LinkedIn has been around since 2002 and is widely regarded as the most popular social media channel for professional networking. But, is LinkedIn important or just a waste of time? If you do not use LinkedIn efficiently, your messages, searches, and other activity on the site can take plenty of time. However, when used correctly, LinkedIn can offer too many benefits to your career. Both employers and recruiters use LinkedIn to source candidates for employment. This social media channel can also be used by newly joined employees or departed employees for career networking prospects of their own. If you are confused about whether you should create a LinkedIn profile, then here are a few top reasons why you need a LinkedIn profile.
Do you require a LinkedIn profile?
The short and simple answer is “Yes.” Even if you do not want to spend a lot of time on LinkedIn, it is still worth spending at least 30 minutes to create your LinkedIn profile. Then, make an appointment on your calendar to check your profile every six months, and update with your new and big accomplishments. In addition to those scheduled check-ins with your profile, obviously, you must update it with the details of your switching job.
Hiring managers and recruiters use LinkedIn to look for candidates. So, if you do not have a presence on this site, you will not come up in their searches. Having a LinkedIn account means that you can utilize the site to research companies, recruiters, interviewers, and to grow the network. These things play a vital role in one’s career development.
In short, having a LinkedIn profile is good. Even if you are not actively applying for jobs, you can use LinkedIn just to connect with your present and former colleagues. You can use LinkedIn to connect with people whom you meet at conferences and networking events. If you want to engage more with the site, then you can join different LinkedIn groups too.
Top reasons why you need a LinkedIn profile.
You can use it for job search
What are the benefits of LinkedIn? There are many but let us start with the most important one. You can use LinkedIn for finding job opportunities in different fields. Search jobs by location and keywords. Even if you are not looking for new employment, you can set job alerts centered on your career interests to receive email updates daily.
You can be tricky too with LinkedIn. If you connected with your managers and colleagues, turn on your, “I am interested” option, which will help recruiters know that you are open to new opportunities. LinkedIn will automatically hide this option from people with whom you are currently working.
With the premium account, you can even access more information about different job openings. Send direct messages to various recruiters, see how your resume is different from other resumes through insights, and even attain instant access to the salary insights. While LinkedIn Premium is free for the initial month, it is not necessary if you do not want to spend $29.99 every month.
You can build your brand
Just like companies focus on building their brands, it is significant for you to build your professional brand online. How are you different from others in the industry? What is the unique thing about your work? Why should someone pay you a six-figure salary? Personal sites are great for this, but generally, they come with additional costs and plenty of hours of finessing and building. Upload a professional profile picture of yours and write a powerful summary that focuses on your strengths and weaknesses. When employers, co-workers, and recruiters pursue your profile, they must be able to attain a strong understanding of who you are and what skills you have for the company.
LinkedIn can help rank your name appear on Google
There are chances that when you apply to a job, the employer may Google your name. Even emailing a new client could result in a Google sweep of your name. If you have never searched your name on Google, then do it now! Find out what is shown on the first page of Google search results?
Here is another important benefit of LinkedIn. Ranking on Google’s first page can be hard, but LinkedIn is a powerful and well-known network that can help you to do so. Due to that, it is easier to get your LinkedIn page to rank on Google against your homemade site or online portfolio. If your LinkedIn profile is the first thing that an employer sees, then maybe it is time to get one or edit your current one to make it stand out from others.
It maintains your contacts
Do you remember the awesome professional whom you met at a conference three years ago? Or that friend of your colleague who wanted to freelance for your company? Possibly not! Instead of keeping their business cards on your drawer or adding their email addresses in your address book, add them on LinkedIn when you meet them. It is better to keep them in your connections so that you can reconnect with them whenever required.
Use LinkedIn for researching companies and its workers
If you are applying for jobs you can gain access to openings from other job boards; there are many out there. However, LinkedIn offers many other benefits too. Nowadays, most companies maintain their own LinkedIn page where they update information about their company, share the company’s news and insights, and show your current employees.
It can help you to get top industry news
Like other social media channels, LinkedIn has a timeline when you log in. In the timeline, you will come across news updates from your groups, connections, as well as your company. It is both wise and fun to keep tabs on industry reports and trends.
Growing network
One of the top reasons why you need a LinkedIn profile is it acts as a significant networking tool.
How Does LinkedIn Work?
Start by creating or improving your LinkedIn profile. That is the most important thing to use for connecting with others in your network. Your profile decides how your name is found on LinkedIn. It contains info about your experience and skills, which are crawled by the bot for matching recruiters’ company search parameters.
LinkedIn will not work for you if you do not identify yourself. Setting up a LinkedIn profile with “Human Resource Manager” or “Private Profile” instead of your name and asking someone to connect will not be effective.
If confidentiality is an issue, no need to worry. LinkedIn is one of the most popular social networks. Connect with people whom you know well. Be strategic if you are searching for a job while currently working. There are different methods using which you can search for confidentiality without endangering your present position.
Once you have a profile in place, invite people to join your network. Start expanding your network and write messages to your contacts. You can send LinkedIn messages to request recommendations and for career assistance and advice.
If you were wondering how many benefits LinkedIn has, then hopefully this list may clear your confusion. With it, you can build as well as maintain your network, look for jobs, and build your professional network. And above all, it is free. So, what are you waiting for?
Even if you are among those introverts who hate networking events, you can promote meaningful LinkedIn connections. Through LinkedIn, you can build a relationship with your mutual connections and even with your greatest role model. By looking at these top reasons why you need a LinkedIn profile, you must have understood that there are no reasons not to use LinkedIn. So, start using this social media channel for growing your network.