LinkedIn Newsfeed Leads to Team Training. University of St. Gallen Career Center

Gerd Winandi-Martin was surprised to see a LinkedIn Trainer based in Zurich. He didn’t know that there was a resource that could educate universities, organizations, and job seekers on how to professionally use LinkedIn to support their goals.

I’d like to share a short summary of how Gerd and I partnered to train and educate the Career Team of the University of St. Gallen.

The Power of the LinkedIn Newsfeed

I was scrolling and scrolling through the LinkedIn newsfeed. Then the post below from Gerd Winandi-Martin caught my eyes. It was a post that Edda Rettinger, Head of People Attraction, from Swisscom, liked.

Thanks to Edda, a mutual connection, I was able to see Gerd’s post.

The graphic caught my eyes—and reading that the HSG center did more than 1’000 career counseling sessions was fantastic. I liked how the students use the service and how the coaches are helping them in their career. l was curious about Gerd and his position with the company (at the time of the post, Gerd’s headline was different).

By seeing his post in the LinkedIn Newsfeed—and proactively visiting his LinkedIn profile, I knew that I could get more information about Gerd. I also thought that it would be interesting to follow his future posts and to signal to him that I work in a similar field.

One day later an InMail message was in my inbox

Gerd had visited my profile and sent me an InMail message—but he did not send a connection request. He wrote that he was interested in a training/speech for his team and that I should contact him to get more details.

 

A few weeks later I trained the team in St. Gallen.

I worked with their team of career coaches—and trained their event and social media manager at the Career Center.

Not only was it a fun event, the participants asked interesting questions such as,

“Where should the students signal that they are looking for a part-time job?”

“What kind of background graphic is suitable for the student?”

“How do keywords work?”

…and so on.

The Social Media Manager even created a fun Instagram story—that encouraged a student that watched it and to ask if he could have the LinkedIn presentation. (I’ve since sent him a general presentation to help him use LinkedIn professionally as a student.)

 Before the training at the main building – Grüezi and hello to the University of St. Gallen

Visibility Creates Opportunity

Sharing, liking or commenting can lead to new opportunities. Your network serves to help you. In this case, it was Edda Rettiger.

You never know if what you put on LinkedIn will help you land your dream job—or whether a connection can introduce you to a future employer or potential client. — And that is the excitement and positive energy that LinkedIn can do for you.

Following a person on LinkedIn is a kind Social Selling activity which is well received in Switzerland. Nobody can see it unless the person you followed.

 

Fun times with the Career Coaches

Unlike my Corporate and SME’s training and public speaking events that I lead—the room was designed in more of a start-up style. Sofa, tables and high-chairs. The participants were standing, taking pictures, and notes on what they learned. It was relaxed, lively, fun, and buzzing with enthusiastic energy.

Many questions were asked—And yes, the participants learned that LinkedIn is a complex tool with hidden magic that can be unlocked to grow their career.

It puts a smile on my face when I see optimized profiles after the training and to be a role model to the students. Link to profile.

Thanks so much Gerd, Director Career & Corporate Services at University of St. Gallen, for inviting me, the participants for the great engagement, and for the fantastic testimonial. It has been a great pleasure working with you and your team. Visit the Career & Corporate Services website for more information.

Are you sharing valuable content in the newsfeed? What opportunities have opened for you? Please share in the comments below—thank you!

#HSG #University #CareerCenterHSG

Many thanks to Bruno Züttel for the graphic design.

Erica Kessler is the founder and CEO of Kessler Social Media.
A LinkedIn marketing strategist, trainer, and international speaker. Erica empowers and consults Universities, business people, companies in Switzerland and English speaking countries to boost influence, earn more business, identify potential clients, and find top talent using LinkedIn marketing.