The Recruiter’s Blueprint: Building Your Brand, Community, and Client Base on LinkedIn (with Alexis Albright Meschi)

Benjamin Mena [00:00:00]:
Coming up on this episode of the Elite Recruiter Podcast.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:00:03]:
I was shocked at how behind the game recruiters were in regards to marketing and like, antiquated thinking in regards to what marketing should or shouldn't be. And I don't care, like how old you are, how experienced you are, anything like that. I think that if you are somebody that identifies and taps in with, like, that deeper mission and purpose in your life, that one of the best ways that you can do to fulfill your life and to feel a sense of purpose and passion is to build your brand.

Benjamin Mena [00:00:35]:
Welcome to the Elite Recruiter Podcast with your host, Benjamin Mena, where we focus on what it takes to win in the recruiting game. We cover it all from sales, marketing, mindset, money, leadership and placements. Admin is a massive waste of time. That's why there's Atlas, the AI. First recruitment platform built for modern agencies. It doesn't only track resumes and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation.

Benjamin Mena [00:01:06]:
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Benjamin Mena [00:01:30]:
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Benjamin Mena [00:01:57]:
Com. I am so excited about this episode of the Elite Recruiter Podcast because here's the thing. Building a brand is one of the most important things that most recruiters need to do that many are not even doing. As we move into this world of AI, this technology, like one of the things that just blew my mind years ago. I thought I was a dang good recruiter and then somebody sat me down and is. It's just like, hey, you know that recruiter that you respect a lot of, did you know that you're actually better than them? I was like, no way. Like, look at them. They have all this stuff out there.

Benjamin Mena [00:02:30]:
The only Difference between you and them is they've put out a little more content. But here's the thing. When you're building content, are you broadcasting or are you building your community? And that's why I'm so excited about talking about today is like how to figure out to build content that builds your brand, but it's not just broadcasting. You're actually building the relationships. And that's why I'm excited to have Alexis here with me today. She's an absolute expert in this space. So welcome to the podcast.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:02:59]:
Thank you so much for having me, Benjamin. I'm here to bring as much value as I can and talk about that with your audience on how they can build their LinkedIn, build their community, and become the go to recruiter.

Benjamin Mena [00:03:11]:
All right, so real quick, quick 30 second self introduction.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:03:15]:
Yes. So I'm Alexis Albright Mesky. I have a marketing agency specifically for recruiters, meant business partner Donnie Gupton, who some of you may. I have been in the marketing and branding world for years. I was working specifically with female entrepreneurs a while ago and then have built and grown, and now I work only with recruiters. So my background is in. In the marketing space, and now I get to work specifically with recruiters doing their content for them.

Benjamin Mena [00:03:39]:
Okay, so I gotta ask, how did you even end up in this wonderful world of misfit toys, us recruiters?

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:03:44]:
I know it's been. I don't even know if I knew what a recruiter was 15 years ago, but now you are the clients that I work with all the time. So. So actually Donnie was a client of mine. Donnie had come to work with me with brand strategy years ago, and we just really hit it off and we realized that we actually had a lot of different things that we were aligned that we were doing. And ultimately I ended up making a pivot and we formed our forces together and decided to build the marketing agencies specifically for the niche that he was already working in with, was recruiting. So now recruiters and staffing agencies are my world.

Benjamin Mena [00:04:21]:
So I got. I gotta ask this. Like, you're in the marketing world, you get introduced to the craziness of recruiting. What's the biggest surprise that really just, like, caught you off guard about us when you first started working with us?

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:04:33]:
Yeah. Okay. So this is really interesting and I will tell you this, and I hope it's not offensive, but I don't think it will be. I was shocked at how behind the game recruiters were in regards to marketing and, like, antiquated thinking in regards to what marketing should or shouldn't be. Like, most of the businesses that I had been working with and entrepreneurs that I've been working with have definitely adopted the idea that they need marketing in order to grow their brand in different types of ways. But there's still a lot of pushback from recruiters, which is like, really surprising to me, especially because a lot of you guys live on LinkedIn. So that was definitely the biggest surprise that I had to do so much education on why it was so important.

Benjamin Mena [00:05:15]:
So LinkedIn has really changed, like, a lot. And we're going to talk about LinkedIn, but I was one of those, like, old dog LinkedIn people. I think I've been on the platform since 2004. I'm like, it's just for jobs. Like, why are we doing this content crap? Like, why are people sharing stories and pictures? Like, what the hell is up with this thing? Is it just a lot of us are still like this, like, get off my lawn. Like, we were here first.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:05:36]:
So I feel like old schoolers are like, get off my lawn. And like, what is all of the personal stuff? Right, for sure. I definitely think there's still that, but I think that it's coming around. It's just a lot slower to come around.

Benjamin Mena [00:05:51]:
Okay, I just gotta ask because I had to lean in, unfortunately, and start playing the game like everybody else.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:05:56]:
Yeah.

Benjamin Mena [00:05:58]:
So, all right, let's talk about this. Like, we're recruiters. Like, we're a decade behind the rest of the world when it comes to like marketing and technology and all that stuff. Why is it even important?

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:06:07]:
I think it's incredibly important for your indus. I think it is for across industries. But I'm going to speak specifically. You guys are a human centered industry. Humans are your commodity. You work with the human on such an intimate level. Like, there's no bypassing that in what you do. Right.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:06:25]:
I mean, you're working with candidates and professionals and then you're working with clients and hiring managers and whoever it is that you're working with. The human part is so important in what you're doing and in order to get more clients and then have great relationships with your professionals and have that exchange and interchange. You want to give people an experience of what it's like to work with you and who you are. And it. It's so essential to do that through your content to give that human experience and create that human connection.

Benjamin Mena [00:06:56]:
And. Okay, so it's important. So how do we even start it? All I've posted is just like, Jobs on LinkedIn, shared some opportunities connected with some other recruiters, like, where do I even start? What am I supposed to be doing?

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:07:09]:
Yeah, I think that's the case for a lot of people. They're posting open jobs. Right. Or they're reposting things with maybe a thought or two. I would have answered this question differently, like, six months ago, before AI was so hot, but I think that there's a couple different ways that I want to approach this. Number one is you need to give people that experience of what it's like to work with you. And so when we give people an experience, we focus on, like, a few different types of content. The first one we want to do is lead your audience.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:07:38]:
And I think that most people, if they're creating content, this is what they're doing. They are leading, they're expressing their authority, talking about industry trends a little bit more. But the other two categories are things that I don't see people doing as frequently, which is the second one is to serve. You need to make sure that you are educating, adding value, giving. You can't build a community by only broadcasting. Like we talked about. You have to build a community by giving. It's a reciprocal relationship, just like relationships are.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:08:09]:
So you need to serve. What value can you give? What advice? What tools, what strategies? I find a lot of recruiters are really, there's a hesitation around this one because they feel like they have a secret sauce that they're going to give away. And nowhere in talking with anybody have I ever heard anything that was so proprietary that I felt like, don't share that. It's so good. It's still about, like, are they worried that people are going to hack what they're doing or something, or take it away? And that's not the case. And it's not about giving everything. It's about giving space, small samples of what it is that you do. Does this spark something for you?

Benjamin Mena [00:08:43]:
I just had a podcast interview earlier today. The guy bills, on average about 3 million a year. Literally just laid out his playbook. And I'm like, your playbook is so different. I haven't seen a single other person do it. But if he's willing to share the playbook.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:08:57]:
Yeah. And I think it's usually people that are in a little bit more of a scarcity mode that feel like they can't share what they do or how they do it a little bit more. And people that are secure in what they do, they're not intimidated by imposter syndrome. They have a mindset of abundance, usually have enough confidence in themselves to share those things. The final thing though is you do need to connect. You need to connect with your audience in this way. And this is how we build relationship, right? We share connection points. And I think it's important to note it's designed in a way that's comfortable and true to you.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:09:29]:
This isn't about airing all of your stuff. This isn't talking about everything personal. But like, how can you create commonalities, conversation and networking? I mean, we have to go back to the mindset of like, not that long ago we were doing in person networking in order to get business right? We were doing in person things. When you met somebody in person, you had conversation, you shared different things about each other. And I think that the world has changed a lot in the way that we network. But that part of it is what's often missing that I think makes people feel like it's not working.

Benjamin Mena [00:10:04]:
So the three things that you talked about, can you actually give me an example for each of those three?

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:10:10]:
Yes, absolutely. So I'm going to start with the connect part of it and I'm going to use myself as an example because I don't, if that's okay with you. But I'm not a recruiter specifically, so I share, I may share things that help connect that are very important to me. And I think that one of the things is people talk about like their business values all the time, right? How I do business, or I'm a strong work ethic or loyal or all these things like, no one cares, right? I mean, truly, like if you list that out, nobody cares about that specifically. Wipe your tear. Yes. Okay, there you go. What they do care about though is how did you get there? Like, why is that important to you? So for example, when I talk about one of our business values is the freedom to live fully.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:10:54]:
If I write a post on that, it's not that engaging. How did I learn that? I think about that a lot. What my 107 year old grandma taught me. And like what I learned. She's still alive, still living on her own. She's incredible.

Benjamin Mena [00:11:07]:
Quick pause.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:11:08]:
1 07, 107.

Benjamin Mena [00:11:10]:
What's her diet?

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:11:11]:
That's a whole other podcast. She does care a lot about those things. Yeah.

Benjamin Mena [00:11:15]:
Okay. Another podcast. But yeah, I'm like, it's amazing.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:11:17]:
Brain exercises. Like she's. Yes, seriously, anybody that wants to send me a message about this, I will literally give you her protocol. So I learned so many of my values through her. So she's kind of one of those core tenets. That I talk about, not only does it show the business value, cause I can tie that in, but it shows who I am as a human. It shows that I value family, it shows what I care about in my own life. And it creates con, like, just like what you did, it creates conversation, it creates dialogue.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:11:43]:
I get to talk with people on a deeper human level. So there's an example of connect. Any questions on that one?

Benjamin Mena [00:11:49]:
Let me take a step back. I think there's one thing that recruiters probably need to also be doing is adding more friends.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:11:55]:
Oh yeah, okay. Yes. Yeah.

Benjamin Mena [00:11:59]:
If you want to talk about that too.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:12:01]:
Yeah. So this is what I think is one of the problems with LinkedIn and the problems with people's concept of marketing is that it's about taking instead of giving or building. So it's like, here's this, why aren't things coming to me? And it's again about that relationship building. So adding people, focusing on where did you move recently? Like what? You know, asking questions that are generated. So not just actually adding friends and building, but like creating authentic inquisition and being a listener to other people as well. And it's really, it's really frustrating when I hear people say like, well, I'm posting content, why isn't it working? Well, what are you giving into the community? What are you doing to build your community? What are you doing to engage with them as well? So I think that's like 101 that we probably like, this is the syllabus of content that we should have gone over.

Benjamin Mena [00:12:52]:
Yeah, I think a lot of people forget that like your connections on LinkedIn I can turn into a community.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:13:00]:
Yes.

Benjamin Mena [00:13:01]:
Like if you add a few thousand more connections in your icp, like you're slowly. Okay, you're just like shaking your head for those that like are listening to this.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:13:09]:
Yeah.

Benjamin Mena [00:13:10]:
Can you talk about like adding people to the ICP and working through and making that a sub community somehow thingy.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:13:18]:
This is like if for those of you that are creating content and you feel like it's not working or maybe you're not creating content at all. So like, basically for everybody, this is the first thing that you should be doing and you need to build it into your workday period. It is a non negotiable task for you to be building your community on LinkedIn. You need to be researching people. You know, in our world we call, I think in many worlds we call it like your dream list. Right. Who are the people that you want to be adding? Who are the people, other people in your ICP your ideal client profile or avatar. For those of you who are they, can you add them? Can you create a genuine connection with them? Can you actually, what is something interesting about them? It's not just again, about taking so you can build, it's about taking so you can reciprocate in the relationship.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:14:06]:
This has to be a non negotiable work task. Like, it's, it's not even an option if you want to grow and build.

Benjamin Mena [00:14:12]:
So in all this, like, can I just like outsource this to AI? AI is great at doing content. It knows every piece of content. Like, read every piece of literature. Like, can I use a. And real quick. Okay, real quick before we do this. So I hated posting on LinkedIn with a passion. Have you ever heard of a app or website web app called Taplio?

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:14:35]:
No.

Benjamin Mena [00:14:36]:
It like helps you write viral posts by looking at all the other viral posts out there. And that was like my introduction into like, this was like when ChatGPT was new and like nobody was really using it. But now it's just like you can just see AI content. Like you just see it. You shaking your head at me?

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:14:54]:
Yeah, I am. Because I'm so glad you're saying this. And I feel like this is, this is really, really important for everybody to listen to AI right now. It's like people are using it like a fire hose of content and you're like spraying people in the face and it's like you're trying to water your garden with a fire hose and it's getting everywhere and people don't want it and you're like, ah. And like it's frustrating us all. Like it's frustrating us all right? But we think that we're checking the box of content creation on the other end of the screen. People think like, I'm creating content. It looks the same.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:15:30]:
Like it literally is formula, right? I mean, if I can tell a ChatGPT post from a mile away right now, it's very formulaic. It literally has the same flow. So even if the author of that had a good concept that they were putting together, I'm just speaking for myself, but I know this is common. My brain can't even conceptualize what it is because I know that the authenticity behind it was probably not there. I would like to say I think it's wise to use AI tools, but I'll talk about that in a second. But like, instead what you should be doing is using like a garden hose to water your plants, right? Like, it's direct, it's simple, it's effective as opposed to being, like, sporadic. So I absolutely believe in using tools to help your process. But I think that most people are using tools entirely recklessly, not thinking about their ideal clients at all.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:16:26]:
They're just thinking about checking the box of the task. Does that make sense?

Benjamin Mena [00:16:29]:
It makes sense, but I want you to give me like an example of like, something that, like, you think is good. Like I'm putting something good out there, but it's so AI slop, it's making your brain worse.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:16:42]:
I would say the good versus the bad. The good is where I can see the human in it. And like, there's a human element. There's something. And this is why I think personal connection content is getting more and more important, especially on LinkedIn, is like, I want to know the human behind the screen, I want to know a little bit about the human. So is there something, number one, personally, that I can connect with or like something interesting about them or something interesting or an interesting take, or is there something that's like. Feels like the approach was human because I think right now the approach and like the very polished, the very linear, like, it's going to give you a couple sub lines and then you're going to have the three bullet points and then you're going to have another sub line, then you're going to hit them with a strong hook. Like, that's what everything looks like right now.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:17:30]:
Right. I can't even digest that. Right. And I don't. I think that a lot of people can't. So even when you're scrolling because it all looks the same, it's not getting consumed and having the effect that I think that people want, which is to build their brand and their business. So I don't think that everything has to be connection on the human part, but I want to see a human perspective in it. So I think, of course, use the tool.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:17:54]:
If you want the support with the writing or the creation, I think use the tools. But you can't lose the human part of it. And that's what I'm so tired of seeing on LinkedIn.

Benjamin Mena [00:18:04]:
How can you actually use the tools properly?

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:18:07]:
I think that you have to have the right strategy and the right framework.

Benjamin Mena [00:18:09]:
Let's start there first and then we'll go back to tools.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:18:11]:
So the first thing that everybody needs to make sure that they have or are doing, and this is again where I see content going totally wrong, is you need to fully understand your icp. You need to know not just what they're looking for, but like their gaps, their pain points. I mean, this is like Marketing 101. What do you know about them? Who are they? What are the qualifiers? What are the things that frustrate them? And you're not just leaning into what it is that they want, but we're leaning into a little bit more of those emotional drivers and the personal things. And I think that a lot of people don't do that or haven't done it in a really, really long time. And so they're not thinking about who they're actually creating content for. So step one is you have to make sure that you've identified and laid out your ICP in detail. I mean, this is like what we do with our agency.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:18:59]:
I mean, like, extensively, but, like, you have to do that. And I mean, if we're just sticking to ChatGPT, you could easily start with that in chat. Right? Like, I need to really do a deep dive into my icp. What questions can you ask me in order for me to give you information so we can have that deep dive? Okay, so that's like 101. And then we need to talk about what are the things that they're struggling with. So let me just turn this off. What are the things that my ideal clients are struggling with? And then we need to create, I think the best type of content fills that gap. It's not about I, what I do well, my playbook, my strategy.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:19:39]:
It's what is the who and the how. So then from there, you can create content targeted towards your market. So I think that a few things that people can do that are really differently is instead of focusing on what you do to solve the problem, focus on the problem first and then offer some advice, some solutions, some education, as opposed to just. And what we can do is this, right? Is coming in with your solution. Specifically think about how you can serve. How can you help with those gaps? So that's some of the base work that you can do to really get into some of those tools and generate some really great content that's actually, actually applicable to your target market.

Benjamin Mena [00:20:15]:
So I can use the tools?

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:20:17]:
Yes, of course. Please use the tools. I mean, we want to use the tools. Yes.

Benjamin Mena [00:20:22]:
So I can't spell at all. So I have an army of really nice people on LinkedIn that will point out my spelling mistakes to me, and I'm grateful for every single one of them. Actually. Like, I actually take no offense to it at all because I'm like, you know, my brain just operates differently than what actually gets typed out. But it almost feels like spelling mistakes is now the secret weapon to tell if it's, like, AI generated or not.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:20:45]:
I know. I'm sure that is. I mean, it's funny, right? The way the, like, pendulum has swung. Like, this is what we're doing now. We have to, like, fake our. Fake our errors in order to be seen as human. But, yes, it is.

Benjamin Mena [00:20:59]:
Okay, so I want to take a few steps in a different direction. LinkedIn has changed. Like, we've talked about that. Everybody knows it, you know, us old dogs, right? Get off my grass. Get off my yard. But the LinkedIn profile has become such an important thing. And, like, we always hear about, you need to have it optimized. What the hell does optimization of a LinkedIn profile actually mean?

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:21:23]:
Optimized, in my mind, means you need to have it function like a sales page for your ideal clients. So, like, in marketing, branding, you know, we talk a lot about websites and landing pages, and it basically is something that is a storefront for your ideal clients. It's not built for you. It's not built as, like, just your portfolio. It should be built to your ideal clients. So optimization is the composition of it for your ideal clients.

Benjamin Mena [00:21:52]:
Okay, so, like, what does it, like, look like? You know, when you sit there and like, you look at Benjamin Mena and then you see some other lines next to it, like, what am I supposed to be putting there?

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:22:01]:
Yeah, we're actually doing a workshop on this next week because it's so, so important. So the first thing that you want to be doing is like, your prime real estate is that banner, right? Like, that's the first thing that people say or see. It should be something that is attractive to them. It's not just your logo. It's not just like your beautiful background. It should be something it's like, that is like your prime, what you're supposed to say. So we usually advise people to say something about who they help and how they help them. So we want it to be targeted for them specifically.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:22:34]:
And now, you know, you can have scrollable ones as well. You can do do some different things that target your market. So you want to put some things up there. Don't make it about you. Like, I've been in this industry for this many years. Like, it's not your place to do that there. Like, a typical sales page follows a flow. Like, it starts from the top.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:22:51]:
If people are interested in that, they're going to keep reading. If they're interested in that, they're going to keep reading. We want you to think of your LinkedIn the same. So we have to market to them right off the bat with that banner.

Benjamin Mena [00:23:01]:
Well, should I say like I'm a govcon headhunter or like how do I.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:23:05]:
More than just telling what it is. But it's like what are you doing in govcon? Like how are you? What are their problems? So really sticking to the client problem even right off the bat is a much more effective way to target them. So are they struggling with, I mean you can even ask the question like are you struggling to fill blank for this blank? I. Or we do this, we find you your whatever. It's really like your, your hard hitting tagline there. But you really want to market them always. At least make sure your target market is listed in your banner.

Benjamin Mena [00:23:39]:
Okay, so heading down a little bit down the LinkedIn page.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:23:43]:
Yes.

Benjamin Mena [00:23:43]:
What about the about me section?

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:23:45]:
Oh, it's not an about you section, Benjamin.

Benjamin Mena [00:23:48]:
Wait, but it says about me. No, it's not. He says about me.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:23:54]:
Okay, yes. So obviously LinkedIn tells us an about me section. So we put in like this mini bio of like who you are. But like this is your money maker, everybody. So if they care enough to like keep scrolling and click the see more on your about section, make it worth their while. So the first few things that you can do is like use those first few lines, engage your target market. Can you hook them with a few questions related to their pain point? Don't make those first few lines about you at all. Make it about your ideal client.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:24:23]:
Hook them in and engage them. Then you can hit a little bit more of their pain points and their problems. Then yes, by all means you can talk a little about you and your solution. We like to add some very brief testimonials on there, like maybe a couple of like the best few phrases that people have said about you. You can definitely add some of like your stats in there at the end, but then use a call to action as well. How should they reach out to you if they're looking for whatever, but maximize the space. Start with your ideal client problems, move into your unique solution, building your credibility and then a call to action.

Benjamin Mena [00:24:56]:
Okay, going a little bit, back up our LinkedIn profile, I can add a link. What link should I add?

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:25:03]:
So that depends. If you have anything that you are seasonally promoting, for example, or seasonally have, you can add something like that. If you're advanced in your marketing, you have a lead magnet, you can add a link to that page. If you are just one of those people that wants people to book a Call with you. Like, your calendar is really open in that way. You can add your calendar. Weirdly enough, I might say the last thing to add there is your website. If that's what you have, though, add the website.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:25:34]:
But usually we want to create the clearest path to what it is that we want our clients to do. So you can add that.

Benjamin Mena [00:25:41]:
Okay, so looking down the page, there's a featured section. How important is that?

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:25:46]:
It's really important. It's what you want people to notice in the slew of different things. It's what you're highlighting. Right. It is what you're putting in your storefront window. That's probably the best way to say it. So, like, the things that people are seeing to see if they want to come inside. So you may be creating a lot of great content, but you want your featured section to be the top things that you want people to see about you.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:26:07]:
And this is different for everybody, right? This could be. For some of our clients, we use this as different instructions to join different parts of their network. If you have a lead magnet, we're usually going to put something in there about their lead magnet and how to access it. And it could be a performing post that did fantastic for you and says a lot about who you are and then rotate it. You do want to be cognitive about what you're putting in the featured section, but absolutely use that space.

Benjamin Mena [00:26:33]:
Okay, so I should mix it up outside of articles in.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:26:37]:
Yes, because a lot of especially. That's a really good point. Diversify the type of content you're putting in there because you have different types of learners. Some people really love articles on LinkedIn. Some people want a graphic, some people want a video. So I recommend to diversify in the type of content you're putting in there.

Benjamin Mena [00:26:54]:
Okay, so the last thing I'm gonna. Or maybe the second last thing I'm gonna look at is underneath, like, my job, my career, how should I be writing that?

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:27:05]:
I know I like to think of that one as a condensed version of your about section that you get to highlight a little bit more of your experience there. So I. That's a great use for like, AI, where you can ask it to, like, condense this version, focus it on me, and do like your own little mini bio or mini thing in there a little bit differently. I'm so surprised at people who have had an incredible career and done amazing things and they don't feel comfortable reaching out to people to ask to do recommendations on LinkedIn. And I feel like that's such an Incredible place for people to see what it's like to work with you. Right. And that lives there. Not only does it boost your credibility, it absolutely does that, but it also shows what other people say about you.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:27:51]:
So I would recommend people building this in a part of their process, like wherever it is in their process that they, they've closed the deal, it's final reach out with a recommendation form. And it's absolutely appropriate still to reach out to people you've worked with in the past to ask for recommendations. So I think it's such an important and very much overlooked part of the LinkedIn profile in regards to action steps for people.

Benjamin Mena [00:28:13]:
Okay, so we've talked about content, we've talked about community, we've talked about updating your profile, which once I'm done, I'm going to go make some updates. As I cry? Yeah, as I cry. And you say yes. Thank you. So, like, we're doing all this and our goal is to create relationships in the market. So as we're creating content, as we're actually doing things like, how do you start creating these relationships now?

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:28:40]:
I think the first thing to back it up to a 101 point, again, is for people to identify what is their goal. And like, I don't think that people stop to think about this as much. You, is your goal to generate more business? Is your goal to have longevity in the industry? Is your goal to do more, to have your career be a platform for the next step? Do you want to do more things with your career and take it in different directions? Do you just want a connected community that you get to tap on and they use you as a resource? You have to identify your goal because that's going to change and shift the direction that you're, that you're headed with what you're doing. So I think that is first of all really, really important. And then if we're talking about the how to, like, how do we get to build, we have to be building the community like we talked about originally. Building consistently is incredibly important. And then we need to create content for your target market, but also reaching your goals. Right.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:29:35]:
So if you have specific things, it's tweaked, it's tailored a little bit. So creating content for that audience and then follow up and engage with other people. I think that this is the part that's hard for me about LinkedIn is the people that just want to take from it now. But you need to nurture those relationships like we've talked about with the networking. Who can you reach out to on the list that you're creating, right. That you're interested in your ideal client profiles. How can you build and create relationship there? And I think it is in many ways, I don't want to say it's a slow build, because I don't believe it's a slow build. It's a build that takes consistent effort, but it should be a part of just a daily workflow where you are nurturing and growing.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:30:18]:
And just like anything, when we start to have startup conversations, those conversations lead to bigger conversations. And you're staying on the radar in order to reach your goals, Whether that's to grow your business, to grow your brand, to get more opportunities. You're staying on the radar of the people that you wanted to do that with.

Benjamin Mena [00:30:35]:
So we're doing all these things. We're creating the relationships, you know, and we're trying to, like, give first and not take. We're trying to add value. We're trying to do all this stuff. We've gotten into the friend zone. How do we get out of the friend zone and make them a client?

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:30:56]:
Well, that's where you have to be bold and ask. You have to ask for the date. Right? Like, so by all means, like, give, like nurture, court. Yes. But like, you're still here selling. Like, I am not trying to deny. I also don't believe in, like, attraction marketing, where all you have to do is put out there completely and then everything will come to you. I don't believe in that entirely, but I believe that if we put goodness out and serve and educate and connect, that is the goal of authentic relationships.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:31:24]:
But you are still selling yourself and your business. So in order to get out of the friend zone, yes, you're allowed, you are allowed to sell on this platform. You can ask for the ask. You can eventually do that, whatever that is. It's a dm. If that's selling content specifically, like, there's a blend of that, by all means. Like, you want people to know what it is that you do really well, but you have to be bold and you have to ask.

Benjamin Mena [00:31:50]:
So make sure to ask more guys.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:31:52]:
Yes.

Benjamin Mena [00:31:53]:
Because I've seen a lot of people do, like, great with content, and then I think they've been afraid to ask.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:31:58]:
That's a really interesting point because I feel like there, like we talked about those pension pendulums, there's either like, sell, sell, sell content, which is not effective. Right. Or, like, what you're saying. I hadn't really been thinking about that, but that a lot of people put out content. But you're right, they're not being bold and authoritative in their own way because that's a different personality. But like an asking, and that is so important. Like, you, you are selling yourself in your business, and you are the one responsible for that. And it is absolutely okay to ask.

Benjamin Mena [00:32:31]:
So, like, all this stuff, like, we've kind of covered, like, a lot of different things when it comes to building your content. But what is, like, one of the biggest things that you think that we need to remember as we're starting this journey, this transformation into a better brand.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:32:44]:
That you have to be consistent. It is not a take a challenge for a month and post content. It's not like a I'm going to post that. It is daily, consistent effort. And I don't ever foresee it not being consistent. It is just a part of the administrative tasks that you have to do that run your business. It's a part of the calls you have to make. It's a part of the relationships you have to create, the appointments you have to set.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:33:10]:
It is consistent effort, the relationship building, the content creation, the nurturing and the asking. Like, it is just a consistent part of your flow that you have to do. It's not a do this one thing and then things are magically going to happen. You have to do all of those things in order to build and broadcast your brand.

Benjamin Mena [00:33:28]:
So as we're doing this, like, definitely, this is exciting. It's walking through a transformation. But I think, like, as we talk about things, as we talk about giving, there's almost a few times, especially in my career, that I almost forget what I'm dealing with. And in the reality, like, what we deal with as people, how do we like, to our core, wrap that back into our stories, our content, our branding, Remembering that we are in a human business, that's so important.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:34:06]:
And I think that's so important. That's just like, personally incredibly important to me. And everything that I've done in my business is the human part of it, right? Is the helping people achieve their greatness. And I think that for me specifically, I have to tie and tap into my passion and what I know my purpose is in life every day, right? And I do that differently than other people do. For me, that's like meditation and prayer and really aligning with my purpose every single day. That helps me serve and tie into that. And I think that that's what people need to remember is in whatever their own way is, is to tie into their passion and the deeper mission of why they do what they do. I almost feel like that's the answer for so many different things.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:34:53]:
What is the underneath the root thing? Because then when you do that, you have such a different mindset and a different approach to content and community building.

Benjamin Mena [00:35:02]:
I'm going to pause you right there. Like a lot of us recruiters, like, this wasn't the dream job. We did not go to college or I have a dream to become a recruiter one day. This is the land of the misfit toys. Many of us fell in there. But I've seen people learn to love the business. How do you get what you were just talking about? That, how do you turn that on inside of you where you can make this like a core belief and not just I'm walking through the motions of the recruiting job.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:35:30]:
I so understand that. First of all, I went to college for nutrition. I'm a simple person. Honestly, like, I am. I am a very stripped down, simple person. And I think that in order to do that, you probably need to refresh on why you ended up getting into it. And my guess is that a lot of people love the relational aspect of what this business is, which is like such a cool business. Like, it really is incredible.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:35:59]:
And getting back to that relational aspect. And again, for me, it's a very, very simple daily practice. And not just gratitude, not just remembering. It's like, what can I do for other people today? Instead of thinking about, like, what do I have to do? What's on my calendar, it's so busy, what do I get to do for other people today? How can I help so and so that I know I'm going to meet with and just having like a very simple, different lens and approach. And there's days that are a grind, we all have them and those aren't going to change. But it's really that simple approach of, like, what's my deeper mission? And how can I apply that mission to whoever I'm supporting today?

Benjamin Mena [00:36:36]:
Love that. So we've covered a lot when it comes to content and branding and the steps that we need to take. Is there anything that, like, I should have asked you and we should have gone deeper on within that space.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:36:51]:
The only thing that came up is just as we were talking about, personal mission, I think that a lot of people are really hesitant to build on LinkedIn. And I think at the root of that hesitancy is the fear of putting themselves out there. Whether that's in written content, through a photo, through video, for whatever it is, there is a human fear of putting yourself out there and exposure. And I don't care like how old you are, how experienced you are, anything like that. I think that if you are somebody that identifies and taps in with, like, that deeper mission and purpose in your life, that one of the best ways that you can do to fulfill your life and to feel a sense of purpose and passion is to build your brand. Because then you get to have something that you get to do that with every day. You get to connect with people, you get to showcase and share what's important to you, and you really get to fulfill your mission in a different way.

Benjamin Mena [00:37:45]:
Love that. So want to jump over to the quick fire questions and remember, they don't need to be quick answers.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:37:52]:
Okay.

Benjamin Mena [00:37:53]:
You have a new recruiter that just reaches out to you, sell your content, sell that you work with recruiters, saw that you focus on marketing, and they're like, hey, got a quick question. Can I grab like five seconds of your time? Which we all know really means about 15 to 20 minutes. You work with a lot of recruiters based on all the recruiters that you work with. If you could give me one piece of advice to have a successful career based on what you've seen, what would that answer be?

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:38:18]:
Two things I think for new recruiters are, one, you need to learn to, like, time block and time manager because it's a really easy world to get sucked in and sucked under on many different tasks. So I think that there's so much power in that and I think that there's different ways of time management, but you have to be able to manage your time, especially if you're your own business owner. And the second thing is, there is not an option of whether or not you should be building your brand on LinkedIn. You will not survive this industry unless you build your brand.

Benjamin Mena [00:38:53]:
Same question, though. But it's an old dog. Us old fogies that have been around the block a bit, they hit you up and just like, okay, cool. Like, I hear you saying this stuff, but also maybe even outside of that, like, if you're trying to give me advice, what would you say?

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:39:07]:
This one's easy and it is simple and probably quick. It's get over it. LinkedIn is becoming personal. Sorry, that's like an easy and like, I already know what it is. And second thing I would say, though, a little bit more gentleness is you are not too old to be putting yourself out there. And I think that's a huge hesitation is feeling like I age or like this isn't the way, like, I, you know, would do it or don't do it. But I don't. I feel like the ageism part comes in and there is beauty to be given at every age and stage of life.

Benjamin Mena [00:39:37]:
Well, let me ask you this, like, what kind of content should an old dog start with? Should it just be like text based posts? Should it be what's like trending, like getting ready with me in the morning, like videos or the come finish my day videos or the meal prep videos? Am I supposed to be doing those?

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:39:55]:
No, you don't need to do those. No, I. No, but a little bit more. Like there's like a wealth of knowledge there and like a wealth of experience. Like storytelling. A great start for the old dogs.

Benjamin Mena [00:40:11]:
Storytelling via text, right?

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:40:13]:
Yeah, or video. But that's probably a little uncomfortable to start. But yeah, storytelling via text. And realizing a lot of people that have been in this industry for a long time think that like articles or publications are like the top performing or the way to go, so they feel like they need to write a lot and you don't need to put that pressure on yourself. It can even be short form storytelling.

Benjamin Mena [00:40:36]:
I'll just say on the articles, about four, three, four years ago, LinkedIn was really pushing them. They're not pushing them as much anymore. No.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:40:43]:
We can't even pay attention for more than 30 seconds.

Benjamin Mena [00:40:46]:
I still put out articles and I've seen the. Yeah, okay. And I'm totally aging myself. Like, it's the get ready, it's the G R. You know what I'm talking about, right?

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:40:56]:
I do know what you're talking about. Yeah. It would be G R, W M. No, we don't need to do any of those.

Benjamin Mena [00:41:02]:
Thank God.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:41:03]:
Yeah. No.

Benjamin Mena [00:41:04]:
I'm so annoyed every time I pop onto LinkedIn and it's like the featured videos are five of those. Yes, like featured videos are five of those in a row.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:41:12]:
Oh, no, no. I didn't even know. I have not seen one of those on LinkedIn. I have to be honest.

Benjamin Mena [00:41:18]:
So lucky.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:41:19]:
Yeah. Or no. What? What the algorithm has you pegged for there. But yeah.

Benjamin Mena [00:41:27]:
It'S because. It's because I share the podcast videos. Like, you should make a get ready, whatever. Yeah. Next question. Favorite book that's had an impact on your career?

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:41:38]:
Yeah, I'm gonna say anything with Dan Sullivan, specifically the gap in the gain. Like I said, I'm a simple person. I like simple. I hate a book where I have to read a bunch of theory before I get to the how to. Dan Sullivan's books are so straightforward. Forward the gap in the gain though, really focuses on some different mindset, but then actually tools on how to not just focus on like what you don't have or like where's the problem, but to be solution oriented in your growth. Close second would be 10x is better than 2x, which was another really, really good one. But the gap in the gain is so good.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:42:17]:
I loved that book and still do so love that. And I think why that one was important to me was I think as an entrepreneur, a business owner, an oldest child type a person myself, I'm can oftentimes focus on all of the things that still need to be done or where the problems are. And it's easier for me to do that than focus on the solutions or the resilience or the growth. And I really appreciate that mindset and how it's helped me as an entrepreneur.

Benjamin Mena [00:42:46]:
Favorite tech tool.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:42:49]:
This is lame, but it's my favorite tool and I just did a training in our community on this last week. It's Google Calendar and like whatever your calendar is, I have dialed in my process on calendar time blocking, color coding it tasks, links. It is like my daily bible that helps me stay focused because I think one of our dangers, especially with all the new tools is like we can get tool fatigue and do a rabbit hole and like we didn't even get done anything actually productive during the day. Everybody knows what I'm talking about here. And my Google Calendar, the system that I've dialed in is dialed in like the way I can time block. I have my daily tasks at the top. You can check them off so you get that freedom. Checking off the way I have my family, you know, I have three young adult daughters now, my husband and we all have our family calendar.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:43:44]:
It's. I could not function daily without my Google Calendar, but the way I use my Google Calendar. So it's my favorite.

Benjamin Mena [00:43:54]:
If somebody hits you up about that, I know it's behind the community, but would you share that with them?

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:44:00]:
Totally. I would. No, I would. I would. Abs. I should probably just do a training on this on my own LinkedIn because it's one of the most common. Somebody's like, wait, how do you use it? What are you doing? And it's. It's awesome.

Benjamin Mena [00:44:12]:
Okay. Awesome. Yeah.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:44:14]:
Please cylinder. Please do ask them up, by the way. When I was a kid and my dad came home with like the first camcorder, which you know was those big old camcorders, what I would do was I would videotape myself organizing my room and like setting things up Like, I have been doing organizational calendar type of videos since I was able to. So I love it.

Benjamin Mena [00:44:36]:
See as, like, Get Ready, the organization of the day video.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:44:40]:
Yes, it is. I guess it is. Yeah. Yes. My own version of Get Ready with me.

Benjamin Mena [00:44:48]:
Yeah. Oh, man. Sorry for going down that rabbit hole.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:44:51]:
No, I know now my LinkedIn's going to be filled with those videos.

Benjamin Mena [00:44:55]:
The AI is listening. Before we jump into the next question, I think you hit a good point. I think there's a lot of recruiters right now that are actually losing money because of AI.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:45:03]:
Oh, my gosh. I just did a post on this because it's actually really disheartening to see. I'm in the Bay Area, so we were just driving through San Francisco, and one of my clients from D.C. was driving through San Francisco and said I could not believe all the advertising for AI. Like, we think we're ahead of the game, you know, in other parts of the country. And then the Bay Area is like AI on crack, you know, and, like, all the different things. And advertising is. Is wild.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:45:28]:
The tools that I have clearly don't know exist, and people, I think, are chasing the next best solution frequently, but not doing the things that actually generate revenue or help you grow. It is disheartening to see the waste of time that is being given to all of the new tools, and I think it's really dangerous.

Benjamin Mena [00:45:49]:
So I'm hosting the AI Summit. By the time this goes live, that AI Summit will be done. Yeah, I agree.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:45:56]:
Yeah, it's like, it's scary. Not AI. I mean, that's a whole other thing. But I mean, the time part that people are wasting is disheartening and scary. So.

Benjamin Mena [00:46:06]:
Yes, don't laugh. That's one of the reasons why I hosted the AI Summit is so that way, like, you can get a chance to see some of these tools and, like, see some demos after the talk. Save you time.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:46:16]:
Exactly. That's great. That's a great idea.

Benjamin Mena [00:46:19]:
All right, back to you, though. In this world of dealing with recruiters, like, what's one of the biggest challenges that you've had to work through with recruiters or in general? Just in general.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:46:28]:
Oh. The biggest challenge that I've had to work through, I think, is staying up to Tate with what's working and not working in content and marketing. That world has changed and is changing rapidly, and we have to stay ahead of things and test them to see what does continue to work for our clients. So I think it's very exciting, but it's also a challenge because, you know, you figure a solution out and then like, what, like last. A lot of people still think the solution is like email marketing, SEO, you know what I mean? Which is like, those are the ones that are like tech advanced that come to us and like, oh, no, no, that stuff, that is not primary focus. Anyways, so the point is staying up to date with all of the tools is both exciting and challenging. It keeps you on your toes at all times.

Benjamin Mena [00:47:16]:
So you've dealt with a ton of recruiters. I know both you and Donnie, I don't know the exact number you guys have dealt with and worked with, but if you had the chance to go back in time and sit down with yourself that first month when you're like, cool, I'll work with some recruiters, this would be fun. Deal with these misfit toys. What piece of advice would you go back in time and give yourself?

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:47:37]:
I think it's the piece of advice I'd probably give myself for many areas of my life is listen before you try to solve. Like, I think it's really easy to come with, like, oh, I know, I. This is gonna be great. But like, if I was to just shut down my brain for the solution, that's very hard for me. I'm very solution focused and just listen. I don't know, I just think that's a really intriguing part of what we're able to do. So I think that's one of the things that I would continue to do and just learn and listen and know that like, oh, yeah, I'll figure this part out in a second. Just engage and listen as opposed to providing the solution right away.

Benjamin Mena [00:48:14]:
With recruiters, when you're listening to them, how often do we talk about a problem versus actually talking about the real problem?

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:48:25]:
Yeah, the real problem. I think that that's the thing with listening is like, oftentimes people aren't listening to what their clients problems are and then where they're at. Right. And I think that that's the very interesting part is learning to unpack the root things. And that's exactly why I mentioned the listening part. How can we unpack to the root of what's really underneath this? Because that's really where the answer lies for so many things. So, yeah, it's often the unpacking and unlayering that you have to do with listening that I think is pretty pivotal.

Benjamin Mena [00:48:55]:
In your coaching and the stuff that you work with recruiters on. What has been one of the most surprising but best questions that you've seen a recruiter Ask a client.

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:49:07]:
I don't know about the question part of it. I can't recall like a specific question, but I do have a couple of our clients that really focus on that onboarding process, or let's say they're already a client. And it's actually very similar to what I said. The whole first part is just about listening and obtaining and then customizing something and tailoring. I don't mean the result, but how they're going to approach the solution. And I think that the ones that I've been really impressed with are really great listeners too. They know what they do really well, but they're able to listen in a way that makes you feel heard and value for those things that we started talking about the pain points originally, like not just the problem they're trying to solve, but the underneath, they're really, really great at listening, not just throwing out the solution.

Benjamin Mena [00:49:53]:
And this, this is kind of like my favorite question. Dealing with recruiters. And like, you guys do a lot of stuff online. You guys probably get a lot of questions like, how do I write this content? How do I learn how to storytell? What's the best business development? How do I move somebody from the friend zone to the the not friend zone? What's the secret to winning with a brand? But like all these questions that you get, is there ever, like in the back of your head, like, I just wish somebody would just actually ask this and what would be that answer?

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:50:22]:
This has to do a little bit more with clients, right? As people about to become clients. But I would love, usually I'm talking with somebody and they know they want to, like we talk about goals, right? They know they want to grow their business, grow their band, get on more publications, whatever. But I wish somebody would come to me and ask, what are the other ways that you can help me grow or that you see in me that I can grow? I would love to like often get my hands in helping be a part of that next level growth. I think that's the strategic part of who I am. That's rooted in my strategy. And there's often so many different ideas and other next level things that I think that people think just like the 2x as opposed to the 10x, they're thinking of a 2x. But I have like 10x ideas that I often want to help with. And I love people that think high level like that, but most people don't.

Benjamin Mena [00:51:14]:
Alexis, if somebody wants to follow you, how do they go about doing that?

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:51:17]:
Yep, you can follow me on LinkedIn. I'm sure that'll be attached in the notes here. Um, that's a great place to follow me. My Instagram is way more focused on my family thing, so nothing fun over there. So LinkedIn is my place.

Benjamin Mena [00:51:30]:
And before I let you go, is there anything else that you want to share with the listeners?

Alexis Albright Meschi [00:51:34]:
No, I just encourage you guys to think about your deeper mission, your deeper purpose, and to not be afraid to showcase that to your audience and to think about that serving and that giving. And I think that that's really transformational and I think that you should keep the human part at the center of what you do. And I really think that when you do that, you enjoy the building of your community and the building of your brand.

Benjamin Mena [00:51:59]:
Absolutely love that. And for the listeners, I want you to crush the rest of this year. Time's running short. We got a few months left. Make every single day count because as you're running through the end of this year, it's going to set you up for success for next year. Keep going guys. Admin is a massive waste of time. That's why there's Atlas, the AI first recruitment platform built for modern agencies.

Benjamin Mena [00:52:23]:
It doesn't only track resumes and calls, it remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now it's entering a whole new era. With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With MagicSearch, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply looking for keywords. Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever with opportunities you can track, manage and grow client relationships.

Benjamin Mena [00:52:48]:
Powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow need insights Custom dashboards give you total visibility over your pipeline. And that's not theory. Atlas customers have reported up to 41% EBITDA growth and an 85% increase in monthly billings after adopting the platform. No admin, no silos, no lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires, and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue. Atlas is your personal AI partner for Modern Recruiting. Don't miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive Listener offer@reruitwithatlas.com thanks for listening to this episode of the Elite Recruiter Podcast with Benjamin Mena.

Benjamin Mena [00:53:26]:
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