What is LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is a social media networking site designed specifically for connecting business and career professionals. LinkedIn has over 300 million registered users from 200 countries. Like majority of the other social media sites available, LinkedIn is free to register and is an excellent platform for individuals to interact with professionals on a local, national and international level.
However, the difference between LinkedIn and other social media platforms such as Facebook is that Facebook requires you to become ‘friends’ with someone whereas LinkedIn is more about building strategic relationships. LinkedIn allows the user to present their experience, achievements and skills in a neatly organised manner.
Reasons why LinkedIn is important for Job Seekers:
1. Create critical connections and build a powerful network
By optimising your LinkedIn profile, you are able to stand out amongst the crowd and those who have similar credentials. LinkedIn allows you to establish important connections with those who have the ability to shorten your job search. LinkedIn allows you to connect with professionals who can vouch for your work ethics and work such as employers and colleagues.
2. Build your visibility and credibility
LinkedIn has a feature where you are able to join and create groups for individuals who are interested in similar ideas, jobs and for those individuals belonging in the same profession. You are able to participate in group discussions which will provide you with an opportunity to increase your visibility. This can lead to more connections being made which will further shorten your job search.
3. Remain on top of what is happening within the industry
When you connect with other users on LinkedIn, you are able to gain insights, information and knowledge about what is occurring in your industry. You are able to stay in touch with everything and remain on top of all the important events. The information you gain on LinkedIn can be used to impress your hiring manager as it showcases your need of wanting to stay updated and in trend.