Many of you who know me personally (or follow me on Facebook), know that I am obsessed with social media, especially Facebook and LinkedIn. I'm sure you figured it wouldn't be long before I posted an entire post singing the praises of LinkedIn. Well, here is that post.
For those of you who have been living under a rock, LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com) is a wonderful site that is dedicated specifically to professional networking. Like Facebook, you create a profile for yourself and you connect to other members. Unlike Facebook, however, the main goal is not to connect to as many people as you can, but instead to make and maintain professional connections through an online network of people. Think of it as an advanced Rolodex.
LinkedIn is great for many reasons. I will dedicate another post on getting started on LinkedIn, but for now, I am going to persuade all of you nay-sayers out there (I know there are some left!) about why you need to be on LinkedIn. (Keep in mind: I am not getting paid by LinkedIn to say any of this. While that would be nice, I have seen the results of using LinkedIn in your job search and beyond and believe in it 100%.)
Here goes:
1. Employers/recruiters are using LinkedIn to find candidates for open positions. Don't believe me? Well, I can tell you firsthand that I have been contacted directly more than once via LinkedIn for open positions that would fit my qualifications, skills, and interests. In addition, yesterday I visited an employer in Chicago that specifically said that they are using LinkedIn to recruit candidates. If you aren't on LinkedIn, how are they going to find you?
2. Many jobs are posted on LinkedIn. Lots. And not all on the "Jobs" tab. Many are posted in Groups in the Discussions section. (Keep in mind: In order to post a "Job" on LinkedIn, you need to have a paid account, and thus, many places will just post open positions in the Discussions section of groups as that is free and still can be seen by many potential candidates.)
3. It's a great place to contact people within your network and maintain connections that may be beneficial in your job search. I know this because I did this in my last job search. I was applying to a position at a university. I was/am connected to someone from that university, whom I had met at a few different professional organization meetings/conferences, and so I reached out to her just to find out what she knew about the position. She was able to give me some more "insider" knowledge, as well as let her boss know that I had applied. I did this for a few different places, and while it didn't necessarily lead directly to something, it was very helpful in my job search.
4. You can connect to new people and build new connections. Groups are great for this, as well as connecting to people with whom you have shared connections.
5. You can learn more about different companies, industries, people, career paths, and so on. One thing I did in my last job search was research my interviewers prior to my interview. In my last interview, I found out that one of my interviewers was a huge dog lover (as am I), and so I tried to find an opportunity to bring that up in the interview. Luckily, I was able to and it built a connection for later when I was hired.
6. You can keep up with "old" connections in a less awkward way than sending random e-mails every now and again. Ever wonder what that friend you had in a couple classes in college is doing now? What about people from high school? Yes, you might be friends with them on Facebook, but LinkedIn will tell you more about their professional life.
There you have it - six reasons (of the hundreds I have) to join LinkedIn today. It's easy to join, and like I said, I will post something about tips about getting started on there. Feel free to find me on there: http://www.linkedin.com/in/torynair.
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