What Is LinkedIn and Why Should You Be on It?

What Is LinkedIn and Why Should You Be on It?

Clicking here will expand the ‘grow your network for the future’ section. The number one mistake people make on the profile is to not have a photo. Connect with buyers who have first-hand experience to find the best products for you. Clicking here will expand the ‘stay up-to-date with professional news and trends’ section.

Endorsement feature

The issues were faced by free and premium users and with both the desktop and mobile versions of the site. The ‘About’ section is where you give your professional summary, highlight your accomplishments and aspirations, and show what makes you unique. No need to list all your career accomplishments, that’s what the Experience section is for. Adding a summary of 40 words or more makes your profile more likely to appear in a future employer’s search. Now you know what LinkedIn offers and what kind of people typically use it, but that probably doesn’t give you any specific ideas for how to start using it yourself.

On LinkedIn, you network with people by adding them as ‘connections,’ similar to how you’d make a friend request on Facebook. You converse via private message (or available contact information), and you have all of your professional experience and achievements laid out in a neatly organized profile to show off to other users. LinkedIn is a social network for professionals to connect, share, and learn. Despite being one of the most popular social platforms today, many people still have no idea what LinkedIn is supposed to be used for or how they might benefit from being on it. Here’s everything you need to know about getting the most from LinkedIn. The site also enables members to make “connections” to each other in an online social network which may represent real-world professional relationships.

Upgrading to a Premium LinkedIn Account

It can be a professional headshot, or a snap on your own – just make sure it’s high res, has good lighting, and only features you. LinkedIn even has photo filters you can use to polish your photo. LinkedIn currently has premium plans for users who want to land their dream job, grow and nurture their network, unlock sales opportunities and find or hire talent. You get to try any premium plan for free for a month, after which you’ll be charged a monthly fee depending on which plan you choose (plus tax). Here are some of the basic features that this business network offers and how they’ve been designed to be used by professionals. In May 2017, LinkedIn sent a Cease-And-Desist letter to hiQ Labs, a Silicon Valley startup that collects data from public profiles and provides analysis of this data to its customers.

  • LinkedIn was sued for sending out another two follow-up invitations to each contact from members to link to friends who had ignored the initial, authorized invitation.
  • Clicking here will expand the ‘create your profile and grow your network’ section.
  • LinkedIn even has photo filters you can use to polish your photo.
  • It can be a professional headshot, or a snap on your own – just make sure it’s high res, has good lighting, and only features you.

Find the right job or internship for you

LinkedIn launched its carousel ads feature in 2018, making it the newest addition to the platform’s advertising options. With carousel ads, businesses can showcase their products or services through a series of swipeable cards, each with its unique image, headline, and description. They can be used for various marketing objectives, such as promoting a new product launch, driving website traffic, generating leads, or building brand awareness. LinkedIn is similar to Facebook in terms of its layout and broad feature offering. These features are more specialized because they cater to professionals, but in general, if you know how to use Facebook or any other similar social network, LinkedIn is somewhat comparable.

Users can obtain introductions to the connections of connections (termed second-degree connections) and connections of second-degree connections (termed third-degree connections). As a final note, don’t forget to take advantage of LinkedIn’s mobile apps. LinkedIn has its main apps available for free on iOS and Android platforms with various other specialized apps for job search, SlideShare, Linked Learning, and premium accounts. Many people can do just fine with a free LinkedIn account, but if you’re serious about using LinkedIn and all of its most advanced features, you may want to upgrade to one of the four available premium accounts. As you go about exploring the platform, you’ll notice that certain things like various advanced search functions aren’t available to free users.

Lead with featured content

The basic functionality of LinkedIn allows users to create profiles, which for employees typically consist of a curriculum vitae describing their work experience, education and training, skills, and a personal photo. Users can find jobs, people and business opportunities recommended by someone in one’s contact network. In 2007, there were 10 million users on the platform, which urged LinkedIn to open offices around the world, including India, Australia and Ireland. In October of 2010 LinkedIn was ranked No. 10 on the Silicon Valley Insider’s Top 100 List of most valuable startups.

Upload a profile photo and create a profile slogan. Add your location, contact details and qualifications.

With Linkedln, you can find jobs, make connections, or learn something new anytime, anywhere. These are the main features you’ll first notice when you get on LinkedIn and sign up for a Basic account, but you can dive deeper into some of the more specialized details and options by exploring the platform yourself. Did you know that you can record your name and add it to your LinkedIn profile? This tells people how you like to be addressed and the correct pronunciation of your name. Keep it under 10 seconds and try to limit the background noise. We’ve put together these few simple steps to recording your name.

You might even find that you’d be interested in using LinkedIn’s Business Services and/or Premium account upgrades, which allow users to post jobs, take advantage of talent solutions, advertise on the platform and expand your sales strategy what is a geocoin to include social sales on LinkedIn. The sign-up process includes users entering their email password (there is an opt-out feature). LinkedIn will then offer to send out contact invitations to all members in that address book or that the user has had email conversations with. When the member’s email address book is opened, it is opened with all email addresses selected, and the member is advised invitations will be sent to “selected” email addresses, or to all. LinkedIn was sued for sending out another two follow-up invitations to each contact from members to link to friends who had ignored the initial, authorized invitation.

  • In May 2017, LinkedIn sent a Cease-And-Desist letter to hiQ Labs, a Silicon Valley startup that collects data from public profiles and provides analysis of this data to its customers.
  • LinkedIn appealed this ruling; in September 2019, the appeals court rejected LinkedIn’s arguments and the preliminary injunction was upheld.
  • Users can find jobs, people and business opportunities recommended by someone in one’s contact network.

Grow your network for the future

In fact, members with industry information are discovered up to 38X more in recruiter searches. It’s simple, click the pencil at the top of your profile where your name is and scroll down to edit or add your industry. Every corner you’ve turned, or ladder you’ve climbed, is part of your professional story.

Acquisitions

In fact, many users create an account and then abandon it because they have no idea how they should be using LinkedIn. In February 2015, LinkedIn released an updated terms of use for their developer API.101 The developer API allows both companies and individuals the ability to interact with LinkedIn’s data through creation of managed third-party applications. Applications must go through a review process and request permission from the user before accessing a user’s data. Adding your education elevates your profile to All-Star level by showing a more rounded level of experience. Whether you got a degree at a school or university, or gained a certification to become an expert in your industry, your education tells people that you put in the hard work to get where you are.

Since 2015, LinkedIn has published annual rankings of Top Voices on the platform, recognizing “members that generated the most engagement and interaction with their posts.”145 The 2020 lists146 included 14 industry categories, ranging from data science to sports, as well as 14 country lists, extending from Australia to Italy. In January 2013, LinkedIn dropped support for LinkedIn Answers and cited a new ‘focus on development of new and more engaging ways to share and discuss professional topics across LinkedIn’ as the reason for the retirement of the feature. The feature had been launched in 2007 and allowed users to post questions to their network and allowed users to rank answers. The ‘featured’ section lets you showcase the work you’re most proud of right at the top of your profile.