Strategies to successfully find work on LinkedIn? Thread poster: Manuel Alejandro Arciniegas Rivera
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| | Jenn Mercer 
United States
Local time: 09:17
Member (2009)
French to English
I am not sure that LinkedIn is really a place to find work for a freelancer, but it is useful when a potential client would like to know more about you or get some reassurance that you are a professional.
| | | | Jenae Spry
United States
Local time: 06:17
French to English
| Target specific clients | Oct 16, 2015 |
I have received a lot of work from LinkedIn and it's largely allowed me to target specific clients and reach out to them via connections. I'd say that's the main value of LinkedIn. It also doesn't hurt to have a good profile. You have a great start but your profile still reads a little too "I'm an employee looking for a job" instead of "I'm a freelance business owner looking for clients." I just wrote a blog article about this too in case it's of... See more I have received a lot of work from LinkedIn and it's largely allowed me to target specific clients and reach out to them via connections. I'd say that's the main value of LinkedIn. It also doesn't hurt to have a good profile. You have a great start but your profile still reads a little too "I'm an employee looking for a job" instead of "I'm a freelance business owner looking for clients." I just wrote a blog article about this too in case it's of interest to you:
http://successbyrx.com/2015/10/15/5-winning-strategies-for-getting-work/#more-109
[Edited at 2015-10-16 02:20 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
+ ...
And how LinkedIn (or any other) is any different from numerous a-la 'professional' networks, I wonder? Several years ago I did create a profile there and except a few people I already know it brought me a lot of strangers and weirdos spamming their shady bizops, alas.
Furthermore, when I got tired of ever growing spam and decided to suspend my account, suddenly I got spam from admins with silly questions like 'why I was so reluctant to keep LinkedIn?' and how they are sorry! And it ... See more And how LinkedIn (or any other) is any different from numerous a-la 'professional' networks, I wonder? Several years ago I did create a profile there and except a few people I already know it brought me a lot of strangers and weirdos spamming their shady bizops, alas.
Furthermore, when I got tired of ever growing spam and decided to suspend my account, suddenly I got spam from admins with silly questions like 'why I was so reluctant to keep LinkedIn?' and how they are sorry! And it lasted almost a week--a very unpleasant impression, I must admit.
And yes--not long ago a colleague of mine said her another social network account was hacked and her personal data leaked away--once again, of course, and nobody is hold responsible.
Everyone should decide what is better and whether something is worth or not.
Having been working with direct clients, I've already made my choice)
Cheers. ▲ Collapse
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Rolf Kern
Switzerland
Local time: 15:17
English to German
+ ...
In memoriam
That's also my opinion.
Rolf
| | | | | What about sending resumés to translation agencies | Oct 16, 2015 |
Thank you very much for your feedback,
I read Jenae's article and I found your tips very useful,
however when you talk about linkedin you don't say
how to approach agencies and potential clients.
I'm saying this because I received this invitation from
the director of a translation agency in Sâo Paulo, Brazil.
I do not know why did he add me, but I would like to
get in touch so I can show him that I have two
years of experience translating... See more Thank you very much for your feedback,
I read Jenae's article and I found your tips very useful,
however when you talk about linkedin you don't say
how to approach agencies and potential clients.
I'm saying this because I received this invitation from
the director of a translation agency in Sâo Paulo, Brazil.
I do not know why did he add me, but I would like to
get in touch so I can show him that I have two
years of experience translating scientific texts in Portuguese.
I am also receiving several invitation from other freelancers I do
not know personally, is this good or bad? I mean having many contacts
working in the same field but whom I don't know in real life. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jenae Spry
United States
Local time: 06:17
French to English
| Getting more out of LinkedIn | Oct 16, 2015 |
Caroneiro wrote:
Thank you very much for your feedback,
I read Jenae's article and I found your tips very useful,
however when you talk about linkedin you don't say
how to approach agencies and potential clients.
Thanks for your feedback. You gave me an idea for a post just about LinkedIn and how to get the most out of it. In the meantime...
I'm saying this because I received this invitation from
the director of a translation agency in Sâo Paulo, Brazil.
I do not know why did he add me, but I would like to
get in touch so I can show him that I have two
years of experience translating scientific texts in Portuguese.
If someone who is a director of a translation added you, he's trying to add you to his network. This is a very good thing. He's going to have other people like vendor management in his network. Search for those people and add them through him. To me, if he added you (instead of you adding him), that's an immediate green light to reach out to that agency.
I am also receiving several invitation from other freelancers I do
not know personally, is this good or bad? I mean having many contacts
working in the same field but whom I don't know in real life.
It depends. Review their profiles and do a little research on them. I'm not an open networker (these people accept any invitation sent to them to grow their network) but I am pretty flexible on those I add assuming they show clear interest and skills in the industry. Growing your network of freelancers leads to referral business and even help. I have a few physicians in my network that help me when I need to speak to a specialist about questionable terminology.
| | | | jyuan_us
United States
Local time: 09:17
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
+ ...
| Some information | Oct 16, 2015 |
Caroneiro wrote:
I'm saying this because I received this invitation from
the director of a translation agency in Sâo Paulo, Brazil.
I do not know why did he add me, but I would like to
get in touch so I can show him that I have two
years of experience translating scientific texts in Portuguese.
Invitations are automatically sent to everybody in a Linkedin member's contact list. The invitation is part of the effort of Linkedin to get more people to sign up, not necessarily the wish of the inviter.
I received a lot of invitations, and some of the senders didn't even realize they have sent the invitation to me. And some of my contacts received my invitations, which I was not aware I have sent.
I heard that Linkedin is involved in a lawsuit related to the practice of sending follow-up reminders of an invitation. The plaintiffs' lawyers are trying to reach a settlement and Linkedin may have to pay something to many of its members who opt to participate in the lawsuit.
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Jenae Spry
United States
Local time: 06:17
French to English
| You get out what you put in | Oct 16, 2015 |
DZiW wrote:
And how LinkedIn (or any other) is any different from numerous a-la 'professional' networks, I wonder? Several years ago I did create a profile there and except a few people I already know it brought me a lot of strangers and weirdos spamming their shady bizops, alas.
I'd say you get out what you put in as others have said. This is true of any platform. If you just sign up for an account and wait for the work to come to you, I'd say that is not a winning plan.
Furthermore, when I got tired of ever growing spam and decided to suspend my account, suddenly I got spam from admins with silly questions like 'why I was so reluctant to keep LinkedIn?' and how they are sorry! And it lasted almost a week--a very unpleasant impression, I must admit.
That's just marketing. Any company will do that, and I do that as well. I reach out to past clients that I haven't worked for in a while. Sometimes I re-establish a relationship with them. Any good business will do this.
And yes--not long ago a colleague of mine said her another social network account was hacked and her personal data leaked away--once again, of course, and nobody is hold responsible.
Another social network...so...not LinkedIn? Not all computer security systems are created equal.
Everyone should decide what is better and whether something is worth or not.
Having been working with direct clients, I've already made my choice)
Agreed. Some people have better luck with some methods than others. I'm a little confused by your second statement about working with direct clients since LinkedIn is a great way to gain business from direct clients. I'd actually say it's more useful for going after direct clients than it is for agencies.
| | | | Jenae Spry
United States
Local time: 06:17
French to English
| That's not completely how it works... | Oct 16, 2015 |
Invitations are automatically sent to everybody in a Linkedin member's contact list. The invitation is part of the effort of Linkedin to get more people to sign up, not necessarily the wish of the inviter.
You choose to allow LinkedIn to do this. Some people choose to do that and some don't. But the OP also said he didn't know this person so it's doubtful he happened to be in the agency director's contact list.
I received a lot of invitations, and some of the senders didn't even realize they have sent the invitation to me. And some of my contacts received my invitations, which I was not aware I have sent.
This is what happens when we click OK/Next too quickly. It happens...but the person was definitely asked if they wanted to send said invitations.
I heard that Linkedin is involved in a lawsuit related to the practice of sending follow-up reminders of an invitation. The plaintiffs' lawyers are trying to reach a settlement and Linkedin may have to pay something to many of its members who opt to participate in the lawsuit.
That is true. Members gave permission for the initial invitation but not for the follow-up e-mails, which members didn't know about. This has also apparently been changed such that follow-ups are no longer automatically sent.
[Edited at 2015-10-16 23:44 GMT]
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