My Top Seven Killer Tips for Jobseekers
Here’s the thing with social media. Everyone keeps telling you that you must be on social media to develop your brand, but nobody tells you, when you are a newbie, how much work it takes to create a personal brand on social media. I’m not talking about being featured on posts your employer (and their big marketing team and budget) developed to attract more clients. I’m talking about you and me as human beings.
We discussed your struggle and developed the Social Media Newbie Series for Global Nomads to help you understand LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. However, we got stuck in the details ourselves, and I realized from the questions you are asking that you might still wonder:
What for?
Is a digital presence worth my time and money?
So, I thought that today we should take a step back and revisit why having a digital media presence is worth sharing with you my top seven killer tips for job seekers and solopreneurs (and those of you who share my vision of becoming digital global nomads).
As a Career Coach, I have encountered job seekers and freelancers who still believe they can thrive in today’s world without a digital presence. In short, they refuse social and professional networking as they feel they will be stalked or annoyed by others. I started with online networking on XING in 2004. Before that, “networking” for me meant only person-to-person (or IRL – in real life if you are my age and don’t know what IRL means).
I regularly had lunch with different internal and external colleagues to learn what was happening in their fields of work. In the early millennium, the lunch date roster was your “dance card” and showed your popularity.
It was almost embarrassing to lunch alone, and if you were booked for several weeks, this meant you had made it. It was part of that organization’s culture, but networking helped me understand background stories, build trust, and get support on various topics. I still prefer lunch dates over any online interaction, but as a creator, I have more influence and a bigger circle to reach out to if I leverage my online network.
Remember that in Germany, Switzerland, and other “Coconut” cultures, we tend to be very task-focused and have to invest in building relationships. (Yes, it takes us a lot of energy to get out of that Coconut-Face.)
If I look back, I also pulled my team members, trainers, providers, and friends from my network. The network expanded to external contacts and became more challenging when I left Frankfurt for Zurich. Still, I started to build a new network, which helped me to develop and maintain a start-up in a rather complex economic environment. If I were looking for a full-time role now, I would try to source it through my network. If I am looking to hire an intern, designer, or specialist, I will rely on my network. We are teaching the idea of leveraging your network to find a job in Switzerland rather than only applying online in our HireMeExpress program.
I know you might be afraid to put yourself out there and have people laughing at you, trolling you or giving you negative feedback and comments. How do you even deal with that when you are already fragile and full of self-doubt daily?
Would it help if I told you that I still experience the same fear and anxiety? Would it help if I said, “Yes, there are weird people on the Internet, and many of them want your money…but what if 10% of those following you, reading you, and hearing you need to hear precisely what you have to say?”
What if there is one person out there who lost half of their family in a tragic accident and thought they would never, ever recover from that?
What if one woman that you speak to just lost her child or her husband and needs to hear that it will be okay and that you are there for her?
What if one person is listening to you who is about to kill themselves because they are so desperate, and you tell them that they are loved, and they hear that, and they reconsider?
What if what you have to say is essential for one person only?
Don’t you think it’s worth it?
Don’t you think it is worth half an hour of your time?
Remember that you are loved, you are safe, and you are among friends here.
1) Focus on Your Followers
In all likelihood, you will meet most of your followers on LinkedIn if you are in a professional field like banking, accounting, or human resources. If you are a creative writer, you might want to focus on Twitter because this is where readers will gather their information. On the other hand, if you provide makeup tips in short videos, you should focus on Instagram or YouTube. Try not to overwhelm yourself by joining all platforms at once.
2) Develop A Digital Home
In times of social media, it is hard to understand why you need to have your digital home. Imagine it this way: On social media, you attend a huge networking event to exchange information with colleagues and potential clients. If you want them to look at the information (“content”) that you produce, you have to invite them to your “home”. When you host a party at your place, you have to give people directions on how to find you and a good reason to party with you. You don’t expect to be asked to buy something or pay for your beer when you go to a party, right? So, when you start, you will probably provide some of your content for free until you have a followership. Then, you can move to a membership model. A membership model mastermind is Stu McLaren.
Angie Weinberger is working on a new workbook to explain her methods and how to build a business as an expat coach. She will also hold a workshop for expat coaches at the SIETAR Switzerland 2025 conference in Lucerne. You can sign up here to be invited to Angie Weinberger’s upcoming book launches and seminars
3) Build Trust First
The Internet is full of offers and scams. You must have their trust before anyone wants to give you their email ID and bank details. You can develop trust by being a helpful source of information and by solving people’s problems. You can also build trust by being personable and avoiding any sales touch in your content and copywriting. You can provide helpful advice and invite people to join your party, but you must remember that building trust online is a step-by-step process that takes mastery. You can follow Amy Porterfield and Ash Ambirge for further advice.
4) Reduce Self-Promotion
Instead of promoting yourself, you should encourage other people’s work. If you help others, you will not come across as a big-headed egomaniac but as someone who cares about people. There is a point where you can also show your work, but it needs to be in the context of solving a problem for your followers. For example, they might need a checklist or a how-to guide you can provide when you often hear them ask you the same questions. I read that there is an 80/20-rule where 80% of the posts should be valuable content, and 20% you should promote your brand. So, in the case of your brand, you should talk about your work, what you have achieved, and other stuff related to your greatness for about 20% of your posts.
5) Curate Content
A repost does not always mean that you endorse the opinion of the tweeter, but at least you can verify that the information is genuine and up-to-date and that links are working. If you are like me, you probably don’t read everything you would like, but you know where to find trusted sources and where to be sceptical.
6) Encourage Others to Have a Voice
I know many people who suffer from “imposter syndrome” and who are modest. It helps occasionally when you tell others that their work is helpful and that you are reading their updates or input. Instead of expecting others to support you, you can do much more to help others. Be a giver on social media. Learn why this is important by reading and following Adam M. Grant.
7) Charge Your Purpose Batteries
A Digital Presence is excellent. People who deal with you in real life or on a call should be positively surprised by your genuine interest in them. One of the reasons for the lack of trust nowadays is that everyone is putting their interest in front. Many people have difficulty accepting support because they are not used to free help. They are used to being cheated and pulled over the table, and you want to stand out. Charge your purpose batteries, get very clear on your purpose and one-sentence mission, and become a real giver.