I actually received good feedback on the previous post. Thank you for all your comments and messages!
Previously we discussed the process Setup.
Now we move on to using that process, specifically Marketing.
2. Marketing. Finding clients.
What I mean by this part.
Marketing involves promoting yourself and getting the word out that you’re open to new collaborations. It’s finding leads. In the sales part, you have a few parties interested in your services, and you’re evaluating closer up, to determine if there’s a match. You’re having calls and discussions with people from those companies.
This part is like screaming into the void.
And it might seem daunting at first, but I’ll explain how to simplify it.
2.1. LinkedIn
2.1.1. Getting into search results
In part 1, I assumed you had a LinkedIn account, so I didn’t explicitly mention it. Well, buttercup, if you haven’t got one by now, it’s time to make one - and make sure it’s good. Here’s mine, it’s decent.
But maybe it’s not LinkedIn. Perhaps you like another website. Maybe there are other services in your part of the world. Or maybe LinkedIn fell off by the time you’re reading this. These steps can also be applied to other services. For now, we’ll continue on the LinkedIn example.
If you have an account, it may have been inactive for a while, which also helps, because we’re going to play the algorithm.
LinkedIn is not just a job site. It's also a social media site. Which means there are social media rules.
People look up potential collaborators depending on job titles and skills. Still, a human can only go through so many results. So, out of millions of total users, thousands of similarly skilled users, which 10, 20, or 30 should show up on the search results for those given skills? They show the ones who are:
Best matching the search criteria.
Active on the platform. Not now-now, but lately. Because if you’re active, you’re possibly looking for a change. And if you’re active, you’re probably responding to messages. So the platform gets user engagement.
So, being active boosts you higher into those results. Here are ways to stay active for the algorithm:
Messaging connections:
Message current job offers, whether you’re interested or not. Use Briskine to message faster.
Message old job offers, maybe apologizing for not replying earlier, and stating that you’re currently looking for new collaborations, if they know of any.
Or if you’re new, message a friend something random, to appear active for the algorithm.
Liking posts, sharing, and reposting - and LinkedIn has decent content, better than Facebook or X at the time of writing this, with some exceptions.
Or, of course, writing content. This can be just posting that you’re actively looking for new collaborations.
It takes about a week until you’re boosted for increased activity, after which your inbox and connection requests should start growing. It’s in the platform's interest to promote users who are actively using it, rather than inactive ones.
2.1.2. Applying to jobs
LinkedIn Jobs section got me a few collaborations, here’s how.
I searched for positions as close as possible to my skill set: Senior Software Engineer, Team Lead, Software Architect, Java Engineer, or other technologies
I used an extensive location. Not a city, not a country, but an area: DACH, Nordics, United Kingdom, Benelux, North America.
“Easy Apply” and “Remote”, at least until going through all the jobs under those filters.
Start with recent postings, then go to older ones.
2.2. Other job sites
Although LinkedIn is my platform of choice, here are a few others where I applied, although I’m not sure how much success they brought: Xing, Indeed, WeWorkRemotely, the former Angel.co (feels like it has a different name every year) and various Substack newsletters with jobs [1] [2] [3] [4]
Apply, engage, rest, repeat.
I would apply to around 100 postings daily, as fast as possible. Do this every day for a week, and you should have a few responses in your inbox by the start of next week.
Warning! Whatever email address you use will end up in various recruitment databases. And you’ll start getting various, sometimes unrelated job offers in the following weeks and months. And probably other unrelated emails.
2.3. Odds and conversion ratio
I find it essential to mention the ratio of applications to discussions and offers.
When I say that I applied to around 100 positions daily, I mean it.
A ballpark estimate is that out of 200 applications, I received about 10-20 replies, out of which half fell off due to incompatibility (budget, position, skills), so 5-10 remained. Out of those, after discussions and interviews, I received 2-3 offers, at most.
Out of X applications, I received a 10% reply rate, a 5% interview rate, and a 1-2% offer rate.
This depends on factors such as the time of year, profile strength, and the companies targetted.
You might think this is low. Maybe it is. But we’re talking cold reach-outs. And if you factor in ad impressions and funnel conversions from other business sectors, you start to see a similar pattern.
2.4. Feedback loop and regrouping
In Automated Systems design, there is a concept called a feedback loop. The simple concept has stuck with me since my university days. Here’s an example of it:
It’s not rocket science. Given an input, such as heat from an oven, the controller sends a signal to the process to increase the heat. The sensing elements subtract the actual current heat from the input in Σ; the result is sent to the controller. When the target value is reached or surpassed, the signal to the process is stopped. This applies to heating, cooling, lighting, and other similar systems.
Applying the feedback loop to job searching involves a far higher degree of complexity.
How many responses are you getting?
How long does it take a client to understand your skill set?
How long does it take to reach out to a given potential customer? In other words, to send an application.
How long does it take to clarify additional aspects about yourself in messages or emails before an actual interview is set up?
I’ve experimented quite a bit and adapted along the way. Many of the tools from Part 1 are what I’ve used to polish my process.
Perhaps you’ll see some tools apply, while others may not.
I write faster applications using Briskine
I skip back-and-forth messages to find a good time with Calendly
I settle administrative questions on my website
I respond faster to standard messages using Briskine
I present myself faster to potential collaboration with my YouTube video
Rinse, repeat, improve, and ask for feedback from wherever you can. And keep going, until the conversion ratios work in your favor. After which, you move on to the next part.