With over 690 million users on the platform, LinkedIn is the biggest professional social networking site. With its origins in 2003, LinkedIn has slowly yet steadily, created an avenue where individuals can form connections, expand their professional sphere as well as develop skills that are required and expected in their field of interest. Whether an individual is a potential job seeker or looking to switch careers or a fresh graduate, LinkedIn can, truly, assist in expanding one’s horizons.
Why LinkedIn?
For someone who has joined LinkedIn, the platform can be intimidating. With users putting their best and most professional foot forward, LinkedIn can be daunting and a bit isolating. We are used to the informalities and jibes of Instagram and Twitter, and hence a new realm of formality and civility can be a bit bizarre at first. However, once a person finds out how the platform works, it can be accommodating and when utilized in the right direction, can be full of opportunities and junctures as well.
So why do we need to be on another social networking site? Well, unlike others, LinkedIn is a tool that can be used for achieving your career objectives, finding better job opportunities, and polishing one’s skill sets. The Annual Social Recruiting Survey conducted in 2016 has found LinkedIn the most successful platform to find new talent and potential recruiter. Therefore, LinkedIn is a force to reckon with.
LinkedIn is one of the most accessible meeting grounds to find jobs. Usually, companies put up job openings on their official LinkedIn page, which the candidate can keep a tab.
Having a strong LinkedIn presence, with the right connections and people endorsing your skills, can give your application the much-needed spark. LinkedIn helps you in acquainting yourself with the company and its objectives, and hence you can decide for yourself if this is the place you can see yourself to be in.
If you are confused or just an out-of-the-mill college graduate, fret not, LinkedIn is here for you. You can find people with the same degree as yours, perhaps even from the same college as yours, and find out how they embarked on their careers. Or, if you are planning to branch out, you can find the ones, whom you find inspirational, and recreate what they have done, be it the kind of workshops they attended or courses they took, to reach the place you want to be.
If you are, searching for inspiration, you can find several individuals whose career trajectory and ideals can help you find the spark you are looking for.
Skills Badge:
Understanding what works and what does not is a quality that is often not appreciated. No two job openings demand the same skill sets. There are a few qualities that are deemed fundamental, like being proficient at Microsoft Office.
LinkedIn has a feature of offering badges, which are given once you show your knowledge in a questionnaire about the skills you have mentioned. This badge is, therefore, a sign of excellency which gives the employee an impression of what you are capable of.
LinkedIn opens doors to your professional Journey:
Like any social networking site, LinkedIn is brilliant at connecting people. It is informational, educational, opens doors to industries and companies that one might have a rudimentary knowledge of.
You may be a working professional, free lancer, an entrepreneur or consultant LinkedIn is a great platform to generate leads, connect with thought leaders in your field, follow companies your interested and much more.
It is a great platform to find like-minded people as well as know veterans in the field. Finessing your skill sets as well as knowing what skill sets to have has been made possible through LinkedIn. Connecting with people has never been made easier.