How to Boost Your Online Reputation using LinkedIn

LinkedIn is THE online network of choice for business professionals.  If you are looking for a new position you need to be on LinkedIn.  If you are looking to raise the profile of your business, you need to be on LinkedIn.  If you want to be found on Google, you need to be on LinkedIn.  If you are not looking for a new position but like the idea of being headhunted, you need to be on LinkedIn.  If you want more sales, well you get the idea, and the list goes on. So once you have a LinkedIn profile, how can you really boost your credibility to massive effect? This weeks blog will give you some hot tips to help you:

- Network More Effectively

- Build a Solid Online Reputation

- Raise the Visibility of your Company 

- Help you Secure a new Job

- Find the People you Need 

- Make more Sales

Tip Number 1 - The Importance of a Complete Profile

When we network on a face to face basis, you have the opportunity to build rapport, establish common ground and make a good impression on the person you are meeting for the first time.  However, when you network online, other people will judge you on your online profile and how you come across before deciding to connect with you.  If you put your name into Google to check out your online reputation, the most likely number one link will be your LinkedIn profile.  

It is so important to ensure that you have a 100% complete profile, including a professional photograph.  Your profile should OOOOZE credibility.  It is much more than an online CV, although your work background will be listed.  The summary is what counts.  Really go for it and highlight all the reasons why someone should hire you, work with you, give you business or connect with you.  Remember your online reputation is at stake here, put lots of thought into what you say and how you say it in the summary.

Tip Number 2 - Recommendations

Again credibility points start to rack up if you have strong recommendations.  It is very easy to get a colleague or a friend to say how lovely you are but it is much more credible if a client has written a glowing testimonial about your account management skills, or your sales ability or your customer service.  Recommendations from Managers or Directors in companies you have worked in previously will also boost your credibility.  You can choose which recommendations you show/hide in your profile so you are in control of which ones appear to any profile visitors.  

A minimum 10 recommendations would give you a good basis for any LinkedIn profile.  If you do a few different roles both in and outside of work then you may have a selection from the various areas of your professional life.  This is a fantastic way to build your online reputation, and every time you receive a recommendation your network will see that in your home feed.  

Tip Number 3 - Your Connections 

You can check out your Network Statistics on LinkedIn, by going to the Contacts tab.  This will tell you how many people are in your network, but most importantly how many people in total this connects you to in total indirectly.  At the time of writing this blog, I am connected to 2370 people as 1st connections.  You can view my profile here.  This gives me access to a total network of 12.4 million LinkedIn Profiles.  So why might that be important?  

Every time I search LinkedIn for a specific keyword, I am searching 12.4 million connections.  The chances are that I am going to find who I am looking for with that kind of a network.  From a business development point of view, I can put in a search term and I know that thousands of profiles will come up of people in my target market.  From a candidate perspective, if I am looking for an Inside Sales Specialist with the keyword German, the chances are that I am going to be able to find the right person for my client.  

Simply put, the more connections you have, the more credible you look and the more people want to connect with you because you know a lot of people.  Groups can be a great way to boost your connections.  Keyword searches will help you to connect with people and LinkedIn has a great tool called "People you may Know" under "Add Connections".  This is a list of people who you have mutual connections, and gives you the chance to invite people who you probably know or know of. 

Tip Number 4 - Your Status Updates

Your status updates should be content driven, with frequent updates to keep you visible, whilst providing useful articles which benefit your network.  The updates should always be about adding value to your network, the more interesting your updates are the more frequently your profile will be seen and visited by others.  If you are the "go-to" person for all the latest news about High-tech or Green Energy or the Automotive industry you are raising your profile and online reputation as someone in the know about this topic.  You can easily find articles to share on the LinkedIn Today tab.  Sharing interesting news or topics is a one-click exercise and very easy to do.    

If you are constantly making your updates all about you, or your business you will be constantly seen as selling and that is not going to do your online reputation any favours.  Be useful, be interesting, be creative and be credible.  If you are regularly providing your target market with helpful tips and useful articles you will be raising the bar and making a difference to those people in your network and it will be notices.  I recommend that you update your status at least three times per day to gain the most exposure and to keep visible.  You can also link your LinkedIn account to Twitter so that you can spread your message further to a different audience.

Tip Number 5 - Your Skills & Keywords

This is so important if you want to be found.  LinkedIn is keyword searchable like any search engine, and it is really important that you include the keywords that others might type in to find you.  This applies whether you are a job-seeker, salesperson or a business owner.  Ensure that you use the Skills section to add specific skills that you have as a list, because people like me in the recruitment industry will use this to find you and offer you fantastic job opportunities.  From a business owner perspective, your potential clients may just be using LinkedIn to find your type of product or service.

A great way to generate ideas is to run a search for your type of business or industry keywords and see who comes up on page one.  These are the people who are competing with you for the same job or same type of business who are ahead of the game, with profiles who help them get found.  I recently sat down with a business owner who specialises in Occupational Health & Safety and First Aid courses. When we searched for this in LinkedIn, all of his competitors came up and he was on page three.  A quick change to the Skills and Keywords now sees him competing on Page 1 in LinkedIn searches and this will make a difference to his business.  

There are many other ways to raise your credibility and build a solid online reputation so there will be more to come in the next blog entry. For now, enjoy updating your LinkedIn profile and I hope that you have found these tips useful.

A Recruiters 5 Top Tips for LinkedIn's Mobile App.

Every recruiter knows that LinkedIn is a phenomenal place to source amazing talent, whether the candidate is actively looking for a new position or not.  So not surprisingly, most people in the recruitment industry are pretty good at LinkedIn.  Very few share their secrets with clients, and seeing as how we do everything the exact opposite to the rest of the industry, I thought I would break from the pack (as usual) and share some top tips to get the most from LinkedIn on the move. 

These tips apply to those people who have already downloaded the LinkedIn Mobile App onto a Smartphone.  If you have yet to do so, you are missing a trick!  Download it now... 

Ready?  So once you have LinkedIn in the palm of your hand, how can you use it to grow your business, increase your online reputation and/or find the best talent?

Tip 1 - LinkedIn Today - "News" button in the LinkedIn App

This is truly amazing! LinkedIn is now the gateway to incredible content, relevant to your industry.  This helps you to provide interesting articles to your target market.  You can choose to follow any industry, then read and share the hottest topics with your network on LinkedIn.  Click on "News", then follow topics ranging from Staffing & Recruiting, to Management Consulting, to Internet, to Social Media to Financial Services.  That will then feed relevant and great content which you can share with others, before anyone else. 

You can become the "go-to", in the know person in your network, your profile is seen more often and you look fantastic! Simply find an article you like and click to read more, then Share.  The even better feature with this is that you don't need to do anything other than make a remark about it before posting, a synopsis and image are automatically there for you.  You can read and post articles anytime and anywhere, I often do this when I am waiting to meet someone, or if I arrive early to a meeting. It takes less than 30 seconds to post an article but it looks like you spent ages finding it.  It makes you both visible and credible.  If you don't want to post them all at once you can choose to save for later.

Tip 2 - Reconnect - How to add 20+ people to your network per day

The reconnect button on the LinkedIn Mobile App is a goldmine of contacts.  LinkedIn places all of the connections who you have a strong mutual connection with into this list.  The even better aspect of the "Reconnect" button is that you don't have to spend ages identifying to LinkedIn how you know this person.  LinkedIn already knows that you might have a connection with them, so simply go to the "Reconnect" button on your mobile and start inviting people in the list.  You will not have to supply an email address for them, or say how you know them.  That means connecting with 20 people takes literally 20 seconds.  You will already know a lot of people in this list, as your network grows this list will become more extensive and give you a much wider network.

Tip 3 - Connect with every new person you meet - "Search" and Connect

When you are at a networking event or out meeting candidates, clients, referral partners and business contacts, you always have LinkedIn with you in your pocket, on your phone.  Follow up is critical when building relationships, so why not save time and invite your new connection to connect with you on LinkedIn there and then before you even finish the meeting or event!  You can simply go into your LinkedIn App, click "Search" at the top of the screen and find that person.  I usually ask their permission to connect and guage their level of knowledge and use of LinkedIn.  Where possible I share my knowledge and give something back by showing my new contact how to do this too.  If the person has a common name then search with their first name, last name and company to find them.  Again, inviting is easy with no complicated and time consuming "How do you know this person?".   

Tip 4 - Stay in touch with what's happening in your network

The "Updates" section in your LinkedIn App, allows you to see in one place the full feed of messages and status updates within your network.  You can comment, like or share any status update that resonates with you.  If a connection of yours on LinkedIn has placed a blog or article to their status update you will get to see it within the "Updates" section on the App, also known as your "Home Feed" on the main LinkedIn site.  Everytime you connect with someone or change your status you are appearing in this feed, so your visibility instantly increases.

Tip 5 - Inbox & Invitation Management on the move

You can easily see your new inbox messages and new invitations to connect from the Mobile Phone App.  Make life easy for yourself and use these features to save time and effort later.  If you see 3 new connection requests on your Smartphone then you can simply click and add them in seconds.  Same with inbox messaages, why wait until you get back to the office to respond through the emails. Impress people by keeping an eye on these two sections and reply through the Mobile App.

Imagine the increase in your profile and online reputation if suddenly you are connecting with 20+ people per day, plus you start providing your network with the information they need and use in their business or role by posting 3 relevant articles per day.  Always remember the Linkedn Golden rule, never sell, build your reputation first and gain credibility first so that people know, like and trust you.  Everytime I show someone the power of all of the features in the LinkedIn App they really start to get involved and become more visibile and credible to their audience and most importantly their target market.  Are you really maximising the power you hold in the palm of your hand? 

Ramp-up Rathling - High Volume Talent Strategies

Ramp-up recruitment is a niche sector and not for the feint-hearted! I am not talking ten or twenty roles at a time, I am talking hundreds!  This weeks blog has been written to help those companies out there who have seasonal requirements and regularly have to ramp-up their headcount to cope with demand, such as increased call volumes, or winning new contracts meaning a spike in the level of staffing required to deliver for customers.

Expect Talent has become a leading expert in the field of 'Ramp-Up Recruitment' having recently completed a project for a global online retailer in the lead up to Christmas. Over 380 staff were recruited in 12 weeks across 3 languages, and this is a client who has retained us for the last 3 years in a row.  Another project we recently worked on for Bentley Systems in Dublin, saw us ramp-up a brand new Shared Services Centre from 0-130 permanent staff across 14 languages and 8 disciplines.

My top tips for companies looking to increase headcount and ramp-up staffing levels: 

Tip 1 - Know where to locate a high volume of candidates, know your market and the type of candidates you are looking to recruit.  If you have a clear idea of what your target pool of candidates looks like and where to find them, you can generate a strong pipeline of potential recruits.  This applies whether it is for permanent or contract roles.  High-volume recruitment is about just that!  Having a high-volume of people to select from in the first place.  Once you have the volume you can start to select who would be best to hire.  You can use jobsites, social media, forums, your networks, recruitment partners and staff referrals to name a few.

Tip 2 - Have a solid back-office system and internal processes to manage the very high volume of applications that you will receive.  Ramp-up recruitment can be draining on resources, so if you plan to manage a high-volume project internally you need to make sure that you have a full team in place.  They will manage administration, handle applications, responses to candidates, interview/assessment process.  Expect a significant amount of workload and plan for it.  Applications per vacancy are much higher in the current climate and your company reputation is critical in managing future hires.  You don't want to become "the company that never gets back to people".  This can impact on your ability to become an employer of choice and this kind of word of mouth can affect future application levels.

Tip 3 - Have a solid screening process from the outset.  One of the ways to minimise workload is to ask candidates to jump through some hoops before you will consider them, that way you know who is REALLY interested in the job! We use a 2 page application form which over 50% of people never go on to complete.  That saves our team lots of time by only working with those people who are serious about the opportunity.  If the candidate cannot be bothered to complete a 2 page application form then it is a great indication of their work ethic. 

Tip 4 - Assessment Centres can be a fantastic way to determine the best candidates for the position.  When we hired our 380+ candidates in 2010, every single one of them went through a 2 hour+ Assessment Centre and interview process, in fact not only did these people go through the Assessment but the other 600 or so that did not make it through also went through the same process.  Managing this volume of Assessments is time-consuming but essential.  The quality of the candidates hired regardless of how many you are employing is of course paramount.  Having a robust Assessment Centre where candidates can come along, learn about the role and company and then take verbal and written tests to demonstrate their skills is vital.  We usually work with the client's existing format or can design and tailor-make assessment centres for our clients needs.

Tip 5 - Communication with all candidates throughout the project.  Regardless of the stage of their application is vital to maintaining a great reputation in the market.  Even if unsuccessful, it is important to ensure that all candidates are contacted with their feedback as to whether or not they are successful in the position.  Those that you hire will of course be delighted and the onboarding process through to the end of their training period must be handled in the correct way, however those who need to be rejected should also be treated with care.  This goes back to having a great system and great processes internally but can often get lost in the busy hiring period.

As I said at the start, ramp-up recruitment is not for the feint-hearted! It takes patience, expertise, a great project team and access to high numbers of candidates in the first place.  There are very few agencies who specialise in this niche part of the recruitment sector so I hope this blog has given you some insight as to what is involved in hiring quality people in high volumes.  I am starting to get myself the name "Ramp-Up Rathling" which is sticking with those who know me! I am more than happy to help advise and answer questions on this topic, even if you are not in a position to call in the experts.  Please post your comments below.

Having a Brilliant Team - Hiring Strategies

When I asked my team for ideas on a topic for this week's blog, they suggested I write about our fantastic team!!  Brilliant, what a great idea.  So I started to think about what makes them so brilliant at what they do, and how could the way that we develop our own in-house staff help others who might be reading this. 

1.  Hiring from outside of your Industry

Very often clients ask us to find them candidates with a number of years experience in their industry. However, this is not always the best route to finding the best talent.  All of my recruitment team have previously NEVER worked in recruitment.  Why? As you will know by now, the way we look at the whole industry and work with customers is so different from all other agencies that it would take far too much time to untrain bad habits, and the fact that we do not incentivise our recruitment team with commission does not suit or appeal to people who have already worked in the industry. 

I always look to hire people with a passion for excellence, a high level of customer service and strong account management skills.  Attention to detail and strong multi-tasking and organisational skills are critical.  Attitude, Attitude, Attitude.  Do you need to have industry experience to become an expert recruiter?  With the right training, environment and support of course not.  The same applies to many industries, companies are often missing out on great talent by only sticking to people with their own industry background.  So next time you go to hire, think outside the box.

2.  Win Happy

I heard the theme for 2011 of great Cork PR company this week, it's "Win Happy!", its not just about the revenue its about the happiness and fun factor of the team too.  The happiness factor and the motivation levels of any team are closely linked to productivity.  We have a staff happiness survey each quarter, and we measure our teams happiness factor.  This for me is what makes our team so brilliant, we have fun regardless of how busy we are, its great to be around happy and motivated people who love what they do.

3.  Commitment & Dedication

Over the 5 years we have built up a great team of Talent Managers and Administrators, their commitment to us as a business and their dedication to our candidates and clients is second to none. Without the team we would not be anywhere near as successful and for that I am extremely grateful.  The "above and beyond" mentality of every one in the team, means that we can deliver great results and be very flexible to clients demands.  This attitude is so important to any company and contributes hugely to the business. 

4.  Development Opportunities

A lack of opportunity for progression is often the reason people leave a company, so the development of my team is critical, giving them opportunities to learn, to upskill and to develop on a personal and professional level is vital to retaining the great talent that we have.  I want to help them all achieve their goals in life, and if the business can make that happen then all the better. 

5.  Celebrating Success, Reward & Recognition

Each member of our team has a "Success Diary", they record their successes no matter how big or small and the first item in our team meeting agenda is each person sharing one success from the previous week.  By focusing on the positive, we attract more great successes, and this keeps everyones mindset in a good place.  We recognise and reward in ways other than commission, surprise vouchers, team nights out, our famous "Friday Club" - team lunch on the house every week, and social time together outside of work.  Celebration of Success and feeling part of something special is what helps to make a brilliant team.

So this is my opportunity to recognise and thank all of my amazing team members - Julia, Margaret, Chris, Jackie, Pablo, Mairead, Caitriona, Lucy, Una, thank you for everything that you do, this business would be nowhere without your hard work, commitment, dedication and great talents. 

How do you develop your team and would you ever consider hiring people with no experience in your industry?

CV Tips - What Did You Actually Do?

Here at the Expect Talent HQ, we receive hundreds of CV’s every month. Most of the time we are left asking ourselves this question: 

WHAT DID YOU ACTUALLY DO?

Most CV’s are a list of dates along with a job description, or list of responsibilities. That tells us nothing about what you actually did!  This is a common mistake by candidates, and one which, if you can get right, you stand a good chance of securing an interview.  You have less than 10 seconds to impress with your CV as many hiring managers and HR departments will receive hundreds of applications for just one role. 

We are currently working for a large Cork based multinational client in Cork, and we hired over 300 people for them in just 12 weeks, however we received in excess of 4500 CV's for these positions. 

So what can you do to increase your chances of success?

Rather than list your responsibilities, start by listing your key achievements. Think about what you personally achieved that delivered a great result for the business or for one of your customers? Thinking about your CV this way turns a boring responsibility into something that a client or potential employer might actually want in their business!

Example 1:

TURN THIS... "Responsible for Collections on outstanding accounts"

INTO THIS... "Significantly improved bottom line by securing an additional €200,000 in outstanding monies through effective cash collection."

Example 2:

TURN THIS: "Responsible for Customer Service"

INTO THIS: "Increased customer satisfaction levels by 30%, by regularly going above and beyond, which helped the company to retain its biggest client and win new business."

Example 3:

TURN THIS: "Responsible for Admin Procedures.

INTO THIS: "Significantly enhanced internal reporting and admin procedures which saved the team 26 days per annum in un-necessary workload. My ideas for improvements are regularly implemented by senior management."

Every element of your CV should be aimed at securing you an interview.  Your CV is a sales document designed to show off your talents!  It should not just be a chronological history of all the places where you have worked.

If you want a CV professionally written, or you feel you would benefit from careers advice you can now contact our careers team for a free consultation with Patrick Mercie and Expect Careers.  Email sam@expect.ie for more details.

New Year... Expect Careers...

Happy New Year to everyone. I can just tell that 2011 is going to absolutely rock! 

Here at Expect Talent we are focusing more and more on our customers, and in the recruitment world that is both Candidates and Clients.  In this competitive jobs market, having an outstanding CV and the confidence to nail an interview is absolutely critical to your success. So as part of the 2011 offering may I introduce to you...

Expect Careers will focus entirely on Candidates, covering services such as professional CV writing, interview techniques and career coaching.  This new arm of the business will help any candidate to stand out from the crowd with a brilliant CV, and will help them to secure that dream job with the best advice on how to shine at interview. 

Think about this... When you need to get your boiler fixed, you call a professional.  When your car breaks down, you call a professional.  When you want a new haircut, you don't leave it to chance, you call a professional!  Your CV and career is no different - why try and do it yourself when the professional touch will always deliver a better result.  Professional CV's that stand out can make all the difference between securing that interview or not.  Whether you are job-seeking for the first time in years, or fresh out of college Expect Careers can help you or someone you know.

Patrick Mercie, will be a kay part of the Expect Careers team, and he brings wealth of knowledge and experience in helping job-seekers to achieve success.  His coaching style is interactive, motivational, energetic and non-judgemental. 

Patrick has an infectious personality and is completely focused on positivity and getting results for every person he works with.  Patrick will be contributing to the blog to help all candidates with hints and tips that will brighten any jobsearch so watch out for his words of wisdom in the months to come.

There is still more to come for this year, but for now may I take this opportunity to wish you and your family a prosperous, happy and healthy 2011!  It's going to be a great year... 

Where does top talent hide in a recession?

It's a great question, and one which many employers are currently asking.  The best talent is rarely out of work , and is almost always not proactively looking for a job, so how can you tap into the best talent for your business?  This video gives great insights and tips for sourcing top talent:

Key points from the video are summarised below:

1.  Your Own Staff
Never overlook your internal team, grow your talent inhouse and promote from within where possible.  Leverage the networks of your teams and colleagues you work with, as they may know someone you could hire that would be perfect for your business.

2.  Become well Connected and Actively Network
Top candidates will not usually be actively looking for work, and will almost always be fully employed, even in a recession.  Making use of online networks, industry related events and your own contacts to seek out the best talent, this is always a great strategy.

3.  Be Proactive
Recruitment shouldn't be a last minute thought when a vacancy arises, develop relationships within your industry and become an Employer of Choice, build your talent pool all the time so that you can leverage a strong network when the need arises to hire.  Offer internships and get to know the local graduate careers officers for young talent in your profession.  Always seek out potential hires before the need arises.  Recruitment can take time; securing the best talent and quickly can save you a lot of money and time.

4.  Work with a professional only when you need it
Make time to brief your recruitment partner well and take ownership of the process.  Identify exactly what you are looking for and hold the recrutiment company accountable for quality and retention.  An outside perspective, and an expert in seeking out the top talent in your industry is often important, especially for business critical positions.  It is vital to work with a partner that will understand your business, your teams and your company culture, often the cultural fit is most important, then skills, capabilities and experience follow. 

Top talent is out there - FACT! However, finding the right people, attracting them to your business and keeping them is all about having a strategy for recruitment and retention of the best your industry has to offer.