From Invisible To In Demand

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If you're a student who has a LinkedIn profile but hasn't posted anything in months, or just can't figure out how spending time on there is going to help you now or in the longer term, this episode is for you.
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If LinkedIn feels awkward, fake, intimidating, or like a place you don't belong yet, you're not alone.
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But here's the shift we're making today.
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LinkedIn is not about self-promotion, it's about communication and value creation.
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It's about learning how to express what you're learning, what you care about, and what problems you can help solve before you even graduate.
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By the end of this episode, you will know how students should really be using LinkedIn right now.
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The smallest action that moves you from invisible to visible, and how to build credibility by creating value, not noise.
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And one idea in this episode could completely change how confident you feel about what you bring to the world.
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So let's get inspired.
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Welcome back to Inspiring Entrepreneurs.
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I'm Katie McNair, Marketing and Communications Manager for Strathclyde Inspire.
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Today we're talking about something most students have, many students avoid, and very few students use to its full potential, LinkedIn.
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For a lot of students, LinkedIn feels performative, overly polished, or like something you only need once you graduate.
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But, used well, LinkedIn can be one of the most powerful tools for building communication skills, credibility, and opportunity long before you finish your degree.
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This episode is about how you can go from being passive, forgettable, or invisible online to being visible, trusted, and in demand, not by pretending to be finished, but by showing how you think, what you're learning, and what value you can create.
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Joining me are two people who've built strong, authentic LinkedIn presences.
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Mercy Abel is a multi-award-winning marketer, speaker, early careers, and intergenerational team specialist.
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She is the former co-founder of the Unlocked Internship Programme, which has created paid opportunities for emerging creatives across Scotland in partnership with organisations including the Scottish Government and STV.
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Mercy has spent years working at the intersection of talent, inclusion and opportunity and understands how deeply visibility can change career trajectories.
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Nick Murray is a startup ecosystem builder, program director and community leader with over 10 years' experience supporting founders, teams, and early stage talent.
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He works as a consultant for Techstars, a worldwide startup accelerator and investment organisation, and is director of the Tectonic Night Summit, connecting Scotland's entrepreneurial and creative communities.
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Nick has seen firsthand how visibility, storytelling, and LinkedIn presence unlock real opportunities and previously ran workshops on this very topic for women returning to the workforce after a career break.
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Together we're exploring how LinkedIn can be an entrepreneurial tool for employability, communication, and value creation.
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So I want to begin with where students are with LinkedIn right now.
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So, Nick, when you work with early career talent, what is their emotional relationship, would you say, with LinkedIn at the moment?
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A little bit of intimidation, a little bit of fatigue.
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I think a lot of people feel like it's another task on their to-do list, another tab which has to be open in their brain, and maybe a little bit of trepidation on I need to get this right first time.
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Whereas actually the approach with building credibility, I feel, is little and often, and if you build it, they will come.
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But certainly if you're transitioning out of a student environment, a student ecosystem where you've got your peers all around you, and you're still maybe thinking about where that bit of paper could take you in your career, LinkedIn might not be front of mind.
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But hopefully today we can talk about some little steps that can make people feel more comfortable with it.
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I hope so.
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Yeah.
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Mercy, what do you think people misunderstand most about what LinkedIn is actually for?
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I think people inflate it in their heads.
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Like I think when it comes to anything, when it comes to professionalism or this is like for like when I start working, they make it a bigger deal than it is.
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I used to, I'm like a recovering overthinker.
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But I overthought everything and I was like, oh, I need to it needs to be paraffits, it needs to be this and that.
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But honestly, all LinkedIn is is a social platform, just like Instagram could be, just like TikTok, and everyone's more gravitating towards that type of stuff.
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And it's like, but LinkedIn connects people, so therefore it's does a similar thing.
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It's just in a different realm that people might not be as comfortable with.
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And I think it's misunderstood to be this big scary platform when in fact, actually, people who are younger, if you will, they should be more kind of like digitally in tune.
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Like that's where you will thrive.
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And then the earlier you start, the better.
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Like I remember when I started and I was on LinkedIn, I had to get LinkedIn because I was in an internship, didn't have a platform, had no idea what it was.
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And they were like, Oh, put that on LinkedIn.
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I said, What is LinkedIn?
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I don't know what that is.
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And I literally had to figure it out.
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And I'm so glad that happened, being like, I guess, thrown in the deep end, if you will, because I was like, Oh, it's actually just a thing where I put some words together, maybe put a picture on there, maybe put a video and then post it, which is what I do on socials all the time.
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When I started out, I was in journalism, and it almost feels like people are asking now to be journalists of their own lives to a variety of different outlets each day, because you might be on LinkedIn and thinking, Well, that's the professional one where I need to be my most professional self, but then you're going to be on TikTok, you're going to be on Instagram, and you're thinking, Well, what would I do here?
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And it's different from there.
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And it can all just get a bit overwhelming, I think.
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But this idea of LinkedIn being where you're maybe being your most professional self, or an idea of being an almost like an online CV, is that outdated now?
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If it's not an online CV, what is it really?
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So I would say, like, honestly, when it comes when it comes to like so, I I don't this is my advice, and this is how it works has worked for me.
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I am me on LinkedIn.
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I don't have a professional filter, which we'll probably realize today.
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Um, but I'm just like, I need to be able to do something I can sustain.
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Like, I work in marketing and communication, so it is maybe more naturally leaning to be able to do um that type of approach with it.
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I understand more corporate side, you may need to fine-tune things a little bit, but you want to be as close to yourself as possible because that's a platform that can be really dry.
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Like it's a platform that people are kind of like doing this facade, if you will, and it gets really boring, and that's why people are like, oh, maybe that's a bit cringe, or like I'm excited to announce, I'm thrilled to say, and I'm like, you've never said thrilled in your life, and now you're typing it on LinkedIn.
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It's like, how do you become your most closest self that also, I guess, if you need, has that professional filter?
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My LinkedIn didn't start kicking off until I started talking the way that I talk in person.
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And I want people to meet the person that I am, like in person, then the one to meet on LinkedIn, they have to be close enough to the same person.
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So I feel like a CV is like people window shop, it's like it's the the shop front, and it's like, oh, that's kind of cool.
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And then LinkedIn's when they go inside the store and they're like, oh, okay, I can buy this, I can see this, I can hire that.
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So it's something to you don't want them to be too separate.
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Like you want it to and personality, like the whole thing around personality hire or like people hire people, and it's like you want them to hire you for who you are.
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Not like a lot of people can do what you can do, but you're the only person with your personality that's going to be able to get that over the line.
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Okay.
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Yeah, absolutely.
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Would you have anything to add?
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I do, yeah.
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I think um online CV is an interesting idea.
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When you're applying for a job, you're really kind of forcing your CV into the pigeonhole of that job title that you're going for.
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Whereas, as you've just pointed out, we're multifaceted human beings.
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We've got so many more interesting skills and experiences outside of what we're putting at the front of that list for that job.
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So it's a place, it's a marketing platform, I think, as well as a networking platform.
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And the digitally savvy Gen Z students that are coming out of university now, they hopefully are more comfortable with being a bit more authentic there.
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The the struggle is, I think, finding your voice, finding your network while also building that credibility piece.
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Um, I think it's like three-quarters of employers now look at LinkedIn when they're looking through CVs.
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So, what type of first impression is your digital avatar giving behind your back?
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Um, and I think if you're coming out of university with maybe not lots of job experience, it's a great place to build credibility, to build your network so that it's working in the background for you while you're focusing on other things and actually attracting employers and new contacts and new friends in your field to you?
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Yeah, absolutely.
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It's about being visible, I guess, in another way.
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You can make the network in person and with your peers at university, but LinkedIn is kind of always there, can be working anytime, really, and making you visible.
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So, how does visibility change how opportunities can find you?
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Or if we put it another way, what becomes possible when you stop treating LinkedIn like a profile and start thinking of it as a place to practice communication and showing how you create value?
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Yeah, like when I saw this question, I was like, oh, that is so me, that's so me coded.
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Um, I wrote a post around the artist being visible because I recently went freelance at the end of last year and kind of building the rapport of what I do and everything.
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And I say this with confidence now, having been in the game for like five years, I'm still kind of supporting in that early career space, but every job that I've ever gotten, I've never applied for.
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It's all been through connections.
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It's all one of them was directly through LinkedIn.
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I had a podcast called Audacity We, and I was posting about it, posting about it.
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It was a Gen Z Careers podcast to really talk to senior leaders and Gen Z trailblazers who are making their name in the marketing industry.
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And I was posting about it on LinkedIn, and then I got a message from an agency founder, and she was like, Oh, like you're based in Glasgow.
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Like, this is really interesting, would love to have a chat.
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And off the back of that, ended up creating a role together to come into the business, build an insights division.
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Then we just started creating roles as we went on throughout the business and for almost three years.
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And I'm really passionate about people viewing LinkedIn in a way that, once again, isn't inflated in their head, but a way to just open doors opportunities.
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You never know when that will cash in either.
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It might be today, it might be tomorrow, it might be next year.
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You just never know.
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But every opportunity I've gotten has been through networking, it's been through LinkedIn and Apple.
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I post a lot.
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That's the thing as well.
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I think it's just one of those things where it's like there's a way to go about it, find your rhythm, and people will gravitate towards kind of what your content is.
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And once you're able to do something that's consistent, I don't think it's a matter of like post five times a week or post however many times.
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It's your level of consistency and your the value of your content, and that's what people will be drawn towards.
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And since I've gone freelance, everything's been inbound and a lot of it has been through LinkedIn.
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Wow.
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It's amazing that you can have that kind of effect on your life with this online version that people can come and find you.
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Yeah, absolutely.
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Would you have anything to add?
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Yeah, I think if you're maybe not so comfortable posting on LinkedIn, maybe you're you know more technical and you've got that kind of background, uh, and you're coming at university, there's this pressure to find a job.
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And it's, you know, your parents might be on you, your friends might be on you to go find a job.
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I think LinkedIn's the place where the job can find you.
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If you keyword stuff your profile with what you're interested in, what you're trying to do, if you've got your skills there, and then you're open to work, either visibly or for recruiters, the jobs will come to you.
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You can set up job alerts based on exactly what you want, whether it be hybrid, remote, in-person, internship, and literally get notifications every day or every single week so that you feel like the universe is coming to you.
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And I think that that's a really empowering psychological switch in the head to say, if I create the circumstances, the right thing will come to me.
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So hopefully that's a nice way to flip something which is intimidating to something which can be a great ally.
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Yeah.
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Sounds like thinking about the purpose of what you're trying to achieve as well, might be quite useful because, like you say, there might be some people who are thinking, I'm on here because I'm actively looking for that job to come to me.
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Or there might be people who are there thinking, I just want to build my network, make sure that I know what's happening, what's going on, because where I am right now, I'm happy, but who knows where I'm going to want to go based on what else I see out here.
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So when you're thinking about the purpose of what you're doing, I think probably what you post will change as well and how confident you feel.
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What do you think students can underestimate about how credibility is actually built?
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Or put another way, how how is credibility built, in your opinion?
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That's a big question.
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Um, well, maybe I'll I'll tell you a little story then.
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So my first degree was a long time ago in Glasgow.
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I got a history degree, and with history, you can either be a teacher or you could be a historian.
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My wife's a teacher, I don't think I could do that.
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I can't grow my beard long enough to be taken seriously as a historian.
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I grew it long enough to be taken seriously in coffee, and I did that for 10 years.
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And I thought about the skills that I was getting from that, selling a product to multiple customer graphics, working with a different team.
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And so I went back and got a postgraduate degree, age 30, and was starting from scratch.
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And then I started using things like Google Alerts to look at marketing trends.
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I'm really interested in startups, which is where my career is taking me now.
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So getting articles sent to me about what's happening in Scotland around startups, and then posting articles, following people that were engaging it, and then starting to just have a bit of an opinion and a bit of a voice in the field that I want to be taken seriously in.
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Now, marketing is an interesting degree because that bit of paper can take you absolutely anywhere, right?
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You can be a freelancer, you can be a consultant, you can work in-house with a company, you can join a startup, a corporate, you can join an agency.
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So all the people in your class are going to fragment off into different directions, most likely.
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And you need to work out what you want to do with that.
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And a great place to find out all the different places you can go with that is on LinkedIn.
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You can see the reality of agency life, you can see the projects that people are working on, you can follow the companies that you're really interested in, you can engage with those people, you can go for a coffee with them.
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Um, in terms of build building credibility, it's uh it's a once-in-a-life an opportunity to manufacture credibility outside of the parameters of that bit of paper that you've got.
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So, yeah, people that aren't using it, they to me they're not invisible, they're suspicious because I see nothing in their profile.
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Their school, their university, know about me section, not even a photograph, you're not giving me anything to work with.
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I don't know who you are beyond what you studied along with 50, 60 other people.
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And like you're saying, like there's a pool of so many people that you're gonna be working either alongside or maybe going for similar roles, and like how do you differentiate yourself?
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How do you make yourself different?
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And everyone can make themselves different because we're all individuals.
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So, whatever your personality gives, whatever your thing that goes beyond what you can do, it's who you are.
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Like, what is that?
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What's that difference?
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And I think that's what's really important about credibility.
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But then also what LinkedIn provides is like just having a bit more evidence.
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Like people who hire just want evidence.
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They're like, okay, cool, you've told me you can do this, but like, can you actually like where's the evidence in you doing that?
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And yours only so much that you can put on a CB, whereas there's not that much that can limit you on what you can put on LinkedIn.
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And I think that's something that I learned over time, where it was like, oh, the more I post and the more I show what I do, because listen, we're all working.
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We're all working, and we're working up until whatever age we choose to or have to retire.
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And I might as well showcase the work that I've done.
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I might as well post like if I am out there nine to five or eight till eight or whatever timing it is, you will see what I have done my day.
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Like you will see what that is.
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I started doing week in the life, or like I work across like Glasgow and London.
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So it's like I'll do like a week in the life in London, and people are like, oh, that's what you're up to.
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And it'll be a balance of everything as well.
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It'll be like work-life harmony, which is what I call it, not work-life balance, but it'll be like, yeah, I went to a meeting and I recorded a podcast, but I also grabbed a drink with a friend, or we went out on a run, or whatever it is, so that people can see, oh, like once again, multifaceted.
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There's lots to you, there's so much that you can do.
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And I think people think of it like a career ladder still.
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And I think that's quite traditional and kind of outdated.
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It's more like a web.
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It's like there's all of these different things that connect you to different pathways that you can go to in your life.
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And it'll be nice for people to do a little pick and mix and be like, I love a bit of that, a bit of that.
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Can you come work for us?
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Absolutely.
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I think it's really interesting thinking about this idea of evidence that we've just got more ways to evidence who we are and what we can do now.
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Because when you first, well, when I was graduating, the degree, like, here's a bit of paper, there's some evidence, the reference that you could get maybe from a previous employer, or if you didn't even have that, maybe from a lecturer, there is a bit of evidence.
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But now, and I remember when I first was starting with the freelancer of journalism, I thought, well, I need a website because that's more if I say I'm a journalist and here's what I do, and here's some links you can see, then that makes me one.
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It's evidence, but now everyone can because LinkedIn is there to offer evidence for everything that you're doing.
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So it's just another way to yeah, to give that idea of what you're doing, as well as your skills and the degree that you have and the projects you've worked on, also that idea of, well, I'm also a real person, and this these are some of the things that I do in my work life and harmony.
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I like that as well.
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So for the people who are maybe more at the start of their journey and they're trying to communicate potential as opposed to evidence exactly what they have, the polished version.
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How can people go about communicating potential?
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So, okay, I'm having to start.
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Um, if you're in feel like you're not the finished article yet, or you're not sure where you want to put your energy and you're still defining your purpose.
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I think curiosity is a really great place to start.
00:17:53.759 --> 00:17:56.960
You can say in your about me, stay away from the jargon.
00:17:57.039 --> 00:18:00.079
Don't say, I am a result results-driven professional overproven trip.
00:18:00.160 --> 00:18:01.039
No, get that in the bin.
00:18:01.359 --> 00:18:04.240
You need to say, I'm studying this, but I'm drawn towards this.
00:18:04.400 --> 00:18:07.119
I'm really interested in exploring where this could take me.
00:18:07.279 --> 00:18:10.000
If you're on this journey or blah, blah, blah, then reach out.
00:18:10.160 --> 00:18:11.279
Thanks for stopping by.
00:18:11.519 --> 00:18:27.920
I think anytime that you can add content around other things that you've done and maybe flip a Pizza Hut job or a coffee shop job into where you're going now, if it's leadership development or working with customers, customer demographic, you know, fake it till you make it and make the most out of those things.
00:18:28.079 --> 00:18:39.279
One of the very early things that I did with my my postgraduate was uh I had like a little gang of like five friends that we were all really close, and we all went off in completely different directions in our careers with that bit of paper.
00:18:39.440 --> 00:18:43.279
But we did recommendations for each other on LinkedIn while we're at university.
00:18:43.519 --> 00:18:48.480
Ten years on senior marketing manager at like DC Thompson or something in Dundee.
00:18:48.720 --> 00:18:50.319
Why is she why is she giving me a recommendation?
00:18:50.400 --> 00:18:51.119
That's quite interesting.
00:18:51.200 --> 00:18:52.720
This person is multifaceted.
00:18:52.799 --> 00:18:59.519
So I would say fake it till you make it, keep that consistency, but explore and the world will come to you.
00:18:59.680 --> 00:19:05.599
There's so many different directions that those bits of paper can can take us now, and also a way to find your tribe.
00:19:05.680 --> 00:19:08.559
It's a democratization of the of the landscape, right?
00:19:08.720 --> 00:19:09.599
The job landscape.
00:19:09.759 --> 00:19:18.319
And I've got friends all over the world just from posting nonsense on LinkedIn now, and you just never know who's gonna see an ask, right?
00:19:18.480 --> 00:19:25.039
So you give, give, give, you support people, you engage, you comment, and then every once in a while you'll have an ask.
00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:33.200
And I'm a strong believer that the world needs to know what you need to be able to help you, so manifest that next opportunity.
00:19:33.359 --> 00:19:35.759
Yeah, yeah, believe your potential, absolutely.
00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:36.880
Yeah, so real.
00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:40.559
Like on it, I'm so big on manifestation, I feel like I've manifested everything in my life.
00:19:40.720 --> 00:19:45.680
But um, I think it's important what you said around having that peer-to-peer kind of connection.
00:19:45.759 --> 00:19:51.680
A lot of people, when it comes to networking, it's like, I'm gonna network up and I'm gonna reach out to all of these seniors and like, yes, definitely do that.
00:19:51.920 --> 00:20:12.640
But I think it's important to network across and like network with your peers and and make sure you just keep those connections because once again, you never know who they'll become, and you'll come up together and then realize that you're all you know heading up all of these important divisions or whatever it is, and can support each other in that moment versus you know, someone that you were networking up and then they've retired and you have no one to talk to.
00:20:12.960 --> 00:20:14.880
Very important to consider that as well.
00:20:14.960 --> 00:20:15.839
I think it's yeah.
00:20:16.160 --> 00:20:17.759
I think that's such a good point.
00:20:18.079 --> 00:20:21.680
So, what is the smallest lower pressure pressure action?
00:20:21.759 --> 00:20:27.359
Because, like you say, we're all working, we're in our eights to eights, we're nines or fives, we've got our families, we've got our responsibilities.
00:20:27.519 --> 00:20:36.000
What's the smallest lower pressure, low pressure action someone could take this week to stop being visible or to start to make themselves visible?
00:20:36.799 --> 00:20:38.319
Make a LinkedIn profile.
00:20:38.559 --> 00:20:40.880
Okay, no, literally, I think so.
00:20:41.119 --> 00:20:47.680
I once again I used to be a big overthinker, and it's like, how can you put how can you make things as simple as possible?
00:20:47.759 --> 00:20:49.119
And that's all I do in my work.
00:20:49.200 --> 00:20:55.519
And I run a series of workshops, and one of them is how to level up your LinkedIn and level up from whatever level you are.
00:20:55.599 --> 00:21:00.000
If you're on ground zero zero and the next step is to create that profile, that is what we will do.
00:21:00.160 --> 00:21:09.039
If you don't have a header, if you like, I am very big on how can you bring yourself onto this platform, as you probably do on a platform.
00:21:09.200 --> 00:21:10.960
Think about the platform you're most comfortable on.
00:21:11.119 --> 00:21:14.880
How do you bring yourself onto that platform and how can you bring that onto LinkedIn?
00:21:15.039 --> 00:21:18.559
I'm a big TV like watcher, I love TV so much.
00:21:18.720 --> 00:21:31.839
And my header on LinkedIn, the picture on LinkedIn um is of a one of my favorite TV shows, Abbott Elementary, and it's one of the scenes, and it's this um, she's a teacher, and it's um she just it's a comedy and she says, Oh, I'm both smart and wise.
00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:33.759
Like, and I'm like, Yeah, that's me.
00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:35.359
Like, I am both that's wild.
00:21:35.440 --> 00:21:36.640
Like, I'll imagine that.
00:21:36.799 --> 00:21:39.759
And I've had people in my DNs because they're like, oh, that's kind of funny.
00:21:39.920 --> 00:21:43.200
Like, and then you end up building a conversation and it turns into an opportunity.
00:21:43.279 --> 00:21:58.400
And it's not always going to be that turnaround, but it's that thing where people are like, I'm a sarcastic being, so therefore I will have a header or a picture that is gonna showcase that when you get to know me or when you have a conversation with me, probably by sentence two, you will realize that I'm a sarcastic person.
00:21:58.640 --> 00:21:59.759
So I think it's that.
00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:01.680
thing where it's like what is the next step?
00:22:01.839 --> 00:22:03.359
Take things in incremental steps.
00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:05.519
Have you got the the the standard things?
00:22:05.680 --> 00:22:06.400
Have you got a bio?
00:22:06.720 --> 00:22:08.640
Have you got your your full name, please?
00:22:08.799 --> 00:22:15.359
Like have you got like these type of things um to be able to so people can see like oh that's who they are.
00:22:15.519 --> 00:22:21.119
They know what you do whether you're in a job, whether you're a student or whatever it is like cool we we get it.
00:22:21.279 --> 00:22:28.480
But like who are you and and why would you be good to to work here or why should we collaborate with you on this or whatever it is.
00:22:28.640 --> 00:22:34.319
It's like you LinkedIn is your own little PR firm and you need to use that to its fullest capacity.
00:22:34.559 --> 00:22:34.799
Okay.
00:22:34.880 --> 00:22:37.440
Yep fantastic one small step.
00:22:37.680 --> 00:22:38.400
That's it.
00:22:38.559 --> 00:22:55.680
I mean if you can't get onto one of Marcy's courses there's um a bunch of LinkedIn sorry a bunch of YouTube videos which is basically the checklist of how to get started and best practice for leveraging the algorithm and how the platform works making sure your name is in your URL filling in basic things.
00:22:55.839 --> 00:23:10.400
If you're a graduate I don't want to see your graduation photograph as your picture I don't know if that's controversial but that to me says student inexperienced one dimensional like again flexing that flair that personality that individuality is perfect.
00:23:10.559 --> 00:23:23.680
And the more you add keywords to your heading more you add skill sets the LinkedIn's going to start feeding you relevant people relevant content might take three weeks I'm still seeing posts from three weeks ago I'm not sure what's going on with LinkedIn now it's behind it's a little slow.
00:23:24.079 --> 00:23:30.000
But yeah it'll start showing you interesting things and it's that if you build it they will come peace but you got to build it little by little.
00:23:30.240 --> 00:24:12.799
Yeah little by little definitely don't try and conquer it all in in one day but just make a start so talking about making a start just personally what did a LinkedIn look like for you at the beginning when you were there thinking okay I've got to have a profile what's on it no I'm a reforens I am thrilled to announce yeah yeah that used to be me and we quickly great at that because I was just like I do not speak like this like how if you I've always told people so on my workshops I always tell people with their LinkedIn if you cringe at your own post don't post it like that is should be the quickest indicator of being like if I would scroll past something or look at that and be like all right good for you like whatever that is then don't post it.
00:24:12.880 --> 00:24:22.240
Like find a way to be able to storytell your experience or your life or whatever it is in a way that you would also engage with.
00:24:22.559 --> 00:24:40.799
So um that's yeah that's what I would say and how it started for me I like I was saying I was on an internship and I had to I just had to and I'm so glad I was forced into it because um I used to not be the most thrilled if you will there you go thrilled to be on Links in but I love it.
00:24:40.960 --> 00:24:45.839
I love that platform now because I'm just like I love making things different like it's just so funny.
00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:58.559
I put memes on there like I and people would like imagine scrolling on LinkedIn and getting to laugh that's my goal like once a month I'm like how can I make people giggle a little bit like that's just gonna be something that's different so just change it.
00:24:58.640 --> 00:25:21.279
It's a mindset thing bro so you have to change your mindset to be like one it's not as big of a deal honestly I also say it's your kind of dictatorship you post what you want like you do whatever you want on there that yeah that's up to you please be like actual reasonable but post whatever you want on there and you get to decide do I post this do I delete that do I do this whatever nothing has to be forever but just give it a go.
00:25:21.440 --> 00:25:36.880
Yeah and were you thrilled and delighted to start LinkedIn absolutely delighted delighted is my thrill by the way like hashtag delighted on LinkedIn um I mean I'm aging myself slightly for me it was about 12 years ago and the social media landscape was a lot different.
00:25:37.279 --> 00:25:56.319
You know now you know Elon Musk is has burned Twitter to the ground Facebook as geriatric millennials have all left and so I think LinkedIn was a lot more formal a lot more professional a lot more considered and um it's it's been democratized now I think which is really nice.
00:25:56.480 --> 00:26:12.880
So what I would do is if I didn't have a lot to talk about if I was still doing my my university course I would go to events networking events volunteer at larger events and summits and conferences and post about that and then tag a bunch of people so that there's that social proof that you were there.
00:26:13.039 --> 00:26:27.119
They can engage with it maybe they'll give it a we reshare and then you jump into their uh networks feed so just thinking about how you can leverage any tiny slice of credibility or activity that you have until you reach that tipping point where you are that person.
00:26:27.200 --> 00:26:28.799
You are living that life that you want to live.
00:26:28.880 --> 00:26:39.759
You don't have to fake it anymore I think we're living an interesting time with AI because you can take a news R school that you see and you can very quickly do a little summary of what you think about it.
00:26:39.920 --> 00:27:09.920
So I'm um I'm in my maintenance era of of my body so I'll like literally write blogs in between sets at the gym and I will just talk to my chat GBD and be like I want to write a blog about leadership and stoicism because I'm quite basic like that from as a philosophy bro and just basically tell it what I want to do and then create a piece of content sit down in my laptop because some jobs do need the laptop open that's me showing my age again yeah won't make any big purchases on their phone and I'll find a good picture and do it.
00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:51.440
But I look back and I was doing that from an early age um I was taking essays that I wrote at university and summarizing them into a snappy little article and you can do that now in seconds with your AI or you can summarize that and try and engage people so uh just start get it out there don't overthink it yeah be authentic um but now it's a much more playful network I think people want what Facebook used to be they want that kind of playful authenticity and as work has become more part of our life that is our friends and family now you know your your ecosystem of contacts is also your friendship group and they'll be able to support you like a friend or family would.
00:27:52.079 --> 00:27:52.400
Okay.
00:27:52.640 --> 00:28:06.240
And so what opportunities if any could you guys talk about that have come from your LinkedIn presence or the way you go about I guess making your content or or making yourself visible in that way.
00:28:06.480 --> 00:28:07.519
Any examples?
00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:19.920
Yeah I mean I I think I'd mentioned one of my jobs came straight off of LinkedIn and literally founder of an agency and the DMs I was on holiday as well and I was like oh what is this notification?
00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:29.519
This was before like um I was getting things that mattered on LinkedIn and I was like oh so I didn't have my notifications off and barely had it out of office like I was not I was very early in my career.
00:28:29.680 --> 00:29:14.319
And then I was like this looks important and I looked on and I was like oh let's you know have a chat and yeah that chat turned into what became you know building an insights division for an agency then ended up and co-founding an internship programme with them and it it basically kickstarted this early careers kind of world that I've explored and and I would say my first ever job also came through the world of like LinkedIn and and that understanding because there was a mentorship program that I found so I'm a COVID graduate 2020 and thought I was going to travel the world and did not have anything lined up after university and I was like oh this is not good don't love this for myself and then I found a mentorship programme um which was from a company called Home from College.
00:29:14.480 --> 00:29:57.519
They're from the US but they did an interesting matchup where they match people from the 2008 recession and people who graduated in 2020 and they said listen if they can make it you can and I said well I have no plans so we need to make it somewhere and I ended up being matched with someone amazing called Hugh Thomas and he's an entrepreneur and he was based in New York at the time but he was from London or from the UK and we ended up being matched and from that he ended up connecting me to someone he went to university with who ended up being my first ever boss because I had a conversation with him and we he was like just chat with him like jump in a call you never know what can happen and he had his own diversity inclusion consultancy and they were like they're looking for you know a new hire and do look like you'll get on.
00:29:57.599 --> 00:30:41.599
I was like okay well let's have a chat had a chat ended up starting an internship with them two weeks later that then you know ended up building their early careers path from intern all the way through to consultant over two years and that was how I got my first job and then the next job was the agency job and then after that is this kind of freelance life that I'm on and um doing more early careers programs building mentorships building internships and having speaking opportunities and I could you not yeah I guess all of it's the LinkedIn had me as an ambassador like baby put me on the payroll because I literally it's all come through there or it's all come from me yapping or talking or having conversations and I think that's why I'm like don't overthink it because you who people back like people hire people.
00:30:41.759 --> 00:30:58.000
So like they want to hire someone who they're like I love the way they think I love the way they talk I love the way they navigate this and that's how you get you know you need to get your foot in the door that might come through mentorship that might come through LinkedIn but then you need to walk through it and the only way you walk through it is being able to show up as your best self.
00:30:58.160 --> 00:31:27.519
Yeah absolutely anything to add wow um over the top that shout out to Hugh first of all I know we love Hugh um I think you have touched on something interesting which is I think opportunities are taken not given and I think when you show up and you're very clear about what you want and uh where you're going the opportunities come to you and it kind of goes against that idea of entitlement in the job market and millennials and Gen Z and kind of expecting the world to come to them.
00:31:28.000 --> 00:31:56.799
I'm also working as a consultant at the moment and I was before Christmas I was between projects with my main employer and so I posted basically saying that talked about the work I've been doing so it wasn't cup in hand open to work help me I need a job it was like I'm between projects I've got a bit of capacity this is exactly what I want to work on and within a week it led to two new projects which are still ongoing which meant that my family could have Christmas presents which is fantastic.
00:31:56.960 --> 00:32:07.519
Yeah um so again yeah opportunities are taken or given how you position yourself how you show up and also being really clear about your ask is uh is still working for me you know 10 12 years later.
00:32:07.759 --> 00:32:44.240
Yeah we were talking about this idea of ask absolutely just before this conversation began and it wasn't something I intended on asking if you like but I thought it was such an interesting idea of the right etiquette as well around how you go about the taking not necessarily you know but without without bullying your way in there and making people feel like you're a bother how do you how can you frame asks or what what do you think is a way of of pursuing the things you would like without getting on the wrong side of that the main thing is if you don't ask you don't get like that's that's the thing.
00:32:44.400 --> 00:33:03.440
Now there is a art of doing it and that kind of depends on who you are and what personality you have are you more extroverted or you're more introverted like however which way you navigate it but the premise the main thing is that if you don't ask you don't get how people don't know who you are we're in a planet of what seven eight billion people or whatever it is at this point.
00:33:03.599 --> 00:33:08.880
Like how are people going to find you you need to be your own PR campaign you need to put yourself out there.
00:33:09.039 --> 00:33:39.599
And I think the thing is is that what I don't love is people being like I want this full stop it's like okay cool love that you want that for yourself but why and why should we then you know what's the exchange here and it is a bit of gameplay like let's be real let's be honest like it's a bit of gameplay when it comes to these things so how do you finesse your way in doing it and it is something where it's like do you be more interpersonal and it's not that you're you're lying about it but it's like if someone has talked to you about Sally and their kids let's talk about Sally and their kids.
00:33:39.759 --> 00:34:00.720
Let's let's have that conversation have a bit of human touch to it and then it's like oh like I actually saw that you did this that's really cool love to hear more about it and for students especially I think a really good um way to do this and this is what I did in building my network and what led to my podcast and was that I just reached out to people on LinkedIn and I said hey I actually find what you do really interesting.
00:34:00.880 --> 00:34:12.719
I would love to learn more I think I want to explore the world of film and TV for example could we have a chat 15 minutes on this date at this time like give them a date and time make it something that's very intentional.
00:34:12.960 --> 00:34:21.199
If you don't if you're not able to make that time um I can give you fresh new new new timings or whatever it is and you'll be surprised first of all people love to talk about themselves.
00:34:21.440 --> 00:34:33.519
Second of all people do want to help because they might have been there you know previously or wherever it is and especially if you see people who have been part of like mentorship programs as mentors they're like gold.
00:34:33.679 --> 00:34:39.119
So you they want to you know inspire whoever's next and coming up and with that come with questions.
00:34:39.440 --> 00:34:44.320
Don't settle jump on the call and be like hi I'm so and so how are you?
00:34:44.480 --> 00:34:46.400
Like we're not getting to know each other like that.
00:34:46.480 --> 00:34:50.239
It's it's these are 15 to 30 precious minutes of their time.
00:34:50.400 --> 00:35:34.639
So make that intentional have three questions that you really want to get out of them get to understand you know how they started what do they recommend and are there is there anyone that they might you know suggest that either you contact or is there a resource that they might direct you towards is there a program apprenticeship is there a job opening like have these intentional I feel like people learn things in threes so have three things that you come with and be like I'm gonna get insight into this I'm gonna get potentially an opportunity out of this but one good thing is that I will get a contact and it's on you to maintain that contact until it gets to that part in the you know relationship where it's like oh we're actually like I saw this art it reminded me of you and they might do the same and that's what's happened.
00:35:34.719 --> 00:35:53.119
The the way I built my network has been absolutely amazing because I just came genuinely being like I rate you like I want to have a chat and let's see where this goes and a lot of them if you go to Audacity We on the episode list all of them really came from networking and just chatting to people and being like you're pretty cool and so I'd love to chat to you.
00:35:53.519 --> 00:35:58.639
Which is why you ended up here to that great as you yeah I love a yap there you go.
00:35:58.880 --> 00:36:24.559
Can I just say on the rules of engagement I think LinkedIn's made it really tricky now when they've minimized the amount of personalized invites you can have um so previously I would say always write a personalized invite rather than just connecting with strangers with nothing because it's the digital equivalent of going up to someone at a networking event tapping them on the shoulder and then running away because you're like who was that and what do they want from you go to the profile I don't I don't know what this person wants.
00:36:24.800 --> 00:36:58.559
But I think that's where you're like hey really like this post that you did and make it make it relevant and you know appeal to the ego like you said you've got it we're all human but that um yeah that personalized ask is is so powerful and also I would say in this increasingly online world have a calendarly link ready so that if someone can't meet you for coffee and but they'll do a call just ping them your calendar link and they can book in and it's it's set and forget and there's no for extra no back and forth Tuesday 1 pm Thursday Friday no just get it done it's in the calendar if it's not on my calendar I'm not going to be there.
00:36:58.800 --> 00:37:37.360
I say that all the time and also block out that time in your calendar because you'll forget and then they'll like be like oh I can do this time and you're like oh I have a meeting so like make sure you block that out and and you're able to have those meetings at that time talking about um LinkedIn as being something that can help you build a career skill if you like whether it's something like well I'm gonna learn consistency because I'm going to do this maybe you have a strategy about what you're going to do each week or I'm going to build my um way to work in an empathetic manner by thinking about what people want to see on my page as opposed to just spewing well here's what I did here's what I did here's what I did.
00:37:37.599 --> 00:38:03.760
What do you think is a skill that you you can practice while you're using LinkedIn oh so many uh storytelling yep so taking let's say you go to an event and there's a narrative there or you're taking the temperature of your interest in your scene how do you get that across in a way which is authentic to you but it's going to engage other people and they're gonna comment so you get this whole ecosystem of of conversation happening.
00:38:03.920 --> 00:38:25.840
So narrative definitely marketing obviously it it is a marketing platform and you don't hate the player hate the game I think also insight right career progression if you if you see someone that is doing something like oh I didn't know that you could do that in that field that person's a project manager but they're doing this thing over here as well that's really interesting.
00:38:25.920 --> 00:38:36.079
I wonder how they got into that so it can help to demystify your own path through your career and actually uncover skills or paths that you didn't know existed.
00:38:36.239 --> 00:38:39.199
So Discovery is another one I think it's a good discovery platform.
00:38:39.360 --> 00:39:10.960
Also that ties into your job alerts you might get sent a job by LinkedIn and you're like why have I been sent this and actually like oh this is transferable skills from this so those would be my my top three would be uh storytelling marketing insights but I genuinely think as well maybe something that's less like tangible if you will and we've talked a lot about like mindset change and I think there's you know that this whole ideology of like crunge mountain and how do we get over cringe mountain and success is on the other side of cringe mountain like you need to get to a place like you first of all you just have to get over it.
00:39:11.119 --> 00:39:42.079
Like it's if you're gonna cringe at it you're either going to keep yourself in this position and if you're happy to stay there fine you do not need to explore the world of world of LinkedIn but if you want to get a job or push yourself further or build a network you're gonna have to get over cringe mountain and whatever that is maybe start by reposting you know post that you really relate to or you think that's cool or whatever it is then maybe take a step further and comment and you know be like oh well I think that's really great or tag someone that you think will also find it interesting or whatever it is.
00:39:42.239 --> 00:39:52.159
And then if we warmed up a little bit like a little post, a little repost of thoughts like get your POV out there like your point of view is what people are going to be interested in.
00:39:52.239 --> 00:40:22.239
So I think it's a matter of getting yourself to a place where it's like how do I either step by step get over the cringe or you just go full cent and just make that post and be introductions to LinkedIn I love them actually and I love when a student does it and they've like come into the working world I've just graduated blah blah blah and this is who I am and it's like okay cool like this is due outside of student like that's what personal branding's all about it's not this new thing it's something that people have always been doing it's just now got a label on it and it's who you are.
00:40:22.320 --> 00:40:27.199
It's it's what who you are and how is that different to everyone else and I think that's that's exciting.
00:40:27.280 --> 00:40:29.920
That gets me like I'm like going I'm like that's so exciting.
00:40:30.079 --> 00:40:35.519
Imagine you're coming into this new world of work and you're just like people are going to get to know who I am like love that for me.
00:40:35.679 --> 00:40:37.119
Yeah it's so very useful.
00:40:37.360 --> 00:40:52.880
Okay everything you provided so far has been brilliant value and I really appreciate you spending the time to talk us through those insights that you have we have a little rapid fire section now where you can just give a sentence a couple of words or you can go deeper if you wish but it this can be short and sweet.
00:40:52.960 --> 00:40:55.920
So whoever feels most ready to answer to get in there.
00:40:56.239 --> 00:41:50.400
One post you were nervous to share I had a post where I've said on the podcast where I said every job I've ever had I've never applied for and I thought I had to back that up back that up back that up and then I realized no I don't and then I just hit send and it ended up being like a really well engaged post because people are like yeah like you've worked with us and this and like blah blah blah whatever and I said oh I am that girl okay but it was just it was a bit nervy because I was like it's quite a bold thing to say but once again that's credibility because it's true there you go one thing you think students massively overthink probably the about me section uh to come across really professional and inauthentic when actually it's just it's just an introduction that you would do to a stranger when you meet them so don't overthink it get in there tell us who you are and and what sets your soul on fire.
00:41:51.039 --> 00:42:02.480
Brilliant and one thing that you would start if you were 18 right now maybe you've not even graduated yet you're just at the start what would you do to make us start on LinkedIn right now at that age?
00:42:02.880 --> 00:42:05.920
I used to do posts instead of articles.
00:42:06.079 --> 00:42:20.960
I wish I'd made those posts into articles so that they were discoverable and and kind of evergreen on my profile because I think I think pre-COVID I was a lot smarter than I am and I made some really good points and those posts are now not working for me.
00:42:21.119 --> 00:42:23.840
They're not telling the story of who I am because they're lost in the timeline.
00:42:23.920 --> 00:42:43.679
Yeah start writing even if it's like the geekyest niche sting get it down there 10 years later see how you've advanced from there but also those posts those articles will live in infinite in on the internet and attract new audiences all the time you can reappropriate them anytime you want so start writing about what you care about even if it is cringe.
00:42:43.920 --> 00:42:57.039
Final question so if a student feels invisible or unsure what they have to offer what value do they actually have to offer what's a mindset shift that will change how they show up on LinkedIn you're going to get hired.
00:42:57.280 --> 00:43:12.480
Like I think that's the thing like you will get hired it might take time it might not but like I think it's that thing panicking before something happens having the worries of tomorrow it's like if you don't act now if you don't start making the steps like I was saying you never know when these things are going to cash in.
00:43:12.639 --> 00:43:27.199
It might cash in today it might cash in next week imagine you start posting on LinkedIn and then your opportunity comes tomorrow and you're like oh my god I'm not even prepared for that so it's that thing where it's like be in the mindset of like I'm going to be hired this is going to work out and over I said I'm an overthinker.
00:43:27.360 --> 00:43:45.840
I was an overthinker I've just shifted it in overthinking what can work and like instead of being like oh no what if this doesn't happen etc etc it's like actually what if this does work because that can actually be a little bit more scarier like what if it's like oh my goodness I'm gonna turn around this job tomorrow and here I am corporate nine to five or here I am going freelance like I don't even know what to do.
00:43:46.000 --> 00:43:57.440
It's like start thinking that you're in you're living that life already and that's the energy hopefully that will help change your mindset as you keep engaging in LinkedIn talking to people because you need to be ready.
00:43:57.679 --> 00:43:58.159
Yeah.
00:43:58.480 --> 00:44:13.039
If I can jump in um can I share a bit of stoicism please so there's something in in stoicism called the dichotomy of control and really really simply it's about separating what is within your control from the other things that will affect you in life which are not in your control.
00:44:13.280 --> 00:44:44.000
So people come into the job market now they're like oh AI is going to take my job no one's hiring everyone's laying off okay a lot of that stuff is outside of your control what is within your control is how you show up the story that you tell about yourself how you interact with other people and the more you start owning that turning up every day getting those reps in that's going to amplify and those other things are going to be impacted by how you're building up that so I would say every decision that I get now everything that comes my way I'm like is this anything is this anything I can do about this?
00:44:44.159 --> 00:44:49.920
No okay let it go like a cloud in the breeze and then really focus on the things that I can achieve with the capacity that I have.
00:44:50.239 --> 00:45:03.440
Okay yeah okay worry about the things you actually can control don't um don't worry I guess if you like think as go at it with a perspective of I'm going to get to the end point in success I'm looking for.
00:45:03.760 --> 00:45:14.960
I feel like we're like the same person with different brains like I'm very much like yeah like I also feel everything's amazing like all this kind of stuff but I love your realism to things as well and because that's the thing like people are very different.
00:45:15.039 --> 00:45:27.039
It's like we kind of approach things similarly but very differently and that that's what I hope comes through on the podcast for people who are listening because I know people who are not as extroverted that will not thrive in how I've approached my career.
00:45:27.199 --> 00:45:39.119
So it's like how do we do it in a way that matches your personality and how you go about things and how because you can always storytell differently that's why we have different genres and books and and and in movies and TV and film and everything.
00:45:39.280 --> 00:45:44.960
It's like how do we storytell in a way that resonates with you first so that it can then easily resonate with others.
00:45:45.280 --> 00:45:47.760
Fabulous I think that's a really great place to leave it.
00:45:47.840 --> 00:45:54.079
I really appreciate your insights and I really look forward to seeing how everyone progresses on LinkedIn based on this.
00:45:54.159 --> 00:45:56.800
For me I know certainly I can make a lot of improvements.
00:45:56.880 --> 00:45:58.320
So thank you for joining us.
00:45:58.719 --> 00:46:07.760
Here's what I hope you take from today LinkedIn is not about pretending to be impressive it's about learning how to communicate and create value.
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Every coast is practice every comment is connection every conversation is a chance to show how you think.
00:46:14.639 --> 00:46:22.719
Mercy and Nick have shown that being in demand doesn't come from self-promotion it comes from being useful curious and willing to share what you're learning.
00:46:22.960 --> 00:46:29.920
LinkedIn doesn't just build networks it builds your voice your confidence and your ability to create value in the world.
00:46:30.159 --> 00:46:40.960
So if this episode made LinkedIn feel less intimidating share it with someone who still is growing silently because opportunities rarely come from being impressive they come from being visible and valuable.
00:46:41.199 --> 00:46:48.639
And stay tuned for the rest of the series where we're going to be discussing how to develop your entrepreneurial mindset so that you can reach your personal and professional goals.
00:46:48.800 --> 00:47:00.800
We have episodes on how to find employment that aligns with your values and still pays the bills AI and the future of work and the smart moves you can make to ensure that your first job is not your final destination