Never Underestimate The Power Of Online Presence When Job Hunting. Here’s The Right Tool For It

Like it or not, it is a competitive employment market out there. The world is experiencing multiple types of people who are looking for a job. From unemployed fresh graduates and those who want to make a career comeback, to retrenched executives. Let’s not forget those who are currently employed professionals but looking out for ‘better’ employment opportunity too. It’s crowded and packed out there. Everyone is screaming and grasping at any opportunity available to get a job. Almost everyone is screaming out – Hire me, please! But sadly, it gets swallowed by the noise.

Here are some important questions, that I ask people who tell me they are not successful in getting a job,

• Did the recruiters notice you?
• Does your profile stand out?
• How are you different from others?

You have talent. You have strengths. You have accomplishments. You have success stories. You have what the job needs. Something isn’t right when organisations or recruiters don’t even notice you. It’s time to move on with a new strategy. You need a tool, the one that creates impact.

It’s called LinkedIn. Here is what I found in the last two years based on my professional experience. Done right, LinkedIn is extremely powerful. With it, you can quickly build your online presence. The only thing that you need to have is a little bit of patience as this will take time and effort. Often, many quit within weeks claiming that they have no success. One must remember that it takes time and effort to build credibility. So, what is it that you share? I find these three things will help your LinkedIn journey goes smoothly, as they’ve helped mine over the years.

Interest. Many disputes and say that this is not Facebook. I don’t share personal interests here but professional ones. Almost all my LinkedIn status that I post are within the subjects that excite me. Then only I get a lot of engagements, likes and comments start soaring sky high. Further, it helps to strengthen my authority for being consistent. Personality. When my beneficial posts begin to go viral, people start to notice me. They then, drop by and visit my profile. Skills and Abilities. Here too, I usually share stories and some achievements of others that resonate with me. Things that can be learned. I tend to write and share some of my experiences too. Here, the authenticity of the story is important. Storytelling is known to be a good way to bring across your message to the audience effectively.

Here are my recommendations on how to kickstart or enhance your presence,

1. Before anything else, please treat your LinkedIn more than just your online resume. It’s your professional profile. Take some time and ensure you have all your details filled up. People, use your real name in full.
2. Use a professionally taken photo for your profile picture. Not the one where you’re having food at the mamak stall with your buddies. This is not Facebook, so the photo that creates impact is very important.
3. Quickly thank the person who just accepted your connection request and those who send their connection requests to you too.
4. When you post something, and people start commenting, show some courtesy by replying to each and every one of them. You want to be someone who is approachable, not someone who is too busy to reply. Remember that there are many silent observers out there and there could be many potential recruiters who are observing all that you do.
5. Two golden rules of LinkedIn, sincerity and politeness. Thrash talking is a big no-no.
6. Don’t share if the content is all about you, you and you. People hate that. Instead, engage with your connections positively. It’s always about them. Share stuff that beneficial to them. If you’re short of things to share, then spend the time to read, understand and respond to the content being shared by others.
7. Be visible. Get involved in conversations that are relevant to your industry and line of work. Patience is a virtue. Doing this for a few days is not going to get you hired immediately. It takes time.
8. Join groups that you find relevant and interesting. Interact with the members, share opinions and insights about the topic being discussed. It’ll portray that you do have a certain level of authority on the subject.

I would like to end with a very personal and sincere advice. Please avoid selling on LinkedIn. Create value. Create reasons why people should trust you. If you sell things, people will avoid you, period. Instead of creating followers and trust, you will create nothing.

Be authentic. The last thing you need is to become someone you are not. It’s such a big turn off when people meet you in real-life only to find out that you are not even near to the one you portray online. Be consistent, be authentic and bring the professional version of you out.

Now, this is how you make the world to notice you.