My clients in job search are often curious about whether they should have a profile on LinkedIn. I am very enthusiastic about the benefits of networking online, particularly on LinkedIn. Here’s why:
- LinkedIn is sort of a one-stop shop for career management – it functions as your online resume, your super-friendly, self-updating Rolodex (contacts list for you younger-folks), and your online reputation.
- Having a well-completed LinkedIn profile and network enables recruiters to proactively identify you as a candidate of choice.
- If a recruiter receives your resume first, and then looks you up on LinkedIn, candidates with LinkedIn profiles are seen as more credible and social media savvy than candidates without.
- Candidates with recommendations on LinkedIn are seen as more credible than candidates without.
- Many great jobs are advertised exclusively on LinkedIn.
- You can reconnect with former colleagues on LinkedIn, facilitating referrals for jobs.
- When you are applying for a position, LinkedIn can help you find profiles of your future boss and colleagues, giving you a means of connecting with them and influencing decisions on who gets called in for an interview.
- When you are interviewing for a position, you can review the profiles of key individuals with the company, and you can walk in feeling more connected to the company, having about as much background on your interviewers as they have on you, enabling you to interview better.
If you want to take your LinkedIn profile and network to the next level, call me! I’ve been helping clients fully leverage this important social media platform for years. It’s so important, I have actually considered getting a LinkedIn tattoo!