FULL TRANSCRIPT

00:00 – Show Opening

Are you a professional who wants to become a more effective leader? Then get ready for daily tips from the coach with the experience and inspiration to help you succeed in any leadership situation. You’re listening to the Meeting Leadership Podcast with Gordon Sheppard.

00:27 – Start Here – Podcast content starts here!

Gordon Sheppard Speaking

Welcome to another episode of the Meeting Leadership Podcast where we give you the practical tips and strategies to really take action to build yourself as a leader and to learn how to run highly effective meetings. Now in this episode, we’re going to add a few skills to your leadership tool bag by introducing you to the top LinkedIn tips and tricks that you need to know right now. Because let’s face it, as a professional, there’s no choice about it. You can’t run away from it anymore. You’ve got to be on LinkedIn. And there’s no better way to tackle this topic than to bring on an expert, and that is exactly what I’ve done here today. Because today you’re going to hear an interview with Alnoor Damji. Now, Alnoor is a LinkedIn professional and expert who has helped all kinds of people. I’ve seen him speak at a conference. I’ve seen him win over a room of engineers. I just… It’s incredible what he’s able to do in terms of getting people to learn these concepts quickly and then make their LinkedIn profiles really, really valuable so they can grow their relationships and get people moving forward. And without further ado, here’s the interview with Alnoor.

01:30 – Interview Starts

Gordon Sheppard:    Hey Alnoor. Welcome to the show. It is great to have you here.

Alnoor Damji:       Awesome. Thank you so much for inviting me, Gord.

Gordon Sheppard:    Well, you know, when I saw you at the APEGA conference teaching a large room full of engineers about how to tackle LinkedIn in the right way, I knew you’d be a terrific guest for the show for the professionals here who are upping their leadership game. And before we get started, do me a favor. Because people aren’t going to know you necessarily. Take a brief moment to introduce yourself.

01:57 – Alnoor Introduces Himself

Alnoor Damji:       Gord, I’ve been in the career coaching [inaudible] executives and professionals all over the world. I started my career in human resources prior to moving into career counseling, taught for a few years in China, and then came back, worked for the provincial government in human resources, and led a large big box retailer organization in HR and then moved on to career coaching. And that is when I started to hone my LinkedIn skills and started teaching displaced older workers.

Gordon Sheppard:    Well, that’s a remarkable thing these days. I know for me, even at sort of 52 years of age, it took me a while to come around to the social media and realize how important it was. And kind of… You don’t have a choice about it when you’re moving forward. And today we’re going to talk about how to make LinkedIn work for you based on some of the best things that you bring forward when you’re teaching in this topic. What’s the first thing that you want professionals to know when they’re making LinkedIn work for them?

02:55 – LinkedIn Suggestion #1 – Why do you want to be on LinkedIn?

Alnoor Damji:       So my first thing is to find out the why. Why is it… do they want to be on LinkedIn? Are they there for job search? Are there for… Being an established professional, if they want to get more contacts, contracts… Are they there so that they are able to be known as a subject matter expert? These are the few critical things I need to know before they move forward when I’m talking to my clients.

Gordon Sheppard:    Well and what I’m hearing from you there is don’t rush on and throw your picture on and a bunch of text. Really start from that moment where you understand what this tool is all about and why you want to be there.

Alnoor Damji:       Exactly. So this is what I talk about. What do you need LinkedIn for for the brand? Is it prospecting? Is it… Are you being seen as a subject matter expert trying to be found as a thought leader? What people used to do was, as you put there, is they used to just rush the gun and… thinking that LinkedIn was their online resume. It is not that. We have to understand LinkedIn is social media, and social media is connecting and building relationships. That is where a lot of people do not seem to understand and to just say, “Well, I’ve got my LinkedIn profile. I’ve built it. Let them come.” It doesn’t work that way.

Gordon Sheppard:    The thing that rings through from what you’re saying is that there are real people behind those profiles, right? It’s not just as a place to spam. It’s not just a place to go and throw stuff up there. Just because the episodes are so short, what are your top technical tips for people around sort of, again, text and photos and maybe just a few sentences [crosstalk] about that?

04:36 – LinkedIn Suggestion #2 – Use a professional picture

Alnoor Damji:       For sure. So use a professional picture. With cell phones being so great these days you don’t need to break the bank. Take one with a clean backdrop preferably, good lighting, and a smile. I see mugshots on there. I see pictures with family vacations. This is not the place for that. Have a key… Have a tagline, just that line just below your picture with the keyword. Have some personality. People usually use what their job title is with the organization. You’re much more than that. Think of this as you sharing your story. And then the gold, as I said, is to form relationships. Like, comment, share. This just increases your social media footprint.

Gordon Sheppard:    This sounds like a great bundle of advice for any professional to get started on LinkedIn. And Alnoor, if people want to get in touch with you directly to ask you some more questions, what is your contact destination?

05:32 – How To Contact Alnoor – http://iamalnoor.com

Alnoor Damji:       Alnoor@iamalnoor.com. You can also reach me on my website, www.iamalnoor.com.

Gordon Sheppard:    Alnoor, you are Alnoor, and there’s no other. I really appreciate your humor. It’s been great knowing you. Thanks so much for being on the show. We’re going to definitely have you on again.

Alnoor Damji:       Fantastic. Thanks so much once again.

05:52 – Conclusion

Gordon Sheppard:    Well, I hope you found this interview with Alnoor Damji as valuable as I did. And the big takeaway from me in that one was about learning how to share your story. Be authentic. Get it out there, and take a chance.

06:05 – Meeting Leadership Academy – https://meetingleadershipinc.com/academy

And I also want to let you know that this episode of the Meeting Leadership Podcast is brought to you by the Meeting Leadership Academy. Visit meetingleadershipinc.com/academy for great live and online training options that will help you up your leadership skills and also help you learn how to run highly effective meetings. And as always, thanks for spending your valuable time here, and we’ll see you tomorrow on the Meeting Leadership Podcast.

06:30 – Outro

Thanks for listening to the Meeting Leadership Podcast. Be sure to subscribe for more strategies to help you become an outstanding leader. And don’t forget to rate and review so we can bring you fresh content every day. We’ll see you tomorrow right here on the Meeting Leadership Podcast.