How to build your LinkedIn network and create inbound opportunities

It's Saturday 29th April 2023. I had a much needed 4 weeks off work during March, so apologies to my followers for being slightly absent recently

As a regular "poster" on LinkedIn and as a person, in recruitment (sales), that should theoretically be on the phone chasing new businesses/clients for new available job vacancies for the AE Recruitment team to work on, I wanted to share some insights into why we don't, how marketing has changed everything and how my findings can help you in any business/job seeking situation.

During the pandemic, I was posting daily... in truth, it was because we had next to no business coming in and it's scared the living daylight out of me. As i'm sure, it did for millions of other individuals out there.

What a crazy moment in time we all went through, hey?!

However, there were a lot of positive takeaways I gained from sticking at it and just doing anything, other than sitting on my lazy arse and soaking up the sun in what was one of the most glorious couple of summers London life had to offer.

During my (what seemed like an eternity), house-bound hell hole, I reconnected with one of my old colleagues at Hill McGlynn, Tim Clark from NSR Associates.

He asked me a question...

• Tim - "Mate, I have a question... when was the last time you made a cold sales call?"
• Me - "Er, I don't know. I've never thought about it... oh wow, it must be about 7 years!"

To quantify this, a cold sales call is someone you're trying to gain business from but they have no clue who you are... like those annoying telesales people who are calling everyone on a list.

You know, the minute you answer the call you can hear the sales team in the background (GO AWAY!)

[Tip - I tell them I'm in a board meeting and everyone is looking at me while i'm on the phone. They get off the phone pretty quickly... You're welcome! 🤣]

Insight

Marketing has changed dramatically since I first started in recruitment/sales.

Absolutely NO ONE, likes a sales call and equally we've all been desensitised to sales emails or texts too.

They even look the same

You think to yourself "Oooh here we go, with another sales pitch.. now what do you want?!"

Emails titled:

• "I'm done"
• "Your last chance..."
• Do "X" now!

Whatever it may be, you may click on it to see what it's all about but ultimately, it's a strong DELETE

So, what do you do?! 😳

Solution

Now, more than ever before we want to connect with the person/individual we are choosing to work with.

No sales pitch, no hounding, no sob story and certainly no "do this for me"!

It really is a simple solution, be human!

Plan

Planning will give you a clear direction and give you the motivation you need to have to be able to get yourself out there.

If you're focusing on discussing topics of interest, it really doesn't matter about the likes or the lack of initial comments because you're posting about subjects that have personal value.

Questions to ask:

• Have a think about who you really are and what motivates you in your job?
• What inspired you to get into your industry in the first place?
• What would make your posting efforts of the day feel like a personal achievement?
• Would you want to prevent people from experiencing situations that you've been through?
• Would you want people to learn to ideas?
• Do you want to create a network where you can bounce cutting-edge insights with?
• Would you like to ask your network for advice on a topic?

Obviously, this list could go on forever, my one piece of advice is to vary your tone.

From an observation point of view i've watched individuals post every day about the downsides of their situation and it's really hard to watch someone going down a negative rabbit hole. You may get a lot of people engaging but who wants to work with a negative nancy on any level?! Yeah, not many 😊

So, try to rise above it and keep your posts as positive as you can

Most of all, talk about what you're passionate about and BE ORIGINAL

Please don't copy and paste other peoples work, create your own narrative!

Originality will help you to get noticed and back to the same point I made earlier, keep you motivated to post!

Before you execute

Once you have a plan in place of subject matters to speak about do some research in your subject matters so you can confidently speak about from your own experience.

Put a planner together so that your posts make sense and so that your audience can learn about who you are as an individual, learn your sense of humour and characteristics that make you, well...YOU.

LinkedIn now allows you to schedule posts so you don't need to use any fancy app like Hootsuite to get your posts out on a regular basis.

LinkedIn favour users who post regularly so make full use of the tools they provide.

OH! Before I forget... make sure your profile operates as your "shop window"

Your "shop frontage" should be visually appealing, have an inviting exterior and have a less formal tone so that you provide a welcoming space for other users to want to engage with you

Action

This is the tricky part...

Don't focus so much on the end goal of "must get a job" or "must build a following" - nothing will happen overnight and it'll discourage you from posting when you don't see immediate results.

It's true what they say "it's not the destination, it's the journey!"

Achieving a network of people that want to be involved in your evolution is what it's all about.

We want to surround ourselves with people that inspire us, motivate us or learn from.

Users will be looking for qualities that include, common interests, common goals, common personalities, common view points... you get where I'm going with this...

They essentially have similar personality traits and outlook to your own..as they say "birds of a feather, flock together"!

Which equals a symbiotic relationship where you really want to help each other, it's not a chore, it's just enjoyable.

This admittedly, is very difficult when you're backed into a corner and are looking for a job.

This is why I urge you to post on LinkedIn NOW!

Beeefore you're backed into a corner and are in a panic of where or what to do next!

• Yes! It IS out of your comfort zone
• Yes! It is hard to think about subjects to post about
• Yes! It's hard be upbeat when seemingly everything around you is crumbling

However, treat yourself as your own "business of one" (your own pr, marketing and sales team)

Back yourself!

You'll future self will thank you 🤗

Find your own cheerleaders and I promise you there's a world will find out about you and opportunities will open up for you in the most unlikely and unexpected kind of ways 🌈

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A special thank you to Max Connop for inspiring me to keep going with my posts when I think no one reads them 😊

Other resources to help:

1. Building your personal brand
2. Getting attention during your job search
3. LinkedIn - get the recognition you deserve
4. CV templates

At AE Recruitment we have put together step-by-step guides right through to 1-2-1 personalised support, depending on your needs.

To find out more, please head to our website at www.aerecruitment.ae and for our latest jobs please go to https://aerecruitment.ae/jobs/

Happy job searching Linkies

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