If you’re reading this, you’re probably thinking of joining the LinkedIn Creator Accelerator Program. Let’s get you there with some exclusive tips!
My name is Jonathan Javier, CEO/Founder of Wonsulting, where we turn underdogs into winners and help people land jobs. I was fortunate enough to be a part of the first cohort program and have some tips you use to get into the program too.
Now, what is the LinkedIn Creator Accelerator Program? It’s a 10-week program (now 6 weeks) designed to support creators who are passionate about technology & innovation - whether it’s the impact of artificial intelligence on work, how Web3 can change the world, diversity & equity in tech, developments in the creator economy or securing venture funding in a recession. Not only that, there is a cash incentive with a financial grant of $15,000 (now $12,000).
How do you get in? Let’s talk about how you can get into the program, starting with how I answered the application, 2 core strategies I used to get in, and tips I have to break into the program.
To get into the LinkedIn Creator Program, you have to fill out an application with a couple of questions Here’s a condensed version of my answers to what was in the application:
Success to me is seeing stories like this (See here) every single day, where my audience was inspired to create content or landed a job to implement the job search strategies I teach. This is the definition of success to me because inspiring and motivating others to share their authentic voice, especially those who come from underrepresented and underprivileged backgrounds like myself, is important in building community.
LinkedIn is the place where I can achieve my goal of bringing people together because it’s the platform that has personally given me opportunities to enhance my social and economic status. Through LinkedIn, I was able to break into the tech industry; make friends, not just connections (including meeting one of my best friends turned co-founder!); and dive into entrepreneurship full time to fulfill my mission of helping underrepresented people get into their dream careers. I now want to use my own experience in enabling my community to unlock the different valuable opportunities that LinkedIn can provide to improve their personal and professional lives.
Another important part of what success looks like to me is providing value to your niche which is exemplified through interactions and features from various platforms. By speaking on career-related topics, I achieved the following:
- I became one of the only content creators on TikTok to be a part of TikTok Creators + launch TikTok Resumes
- I’ve been featured on Forbes, Business Insider, Fox News (Fox 2, 11, and 26), LinkedIn News, TikTok News, The Times, and more as a top job search expert + regarding my story
- Achieved 30M+ views on career related content across my platforms monthly
- Helped thousands land jobs (Search #Wonsulting or Wonsulting/my name Jonathan Javier on LinkedIn to find these stories)
LinkedIn is a place where I can achieve this goal of creating career related content to impact thousands because it’s where you can establish a strong personal brand through various methods. Through LinkedIn, you’re able to engage with your followers and audience through polls, insightful topics, and videos. You’re also able to quickly send messages to your followers to help them with their job search or other related topics!
I interact with my community by asking insightful questions to get job-seekers, recruiters, and professionals within my network to engage in a meaningful conversation. For example,every Monday, I conduct a LinkedIn poll, share my personal advice, and highlight unique perspectives from the comment section. Additionally, I diligently respond to people who comment on my posts and respond thoroughly to insightful questions as much as possible.
I’ve also built a robust community by conducting LinkedIn Lives with professionals in my network to give insights regarding job search and more. In the past year, I’ve conducted 50 LinkedIn Lives in total, averaging 10,000+ views,which have helped attendees navigate the job search process.
On my other social platforms such as Instagram and Tiktok where I both got verified, I interact with my community by creating content based on feedback from my audience. Every week, I’ll ask questions to my followers to learn about what specific questions they have relating to job search. Then I’ll make content based on those questions and respond through videos, polls, or posts. By doing so, my community knows that I’m listening to their questions, and I’m able to provide insightful answers based on my experiences.
The concept that I want to create over the 10 weeks is “The Underdog Story”.
Many LinkedIn users are passive on the platform: they only “send messages” to people instead of creating content to build their personal brand. However, by being active on LinkedIn since 2015 and exemplifying my underdog story, I was able to land all of my dream jobs coming from a non-target school and non-traditional background, and so have others who have been inspired by my story and content.
The Underdog Story concept would consist of passive LinkedIn users turning into active ones by sharing their authentic stories on job rejections, landing their dream roles, and more to empower others to share their own stories on LinkedIn as well. This concept would shed light on the reality of the Job Search process: being resilient in the face of rejections to land jobs.
My hope is that this concept will change many of LinkedIn’s passive users into active users. By challenging others to share their own underdog stories, others on their job search will see that they are not alone; rather, many professionals who have landed their “dream jobs” have been through the same thing many job-seekers currently go through daily.
The resources would help me accelerate my content creation to the next level by investing in a home recording studio to produce high quality video and audio content that meets accessibility guidelines. In this way, those with disabilities, whether it’s a hearing or visual impairment, can easily consume my content to help them be more productive and successful in their job search. I also would love to create more valuable resources for my audience to supplement all of my existing content into a library for job-seekers to get easy access to.
The reason why this idea came to me is because I spend almost 25+ hours on social media a week, whether it’s creating content, ideation, or responding to my followers. This idea would provide value to audiences that aren’t able to consume my content to help them also land jobs coming from their backgrounds. It would also allow me to free up more of my time to focus on creation of new resources (I had a goal of creating 1,000+ free resources this year and have achieved it already).
Networking + Making a LinkedIn post
Before applying to the program, I went on Linkedin and started to network with current creator managers and employees at LinkedIn. I also identified who was on the LinkedIn Creator team by doing a simple search and filtering to posts to show people posting about the program.
I noticed that no one was posting about the LinkedIn Creator Accelerator program EXCEPT LinkedIn employees; when I searched the “linkedin creator accelerator” and filtered directly to posts, I couldn’t find anyone that showed up first.
This is when I identified that if I made a post and made it tailored towards keywords that people would search for on LinkedIn, I would show up first.
After doing some research, I decided to post on Linkedin about my application along with the video I attached. The video wasn’t something I just made like my Instagram Videos; I instead created a video using my Canon Mark G7X and paid someone from UpWork to do it for ~$100 USD. My thought process was “If I can spend $100 for one video that can help me get into a program that’ll fund me $15,000, why not?”. After making the post, I also sent an email to my creator manager, Emma Welch (shoutout to her!) as she engaged with the content. My thought process was if those on the creator team would engage with my content, everyone they’re connected with (where I made the assumption that their connections were mostly those on their Creator team) would see it too; thus, I build my brand off the engagement so I could be top of mind when selecting candidates for the program.
By doing so, my video and post stood out. Last year if you searched “LinkedIn Creator Accelerator” on LinkedIn, my post would show up first. Everything fell into place, as I got the email stating the following:
The first part about getting into the program is identifying your niche. What do you love to talk about on social media? Is it about careers and job search like me? Do you love providing free resources like I do on LinkedIn or another platform? What is something you can’t stop talking about? In your application, showcase why you’re passionate about the subject and how are you creating content on that topic.
The next part is about reaching out to your creator manager for insights and other LinkedIn employees (especially those on the creator team). If you already have an assigned Creator Manager, send them an email saying you’ll be applying to the program and ask them for tips. If you don’t, find a creator manager. What I did was a simple LinkedIn Search to find this. See below for the search:
As you can tell, there is a different creator manager per industry. Meaning, if you see your industry here, reach out to the person who’s in charge of it with a personalized invite stating something along the lines of:
Hi (Name), my name is (intro of yourself + your background). I saw you’re a creator manager at LinkedIn and work with creators in (industry). I create content on (industry) and would love to connect!
After doing so, ask follow-up questions. Questions can consist of you applying to the LinkedIn Creator Accelerator Program, about their own jobs, and more. By building rapport and getting your name out there, you’ll be able to get insights for your applications which can lead you to getting into the program.
Lastly, don’t be afraid to post your video on LinkedIn. Tag your creator manager and those who have helped you throughout your LinkedIn journey. Also, mention why you’d be qualified to be a part of the program, and even better: mention other platforms you create content on. If you noticed in the first cohort, many of them were big on other platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. For example, I have 914k+ followers on TikTok and 394k+ on Instagram, so this could have also been a reason why I was selected too.
If you’re deciding whether or not to apply to LinkedIn Creator Accelerator program, go for it. If you get rejected, so what. Especially for those who are interested in growing their LinkedIn presence and just starting on the platform, this program is for you. For those who are already seasoned on LinkedIn who don’t need as much guidance, it’s not as much for you, but still a great opportunity to network and build your brand.
Hope to see more of you underdogs turn into winners. If you all are interested in hearing more about how to get in, add me on LinkedIn.
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