How to Boost Online Reputation with LinkedIn - Part 2

This week I am staying with the theme of online reputation, again focused on LinkedIn, actually this is the third post in a row on this subject, but as you will see there is a lot to cover.  If you are reading this post without having read the other two, I recommend scrolling down to read my two previous blog entries with great tips to help you.

Having a great online reputation is ultimately the key to generating business through LinkedIn.  Over 100 million people are now on LinkedIn, but how many are actually getting the results that they want from it. Everybody knows that it is important to be there, to have a profile, to be visible.  But unless you have that instant credibility in the first place then you will not secure that job, close that sale or generate the leads that you need your profile to deliver for you.  There are a number of ways to build credibility, some of which I talked about last week, but today I am going to focus on the more interactive elements within LinkedIn, which allow you to elevate your profile to new heights.

Tip 1 - Groups

You can join up to 50 groups on LinkedIn.  Yes, 50! After reading this, why not check how many you are actually in?  Groups are a fantastic way to raise your profile with the people who you want to gain visibility with.  Whether you are a job-seeker, a business owner, a recruiter, a manager or a sales person.  You can search the groups available by going to the top right-hand search box and adding keywords for Groups you would be interested in.  Think which groups your target market would be interested in, where are they networking?   

Groups are valuable for a number of reasons:

- They keep you up to date with industry knowledge

- You can find out answers from experts, and read relevant articles

- Position yourself as an expert in a group by being active in credible discussions

- Once in a group, the contacts are open to you, makes it easier to grow your connections

- You can start a group, and as group manager you can grow your network in your field

- You can post jobs for free in some groups, and access great candidates

- You are in control of how often you interact with the group, check your "Settings"

- You are more likely to be generate visibility with your target market or hiring managers

Some groups will allow you to join straight away, other groups have a screening process only allowing relevant people to join the group, so you may have to wait for approval.  This will open you up to a whole world of new connections, information and at least 50 places for you to become visible, active and boost your online reputation. 

Someone is more likely to accept your connection request if you are in the same group, because they will see you as being relevant to them and credible as you already have common ground, which is the start of any relationship.

Tip 2 - Questions & Answers

This is another totally under-utilised area of LinkedIn.  You can pose a question, answer questions and interact in polls within LinkedIn.  I was recently in the market to buy a new ATS (Applicant Tracking System), to handle all of our high-volume recruitment needs, as I wanted to update the current system we are using. I needed to find out from experienced corporate recruiters and agencies what the best options were out there, before engaging in any long sales process with multiple suppliers.  

I posed a question on LinkedIn within a group which I knew had many people that would have had experience in this, a group specifically for my industry.  I received feedback from many people about the best cloud-based solutions.  In addition to receiving responses to my question, I also was able to look through the Answers to similar questions that other people had posted. These were unbiased opinions, not sales people trying to pitch me their product.  I had a shortlist of 2 ATS/CRM systems within 1 hour of research, which told me a great deal more than spending hours on the internet wading through websites and pages of sale blurb, I could cut to the chase and I knew instantly what I wanted.

Imagine seeing a question posed by someone in LinkedIn, and you giving a credible and valid answer which helps them and helps everyone else in the group.  I mean answering without selling, helping someone else through your knowledge.  If you are in a group with 20,000 members, and you are regularly giving advice and help to the group through discussions and Answers in LinkedIn, your online reputation is going to fly high.

You can simply use the Search button in the top right-hand side of the LinkedIn page, and change the drop-down button from People to Answers.  This will allow you to keyword search Answers, so that you can find relevant information for your industry.  When you are in a Group, go to the Discussions tab and you will see all of the latest questions, blogs and posts.

Summary

Online reputation is all about Visibility and Credibility, and if you have both of these then it can only lead to Profitability.  I learnt about this very early on in the world's largest and most successful referral network BNI, and this VCP® process is even more relevant when you network online.  I hope you have found this series of blog entries useful and that your own online reputation is growing by the day.  Please feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn, to benefit from access my 2400+ connections globally.

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? 

No Commission for Recruiters!! - are you serious?

This was the reaction I got recently when I attended the National Recruitment Federation's (NRF) conference.  A very good recruiter in Dublin, who is now a good business contact, Charlie, introduced me to one of his colleagues in an agency he used to work in.  She was typical recruiter profile (no comment),  and when Charlie explained to her that we are completely changing the way that people think about the recruitment sector she naturally asked how?

When my response was that we don't pay any commission out or incentivise the recruitment team to place candidates she nearly hit the floor!  She looked me up and down, rolled her eyes and said "Well I hope you're paying them a very high wage!".  It happened that one of my fantastic team was with me at the time so I said "no actually I don't, but why don't you ask one of them".  To which Julia replied with an answer which was gushing about how she loved our company, the team and working for me and Expect Talent, despite the fact that we don't pay any commission.  

It was a very strange situation to be in having to defend our decision to operate under this non-commission structure, but the fact is that our clients and candidates love this about our business.  It is the one USP that hardly any other recruitment companies can say that they have and it means that we are placing people for the right reason.  It is all about the customer at the end of the day, and to be passionate about WOWing customers you cannot be focused on the money and the commission.  

In my opinion, it is one of the reason's why the recruitment industry has such a bad reputation, it is full of aggressive, commission-hungry sales people, who actually when it comes down to it, don't care about who or how they place.  All most seem to worry about is where their next pay-cheque is coming from and it means internal competition for candidates, a selfish approach and a non-client or candidate friendly process.  This of course, does not apply to every recruiter out there, but in many cases this is reason for people having  a bad experience of recruitment companies.  Something I intend to change in our industry.

Every time I meet other recruiters I come up against this disbelief that we could have an entire recruitment team, delivering results, working together for no commission.  It is not about getting, it is about giving, and that is my take on the industry.  Flipping the whole recruitment model on its head for the benefit of our candidates and clients.  I would love to hear your views on the industry and leave a comment if you feel that the recruitment industry would benefit from being much more commission free than in currently is.  Commission free recruitment, is this the future of our industry...

9,500 Recruitment Firms in UK...make that 9,501!

Last week I attended the NRF (National Recruitment Federation) conference in Dublin, where guest speaker Ann Swain, CEO of APSCo reported on the global trends in the recruitment industry and the overall state of the recruitment market.  A highly impressive speaker, engaging and very knowledgeable.  

Ann talked about key markets, and new "hot to trot" locations where recruitment is a growth sector.  Her advice was not to set up in the UK.  So what are we doing this week... setting up in the UK.  According to Ann, there are 9,500 recruitment companies in the UK, now with the addition of Expect Talent UK Ltd. make that 9,501...

Before you think we have completely lost the plot, Ann also added, "don't set up in the UK unless you are following a client".  So we are setting up our business in Edinburgh as a result of a 4 year client relationship in Ireland.  This is a very exciting growth phase for Expect Talent and we are delighted that we can start up in the UK with such a high profile recruitment project, which will help us launch our business in the UK in 2011.  

The last 3 weeks have been spent planning with a very short lead time before we go live,  as a key partner for a high-volume recruitment project for a customer service centre which will create 900 jobs in city centre Edinburgh.  Our highly talented team have gone into action to make it all happen, and our networks in Scotland (thanks to BNI) have meant that finding local contacts has been easy. 

My advice for any business looking to start in the UK.  Plan, plan and plan again, whilst  leveraging every key contact you have to help you.  Where possible, help others and give opportunities to local businesses who in turn will help you back.  Hire the best talent to represent you and always have a Plan B, C and D.  I write this blog on a ferry on the way to Scotland.  Ash Clouds won't get in the way of making this happen, so we had a Plan B, go by boat! 

There is no better time to look outside of your local market, wherever you are reading this from.  Small businesses in 2011 should be focused on delivering exceptional customer service, as well as doing things in a unique and engaging way which adds value to the client.  Its all about activity levels, regardless of your industry.  If you triple your activity levels, you will triple your results, and then some!  Far too many people focus on all the negativity, but when you focus on success and positivity you attract more of the same.

I look forward to bringing a new and innovative approach to the UK recruitment market, as we continue to change the way the world does recruitment. I would like to thank everyone who has helped us along the way so far in the UK, and to my team, you are all amazing and I could not drive this business on without you.  UK here we come... Expect Talent UK Ltd. is born!

Leveraging Your International Networks in Recruitment

I have just returned from an international BNI conference, where 300 business owners from around the globe came together over 3 days to share ideas, be motivated by great speakers connecting with colleagues across the world, which inspired todays topic.  

In the recruitment industry, our networks are becoming more and more important, both online and offline.  Over 60% of my time as Managing Director is now spent on networking, client meetings and building relationships with referral partners who recommend us to companies and candidates.  The great part about the international aspect of my role is that now, many of these conversations are happening on an international level, as we explore new markets, new opportunities and international relationships.  Global webinars, Skype, International Power Teams and regular Speaking and Training opportunities outside of Ireland is opening up a whole new world of connections and networks for our own recruitment business. It is easier than ever to do business on a global scale.  

Clients often wonder how we can source candidates from across Europe when they have been trying to do it themselves for weeks and yet we still manage to tap into untapped talent pools, reaching further into European candidates markets due to the way in which we leverage our international networks. For example, this morning we cemented a relationship with a French recruitment company with the same ethics and approach to the recruitment industry as ourselves.  This relationship was established at the BNI Directors conference and will be an ongoing and long term arrangement which will help us to tap into new French speaking talent across all industries.  We have this type of partnership in place across many European countries and can delight our clients by filling roles that no-one else can.  That is really leveraging international networks.

This week I will be delivering an in-house training to our team of recruiters here in Expect Talent on how to leverage our online international networks, focused on LinkedIn and Facebook as well as Twitter and Ecademy.  As I am sure those of you reading will agree are all great resources for sourcing candidates.  If you combine the networks of all of your colleagues and employees as well as friends and family, how many thousands of people do you know as a company?  I am a huge fan of LinkedIn as many of you reading this will know, and right now I have access to over 10 million people through my connections, just by building up my international networks.  Add to that the connections of my staff and referral partners and the opportunities are endless.

The top tips below will help you to leverage your international networks in recruitment,or any other industry for that matter! This week my tips are solely focused on Linked In (more to come on all other social media in future blogs).

TOP TIPS FOR LINKED IN 

• Join your max. allocation of 50 Groups in LinkedIn, for your industry
• Connect with people through Groups, no email address needed 
• Use advanced search features: Search for your target market/candidates
• Learn about "Boolean Strings" for keyword searching (ask me!)
• Become active in discussions - carve a niche as an expert in your field
• Sign up to free webinars to educate yourself about LinkedIn
• Go to as many international conferences as you can and connect
• Update your status daily - become visible to your connections
• Credibility and Reputation online are critical 
• Make sure your profile is 100% complete including photo
• Ask for recommendations and try to have at least 10 on your profile 
• Ensure that you are not selling but providing compelling content

For ideas: You can view my LinkedIn profile here  

How to spend less time and achieve more on Social Media?

I highly recommend that you use the LinkedIn App which is available on all smartphones.  You can connect, invite, read news, post updates and see what is happening in your network whilst on the move.  I check in when I have a spare few minutes on the move. All of the other social media tools have Apps too.  Much quicker to use and free to download.

I also recommend tools such as Hootsuite to bring all social media updates into one place, this can include Facebook Personal, Facebook Fan Page, RSS Feeds, LinkedIn, Blogs, Twitter and you only have to post one update and you can send it out to all or some of your social networks without having to constantly log in and out of all the different websites.  

Leveraging your international networks in recruitment is absolutely paramount, online and social media is the future of recruitment and regardless of whether you are an in-house recruiter, hiring manager, CEO, HR manager or Recruitment Consultant in an agency, now is the time to invest in your future success and learn how to make your international networks work for you.

What is Volume Recruitment & How Does It Work?

Volume or high-volume recruitment can also be known as the following:  Seasonal Recruitment; Ramp-up Recruitment; In-house Recruitment; Onsite Recruitment or Bulk Recruitment.  A high volume recruitment project would typically happen when a company needs to hire large numbers of candidates in a stipulated time. Therefore to lessen the workload on HR and other departments of the company clients outsource the project to specialist recruitment providers.

Essentially any hiring project which involves between 5 and 500+ staff, at one time, would be considered a High-Volume recruitment project.  This is an area which very few recruitment companies are capable of delivering.  It is not simply about numbers, it is also about quality, as the learning curve of new hires is fast and they need to hit the ground running in their new position.  The selection process needs to be rigorous to ensure that the right people are being taken on regardless of whether it is 20+ people or 200+.   

In most cases, the client’s Recruitment/HR team, need help and support to make a project like this happen. Handling volumes of CV’s, interviews,   Assessment Centres, Reference Checks and all of the administration that needs to happen on a requirement of 350+ staff is both challenging and significant. Recruitment companies with this expertise have dedicated Project Managers who specialise in this. Back office support teams are used to handling volume, they have the ability to make a high volume project happen fast. 

Situations which might lead to a high-volume project:

-         Seasonal headcount increase – for example, a company may be forecasting a peak in their busiest quarter of the year, so an increase in headcount could mean a high volume recruitment solution.  This would be key for online retailers, gaming companies, travel companies etc.  This is usually for contract or temporary positions.

-       Winning a major client – a company which is bidding for new business, without the staffing levels in place needs to be quickly ramp-up staff when the business closes and go-ahead is given.  This would be relevant to outsourced call centres, where staffing levels can fluctuate significantly.

-         A Company arriving into a brand new country – for example, a company may be

    relocating to a new country such as Ireland or UK, and they have plans to establish a new Facility or European Shared Service Centre, in many cases this will involve a high-volume project, usually for permanent positions involving multiple languages and disciplines.   

The recruitment partner on a project like this will often perform tasks right from sourcing candidates through to final assessments, so choosing the right company with a track record and a solid approach to this type of recruitment is essential.   Mobilising teams quickly to be able to handle high volumes of CV’s and a volume driven recruitment campaign is critical. In most cases, there will be an element of onsite or in-house recruitment, where members of the recruitment agency project team would be working out of the clients office, to speed up the process and build a strong partnership with hiring managers.  

Selection of one or maximum two recruitment companies is vital, there will be a limited number of candidates in the market and each agency would be able to tap into a wide talent pool.  You will usually get a better price if you offer exclusivity to a recruitment company, although you would need to have a high level of trust in your recruitment partner to do so.  

High-Volume Recruitment provides peace of mind for the client in mass numbers in a stipulated time period. It helps save time and money for both the client and the agency. With this kind of services the agencies ensure good growth and development for the company and help to represent their client as an Employer of Choice, selling the opportunity to prospective candidates.  

If the project is for contract or temporary staff, they will usually be on the payroll of the agency, and an hourly rate will be agreed.  If the project is for a ramp-up project for a new company coming into the local market, then rather that a % per head fee, you should look to agree a total project cost for the completion of the whole project.  Build in milestone bonuses with your recruitment partner, so that they are fully accountable for reaching all of the recruitment goals and deadlines.  Your project cost can work out much more cost-effective and everyone knows where they stand on budget from the outset. 

Many recruitment companies will claim that they can deliver high-volume recruitment, but you will find that only a few of them are actually able to make it happen.  Always look for experience and expertise where high volumes have been involved, and speak to clients that they have previously worked on ramp-up campaigns for recommendations.  Always ensure you go through their recruitment procedures, ways of working and case studies of other similar high-volume projects before selecting your partner.  High-Volume recruitment is not for the feint-hearted, but it is great fun and always a rollercoaster ride!