The dynamics of landing your dream job have changed drastically. Earlier, to land that perfect job, you were only required to show up for an interview with a printed resume. But now, even bagging that interview has become highly competitive. In an increasingly difficult job market, any edge you have over your peers, technical or otherwise, will help you distinguish yourself from the rest. Companies are always looking for employees who are willing to take an extra step, a tad bit more initiative than their peers. And in a highly advanced job market like this, a thorough research about the company and their job profile is imperative. LinkedIn provides the perfect platform encouraging its users to strategically network.
Apart from connecting a user to potential employers, LinkedIn is the leading provider of various services. From University finder to job openings, this social media platform offers a lot of services to engage its users effectively. Plus, it helps a user establish their personal brand. With innumerable advantages as these, I am surprised LinkedIn still goes unnoticed. LinkedIn is truly your link to career growth and advancement. Here’s why:
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LinkedIn is your online resume
An effective LinkedIn profile is a preferred means of shortlisting candidates over going through tons of hardcopies of resumes. You can continue updating your profile as and when you acquire a new experience/skill and a potential employer can learn about it in real time. Any interview you give, chances are the companies will surf through your social media presence before delivering the final verdict. A profile on LinkedIn, if correctly edited, can help you get past those glassdoors.
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LinkedIn helps you connect with people with similar career trajectories
with a plethora of career choices to choose from, a little help from an experienced professional can go a long way. With Directors, Partners and Managers of huge companies on LinkedIn, a user has a chance to directly contact the employees of a particular company. You can also constantly update your “Interests” column and meet like-minded people and exchange your view points with them. With a similar user interface as Facebook, LinkedIn is also easy to use and understand. And you can connect and network with important people easily. LinkedIn is slowly, but surely, becoming an effective platform to build mentor relations with professionals. If that’s not incentive enough to create a profile on LinkedIn, I don’t know what is.
In addition, you can also learn of job vacancies and volunteer opportunities before most people do if you keep in touch with your network. Interested employers also contact you regarding job offers, hence increasing the multitude of job opportunities for you.
- You can shortlist Universities and create personal websites for free
There’s no denying the fact that a positive social media presence not only helps increase your visibility, but it also helps you connect with your employers directly, before and after the job experience. Many people opt for jazzy, personalised websites for themselves, but chances are these might just cost a lot. LinkedIn provides its users the platform to create user-friendly, free of cost branded.me websites by converting the user’s profile into a customised website in a span of two minutes.
As per their database, LinkedIn also helps a user to shortlist universities and colleges for further studies based on the company they want to work for and the location the user would prefer, hence helping a them make the right career choice. - LinkedIn is the ultimate platform to stay connected and network with people
Companies are always looking for employees who are self-starters and people who are motivated and enthusiastic. Exactly the kind of skills you can list in the “Skills” section of your profile. From Microsoft excel to Financial forecasting, you can list whatever experience you have and explain how you applied an existing skill in a professional environment. A user can list ‘Projects’ that they undertook in college or in a job as well. I know it seems frivolous at times, but it is essentially important to convince a potential employer of your worth. And LinkedIn is a far simpler way in order to do just that.
LinkedIn is an effective way to advance your career not only because you can connect to thought leaders, think tanks, corporates and professionals and seek professional help whenever required but also because it gives you the freedom to build your personal brand. And it helps you leverage and capitalise on this personal brand and move towards the right career path. You can aid your peers, endorse them and ask for recommendations in real time. You never know who might stumble around your profile. If you haven’t updates it in a while, you should definitely go do it. And if you don’t have a profile yet, what’s the hold up?
Image credits: www.colby.edu
Surbhi Arora
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