Are you missing the LinkedIn potential?
One of the common questions from clients when we start talking about LinkedIn is, “My employer doesn’t like us on LinkedIn” or “what if my employer finds out?”
How big is LinkedIn?
Those are two different questions but both point to the same symptom.Take note of this information from the about section on LinkedIn:
- As of February 9, 2012, LinkedIn operates the world’s largest professional network on the Internet with more than 150 million members in over 200 countries and territories. *As of January 27, 2019, LinkedIn has 562 million users in 200+ countries & territories.
- LinkedIn started out in the living room of co-founder Reid Hoffman in 2002.
- The site officially launched on May 5, 2003. At the end of the first month in operation, LinkedIn had a total of 4,500 members in the network.
- Jeff Weiner is the CEO of the company, and management includes experienced executives from companies such as Yahoo!, Google, Microsoft, TiVo, PayPal and Electronic Arts.
- As of December 31, 2011, professionals are signing up to join LinkedIn at a rate that is faster than two new members per second.
- LinkedIn leads a diversified business with revenues from membership subscriptions, advertising sales and recruitment solutions. In December 2016, Microsoft completed its acquisition of LinkedIn, bringing together the world’s leading professional cloud and the world’s leading professional network.
My philosophy is this — with that many members on LinkedIn, despite the global recession, they are not ALL looking for a new job.
If an employer thinks joining LinkedIn threatens their ability to retain employees, they are vastly mistaken and missing a marvelous opportunity to grow their business.
Linkedin potential: open new revenue sources using LinkedIn
My own profile on LinkedIn enabled me to meet people who later hired me for their career marketing. However, career marketing is the tip of the iceberg on the potential of connections out there.
If your company needs to network with a company to expand its market, what a myriad of possibilities LinkedIn opens up. You can leverage the LinkedIn marketing potential. You can check out if they have a company profile, which makes it ultra easy to see a much broader spectrum of employees than you would on corporate websites.
What is the LinkedIn potential? You search for the company name using LinkedIn’s search engine and come up with a bevy of people who either work there.
LinkedIn potential – is an employer LinkedIn ban detrimental?
I believe in using technology to your advantage. An employer who either bans you from LinkedIn or punishes you for having a profile has trust issues.
Though jobs in 2012 are still scarce, the market is turning and soon employers may regret not creating a welcoming atmosphere for employees that allows those employees to fully utilize emerging market tools.
In 2019, the job market is hot but many people still underuse LinkedIn. Don’t miss the LinkedIn potential for networking.
LinkedIn, in the realm of social media is not new. It is a tool for businesses everywhere to use in whatever creative way they can imagine.
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14 Comments
Resume Design and Job Seeking Tips
Here are Design Resumes' latest articles on job search, resume design, resume writing, and Linkedin optimization articles I've written.
Julie Walraven
Professional Resume Writer
Here are ways I can help you land your dream job.
You may be halfway across the country or the world. When you work with me, we share coffee, laughs, and concerns. This turns the scary job search into creative, consultative writing and learning sessions.
I had no idea that LinkedIn was so big… I just thought that employers really only checked out Facebook.
Thanks for stopping by, Kurt! As I said about – people can expect to be checked out online. They do watch Facebook but that can actually be a negative if you are sloppy about what you post. LinkedIn should showcase your best.
I’ve never really tried LinkedIn before in terms of hiring prospective employees, but after reading this article, I’ll have to give it another look. Thanks for the inspiration.
You are welcome. LinkedIn definitely shows you a fair amount about a person if they have optimized their profile. Many people only touch the surface.
We use LinkedIn a lot during our hiring practices and it has been a very valuable asset to our organization.
Thanks, Francine. Yes, I think many employers are going that route. Overall web research on candidates, be it via LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or general Google stream, is growing.
I didn’t knew that Linkedin was so useful! I would like to use it further, Unknowingly I was making it stronger , thankfully I have more than 400 + conections, I am sure after reading this post I will be able to take out the best from Linkedin too..!
Thanks for the comment, Darin! It is stronger with quality connections but even more valuable if your profile is chock full of accomplishments and focused on the type of connections you would like to make to reach your goals.
I have not taken linkedin seriously. I mean, I have a profile but I have never taken time to fill it with my professional qualifications. Now I will, your article is so inspirational. Thanks.
Thanks, Terry. Many people don’t take it seriously and for the most part, many people get there on their own without any coaching or instruction. You have to look for help to get beyond the basics. Fortunately, there are career pros all over writing about LinkedIn.
Great post Julie. I know a number of recruiters as well as employers who swear by LinkedIn. One of those recruiters was telling me recently that they’ve halved their advertising costs by being able to reach people through LinkedIn. He was very happy!
I bet! I think recruiters are searching through LinkedIn all the time… which begs the point why you need to have an optimized profile and a way to contact you!
Wow, I had never given it a thought before, I mean using the linkedin network for hiring employees. I guess that is the way to go now.
It is one way to research whether you are job seeker or an employer. You get much more information about people. Thanks for stopping by!