What is LinkedIn

What is LinkedIn?

At its most basic, LinkedIn is a social network for professionals. It’s designed for business interaction, including career search and recruiting.

Launched in 2003, LinkedIn has grown to become the world’s largest professional network. It has over 690 million users. Users create resume-like profiles, complete with their work experience, education, areas of expertise, recommendations, and more.

If you want to get started with LinkedIn, here’s a quick tour around the site.

What is LinkedIn – Main Features

Before you begin professional networking, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the site. Here are some basic features you will first notice when you get on LinkedIn.

Home

Home displays your news feed. It’s based on the current posting activity of the people, companies, and topics you follow.

Me

This is your LinkedIn CV. It shows basic information about you, including your career, skills, work experience, education, and location.

My Network

It shows a list of your professional connections on LinkedIn. You will also find your invitations (people who want to connect with you) and your connection suggestions here.

Jobs

LinkedIn features a job board to help users looking for career opportunities. Jobs listings are posted by employers and are divided into different categories. LinkedIn also suggests jobs to users based on their interests, skills, location, experience, etc.

Messages

LinkedIn has a chat feature where you can start a conversation with other professionals. You can also attach files or images to your messages.

Notifications

LinkedIn notifies you every time you have been referenced, added, endorsed, mentioned, etc. You also get a notification when someone views your profile.

What is LinkedIn – Get Started

Now that you have familiarized yourself with the basics of LinkedIn, you can start using it to establish connections.

Build Your Network

Most people join LinkedIn to build their professional circle. You can begin by adding your friends, colleagues, and acquaintances to your network. You also have the opportunity to connect with professionals who may help out with your professional endeavors.

Apply to Jobs

LinkedIn is one of the best platforms to look for job postings. It allows you to search and apply directly for jobs by using keywords. You can also reach out to the hiring community through the platform.

Participate in Conversations

This is a great way to connect with new professionals. Begin by joining groups based on your interests. Share your perspective on relevant topics with others. You can also like, comment, and share other people’s posts and articles.

Post Content

Curating regular content and publishing blogs related to your interests is a great way to consolidate your LinkedIn presence. It’s well-suited for personal branding and creating career opportunities.

What is LinkedIn Premium?

LinkedIn Premium is a paid, more advanced version of LinkedIn. LinkedIn offers four different premium plans, each for a specific type of professional. Here are some features of LinkedIn Premium:

• Send InMail messages to anyone, including those you are not connected to
• See more profiles when you search
• Use advanced search filters
• See more than the last 5 people who viewed your profile
• Have your profile displayed at the top of the recruiter’s applicant lists

What is LinkedIn – Is it for You?

Are you a graduate searching for career opportunities? Or a professional thinking of switching your job profile? Or an HR looking to recruit fresh talents? Well, LinkedIn should be your go-to place.

The platform is for anybody and everybody interested in taking their professional life a notch higher. It gives you a greater online presence, making it easier to connect with professionals and prospect leads. You can find the right employment, build professional relationships, and share experiences.

LinkedIn is also a great tool for business and marketing. You can create job postings, target potential clients, and more. LinkedIn also allows users to organize offline events, join groups, post articles, share photos and videos, and more.

So, at the end of the day, there are enough reasons for you to join LinkedIn to widen your professional network.