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How to Use the Power of LinkedIn to Advance Your Career · Work It Like A Mum

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Hey, I'm Elizabeth Willits and I'm obsessed with helping as many women as possible achieve their boldest dreams after kids and helping you to navigate this messy and magical season of life.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: I'm a working mum with over 17 years of recruitment experience and I'm the founder of the Investing in Women job board and community.
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: In this show, I'm honoured to be chatting with remarkable women redefining our working world across all areas of business.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: They'll share their secrets on how they've achieved extraordinary success after children, set boundaries and balance, the challenges they've faced and how they've overcome them to define their own versions of success.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: Shy away from the real talk?
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: No way.
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: Money struggles, growth, loss, boundaries and balance we cover it all.
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: Think of this as coffee with your mates, mixed with an inspiring TED Talk sprinkled with the career advice you wish you'd really had at school.
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: So grab a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, make sure you're cosy and get ready to get inspired and chase your boldest dreams, or just survive Mondays.
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: This is the Work it Like A Mum podcast.
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: This episode is brought to you by Investing in Women.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: Investing in Women is a job board and recruitment agency helping you find your dream part-time or flexible job with the UK's most family-friendly and forward-thinking employers.
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: Their site can help you find a professional and rewarding job that works for you.
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: They're proud to partner with the UK's most family-friendly employers across a range of professional industries, ready to find your perfect job?
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: Search their website at investinginwomencouk to find your next part-time or flexible job opportunity.
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: Now back to the show.
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: Hello, welcome to this week's episode of the Work it Like A Mum podcast.
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: Today I am delighted to be chatting with one of my absolute favourite people and favourite coaches, leanne Cooper.
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: Leanne is a career advancement coach who I have met on LinkedIn.
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: So today's episode is very apt because Leanne is going to be giving us all her tips and tricks about how to advance your career and improve your job search results using LinkedIn and the power of LinkedIn.
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: So thank you so much, leanne, for joining me today oh, thank you so much for having me.
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: You always give me the most lovely introductions because I love, I love you, leanne.
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: Leanne did some coaching for me last week and it was transformational.
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: So I really she's like one of my really really good friends and we met on LinkedIn and we only met really a couple of years ago, didn't we really?
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: And now you're like we're such good friends now.
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: So that is.
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: You know, I think even if you get nothing else out of LinkedIn but a good friend, then you have one yeah.
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: Oh, liz, liz, right back at you.
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: I totally, I totally agree on this platform as men that I have met so many amazing people just like you and I feel so grateful for it.
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: Like I feel so grateful that, like we're connected and we've met each other and we've just supported each other so much haven't we?
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: Since we started, we've worked together on projects and been on the podcast and it's just lovely.
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: So I'm really happy to be here today and I'm happy to talk about this topic, because it's a topic that is very close to my heart, because so many of my clients underestimate the importance and the power that LinkedIn can have when it comes to your career advancement strategy.
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: So I am all about shouting about the power of LinkedIn and helping people to really maximize the platform and get the most from it absolutely so.
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: Actually, I know you've got some tips and some notes.
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: Um, what is the difference, you think?
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: Because people might think it's just another Facebook or an Instagram.
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: How does LinkedIn differ from other social media platforms and why should somebody be on it as opposed to, say, a Facebook or whatever?
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: so I think the big difference is the, the people on there.
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: So on other platforms like um, instagram, for example, I like going Instagram and having a bit of a scroll, but people are not there looking for like genuine connection.
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: People are on Instagram for like a bit of a doom scroll or a bit of a dopamine hit, like on to the next thing, on to the next thing, whereas with linkedin the, the whole purpose behind the platform is different.
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: People turn up there wanting to meet people, wanting to have conversations, wanting to learn from people and wanting to make connections, and I think that there are so many lovely people on there that are actually genuinely up for meeting new people and starting conversations and helping each other.
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: The number of people that like the number of posts I see, liz, where people say I'm struggling with this, can anyone help there's literally like hundreds, sometimes thousands of people comment and they're like, oh, do this or try that or feed to this person.
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: Like people are just there wanting to to genuinely connect and and support and empower each other, and I just love it.
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: I agree.
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: I think Instagram is good and it has its place, but I feel like you go on Instagram to be entertained yeah, you do.
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: Is that you don't really know?
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: who I.
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: What annoys me about Instagram and I feel like I don't want to go to a basher Instagram, but it's um, the people don't post.
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: I don't know who they are, because no one uses their real name, like there's obviously the Instagram handles, whereas, like with LinkedIn and now they've got the verification badge, you're actually connecting with real people yeah, that's the difference.
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: Isn't it like there real like positive intent behind it and a genuine desire to build relationships and to help and support each other?
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, I am a big fan and LinkedIn should definitely be a part of everyone's career advancement strategy.
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: So if you're listening to this podcast now and you're thinking, oh no, I don't do anything at all with LinkedIn other than scroll, that's fine.
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: We with that today and that's what we're here for.
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: And also, if you're thinking, what do you mean?
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: Career advancement strategy, like, what career advancement strategy?
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: We've got you covered with that as well, so we'll talk a little bit about that also.
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: So, first things first, strategy.
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: If you have got a career goal, you need a strategy.
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: If you want to achieve it, like wing it, wendy vibes just won't cut it.
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: You need to be in the driving sea of your own career and I see too often people leaving, like the career success in the hands of other people, um, and we?
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: We need to not do that.
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: We need to have a strategy.
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: So, just as well, getting your head down and hoping that your work will be noticed that is not a strategy.
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: Working yourself into the ground in like a desperate bid to try and prove your worth that is not a strategy.
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: What you need before you go any further is you need to think about and really understand where you are now, right now in your career, where you want to be instead, when you want to be there, what the blockers are that are in your way and what are those pivotal tasks that are necessary to break down those blockers and move you to where you want to be within your desired timeframe.
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: We could probably do a whole new podcast on that, so I'll leave it there for now.
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: But if you are struggling with a strategy and you want to talk a little bit more about that, reach out to me and we can talk about that.
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: But getting back to LinkedIn wherever you go, linkedin is going to be a key part in helping you achieve it, and I'm going to share a load of reasons why in a minute.
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: But before I do that, I want to say that I completely understand if you find the idea of LinkedIn a bit daunting, like I hear from my clients all the time that they find it scary, and my clients all the time that they find it scary.
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: And I'm gonna hold my hands up and say like I was exactly the same.
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: I avoided LinkedIn for years.
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: I was scared of it.
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: I was worried about posting something and making a mistake or saying the wrong thing or not being good enough or saying too much, and people think that I was showing off like all this stuff run through my mind for years and it it held me back and I was a massive like LinkedIn worker.
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: So I just looked around, scrolled and had a really basic profile.
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: What do you think people worry about posting on LinkedIn?
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: That maybe they don't worry about posting on Instagram or Facebook.
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: I think it's about who is seeing them.
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: So I think it feels more like vulnerable.
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: On LinkedIn, I think people think, oh, there's this person from work or there's that person that I used to work with, and they worry about the judgment.
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: That was me, um, I was thinking like people like, oh, who does she think she is?
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: Like, why is she posting that?
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: Um, so I get that.
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: It can be.
• 8:34
  Speaker 2: It can be really scary and I was definitely there.
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: I terrified me for ages.
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: Um, so, if that's you like, no judgment, completely get it like please, we've both built up to where we are now, haven't we on LinkedIn, like, we didn't start off sharing the type of stuff that we share now?
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: No, and I was, yeah the same.
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: You know my page will get people scruff out.
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: They probably think what's she on about?
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: But you get better and also get more confident, don't you?
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you do and you learn what kind of content works and you learn, like, who you want to be connected with and whose content you want to see.
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: And, yeah, it's like anything like practice.
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: It makes you feel more comfortable and more competent.
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: But yeah, like doing something like a LinkedIn Live, like I wouldn't have done that when I first started.
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: I took everything that I had to just put a post, never mind the thought of LinkedIn live.
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: So if that's where you are now and you feel like you're scared of it, then we'll start small and I'll share some tips in a minute of how you can start really small, feels really comfortable, and then like stretch yourself a little bit more, um, as you, as you go on.
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: But for me, like it was FOMO that got the better of me, that made me like jump in and start using LinkedIn, because I was hearing all the time about the power of LinkedIn and how it was like helping people and I thought, right, I want a bit of that.
• 9:53
  Speaker 2: Like I'm gonna, I'm gonna give it a go.
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: I'm gonna just like dip my toe in a little bit and, um, try starting to show up there and and like maybe like dust off my profile and update it a little bit, and I'm so glad I did, because this platform I touched on it at the beginning it's so many opportunities, like I mean in terms of clients for my business, but also like collaborations, partnerships, like different organizations that I've connected with and that's reached out to me, and I've worked with people that I've made friends with, like you, like people that I've learned from just loads like over the the years that I've been on here.
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: So, um, really, really important.
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: And if you, if you're listening to the podcast and you're thinking, well, I haven't got a business or I I'm not looking for a new job right now, that that doesn't matter, like the platform is for everybody, it's not just for people with business, it's not just for people that are looking for new roles.
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: There's a place here for everyone.
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: So I want to make sure that, by the end of our chat today, you walk away with an understanding of why LinkedIn.
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: And actually there's a point to say, even if you're not looking for a role, if you can basically start building up a bit of a personal brand.
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: I know not everyone likes that you become so much more valuable to your current employer.
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you absolutely do.
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: So there's a place for everybody.
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: You don't need to be looking for a job actively, you don't need to be starting a business.
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: I'm planning on starting a business.
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: There's somewhere for everybody, and I want I want for, by the end of the session, that, for you to think, to understand why it can benefit you personally, um, and I want to leave you with three like tangible steps that you can take after listening to this podcast to help you to really benefit from using the platform.
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: So let's dig in to why LinkedIn should matter to you personally.
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: So, liz, you touched on it just then like, the number one mistake people make is wait until they need LinkedIn to do anything with it.
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: So wait until they need to find a new job, or they want to start a new business or something's changed and they want to transition to a new career.
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: But actually, linkedin works so much better if you're proactive, um, if you start, if you start on there before you, you feel like you, you need anything, um.
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: So let's go through some reasons.
• 11:59
  Speaker 2: I've got five reasons, um, as to why I think it'd be important for you.
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: Liz, you might even have more than this.
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: So the first thing is building out that professional network.
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: So LinkedIn allows you to connect with people from all around the world, people that you just would never have crossed paths with and have the opportunity to meet if you have not been on the platform.
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: So that provides an opportunity for like diverse perspectives, like job referrals, partnerships, mentorship, collaborations, and so many doors are open and so many opportunities.
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: Um, it's, it's massive and lots of opportunities um for things that you wouldn't or wouldn't have heard about necessarily, um, people that you wouldn't have met.
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: Like I mean, liz, who have you met on here that like you've learned from and you've um, that's inspired you like there's so many people?
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: yeah, obviously you um, but I was thinking.
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: I mean someone that I have followed for a long time, that I absolutely love, is like Leah Turner yeah, actually she has influenced my business.
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: Even though we've actually never really spoken, she's had a lot of influence on my business.
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: There's lots of people like that.
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: They're really inspirational, aren't they?
• 13:08
  Speaker 2: yeah, there are people that inspire you, people that motivate you, people that make you feel like things are possible for you too, because they've achieved it.
• 13:16
  Speaker 2: Like there's so many brilliant people.
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: I've, like I said, I've met you.
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: I've met, I've met two other women that are like my closest um, one of my closest, two of my closest friends.
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: Now I met my business coach on here.
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: Like there's just so much opportunity to meet brilliant people.
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: It's just really exciting.
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, building out your professional network is really important and a really important reason why you should be on here.
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: And the next thing is personal branding and you touched on this a little bit as well and reputation building.
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: So your LinkedIn profile acts as like your digital CV or your digital portfolio.
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: It's a free, like platform to showcase you and your skills and your experience and your achievements, and by keeping it updated and sharing relevant content, you can actually create a personal brand that reflects your expertise, makes you more visible to recruiters, to peers in your industry, and positions you as, like, an expert in your field.
• 14:09
  Speaker 2: So why would you not want to build that solid reputation for yourself and that solid personal brand?
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: It's just a massive, massive plus point.
• 14:19
  Speaker 2: And it's free, like it's a free opportunity for you, and so many of my clients tell me that when they can get their head around this, when they can get over that initial fear and start taking the steps to optimize a profile and start posting stuff, it makes such a big difference like they have people reach out to them with opportunities, um of things that they would never have even heard about if they'd have stayed invisible.
• 14:45
  Speaker 2: Yeah, um, and honestly, like it can really blow up like look at you, liz.
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: Recently you got recognized, didn't you?
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: Where was you Dubai?
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: oh my god, yeah, in Dubai.
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: That was crazy.
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: I looked up, like you know, I'd just come off the plane as well.
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: This woman came up, bless her, and she's like you, liz, with Willis.
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: But it is so true about the personal branding thing and the connections, because I got a book deal through somebody that I met on LinkedIn inviting me on their podcast, and then an editor heard it.
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: Oh wow, it's just all these little like connections, isn't it, that can lead on to something.
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: It's you know and people know, people know people yeah, I didn't even know that story actually.
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: I didn't realize how the book opportunity came up?
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: yeah, it just shows you it just shows you and it's all about just planting the seeds, isn't it?
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: And making those connections, because you never know where these it's all chain reaction, where it can all lead, yeah, and look at that like you.
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: You wouldn't have thought like going on that podcast would lead to a situation where you're like launching your first book no, I know no way, I mean, and that all really came from LinkedIn, meeting this person on LinkedIn and connecting with him, and I think he came on my LinkedIn live and then he's like do you want to come on podcast?
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: And actually I think that does go to show.
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: Actually there's something about giving as well as receiving, you know yeah, make sure you're supporting other people yeah, be a good connection, be a supportive connection.
• 17:01
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that that's really important as well, isn't it?
• 17:04
  Speaker 2: Like you know, if you see other people's content, like keep supporting, give it a like, like, give it a comment, and even if you don't want to share publicly, just send me a message.
• 17:13
  Speaker 2: Like, honestly, it means so much.
• 17:15
  Speaker 2: Like I get loads of lovely messages from people and they'll say like, oh, I saw that post, or I listened to that podcast episode, or, um, I read that email and and it's really helped me.
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: Thank you so much.
• 17:26
  Speaker 2: And it doesn't matter how many you get it like, it's still nice.
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: Like, yeah, it is in the moment, doesn't it to get that from somebody?
• 17:33
  Speaker 2: And so, yeah, you've made a really good point there.
• 17:35
  Speaker 2: Like, be a give as well as as take from the platform is, um is massively important and and you get a lot of you get a lot from doing that as well.
• 17:44
  Speaker 2: Like I always try and um, and I know you do this as well.
• 17:46
  Speaker 2: Like, if you know somebody that could benefit from knowing somebody else, you'll introduce them.
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and it's just so nice, isn't it, to help help people that way and like, do what you'd want to be done to you.
• 17:57
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, really good point.
• 17:59
  Speaker 2: And the third reason why, um, it's important is job searching and recruitment.
• 18:04
  Speaker 2: Like liz, you know more than me.
• 18:06
  Speaker 2: The world of recruitment has changed such a lot, hasn't it?
• 18:09
  Speaker 2: And what you need to do now in order to secure a role is so much more different than um a few years ago.
• 18:16
  Speaker 2: You can't just have a strategy that is relying on applying for jobs that are advertised.
• 18:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah, today's successful job seekers are proactive.
• 18:25
  Speaker 2: They know that linkedin is a top tool for recruiters looking for talent.
• 18:29
  Speaker 2: They know that jobs post openings on linkedin.
• 18:32
  Speaker 2: They know that the platform search algorithms can match your jobs based with your skills and your interests.
• 18:37
  Speaker 2: And and actually, so many roles up to 80 percent of roles are not even advertised.
• 18:43
  Speaker 2: So if you are making yourself visible on this platform for hiring managers, headhunters, um, then you are in the running for those roles.
• 18:51
  Speaker 2: If you're not, then you're being overlooked for opportunities.
• 18:54
  Speaker 2: What did you say the other day, liz?
• 18:55
  Speaker 2: Was it seven people a minute?
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: yeah, I read it also.
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: I can't remember if it was a minute or a second.
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: It was ridiculous.
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: I mean, obviously that's worldwide, but those are the um hires that I made and they're not even always like chop, you know, advertisers, don't?
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: I'm just thinking for me.
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: You know, I've hired a couple people off LinkedIn where they've just messaged me on like a day when I've been overwhelmed and busy, said, do you need any help?
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: And I'm like yes, yes, please, I'm drowning.
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: You know, and it's people like that and it's, you know, not necessarily be full employee, please, um, but like freelancers, there's a lot of business that happens in the dms, the direct messages, yeah there is yeah, there really really is um, and it's just so important to recognize that if you, if you are a job seeker, that please don't rely on just being just applying for jobs.
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: It's connecting with the people actually sending the messages and you never know, you might send the right person and the right message on the right day yeah, exactly that, exactly that.
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: So, really really important.
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: Number four is like learnings and insights.
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: So linkedin is a hub for like news, trends, thought leadership posts, and you can curate your feed so you hear from the people that you want to hear from you don't hear from people that you don't want to hear from and so you can contribute to the conversations that you want to be part of.
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: You can follow relevant companies and influential people groups.
• 20:22
  Speaker 2: You can stay informed about, like the latest developments in your sector and as well.
• 20:27
  Speaker 2: So all of that is really really helpful to give you that competitive edge, to make sure that you've got your finger on the pulse and you know.
• 20:35
  Speaker 2: You know what's going on in in your field and as well.
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: Another thing that I love is experts are really good at people that you follow are really good at breaking like complex topics down.
• 20:48
  Speaker 2: So like, for example, that if there's like a change in employment law legislation, I know an amazing um employment lawyer, claire chapel, who's in my network.
• 20:56
  Speaker 2: I know, yeah, she's brilliant.
• 20:59
  Speaker 2: I know for a fact if there's, if there's some like change in the law, she'll do a really helpful post.
• 21:04
  Speaker 2: It just breaks down like the key points and I'll read that rather than go and read like I know what you mean.
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: Yeah, because it's easier to digest.
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: If you're not a legal person, it's so much easier to digest something like that.
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so I'd be like right, I can see that's changed.
• 21:18
  Speaker 2: Let's see.
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: Let's see what Claire Chappell says about it yeah, I think there's some new rules going out today, the day we're recording.
• 21:26
  Speaker 2: Yeah oh, good timing then.
• 21:28
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, like be following the right people and having those people in your network so helpful, like you learn such a lot.
• 21:34
  Speaker 2: And then the fifth reason it's probably loads more than this, but we haven't got, we haven't got loads of time.
• 21:40
  Speaker 2: But the fifth reason is endorsements and recommendations.
• 21:43
  Speaker 2: So linkedin lets your colleagues, your clients, your line manager, whoever um endorse your skills and write recommendations.
• 21:51
  Speaker 2: So that provides like social proof for your expertise.
• 21:55
  Speaker 2: It like builds credibility and trust with potential employers or clients as well, because if another professional person is prepared to vouch for you in a public setting, that saves such a lot, doesn't it like?
• 22:06
  Speaker 2: That's another, another reason, um, why using it is important and can be advantageous and give you that competitive edge.
• 22:14
  Speaker 2: So five reasons there, and there'll be loads more reasons, but in the interest of time, I'll move on to some steps that people can take to actually start making the most of linkedin, unless there's anything else you want to add to the reasons.
• 22:28
  Speaker 2: No, I think I think you've covered it all.
• 22:29
  Speaker 2: Thank you, okay, fab.
• 22:32
  Speaker 2: So let's have a look at what you can do then.
• 22:34
  Speaker 2: Um, some tangible action steps.
• 22:35
  Speaker 2: There's three things that you can do that will make such a lot of difference in terms of your LinkedIn user experience and the opportunities that you get from the platform.
• 22:46
  Speaker 2: The first one is optimize your profile, and I'm not going to go into loads of detail on this because, liz, we did a LinkedIn live.
• 22:54
  Speaker 2: Oh, we're about two weeks ago, wasn't it?
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: so you're going to link it in the show notes and that is brilliant and it's basically, yeah, how to start with your profile so I'll leave that with you and it'll get you onto LinkedIn, I suppose, if you're not on LinkedIn that'll be.
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: Your first step to going onto LinkedIn is to watch this LinkedIn live.
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly that.
• 23:13
  Speaker 2: So that's a good shout.
• 23:14
  Speaker 2: So so, yeah, I'm just going to go really high level with this one, because we've got a full LinkedIn live episode that you can watch and learn about how to optimize your profile.
• 23:22
  Speaker 2: But, um, really, really important that you do, because it's your shop window make sure it's fresh, make sure it's up to date, make sure it betrays you in the best possible light, make sure that anyone who lands on it can see who you are, what you do, the value that you add, the experience that you've got, and remember job seekers as well.
• 23:39
  Speaker 2: It needs to appeal to your ideal employer, so it's an opportunity for that that employer to read it, to get to know you, to like you and to trust you.
• 23:48
  Speaker 2: So make sure that you use relevant keywords so that you're found, and use strengths that you want to be found for.
• 23:54
  Speaker 2: Um, so, really, really important.
• 23:56
  Speaker 2: So, first thing is optimize your profile, go away and do that as your first job.
• 24:00
  Speaker 2: The second job is build out your network.
• 24:03
  Speaker 2: Like I say this all the time, it's not what you know, it's who knows you, and it's really important to be proactive and to connect with people.
• 24:12
  Speaker 2: I had to google this because I didn't know, but I googled it when I was putting these notes together.
• 24:16
  Speaker 2: There's over 1 billion people on LinkedIn.
• 24:18
  Speaker 2: Did you know that?
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I did that.
• 24:20
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that, that's a lot that, yeah it is a lot so I was like I wonder how many there is and I googled it, over 1 billion people on linkedin.
• 24:28
  Speaker 2: So, whoever you are, whatever your goals are, it's safe to say that your people are on here somewhere, um, so it's important to find them.
• 24:34
  Speaker 2: Yes, start with, like your previous and your current colleagues, because they know your work and they can endorse your skills or they can give you recommendations.
• 24:42
  Speaker 2: And it's important to maintain these relationships with previous colleagues as well because, um for like internal networking and future career moves and, um, those colleagues that you used to work with have moved on to different companies as well.
• 24:55
  Speaker 2: They can offer you insight into other jobs or industries.
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: It's a small world, isn't it?
• 25:01
  Speaker 2: industries are very small yeah, it is, and you never know, like I always think this as well, like some a boss of mine said it to me years ago like always make sure you leave a positive like impression and positive reputation, because you never know, like who's going to be at the other side of a desk interviewing you in five years, yeah, or know the interviewer.
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: That's happened to me before where they've known, yeah, you know.
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: And it can obviously either go either way.
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: You know someone might say, oh, yeah, you know, look at a cv and they'll be like they'll know, their colleague used to work there and so they'll always ask that colleague, what was so and so like to work with oh, wow, yeah, it's so important isn't?
• 25:36
  Speaker 2: it so important to try and leave a good impression.
• 25:40
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, keep keeping in touch with, like farmer, people that you used to work with your co-workers, um, because, yeah, they can introduce you to their new network, you can learn from them and potentially get a referral into their new organization in the future.
• 25:54
  Speaker 2: But don't just limit yourself to people that you already know.
• 25:58
  Speaker 2: Like this is a big mistake I see people making to only connect with people that they know or they only like reach out to people that they know and they're like, oh, I can't start a conversation with that person if I don't know them.
• 26:08
  Speaker 2: Um, but you're really restricting yourself because it's a networking site, so it's all about meeting, meeting new people, um, so don't limit yourself just to people that you already know.
• 26:17
  Speaker 2: Like I've got some examples of people that you can go out and connect to, so have a think about connecting with some of these people.
• 26:24
  Speaker 2: So, first of all, recruiters and hiring managers.
• 26:26
  Speaker 2: So connecting with recruiters makes you more visible for opportunities and, like, with hiring managers as well, like they often directly recruit from the network.
• 26:34
  Speaker 2: So connecting with a hiring manager from a company or an industry of interest can lead to, like, insider knowledge about potential openings that would never be advertised.
• 26:42
  Speaker 2: So consider thinking about who are some recruiters in your sector hiring managers and connecting with them.
• 26:47
  Speaker 2: Thought leaders and influencers, like if you connect with um, people who share like insights, trends, thought leadership, engaging with their content, connecting with them, that increases your visibility as well as you learn from them.
• 27:03
  Speaker 2: So really, really important if you're connected to people like that and you can comment on their and join conversations that they're part of.
• 27:10
  Speaker 2: This is one that people miss all the time.
• 27:13
  Speaker 2: People that you meet at events or conferences like how often have you been to an event or a conference or a workshop or whatever and you've met people it's no other to meet you by and and that's it.
• 27:25
  Speaker 2: Like you don't connect with them, like actually connect with them in the moment.
• 27:28
  Speaker 2: Like grab your phone and connect with them on LinkedIn and make sure you book some time out after these events.
• 27:34
  Speaker 2: Just send a follow-up message to keep that relationship going and start a conversation.
• 27:38
  Speaker 2: Like it doesn't need to be anything heavy or a big investment.
• 27:41
  Speaker 2: You can just be like great to meet you, liz.
• 27:43
  Speaker 2: What did you think of the event today?
• 27:44
  Speaker 2: Have another person in your network.
• 27:48
  Speaker 2: Employees of companies that you're interested in is another one.
• 27:50
  Speaker 2: So if you make a list of companies that you would want to work for, so companies that are like dream organisations to you, the culture is aligned to what you're looking for.
• 27:59
  Speaker 2: It's like somewhere that you'd love to work for.
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: Follow the company on linkedin, engage in the content so you know about like job opportunities that they're posting, but also connect with the people that work there, because they can provide insights into the company, the culture, the hiring process.
• 28:15
  Speaker 2: They can refer you um often referral schemes, so they can refer you for job openings.
• 28:20
  Speaker 2: So think about connecting with people that work where you want to work um.
• 28:24
  Speaker 2: Another one is similar roles in target companies.
• 28:27
  Speaker 2: So connect with people who have got a similar role to you, but maybe a competitor um that you admire, because you can get insights on what you know, what their their jobs, like the challenges, the skills that they need.
• 28:38
  Speaker 2: And you can also start conversations and find out, like, how did they get there?
• 28:42
  Speaker 2: Like, was it a recruiter that that supported them into that role?
• 28:46
  Speaker 2: Like there's so much rich information that you can get.
• 28:49
  Speaker 2: And then this one I couldn't leave this one off so career coaches.
• 28:53
  Speaker 2: So connect with a good career coach because they can provide tips for career growth and and help you with your job searching and advancing your career.
• 29:02
  Speaker 2: And also, um, these professionals are often connected with recruiters and hiring managers.
• 29:08
  Speaker 2: Yeah, they are absolutely very true um, so yeah, that's another one um, and then one more will do so um, experts, um, who've got skills that you want to have or have achieved goals that you want to achieve.
• 29:25
  Speaker 2: So, if you want to learn something or you've got, like, aspirations of getting to a certain goal, if you can connect with someone who's already got what you want or has got the knowledge that you want to get, following their post, reading their content and reaching out to them potentially for advice and guidance, is a really great way to fast track your progress.
• 29:43
  Speaker 2: So that was the second one.
• 29:45
  Speaker 2: Can you think of anybody else It'd be good for people to connect with.
• 29:48
  Speaker 2: It's quite a list, that one Really good, yeah.
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: And then maybe as well people that are at a similar stage to you as well.
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: I know you sort of said, but I think that's been really nice, just from my perspective, to connect with people like you and other people that started businesses at a similar time, and then it felt like we were all on a journey together yeah, that's a really good one and that has been really important for me on my journey to feel like I've got people that like get the struggles that I'm going through and the challenges and the roller coasters and stuff.
• 30:20
  Speaker 2: And I know, actually, when I back when I was training to be a coach, um, I connected with a lot of other people that were training to be coaches because they understood, like they understood the challenge of trying to fit all the study around working full-time and having a family.
• 30:32
  Speaker 2: They understood, like, where I was at and it's nice, isn't it, to have those like-minded people, um, around you.
• 30:39
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, that's a really, really good one.
• 30:40
  Speaker 2: Um, and the third thing, the third tangible action step that you can go away and do, is start to share, create and engage with content.
• 30:48
  Speaker 2: So this is the hardest one for most people because we have that, that belief that oh, I'm not interesting, I've got nothing to say.
• 30:54
  Speaker 2: Absolutely not the case.
• 30:55
  Speaker 2: Everybody's interesting, everybody's got something to say.
• 30:58
  Speaker 2: And you can start small with this.
• 31:00
  Speaker 2: So you can start by just like reposting somebody else's posts or sharing an article that you see or some, or commenting on somebody else's post, sharing your perspective and adding, like value to the conversation.
• 31:13
  Speaker 2: You can build up to um.
• 31:15
  Speaker 2: That'll still like make your profile active and boost your visibility.
• 31:19
  Speaker 2: You can move on to like posting your own content and there's so much inspiration for content on here as well.
• 31:26
  Speaker 2: Like there's some really brilliant posts and quite often the more simple the better.
• 31:31
  Speaker 2: Like you know, you're not, unless you're somebody who is like a professional at content creation.
• 31:36
  Speaker 2: Most people just put a post on of a photo, um, and and some text and it doesn't need to be anything fancy.
• 31:44
  Speaker 2: No, no, yeah, you're right, it can just be something quite simple and there's.
• 31:49
  Speaker 2: You can get inspiration from other people's posts as well, but, like you know, even a post that you're looking for your next opportunity.
• 31:54
  Speaker 2: Quite often I'll speak to people and they'll say, oh yeah, I've been looking for a job and I'll be like so who knows that you're looking for a job then?
• 32:00
  Speaker 2: And they're like my husband, like nobody else knows um and it might.
• 32:05
  Speaker 2: You know, sometimes people don't want to share it because they might already be in work but and they might not want their employer to know.
• 32:10
  Speaker 2: But I'm talking about people who have been made redundant or people who are not working and they don't have to worry about their employer finding out, just not sharing that they're looking for an opportunity.
• 32:20
  Speaker 2: Yeah, like we need to share that, what you're looking for, so people can help you.
• 32:24
  Speaker 2: You need to make it really clear, like the value that you can add, the role that you're looking for, and there's loads of examples I see every single day of job seekers doing that.
• 32:33
  Speaker 2: And there's career change announcement posts that you can do, and if you've been to an event, like you can post a picture of you at the event or just the event and share some takeaways of what you've learned.
• 32:43
  Speaker 2: Like, yeah, there's loads of things that you can do, um, but just making a start is is the important thing.
• 32:49
  Speaker 2: So just making a start by commenting on somebody else's post might be the first step for you.
• 32:54
  Speaker 2: So, instead of challenge yourself, instead of just scrolling through and and not commenting, like give something, like a comment, like add a little bit and build up from there.
• 33:04
  Speaker 2: So there we've go.
• 33:05
  Speaker 2: We've got some reasons why it matters to you personally and some three tangible action steps that you can take on the platform to help you to use it to your advantage in your career advancement journey.
• 33:18
  Speaker 1: Oh thank you so much.
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: That was brilliant.
• 33:22
  Speaker 1: I really, really I've learned a lot.
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: I always learn things talking to you.
• 33:26
  Speaker 1: I always take things away, so thank you so much.
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: Um, how can people connect with you, follow you and how do you work with individuals?
• 33:35
  Speaker 2: well, it's not going to come to any surprise for me to now say that I spend a lot of time on LinkedIn, yeah, um, and that the best place to probably reach out to me is to send me a DM on LinkedIn.
• 33:46
  Speaker 2: So connect with me, um, and send me a DM if you want to have a chat about your individual situation.
• 33:52
  Speaker 2: I work with women directly.
• 33:54
  Speaker 2: I do have a small group program as well, um, where I support a small group of women to advance their careers together, and I also partner with organizations as well.
• 34:04
  Speaker 2: So, um, I support businesses around the globe to retain and promote female talent.
• 34:09
  Speaker 2: So do workshops, coaching, keynotes, that kind of thing.
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: So if that floats your boat and sounds like a bit of you, then let's talk to each other absolutely and, as someone that has been coached by leanne, I can say she's amazing.
• 34:21
  Speaker 1: Oh, thank you so much yeah she's definitely worth um, worth a chat.
• 34:27
  Speaker 1: So, uh, and you've got your website, haven't you?
• 34:29
  Speaker 2: youfirstcoachingcouk orcom, yeah, youfirst, yeah, youfirstcoachcouk.
• 34:34
  Speaker 2: So you can have a little look on there if you want have?
• 34:37
  Speaker 1: Yeah, have a little look.
• 34:38
  Speaker 1: But thank you so much and I'll put the link to the previous LinkedIn Live in the show notes as well.
• 34:44
  Speaker 2: Oh, thank you.
• 34:45
  Speaker 2: Thank you so much.
• 34:46
  Speaker 2: No, that's all right.
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much, everyone, for listening today.
• 34:48
  Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to another episode of the Work it Like A Mum podcast.
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: If you enjoyed this episode, please rate, review and subscribe, and don't forget to share the link with a friend.
• 35:01
  Speaker 1: If you're on LinkedIn, please send me a connection request at Elizabeth Willett and let me know your thoughts on this week's episode.
• 35:09
  Speaker 1: You can also follow my recruitment site Investing in Women on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: Until next time, keep on chasing your biggest dreams.