, and discover new opportunities. Join now.