@Simon Coultas has just completed the LinkedIn Bootcamp and asked me a brilliant question last week, what else can I be doing? So we reviewed his LinkedIn SSI index (37), his number of connections and discussed how he needed to grow his connections to increase his visibility with relevant people. Because when you connect with somebody on LinkedIn, your weekly post will also gain visibility with their connections, so a multiplier effect for free. Based upon my experience most CFOs seem to have ~500 to ~1,500 LinkedIn connections which is quite narrow in my opinion however CFOs can be selective about who they accept and let into their feed so there's a counter argument on having a small but more exclusive connection base. Either way isn't a problem as it's a personal choice. Anyway, using my LinkedIn recruiter, Simon and I identified ~100 connections who may be able to help him in his job search and Simon has now increased his connections by 10% in less than one week. And as Simon said, this is WIP "Winning In Progress". So if you've completed the bootcamp, take a look at your SSI index and see whether you to could start to grow your connections. Note - at the time of writing this LinkedIn will allow you to add ~200 connections per week so you can grow your connections quite quickly but as always, it's about quality not quantity.

In speaking to two CFOs in this community today, it's clear the Christmas lull is upon us. Here's my advice to you. It’s tempting to grind through December, but that only sends you into January exhausted and useless. Treat time with loved ones as part of your job hunt, you need a clear head more than another pointless round of LinkedIn browsing. Switch off properly, without guilt. Set strict “office hours” for any job-search tasks so the whole holiday doesn’t turn into one long, anxious scroll or constantly picking up your phone. And be upfront with your partner or family about your plan; nothing breeds tension faster than being physically present but mentally somewhere else. Being honest, I do struggle massively in this area (switching off) and whilst that helps me to push forward, it's not always productive. So even I will be challenging myself this Christmas as well.

Have you heard of LinkedIn's SSI Index? If not, you can request yours using the link below: https://www.linkedin.com/sales/ssi It is a useful tool to identify potential avenues for you to improve your Visibility and Awareness on LinkedIn. For example, I need to work on "Engage with insight" - see image below. Please note three things: 1. Anything above 70% will gain a 20% boost from the LinkedIn algorithm. So people hitting 70% is considered 'excellent' by LinkedIn. Even with 60% I am in the Top 6% of Recruiters. 2. You are not selling so your score maybe in the 30's but we're using this as a tool to inform not to be down about. 3. Use the insights from this tool as inspiration and ideas to action on the platform e.g. are you connecting with people, adding meaningful comments and establishing your professional brand?

I had an interview earlier this week and the interviewers complemented me on my LinkedIn profile - first time I have had that happen. I am still adding to my profile so these compliments were a great confidence boost.