(2.5-minute read + template included)

You want a new client, or a job, or be discovered by recruiters and headhunters? This is how I did it, and how I helped some other people do it as well.

Everything you do is sales

You are on the job market. And you are the merchandise.

...bUt I'm aN iNdiViDuAl...🥺 - Yeah, cool... we all are, that's not the point.

ABC - Always. Be. Closing.

Linked In tips

When searching people for business, the majority of search happens on LinkedIn, not on Google, so make sure that you add as many details as possible. Don't just add a company and position, but also what you did and what you achieved. Write an exciting BIO, and send them to your Website and link to download CV in pdf, so they don't save your profile as pdf, because it looks like crap!

Here's a LinkedIn hack I've been using since this year. I've created a "Company Profile" on LinkedIn under my name and then added that as my working experience, so you can add multiple items under one item. It looks way cooler than just typing in "Freelance - Client name" with no logo.

You can see it in action on my profile here. At some point, I will add more details to those items as well, just like in the agency example below.

One more cool LinkedIn thing is utilising cover photo from some additional and eye-catching information. Just make sure you don't overdo it, or make it tacky. If you don't have a knack for design, find a template or find someone who can do it for you, you can ever use FIVERR for that. 5$ is worth it to make it more stylish. You can see how I did it on my profile. And feel free to connect!

CV

Your CV needs to be just enough for you to get a call back from the person doing recruiting. It needs to be one page - and one page only. It may sound crazy, but I can tell you no one looks at page 2. Let alone page 16. I had a 27 page CV with my case studies and portfolio in it. I would still get calls "can you please send your portfolio" when I would say It starts on page 2; usually, I'd get "Oh, I didn't see that".

Your CV is not something you write once, and then slap it to everyone's face. Depending on the size of the company, position you want, or the type of client you are prospecting you need to tailor your CV to them and what want to see.

Here is My CV - Use it as a template (File -> Make a copy), or download as MS Doc. It's what I would send if I am aiming for a position in a corporation. It has my relevant work experience, but very little about my freelancing, my work outside of product/UX design, and almost nothing on me and what I'm all about. If I were applying for a more generalist role in a start-up, I would emphasise skills I have that are not only specific to design.

Now, as a freelance consultant, I just send a link to my Website.

Website

You need a website. It's 2020, even better if you're not in a creative industry, it will set you apart from everyone else who didn't bother. This doesn't mean that you need to learn how to make websites - find someone who can do it for you, and pay them, or if you're short on cash, offer them your services in exchange.

Google "Simple CV Website" or something along those lines, to see the examples and get a better idea of what you can do, and then prepare your bio, story, work experience in a doc, to showcase on the site. If you are hiring someone to do it for you, give them as much information as possible to portray you in the best possible way.

Added bonus, you get a domain with your name, so you will get a personalised email - that always looks way more professional than yahoo mail.

Remember this - it's better to have it "out there" than to work on it forever until it's perfect. Hint: it will never be perfect - but like I said in my previous email - a bad draft is easier to edit than a blank page.

So, get yourself a website. It's a small price to pay that will get you one step closer to your goal.

Tomorrow, I will talk about recruiter and agencies and how to approach them with what we did today.

Stay awesome.

T.