Building Your Brand: LinkedIn Tips for Neurodiverse Individuals

Unlock the secrets to elevating your career with Ekua Cant, an exceptional LinkedIn and career coach, as we explore game-changing strategies tailored for neurodivergent professionals. You'll discover how to build a LinkedIn profile that not only showcases your expertise but attracts opportunities like speaking engagements and mentoring. Ekua shares five crucial elements your LinkedIn profile must have: a confident profile photo, a compelling headline, an open-to-work setting, a custom link, and a custom banner. Learn how to overcome the discomfort of self-promotion and embrace your unique personal brand to stand out in the crowded digital landscape.

Transitioning careers can be daunting, especially when you're moving from civil service to entrepreneurship or navigating unsupportive work environments. In our discussion, Ekua sheds light on the motivations behind such transitions, particularly the frustrations of seeing private sector contractors rise faster. This episode offers practical advice on advocating for neurodiversity in professional spaces and balancing comfort with ambition. Ekua's insights will empower you to embrace your neurodiverse identity and use your voice to build confidence in your career. Tune in for an inspiring conversation filled with actionable tips and motivational stories that can transform your professional journey.

Chapters

• 0:00 Optimizing LinkedIn for Career Opportunities
• 9:30 Navigating Career Challenges and Neurodiversity

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

So LinkedIn is a goldmine, Like there's so much opportunity out there. It's not only for business, for career development, and if you have an optimized profile you can attract opportunities even as you work. So you know, even if you're in an employed role, you can have the open to work on silently and still be like attracting speaking opportunities or mentoring or whatever else you're interested in.

Speaker 2: 0:31

Only if you're ready. Hello and welcome to Divine Eggmar, a podcast that talks about how to navigate through the complexities of the workplace as a modern day professional, of the workplace as a modern day professional, whilst simultaneously having a side hustle. We appreciate all of our audience members for taking some time out of their day to tune into another episode and look forward to providing you all with some value through our show today. My name is Sarah and I will be the host for this podcast. This podcast will be available on all platforms where you can find podcasts, including Spotify, amazon, apple Podcasts, and we're also on YouTube. Now, before we dive in, I have a small favour to ask. Creating this podcast takes a lot of time and energy, and every bit of support helps me keep it going and growing. If you're enjoying the show, five star rate comment on apple podcast or spotify can make a significant difference in helping new listeners discover us. Your support is invaluable in our growth journey. And if you're also watching on YouTube, hit the subscribe button and tap the bell so you never miss an episode. Want to show your appreciation more? You can even buy me a coffee through buy me a coffee page. It's a simple way to support the show directly and helps cover production costs. Together, we can build an incredible community for ambitious professionals like you. Thank you for your support. It means more than you know.

Speaker 2: 2:13

Now let's get started. Okay, thank you so much for coming to Divining Eggma. It's been difficult, so many of us had hiccups, but we'll try and make this as a relaxing as possible for this podcast episode. Um and you wanted to come on my podcast to discuss about how to optimize your linkedin. Um. This podcast, as you know, is on neurodiversity in the workplace. Um, and how to navigate that, and I think it's quite key to have somebody I believe you're a sort of neurodivergent yourself that can advise other neurodivergent people or individuals on how they can optimise their LinkedIn profile. So talk about, first of all, introduce yourself, tell us a little bit about who you are, what you do, and then we'll go into a bit more about LinkedIn and how we can optimise it.

Speaker 1: 3:02

Brilliant, and thank you so much for the warm up outcome, sarah, I really appreciate that. Yeah, so I am Akua Kant and I am a LinkedIn and career coach and I came into LinkedIn coaching about two months ago, but I've actually been on LinkedIn for like four and a half years, like using it day in, day out. I'm neurodivergent, so I have dyslexia and dyscalculia and you know, having dyslexia on linkedin has been a challenge. It's been something that I struggled with uh and overcome. But I encourage everyone um out there who is new neurodivergent to really think about um what works for them and really think about um getting over their fears, because actually most people don't read your post like line by line as you might think, and they actually skim read. So it's really important for us to think about our message and really be focused on actually um sharing our value and our stories and all the expertise that we have okay, so why linkedin?

Speaker 2: 3:54

and why is linkedin so important? Because I know um a lot of people are quite scared of using linkedin so linkedin is a goldmine, like there's so much opportunity out there.

Speaker 1: 4:04

Um, it's not only for business, for career development, and if you have an optimised profile, you can attract opportunities even as you work. So you know, even if you're in an employed role, you can have the open to work on silently and still be like attracting speaking opportunities or mentoring or whatever else you're interested in, and still be like attracting speaking opportunities or mentoring or whatever else you're interested in.

Speaker 2: 4:25

Okay, so you mentioned about the top non-negotiable elements that everyone should have on a LinkedIn profile. What are those non-negotiables and explain why they're important?

Speaker 1: 4:37

Okay, so there are five key areas. One is a profile photo. So having a nice profile photo that makes you look confident and you feel represented.

Speaker 2: 4:53

The second is having a strong headline that includes clearly what your job title is, but also any other kind of Don't worry, that's just okay.

Speaker 1: 4:57

We want to be natural in this podcast, so carry on. Okay, yes, any other kinds of positions that you want to kind of like attract people to or let them know about, as I said, open to work, so you can have that on silently. You don't have to have the green ring around your face. If you have that on silently, recruiters and other people who are interested can get in touch with you. You know, having a custom link, so custom link is quite important and quite niche. So that is basically you could have your name, sarah, or my name, akua, as your link. But if you are more creative, you can have something that is related to your work or related to your business, and that's like a really nice way to advertise what you do before they even like look at your profile.

Speaker 2: 5:36

And the final thing is having a really nice custom banner okay, um, I know that we have the whole thing about personal branding and we've got to brand ourselves and things like that, but what I'm finding is some some neurodivergence, or even people just generally might find that you're bragging or you're self-promoting yourself or it's just a bit too much. How do you kind of encourage people to embrace that whole idea of, um personal branding, because sometimes I find it quite, um, I don't know how to say this, but like cringe, cringy sometimes. Yeah uh.

Speaker 1: 6:10

So I really think that's about us embracing, like, who are people? And raising that, uh, what you've done is a fact, it's, it's a win, it's something that you're proud of, uh, and actually, if you don't speak to it, then you can't expect others to, and actually you're your best advocate. So actually, um, you're not doing yourself any favors if you, you know, don't actually just state the facts and say how great you are, because you are great everyone out there, by the way um, and what about people who already have a linkedin um?

Speaker 2: 6:41

What could they do to kind of make their profile you know good, from a good profile to like a great profile in terms of attracting opportunities? Because I know there's some people there they might say oh well, I'm on LinkedIn but I'm not getting much traction. What can I do to make it a lot better? What do you think could be the issue or the typical issue? You might see that someone may have a LinkedIn profile but they're just not getting the attraction they want yeah.

Speaker 1: 7:08

So I would say that a lot of the time they're not using their featured section effectively. So the featured sections where you can pin, like, your achievements, your awards and things that you're proud of. So I'd say, with your featured section you should go for three things. Um, you should have like, if you've won an award, pin that on there. If you've done some kind of training course, pin that on there. And if you've done any kind of speaking or any public kind of work, then have those three elements pinned to your profile so that everyone can see these things.

Speaker 2: 7:35

Okay, and what about people who feel a bit uneasy about having a LinkedIn profile because maybe they're worried about what their boss might see about them or they might be thinking about oh, what's that person doing on LinkedIn? And they might be afraid of spying? Because I feel like LinkedIn is another form of social media, but it's just like the corporate form of social media. I feel that makes sense.

Speaker 1: 7:59

Yeah. So I think with that aspect, you have to decide how you want to approach LinkedIn and also depending on your work circumstances, so you can decide to be an employee, work on an employee ambassador. That's someone who's actually like um going. If they're proud of the company, they're talking about the company, they're kind of embracing it and doing all that stuff, and if they're not so comfortable, then it's more about just like having the facts about like where you work and a couple of bits of information about you, know what you're doing and what you want to attract in the future by using the open to work silently okay, okay, all right then.

Speaker 2: 8:31

And your background is that you've worked in the civil service. So you're quite similar to me because I work in the civil service and you moved away from civil service work to now being an entrepreneur. And I find that quite interesting because I find a lot of people who are civil servants don't tend to have that ambition. They're quite comfortable, like you know what I mean. Yeah, they just, they just have this comfort because you know I'm in the civil service, like there's nothing more I need to do. So what made you move away from that? I guess comfortability, because you were an IT project manager. I'm a project manager as well, so we both come from similar backgrounds in terms of, like, our career backgrounds, but you've moved into entrepreneurship. Why, what? How did you do that and what was the? What was the? I guess the ignition that made you want to go right. I, I don't want to be the FE civil servant, I want to be like, like, I want to be my own, my own boss and work for myself.

Speaker 1: 9:30

Yeah, so one of the drivers that made me want to explore entrepreneurship was actually like the number of private sector, like contractors I saw in civil service that were like basically getting promoted before I was so before I even became an entrepreneur, I became a contractor. And then after that that I was like actually I want to just leave the whole system and become an entrepreneur. And that's what prompted me, because I was like I was drafting hard, doing all the stuff, but people at all levels, um, were coming in, coming in as contractors and still getting paid more than me when I was like this is just not right. So that drove me basically and you thought like no, this is just not right.

Speaker 2: 10:05

So that drove me basically and you thought like, no, this is not it anymore, this is not it, this is not it. No, I get that. I get that I work for the civil service. But I feel like I need to come out of it slowly because I'm still in that weird place where the comfort is comforting. But I don't want to feel too comfortable, I want to be a little bit uncomfortable because I feel that when you're in that discomfort, you, you are more, you're more ambitious to do better for yourself rather than just you know, I guess, um level of that kind of crutching onto your role, if that makes sense. So I've kind of half and half, but I feel like it helps me where I am right now. Kind of half and half, but I feel like it helps me where I am right now.

Speaker 2: 10:49

Um, there was something I wanted to ask you, um, in regards to neurodiversity and um you're you're an advocate for neurodiversity on your LinkedIn. I've seen um, do you feel that is something that people should embrace on linkedin more, or should they hide, shy away from that? Because in some places, many organizations do champion neurodiversity but others are more like there's a kind of stigma around it. What are your kind of views on that? Because I I champion neurodiversity. I'm very proud to be neurodivergent and funny funny enough, obviously before this podcast came. This is a typical neurodivergent thing.

Speaker 2: 11:29

You know, we have this thing called time blindness and that's why I was really chilled out about the fact you came late. But I was just calling you to find where you were. But, like, we have this thing called time blindness because I have ADHD and I also have dyslexia and think that we're supposed to be at a place at a particular time but we don't realize that we haven't actually measured our times correctly and you end up coming. So aquila came late, but you know what, you're forgiven.

Speaker 2: 11:52

It's okay, she came late to this podcast, but the fact that she's coming up with gems just just shows the adhd in her. Yeah, that um that she did, coming up with information without even thinking about it too much and that just goes to show that. This is why sometimes people might look at a neurodiverse condition and see as of this person's an inconvenience, but actually, when the value and the gems that the person comes out with, it can be an amazing asset to an organization and company, and that's just a perfect example of that. So we're not. We've got to learn to embrace. So for me, I embraced my neurodiverse condition and I got to learn to embrace neurodiversity, because, yes, people come with negatives, but there also is positive to that and yeah, I want you to kind of talk on that yeah, uh, yeah.

Speaker 1: 12:38

So for me it's like a triple-edged sword, uh, so it's not a one-size-fits-all with this situation here. So, like, I obviously want everyone to be in an organization where it's safe and it's it's welcoming, and they are set up um and have the resources and the support in place to do so. But sadly we know that actually they're still in some organizations it's not all there. So I think you really have to be like discerning about your, your own particular organization and where you are now, and decide like, are the people in my organization like, really truly like, I'm in line with supporting diversity? If that's a yes, great. If they're not, then protect yourself. Don't, don't unnecessarily harm yourself. I would say instead, if you're in a place where you're like it's not safe, join communities, be it's not safe, join communities, be in community and get that support, but don't take it from work because it's clearly harmful. Don't do that folks.

Speaker 2: 13:31

No, I love that. I wanted to ask you one more question, and what one piece of advice would you give your younger self, actually, when it comes to building confidence in your career? So think about yourself, okay, like I guess 10 years ago, and you're talking to that person. Your career so think about yourself. Okay, you're like I guess 10 years ago and you're talking to that person. You're clear, younger Akira, yeah, yeah, yeah, we're right, we're winding up, but, younger Akira, tell us, tell us, what you'll tell your younger self.

Speaker 1: 14:04

I would say that your voice really does matter. Don't be the silent person, because that has been a real struggle. You know, being black, no diversion, all the rest of it there's been like a real tendency just to want to hide and just to not want to be seen, but that never does you any favours. I would say use your voice, grow that muscle, practice you know role play.

Speaker 2: 14:28

Do what you have to do, but speak up. Okay, akua, how?

Speaker 1: 14:31

can we find you? Obviously on LinkedIn. My link is actually make your profile visible, but just search for Akua, kant E-K-U-A and then Kant C-A-N-T okay.

Speaker 2: 14:42

Thank you so much for coming onto the show. I know we had a short episode, but I really enjoyed your time here. Thank you so much for coming onto the show. I know we had a short episode, but I really enjoyed your time here. Thank you so much thanks.

Speaker 2: 14:53

I just want to let our audience members know about the six-week coaching program that I'll be offering for people who are neurodivergent and who want to improve their career prospects in general, or those who want to get into project management. You can also be non-neurodivergent too. I mentioned this earlier in previous episodes, but I want to make the time to offer it up to those looking for help in those areas in their life, as it's a great way to learn new skills to help you advance in your career. Great way to learn new skills to help you advance in your career. I'm also offering my support to people who want to pass the PRINT2 practitioner exam or other project management exams, as I've taken and failed the test a few times and I would like to help others by showing them how I passed. I also launched my membership Neuro in Egma, in which you get supportive community career and business mentorship, monthly group coaching calls, networking opportunities, mental health well-being days and unlimited body doubling sessions and UK and very soon international meetups.

Speaker 2: 16:07

I'm also working with the British Dyslexic Association, analexic, one of the UK's biggest neurodiversity organisations, to ensure our members get free, full neurodiversity assessments, accredited with an educational psychologist or doctor. So if this sounds like you're interested to learn more. Please reach out to me directly to talk more about the membership. Please follow me on all platforms where you listen to podcasts. Thank you for listening to Divining ed mom and if you got to the end, this is a safe place for project managers, professionals, side hustlers and anybody who's looking to navigate the complexity of being neurodiverse in the workplace and the corporate space. I'll see you next time.