There are so many social media channels these days but only one that focuses solely on your career: LinkedIn. If you’re on the job hunt but don’t currently use it, here are ten great reasons for being present and active on LinkedIn!
- LinkedIn’s Popularity
- It Allows You to Be Easily Google-able
- Remaining Connected with Co-workers and Contacts
- You Can Use It to Showcase Your Professionalism
- LinkedIn Gives Potential Employers and Recruiters Access to You
- Allows You to Apply to Jobs with Your Profile
- Collecting Endorsements and Recommendations Can Help You Get Hired
- Interact and Build Relationships within Groups
- LinkedIn Provides Great Content to Use in Your Job Search
- You Can Create Great Content for Other
1) LinkedIn’s Popularity
With over 500 million users as of April 2017, more people are connected on LinkedIn than other sites like Twitter, Reddit, Pinterest, Tumblr or Google+. This is just one of many points that should tell you that making a page for yourself on LinkedIn is key to connecting and furthering your career.
2) It Allows You to Be Easily Google-able
Think about it: If you Google an actor or another household name, usually a link with their career highlights comes up. So what should come up first if someone Googles you? The same thoughts apply here, and your LinkedIn page basically acts as your own online resume. It should be the first way that employers view your online presence (Note: In 2017, employers will almost always do a Google search for your name).
3) Remaining Connected with Co-workers and Contacts
Even if you’ve left a previous job, it’s good to remain in touch with your co-workers and LinkedIn allows you to do so — in fact, it’s the connections through employment that drive the site! While on the job hunt, you can see where others have moved on to, what skills they’ve acquired or who they’re connected with that you may want to be introduced to.
4) You Can Use It to Showcase Your Professionalism
As mentioned above, LinkedIn is the modern avenue on which to share your resume and career on social media. While you can mention or tag previous employers on Facebook and Twitter, the layout of LinkedIn gives you the opportunity to use key descriptors and talk in-depth about your experience and goals.
5) LinkedIn Gives Potential Employers and Recruiters Access to You
Hiring managers, job recruiters and everyone from the CEO to administrative assistants are on LinkedIn. Just as you would benefit from Googling a company that may be considering offering you employment, they will be Googling you for your employment background. Without having a profile on LinkedIn, they can’t get the information they need that might put you over the top for a position.
6) Allows You to Apply to Jobs with Your Profile
Applying to jobs on LinkedIn is a fairly simple process, where you don’t have to re-attach your resume over and over to each separate employer. With just a few clicks, you can apply to lots of different opportunities just by submitting a link to your page!
7) Collecting Endorsements and Recommendations Can Help You Get Hired
One of the many helpful aspects of LinkedIn is the ability for users endorse or recommend people they’re connected with for jobs or different skill sets. Think of these mini-references! You can ask the people you’re connected with on LinkedIn to endorse you for the career you want, and in turn, recommending others similarly will better everyone’s chances of getting noticed by prospective businesses.
8) Interact and Build Relationships Within Groups
You may already be a part of certain groups on Facebook, maybe based on your location or a hobby. But did you know there is a multitude of groups focused on specific careers on LinkedIn? Joining like-minded or similarly focused groups, reading discussions and submitting your own thoughts are great ways to share ideas and make connections on LinkedIn beyond people you already know.
9) LinkedIn Provides Great Content to Use in Your Job Search
Owners, experts, icons and more are always sharing blog posts, informative articles and statistics on LinkedIn over a vast array of subjects regarding the job market. Having a LinkedIn profile allows you to absorb this knowledge that might come in handy as you seek new employment. Wouldn’t you stand out a bit from other applicants if you had some worthwhile information to share during your interviews?
10) You Can Create Great Content for Others
Just because you may not be a Fortune 500 businessperson doesn’t mean you don’t have useful tips or thoughts to share. Blogging on LinkedIn or sharing links to articles that you’ve found helpful boosts how potential employers will view you — you’re not just part of the community seeking a job; you’re contributing to the discussion! While half a billion people are on LinkedIn, not all of them are joining the conversation, so increase your visibility by being vocal and active, not just posting your resume.
What’s Next?
Setting up or optimizing your LinkedIn page is an important part of your job search. If you’d like some additional tips and resources, check out the links below. Or, you can always view our Milwaukee-area job board here, and connect with our recruiting team online!
Other helpful resources:
- The Ultimate Interview Prep Packet
- 500+ Resume Templates (Sort through to find your new resume!)
- How to Showcase Your Skills on a Resume
- 5 Ways to Market Yourself to an Employer