Is there a reason you don't use LinkedIn? How a seasoned professional earned recognition.

When Claudia* wanted to take the next step in her career journey, she turned to her dear friend and experienced recruiter, Keva Dine. Immediately, Keva saw that she had a long history with one well-known company, but very little in her profile that could be surfaced by the new AI-powered recruiting tools.

Even though she was the top expert in her field for this internationally recognized enterprise company, Claudia was a nobody. And that was a problem. If HR departments and recruiters couldn't get results about her during the recruiting process, she would never become a sought-after hire—despite her leadership and expertise.

Start with a LinkedIn Tune-Up

Before Claudia could apply to the role she really wanted within her current organization, she needed proof that she was the best fit. Her first step was to work with Keva Dine Agency's LinkedIn expert, Abigail Jensen. For many people seeking a new role, either within their current organization or a fresh start elsewhere, LinkedIn Tune-Ups are the first step in raising their visibility.

The process begins by creating Smart Stories that capture achievements and expand them into stories of challenge, action, and success. Qualifying and quantifying achievements and writing them in a way that is both scannable and findable is key to matching a candidate's experience with the requirements of the open role.

From there, Abigail identifies areas of strength and weakness within your individual profile and provides personalized suggestions to help you meet your stated goals.

With a new focus on leveling up her professional visibility, Claudia dove headfirst into updating her LinkedIn profile according to the recommendations she received from Abigail.

"As soon as I got the Tune-Up video from Abigail, I literally sat here on my couch with my dogs, and I  spent something like three hours."

As soon as her new LinkedIn profile was set up, Claudia caught the attention of recruiters, who immediately reached out to her. For her, it was an affirmation that she was on the right path to making the career changes she desired.

Creating a Community on LinkedIn

When Keva suggested a LinkedIn Tune-Up as a place to start, Claudia was skeptical, "I never thought about LinkedIn as a platform to achieve a burning desire. Keva made me realize that it's less of a social network and more of a platform for inserting yourself into a conversation that's meaningful for you."

Like many people new to using LinkedIn, Claudia was concerned that she would be perceived as inauthentic. Keva explained that if her area of expertise was truly her passion, she should find other people who share her interests and post their unique perspectives. As an expert in her field. Claudia needed to be part of those conversations and contribute her knowledge by commenting, liking, sharing, and creating her own posts.

Instead of waiting for her LinkedIn profile updates, Claudia started posting immediately. Although she was intimidated at first, Keva counseled her to make it easy and natural. She decided to take her advice and let her audience know that she was just getting started on LinkedIn, introducing them to the topics she would be discussing and sharing, and inviting members to follow her or watch the space for more from her.

"I did that, and that's been my best-performing post. I think it's like up to 400 likes or something. I literally went from zero to 11,000 in one week in terms of post views and impressions," Claudia said.

Within days of her first posting, a newly formed alliance of two top industry organizations contacted Claudia with a request for her to co-author a new manifesto. They needed someone who could articulate the changes in the industry and synthesize the old way of approaching her area of expertise with the introduction of AI as a thought partner—a topic she had been researching and talking about on LinkedIn.

Claudia was surprised at how quickly her influence had grown. After just 30 days of posting, she saw a nearly 40% increase in followers and a whopping 38,371 impressions. 

"What I learned is that people will look at who I'm following and which posts I'm commenting on and inserting myself in the conversation where I  feel like it really matters. That has garnered me a lot more followers and people saying thought-provoking things about what I'm saying. All very respectful, of course, but it's as if I've found a new community. I've found my people," Claudia said.

One Burning Question and a Strategic Pivot

For Claudia to achieve her goal of transitioning from one area of expertise to a new role that focuses on incorporating future-facing technology and strategy, she needed guidance. As part of her discussions with Keva, they agreed she would benefit from the Recruiter Real-Talk service that Keva offers as part of her suite of coaching services.

The first step was to fill out a questionnaire to help Claudia focus her thoughts into one, single, burning question. Claudia took the time to zero in on the one thing she was trying to accomplish and carefully craft her one burning question. After some soul-searching, Claudia realized that the thing she needed help with right away was to strategically position her tenure and proven expertise in a way that would make her a qualified candidate for the new open role she sought to fill.

Once she submitted the question, Keva let her know that her answer would be in the form of a video. At first, Claudia felt disappointed that she would not have a live talk. However, in the end, she appreciated the ability to review the video repeatedly to fully understand the advice and implement it. 

"I was so glad that I got the advice in video form because I could keep going back and re-watching and then relisting and updating my profile," Claudia said.

Besides updating her profile, Keva was able to offer her advice on how to utilize LinkedIn as a platform that would help her gain visibility and establish a thought leadership position. For Claudia, posting frequently and engaging with others in the industry has helped her to clarify her own thinking on the topics she is most passionate about.

"It's fascinating how creating the posts has helped me further my own thoughts around AI and the future of AI. It's crystallizing the change that I want my own voice and influence to bring. I'm finding that posting is less about the engagement I get and more about writing my thoughts and helping other people grapple with this very disruptive technology," Claudia said.

For Claudia, coaching with Keva and a LinkedIn Tune-Up from Abigail means that people can find her, and she's no longer hiding in the shadows. Her increases in visibility, followers, and impressions are all concrete evidence that telling your story and connecting are key to being recognized as a valuable part of the community where you want to be seen and heard.

*Due to the sensitivity of her position within a company, we have had to change the name of our participant.