You Never Know Who You'll Meet Through LinkedIn!

This article will be a slight departure from what I usually blog about in social media.
(No, don’t worry, it’s not politics!)
It’s about a client of mine and it’s good news!
I’m going to discuss what can happen to you if you approach your social media program correctly.
First, let me tell you about my client.  (For reasons of privacy, I won’t reveal his name.)
He’s an independent contractor who worked as a financial officer for hire for start-ups and divestitures who couldn’t afford to hire someone with skills and expertise on a full time basis.  He typically had short to medium length assignments.
Most importantly, when we first met, he wasn’t looking for a full time position.
My client engaged me to develop a social media program for his business.  He understood the value of social media to help in his branding and the development of leads.
We decided to start with LinkedIn by overhauling his profile, and then developing engagement and content strategies.
We’d just completed his LinkedIn profile a short while ago and were preparing to work on the next two components when things began to happen for him.
As we finished the profile, my client rolled off a medium length assignment that he’d been on.
What happened next?
Almost immediately, he was approached by someone who’d been a second degree connection on LinkedIn and used a mutual first degree connection to make contact.
Interestingly, my client did not know the second degree connection and couldn’t remember how he’d met the mutual connection!
From this contact, my client received a one month billable assignment.
Now, wait!
Things get better!
While on this one month assignment, another second degree connection reaches out to my client through a mutual first degree connection to discuss a possible opportunity.
Like before, my client was only vaguely aware of the mutual connection and had never had any prior contact with the second degree connection.
To make a long story short, my client was offered a senior financial position with a life sciences start-up which he accepted.
Why the sudden change to take a job offer?
He describes the job as “a once in a life time opportunity” that was also close to his home.  The challenge of a start-up was too great to resist as well as an impressive management team at his new employer.
Needless to say, my client is delighted with me!
(Sorry, had to brag there!)
How did this happen for my client?
His new LinkedIn profile addressed both the needs of a his client and his new employer.
My client says that without our overhauling his LinkedIn profile he never would have been considered for either opportunity.
His new profile highlighted both his experiences and skills and described the value that he’d bring.
My client is a very talented and experienced financial executive.
Pushing himself out there with a new LinkedIn profile and a social media program made all the difference here.
He also wasn’t reluctant to engage me to help him on his journey.
Needless to say, my client will continue his social media efforts in his new position but will be changing its focus.
One other factor in my client’s favor, and this is just my opinion, I think smaller employers are using LinkedIn to see if they can avoid executive recruitment fees.
The important lesson to take away from my client’s experience is to make sure that you have a solid LinkedIn profile at a minimum because you’ll never know whom you may meet on LinkedIn!
Another lesson learned is not to hesitate to enjoy someone like me to help prepare that killer profile for you!
That’s it for now!
Also, never forget to reach out to either ask questions or to ask for help from someone like myself!
In the meantime, thank you for following and reading my blog!
I look forward to any and all comments that you may have.  I will reply to any comments made to this blog post as promptly as I can.
Remember!
I do this for a living and if I can be of any assistance to either you or your organization, please feel free to call on me.  Our initial discussion will be of no charge to you.
I can also be reached at conpsweeney@someddi.com.
My Twitter handle is @conpsweeney.