Build your linkedin followers and get your next FD job
Build your linkedin followers and get your next FD job
Linkedin is becoming more and more valuable as each year passes, I’ve realised belatedly in 2019 that I don’t have as many followers as I should have and set myself a target of 2,500 by 2020!
I spoke yesterday with a really established Portfolio Finance Director called Emma who has been active in this niche for 12 years+, and I was impressed and amazed that she had grown 3,500+ plus connections on Linkedin over that time. Now this isn’t immediately apparent as Linkedin only states >500+ connections, but she made some very good points to me.
- Most people other than Agencies don’t have that many roles in their business or investments if its a Private Equity House.
- You need to reach the right people at the right time, and with a small number of contacts that just doesn’t work out.
- A role that does come along, may not match your requirements, location / rate or nature of task.
- It makes sense that more contacts = more potential for roles.
- If you make a post people see it – more contacts = more people reading your posts.
These points are valid and significant though, because each and every time she contributes a post, this gets shared on the timelines of her 3,500+ connections, in this way Linkedin works in much the same way as does Twitter. To get attention you need the right followers and in the case of Portfolio Finance Directors these need to be Private Equity houses, investment funds, banks, Accountants, lawyers in fact everyone and anyone involved in the business transaction space. Chances are seeing your posts will remind them of your value and if they need a Portfolio FD then they may reach out to you.
Of course you can then send out a message to say you are looking, and do any of your contacts have a requirement? Keep pushing out high quality and interesting posts and news items are other great tips to keep you in people’s minds.
Now the message I took home from my conversation with Emma is that I need to invest a few minutes each and every day building my network, my list, remember the old adage the money is in the list? Well for aspiring Portfolio Finance Directors that isn’t far from the truth, the value for us of linkedin is in having the right list and as many good connections on that list, or in this case linkedin connections as possible. So when the times comes around for a new role, you have plenty of connections to leverage.
Build your linkedin followers and get your next FD job
So get networking! I have learnt something this week and my target is to get another 500 in a short time and 5,000 more in the long run! But 2,500 by the end of 2020!
A great tip I can share is as soon as you apply for a role via an agency, find the contact that the application is going to, then invite them to link with you via linkedin, then make a focussed pitch on how you are better than anyone else for the role you are applying for, a couple of interviews and one role I’ve landed were just due to that, agencies and recruiters get huge numbers of applications, so small differences in your approach like that start to seperate you in the recruiters minds.
You might find our Linkedin Pulse Articles of interest, contributing content to Linkedin is a great way to showcase you skills and knowledge.
More and more roles are being advertised directly on Linkedin, and whilst 3 years ago I don’t remember seeing or applying for an FD or Portfolio FD role, I now find each week there is usually something interesting to either apply for, or reach out to the recruiter or agency concerned to build a contact with.
We see Linkedin growing as a place to advertise jobs, as it has the potential to cut out agency fees and with the growth of professionals using Linkedin, it does make sense to test the water via linkedin then only go directly to an agency if the candidate response isn’t strong enough. I have not seen any numbers, but certainly my perception is that a lot more jobs are now appearing via Linkedin than ever before. It’s also possible to run sponsored ads on Linkedin so that may also be a way to drive applicants to advertised roles.
Our Team on Linkedin
- Tayisiya Lawrence – Talent Manager Specialists
- Jessica Edwards – Recruitment Consultant
- Amanada Ryan – Executive Headhunter
Please reach out to them for all of your recruitment needs.
To get an understanding of the areas we cover please review the following pages to see the disciplines currently on offer:-
- Part Time FD’s – This is our main focus covering the London and West Midlands areas.
- Portfolio FD’s – Part Time FD’s who work for multiple businesses.
- Private Equity FD’s – Finance Directors with experience of working with Private Equity Houses and Venture Capitalists.
- Interim FD’s – Finance Directors needed for short periods.
- Turnaround FD’s – Finance Directors with particular experience of distressed situations and turnarounds.
- E-Commerce FD – Finance Directors with expertise with E-Commerce website and Search marketing.
- Non-Executive FD – Non Executives or NED’s with finance expertise for boards.
Build your linkedin followers
Hopefully you can see that we are a niche agency and specialist / boutique finance house offering recruitment but also professional solutions through executive recruitment.
If you are a candidate with expertise in any of the above disciplines or an active interest in breaking into them, please reach out for a chat with us today, we are always looking for additional skills to add to our database.
We are always interested to hear from new businesses, if you are an SME based in London or the West Midlands then we are keen to speak with you, we have a lot of experience with PE Houses. We specialise in Finance Director and CFO Recruitment.
Our main locations at present are
Part-Time London FD’s We cover all of the areas within the M25 and the Home Counties.
Part-Time Birmingham FD’s We cover Birmingham and the West Midlands, Shropshire and Cheshire.
It is always worth talking with us if you have a need for a role outside of those areas or you are candidate that doesn’t mind commuting or staying away some nights per week. We regularly advertise roles, check out our finance director Job Board for our latest ones.
From time to time we have roles for FD’s that we can’t handle within our network, keep an eye on our Jobs page as we advertise roles there regularly. You might be interested in FD Headhunters.
Adrian Lawrence FCA with over 25 years of experience as a finance leader and a Chartered Accountant, BSc graduate from Queen Mary College, University of London.
I help my clients achieve their growth and success goals by delivering value and results in areas such as Financial Modelling, Finance Raising, M&A, Due Diligence, cash flow management, and reporting. I am passionate about supporting SMEs and entrepreneurs with reliable and professional Chief Financial Officer or Finance Director services.
