#87-Feeling Stuck? How to leverage Linkedin for Networking and Build A Personal Brand for Career Growth

Sidhartha Sharma-Digital Strategy Expert

The job opportunities that come into your life are a factor of the following things or your personal brand:

1. How popular/famous are you in your industry and beyond it?
2. How many decision-makers (people who interview and select a candidate) know you directly- both offline and online channels?
3. How many recruiters are working to get you placed (both external recruitment agencies and the inhouse/internal/HR recruiters)

What happens when you reach a point where you feel stuck in your career?

1. Your network of friends and family is not powerful (senior enough) to get you a new job interview or placement.
2. You have spent too much time in one company and industry, hence very limited connections in new companies where you want to go
3. You have been living the age of smartphones/social media and lost your ability to make new connections and keep them warm.
4. If you are serious about online presence- then Linkedin and some web presence are not optional. Stop living in the stone age (newspapers)

What should you do? Make it a decision that you will not stop this ‘job-hunt effort’ till you get the job switch and role that you want

1. Building a new network is easy if you decide to make it a priority.
2. More often than not your current network is full of receivers (just like you they need help to switch). You need to add few givers (people who got what they wanted, now are open to help) to your network.
3. Start by being a giver for the junior/peer roles. Advertise and refer people to the current roles in your organization. People will see you as an individual who is trying to help
4. Attend conferences and forums where you will meet experts and decision-makers from the potential industries or companies you want to join
5. Add recruiter agencies to your online and offline network-these people get paid to get you placed.
6. Add decision-makers to your network. It is totally okay to add strangers to your Linkedin network. Let your online presence build a brand in the minds of hiring managers who are yet to meet you for an interview.

Be the real expert- who truly knows something

Social media is full of people who are self-proclaimed experts. However, if you have in-depth conversations with them, or study what they publish, or listen to their talks you know that something is missing.

1. Read the best blogs and listen to the best in class material related to your industry and beyond
2. Join online courses related to transformative ideas for your career and industry. Technology skills and certifications help a lot if you plan them smartly. Go for learning sprints, treat changing the job like a project.
3. Knowledge of Digital transformation and a deep understanding impact of Technology is no longer optional for any person trying to be serious about their career. Exceptions are always there, but that is not the rule.
4. Build your own research materials/groups and broadcast your own ideas as long as they are innovative and radical

If you know what the future of business looks like, chances are high that there are companies who will need your service to tackle the complexity that future brings.

Key Questions for You to Think?

1. How many people are present in your online and offline network? How has the growth been when it comes to growing the network?
2. How many recruiters (agencies and in-house HR) are on your network who reach out to you monthly for job opportunities?
3. What do you learn on a weekly basis and how many new skills have you added in the last 6–12 months through credible institutions?
4. How many people know you and your personal brand?
5. Are you tracking the job roles that you want, through online postings and company websites/LinkedIn pages?

Connect with the author,

Sidhartha Sharma (views are personal)

Digital Strategy Expert and Leader

Sidhartha S. - Director, ASEAN- Digital Strategy & Transformation, Global Innovation - EY |…

Sidhartha Sharma