Writing Your Way To A New Job

You may not have the energy to create your own blog, but what is your excuse for not using LinkedIn’s publishing platform? (Oh, you don’t know about it yet? Here is a link to their Help Center overview Long-Form Post on LinkedIn) 

LinkUp recently wrote an article listing the top 10 people to follow on LinkedIn. You know who is on the list? You! 

10. YOU: You can revolutionize your career or job search by publishing articles yourself. You are an expert in your field and can assert yourself as such with the LinkedIn publishing platform. It’s a great way to make new connections, engage with other professionals and demonstrate your expertise.

(I was also flattered to be included on LinkUp's list)

Benefits of LinkedIn Publisher

Besides having a place to easily blog, there are more benefits to writing long-posts on LinkedIn:

• Everyone in your network receives a notification each time you publish  a new post! 
• You increase awareness across your networks! By sharing your long-post as a status update on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and of course, LinkedIn, you increase the odds of someone seeing it. Plus, your long-post becomes online content which is searchable and share-able by others!
• You demonstrate your communication skills!
• You stand out! It has been my experience that very few job seekers or career activists are using the Publisher platform on LinkedIn, so you have the opportunity to really stand out from the crowd!
• Who knows, LinkedIn may even chose to feature it!

How To Get Started with Your Post on LinkedIn’s Publishing Platform

From your home page on LinkedIn, you may have noticed the “publish a post” box. When you click on this, it takes you to the long-post (publishing platform).

But before you start writing, you should give some thought about what you are going to write about.

Plan What You Write About

The long-post is the perfect opportunity provide greater insight about your experiences. You can show your industry knowledge or passion for a topic.You may decide to use LinkedIn’s publishing platform to write a series of posts.

You could also use your long-posts to share your achievements/success stories. 

These types of posts that tend to do well on LinkedIn:

• How-To posts. Explain how to do something. If you know a hack or work-around, write about it.
• List posts. Create a list of your go-to resources, favorite business books, motivational quotes, or tips or tools you use in your work. 

Write For Your Target Audience

A best practice is to always write with an audience in mind. If you are actively and openly searching for a new job, consider writing about topics you future employer would be interested in reading about. If you are running a discreet job search, consider summarizing industry news or even highlighting your own company's news. 

Make It Personal

You want this to sound professional, but you also want it to be engaging. Write in the first person (use I, me and my). And remember to be flawsome (I wrote about having a reputation here)

In short, “flawsome” is the combination of flawed and awesome! Humans are both! How can you use empathy, humility, humor, character and humanity to showcase you? Does it feel risky? What if someone doesn’t like your imperfections or quirks? Like it or not, we all have them. Why hide them?

Include Visuals in Your Post

Posts with images tend to get better engagement and traction, so use them. Visuals are hot! From your LinkedIn profile photo to infographics and testimonials, find images that showcase you, your talent, expertise and personality! Your LinkedIn profile (and long-post) becomes your online portfolio! In Show, Don’t Tell, I wrote about the types of images you may want to start collecting.

More Blogging Best-Practices

• Craft a catchy title for your post
• Write great quality content. Spell check and grammar check your work.
• Keep your post read-able. This means use section headers, bullet or numerical lists and write shorter paragraphs. 
•  Always respond to comments people leave on your post. You'll receive notifications when someone comments or shares your long-post. Thank people!

Sign Off

At the end of your post, add a mini bio, links to other content you've written, ask people to connect with you on LinkedIn, or suggest they follow you on LinkedIn if they liked your post. 

So, are you ready to start writing your long-post on LinkedIn? Share it with me and I’ll help circulate it!

Other Posts Of Interest

Your Visibility On LinkedIn: What You Need To Know

Get the Most from LinkedIn and SlideShare

Summary Sunday: LinkedIn Wisdom

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Hannah Morgan, CareerSherpa.net

Online Visibility | Social Media Strategies | Careers & Solopreneurship

Go-to guide for lifetime career navigation. Speaker. Author. Guiding new job seekers and business owners through the treacherous terrain of today's competitive landscape. 

Embarking on a job search is like preparing to climb a mountain. Maybe not Mt. Everest, where sherpas are found, but you will still need a guide to show you the best paths and methods for making the trek. The terrain can be tricky and unfamiliar so you will want someone to show you the way.

So if you are ready to prepare for your adventure and you need some help, you’ve come to the right place.

Career Sherpa