What? You’re not on LinkedIn yet? What are you waiting for? These seven reasons outline why you should be on the social networking site.
Using this information can also help you resuscitate a lifeless profile.
1. Your People Are There
LinkedIn is the number one social network for professionals — and, arguably, the most important website for job seekers — with more than 650 million members worldwide. Not only are people you know already on the site (friends, family, co-workers, colleagues), but so are people you should get to know — recruiters, hiring managers, business leads, and your future co-workers.
2. To Dig Your Well Before You're Thirsty
In his book of the same name, author Harvey Mackay advocates building your network before you need it — and joining LinkedIn now gives you time to build your network of connections. Be sure to pay it forward and be a resource for others.
3. To Strengthen Your Offline Network
LinkedIn helps you keep track of people you know “in real life” — what they are doing, where they work now, and who they know.
4. To Reconnect With Former Colleagues
Sometimes it’s hard to stay in touch with the people you used to work with — making it difficult to find them when you need them (say, to use as a reference in your job search). LinkedIn allows you to search contacts by employer, so anyone who listed that company in their profile can potentially be found in the search.
5. Because You Can Flex Your Expert Muscles
One of the ways to be seen as a thought leader in your industry is to increase your visibility. A great way to do this is to write articles using LinkedIn Publishing. Anytime you post articles or a status update, these updates will be available in your profile, so people looking for you can see that you are actively engaged in this online community.
6. Be Found by Recruiters and Hiring Managers
Having a robust LinkedIn profile — filled with your accomplishments and strong keywords — will lead prospective employers to you, even if you aren't actively looking for a job. Recruiters especially are always searching LinkedIn to find candidates to match their search assignments.
7. Because It Boosts Your Online Presence Beyond the Site
It’s common practice for hiring managers and recruiters to Google job candidates, and your LinkedIn profile will likely appear high up in their Google search results. A strong LinkedIn profile enhances your candidacy, especially if you have a solid network of contacts, at least a few Recommendations, and you’ve supplemented the basic profile information with things like lists of your certifications, languages you speak, honors and awards, and/or your professional portfolio.
A lot of this should sound eerily familiar. For now, LinkedIn is one of the best free resources to solidify your personal brand and maximize your impact. Time to give it a fair try.
If you don't know where to start or think it's time for an update, click here for your free LinkedIn Evaluator.
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