What Is LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is a social network for professionals to connect with one another - essentially a Facebook for your career. In the past people would possibly have had a Rolodex of business contacts, with LinkedIn you have all of your connections at your fingertips and can easily and quickly reach out to them. Recruiters and businesses use the platform to help find new talent and those looking for work can showcase their skills and experience easily to a wide audience.
Latest research figures show that LinkedIn crossed the half a billion users mark in 2017, with around 260 million of those users logging in actively once per month. Research also suggests that of those 260 Million users, 40% use LinkedIn every day meaning 100 Million users per day are active. These numbers are regularly growing, meaning that a LinkedIn profile is a key part of the job search process.
Why is LinkedIn an important part of the job search process?
As the numbers above indicate, many professionals are already utilising LinkedIn making it a useful tool for those looking for their next role. Key reasons for LinkedIn being an essential part of your job search include:
How to make the most of LinkedIn for your job search
LinkedIn is a key part of the job search, however it can become a waste of time and a distraction. The key things to consider to ensure that LinkedIn is assisting your job search include:
CV People are experts at creating and optimising LinkedIn profiles, alongside writing high quality CVs and cover letters. Contact us today to see how we can help you prepare for your job search and stand out to prospective employers.
LinkedIn is a social network for professionals to connect with one another - essentially a Facebook for your career. In the past people would possibly have had a Rolodex of business contacts, with LinkedIn you have all of your connections at your fingertips and can easily and quickly reach out to them. Recruiters and businesses use the platform to help find new talent and those looking for work can showcase their skills and experience easily to a wide audience.
Latest research figures show that LinkedIn crossed the half a billion users mark in 2017, with around 260 million of those users logging in actively once per month. Research also suggests that of those 260 Million users, 40% use LinkedIn every day meaning 100 Million users per day are active. These numbers are regularly growing, meaning that a LinkedIn profile is a key part of the job search process.
Why is LinkedIn an important part of the job search process?
As the numbers above indicate, many professionals are already utilising LinkedIn making it a useful tool for those looking for their next role. Key reasons for LinkedIn being an essential part of your job search include:
- Validity - having a LinkedIn profile which is up to date and matches the experience and skills that you have on your existing CV allows recruiters and hiring managers to verify the details and ensure that there are no issues in terms of consistency.
- Further information - with the general consensus that a 2 page CV is the optimal length, a LinkedIn profile allows you to expand on the information you provide for each of your roles, in order to showcase your skills and abilities.
- Networking - LinkedIn allows you the opportunity to make connections within your industry with people who may be decision makers in terms of hiring. Research suggests that there are 61 million senior level influencers, and 40 million of those are in decision making positions across LinkedIn. With this in mind, it is useful to make high profile connections within the industry you work in, in order to be able to reach out to them during your job search. Further to this connecting with people that you attended school or university with, worked with previously or have other connections to can widen your network and make you more discoverable.
- Jobs - LinkedIn has job listings which can be browsed and applied for by users, this is often a positive as jobs are often directly posted by businesses themselves, cutting out recruitment agencies and allowing you to present yourself directly to a prospective employer (saving them the fees of using a recruitment agency).
- Research - LinkedIn allows you to perform research on the business (or businesses) that you are interested in applying for. Along with the company’s website you should look through the business’s page on LinkedIn and make a note of key figures within the business, so that you can express knowledge of the company at interview.
- Industry news - from a general perspective, it is always prudent to keep ahead of industry news, however when it comes to an interview it will put you in a good position if when asked if you have any questions you can think of something which relates to a key piece of industry specific news.
- Planning - even if you’re not at the stage of wanting to make a career move using LinkedIn to find a new role, it is always a good idea to keep ahead of the kind of roles that are available through LinkedIn, this way you'll already be building a picture of your next role when the time comes to make a change.
- Endorsements and recommendations - these are a great way to supplement your career experience and skills, as they allow other users to endorse you for particular skills relevant to the role you have. Recommendations are an opportunity for people you have worked with or for to provide a written recommendation of you as a professional.
How to make the most of LinkedIn for your job search
LinkedIn is a key part of the job search, however it can become a waste of time and a distraction. The key things to consider to ensure that LinkedIn is assisting your job search include:
- Keeping your profile up to date - ensure that all f your career information is up to date and correct - this should match the dates and roles on your CV. LinkedIn can be regularly updated, so that if you pick up new skills and experience, or achieve something notable within your role then it is a good idea to add this into the section about that role.
- Manage your connections - ensuring that you have a network of people that you have worked with in previous and current roles, as well as those that you went to school and university with means that you can begin to expand your network and appear in more searches, with mutual connections being able to introduce you to more people. At the same time, don’t feel that it is impolite to turn down connection requests that doesn't appear to be relevant to your industry or career.
- Use a professional profile photo - whilst to an extent LinkedIn is a social network it is focused on business and as such it is important to show a professional image, as such holiday pictures and pictures from nights out are not recommended, whereas a professional headshot is the best practice option.
- Create an engaging summary - much like the personal statement section of a CV, the summary section of your LinkedIn profile allows you to give a brief version of the skills, abilities and achievements that have made up your career to date.
CV People are experts at creating and optimising LinkedIn profiles, alongside writing high quality CVs and cover letters. Contact us today to see how we can help you prepare for your job search and stand out to prospective employers.
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