How to get direct client on LinkedIn as a freelancer

LinkedIn is an American job oriented social platform where employers interact with employees. Since it was launched in 2003, the platform has grown to be one of the most popular social media platform currently enjoying around 800 million users.

As a freelancer, LinkedIn is one of the best platform where you can get your next client because unlike other social media platforms, LinkedIn is specifically meant for jobs and business related interactions.

You will realize that most of the conversations going ahead in this platform are job related from the first time you create an account.

These are some of the important information you can get on LinkedIn platform;

• Editing of CV and resume
• Career advice
• Business deals
• Contracts
• Employment opportunities
• Employees looking for work

In Kenya, LinkedIn is not a very popular social media account which makes the competition on this platform very low. But remember that even as you are competing few Kenyans on this platform, you are competing millions of other potential employees from other countries who visit this platform daily to look for employment opportunities.

Follow these simple steps to get started on LinkedIn as a freelance writer, editor, academic and article writer;

 Create a LinkedIn account

If you are a freelance writer and you haven’t created a LinkedIn account then you are missing so much. You should join the platform like right now.

There are two ways you can follow to join the platform; the first and the most efficient one is by downloading the mobile app and the second is by visiting the platform using your browser.

When joining the platform, you will be required to fill in your details and below is how you should your details to increase your chances of attracting employers to your site;

How to fill in your LinkedIn details like a pro

• Profile– When filling in your profile details, you will be required to enter your name. Use your real name as the main name displayed on your platform. This builds the trust between you and your possible employer. It also creates a good impression on the first look for anyone visiting your account. The name should also relate with your email address. Again on the profile, use your real image as the profile picture, people will trust you more when you have your real image as the profile picture than when you have otherwise.
• Filling your Bio– Bio is a very important part of your registration as it tells people who you are. Your bio should be short and precise, you should also include all your information on your bio, these information include; skills, level of education, work experience, and most important your email address.
• Other information–  After you’ve completed editing your profile, you will be required to go ahead and fill in your information. Under this section, yow will give your education and work experience. Be honest so that you don’t land jobs above your capability.
• Skills– Under the skills section, enter as many skills as possible and you should have knowledge in all the skills you have provided. LinkedIn will automatically suggest to you work related with your skills, listing many skills therefore gives you a access to more job opportunities. However as you keep on getting jobs on the platform, you should keep on narrowing the list to specialize on those with high number of clients and the ones you are best at.

How to find clients on LinkedIn

After joining LinkedIn, the only task you are now left with is connecting with your next client. Before you begin looking for an employer on this platform, make sure that your account is on a free to hiring mode. You can activate this mode by going to the settings section of your profile and selecting free-to-hire option on your profile. You can go ahead to add a tag free-to-hire tag on your profile picture but this is not the best idea.

You should not have an ongoing job in your profile to increase your chances of landing an employment deal. Your employment status should be simply unemployed. After registering your account, you can go for the look for job immediately to help in landing job few days after joining the platform.

Follow job platforms to get the employment opportunities immediately they are released. One of these platforms are Jobs in Kenya which share job opportunities regularly and our platform onlinejobsinkenya.com

Have a CV and a Resume ready. Before applying for any job in the platform, you will be required to present a copy of your resume/CV. Have these important documents ready and properly edited to fit the skills in your website as they will be key in determining whether or not you will land a job/client in LinkedIn.

Be active on the platform. When looking for clients/job on LinkedIn, you should be very active on this platform. Post regularly on this platform and ensure that your posts are in line with the skills you mentioned in your bio. This will show a potential employer that you have a command on this field. Your posts should be long, official and relevant. Avoid posting opinions that may offend a potential employer and post good pictures only. Save your selfies and latest photos for Facebook and WhatsApp.

Apply as many jobs as possible. If a job is within your skills range, don’t fear applying for them. You can subscribe for the paid LinkedIn as it will double your chances of being employed. The paid LinkedIn also gives you other advantages that are not present in the free mode like applying for many jobs at the same time.

Finally, take LinkedIn tests on all the skills you have listed on your account. The tests are usually easy and take around 15 minutes to complete. After completing a test, you will be awarded a badge on your platform and this is an assurance to the client/employer that you have the skills listed your bio and you are more likely to be hired when you have a badge than when you don’t have.