LINKED IN
What is LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is a social networking site designed specifically for the business community.
The goal of the site is to enable registered members to establish and document
networks of people they know and trust professionally.
It is also a resource for professionals to find jobs, research companies, and get news
about their industry and business connections.
LinkedIn gathers data across LinkedIn profiles to provide policymakers, employers,
workers and educators with data-driven insight into patterns that help align workforce
supply with demand worldwide.
Who created LinkedIn?
LinkedIn was co-founded by Reid Hoffman, former executive vice president in charge of
business and corporate development for PayPal.
The site, which was launched in May 2003, currently has over 850 million members --
around 191 million from the U.S. -- with over 58 million registered in over 200 countries
and territories. According to Reid Hoffman, nearly 30% of LinkedIn subscribers are
recruiters.
Microsoft acquired LinkedIn in June 2016 for $26.2 billion. According to some experts,
the rich troves of semistructured data that LinkedIn's members freely give away -- job
titles, geographies, industry information, skill sets, etc. -- made the deal a steal, even
though the LinkedIn acquisition was one of Microsoft's more expensive purchases to
date.
Why use LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is used primarily by three groups of people: individuals, sales reps and
recruiters:
1. For individuals, LinkedIn is a great way to manage your career, find a job,
research companies, connect with business contacts and get news about
your industry.
2. Salespeople often used LinkedIn to generate leads and build relationships
with potential customers.
3. Recruiters use LinkedIn to find candidates for open positions, research
companies and connect with potential employees.
Advantages of Using LinkedIn for Students
1. Stay Connected and Get Employed
- LinkedIn started with the primary aim of linking employers with potential employees. So this is a platform
for students, graduates to post their resume.
- LinkedIn has a decent search tool or feature that can help you find people in your industry, and keep
you up to date with things happening around you. With LinkedIn, you can’t miss a thing.
2. Give prominence to your brands
- LinkedIn as a social networking platform has tons of relevant groups. You can join any of these groups
and discuss relevant topics. Also, you even get to share your interest. - - By doing this people tend to
notice you, pick interest in your skill or your brand then get to know what you can offer, know your
strength, and in no time services will come on their own.
3. Promote your skill set
- Another advantage of LinkedIn is that it promotes your skillset. This feature helps greatly in building a
good online presence for students and under-graduates if harnessed correctly. If you are creating great
content about your industry make sure to put it on LinkedIn. Because there are millions of people who are
interested in that your particular skill set as this could become a means for you to become a trusted
source of insight into your industry.
4. Gain exposure to prospective employers /recruiters
- It’s no longer news that LinkedIn is the largest professional networking website in the world. According
to statistics provided by linked on; 93% of recruiters use LinkedIn to research and recruit candidates. This
means that job seekers stand a great chance of landing their dream job.
5. Demonstrate your knowledge
- This is similar to promoting your skillset. As a student, undergraduate, or graduate, with LinkedIn, you
can demonstrate or show off what you know or what you can offer, your basic strength and ideas.
Recruiters see your recommendations, connections, and evidence of where you have added value
before.
- So it’s important to ask for reviews, do a good job for people you have worked with, and ensure to get
nice recommendations as all these will go a long way in showing your prospective employers what you’re
bringing to the table.
6. Follow companies or industries and as a search tool
- Having a LinkedIn account gives you the outright privilege to follow up with companies and industries
that are of interest to you LinkedIn can be used as a search tool to research company’s interviewer’s
recruiters, and hiring managers as this can give you important hint about things you should know before.
- Keep up with a certain industry; having a LinkedIn account gives you the premium benefit of staying up
to date with the industry of your specialization you set to receive first-hand news about the industry of
interest.
Disadvantages of using LinkedIn for students
1. Risk of identity theft
- There are loads of personal information that you have to display on your profile for prospective
employers to see. Hence, in a case whereby LinkedIn servers develop an issue, you stand a risk of losing
important information to the public, resulting in identity theft.
2. Incomplete profile challenge
- LinkedIn like other social network websites required you to put up an attractive profile. That is a profile
that is appealing to employers and prospective recruiters. People however find it hard to fill out profile
details completely due to one reason or the other.
3. Tons of spam messages
- There’s a saying that among 12 disciples there will always be a Judas. Think of how many Judas will be
available on a website with over 1200 million people. LinkedIn is filled with spam messages from
recruiters, employers, and even job seekers. All just to seek attention, mislead, and extort money, etc.
4. Time Consuming
- One of the biggest downfalls and turnoff of LinkedIn is time consumption. The required amount of time
you have to invest before you can learn to use it efficiently. Unlike other sites, for you to get the most out
of LinkedIn you have to be willing to set aside some of your precious time every day.
5. Premium package can be expensive
- Good thing they say doesn’t come cheap. Although, LinkedIn allows you to join the platform without
paying. But the LinkedIn premium packages are charged for. For example, the “medium-sized career”
price is just about $29.99/month. There are so many added benefits that this offer brings but can still be
very costly for a starter or medium-sized business.
References.
https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/advantages-disadvantages-linkedin-students-richard-
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