What are the benefits of using LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is often called "The Professional Networking Site". It has become such an integral part of our everyday lives. You might think that everyone uses it – but in reality, only 1% of people do! That's because most people find it intimidating or confusing when they first sign up. If you're looking forward to finding out how much it helps with career advancement, here are some reasons as to why you should definitely join LinkedIn.

Why Do People Join Linkedin?

It’s been said that there are over 500 million users on LinkedIn worldwide. This means that every single person who has ever signed up will have at least 10 connections, which means you could make more than 4500 new friends by simply connecting with them. But this isn’t all - once you start making contacts, you can easily connect with other professionals, recruiters, potential employers, and even influencers through their profiles.

There are many ways to utilize LinkedIn, from networking to creating a resume. The site also provides several useful tools like a news feed, groups, events, and polls. For example, there are two main things that you need to know about LinkedIn:

1) Is it OK Not To Have A LinkedIn Profile?

2) Will I Get Hired If I Don't Have One?

Let us take a look at these questions individually.

Is it okay not to have a LinkedIn profile?

Yes. Yes, it absolutely is okay! Your LinkedIn account doesn't necessarily mean that you must have a full-fledged profile. In fact, you can create a basic profile without any information whatsoever. However, if you want to give yourself a chance to show off your skills and build relationships with others, then it would be best to fill out your profile completely.

If you decide to go ahead and create a profile (or re-create your old one), remember that the primary goal of your profile is to provide relevant details about yourself so that interested parties can learn more about you. Therefore, ensure that everything that you add to your profile is accurate and complete. Avoid adding unnecessary personal details, especially those that reveal sensitive information like marital status, age, or employment history. If someone were to check your profile, they wouldn't be able to tell anything about you based solely on your name and contact info.

Your profile is where you showcase your talents, experience, and achievements. Therefore, your objective shouldn't just be to upload pictures of you doing fun activities – instead, focus on showcasing your unique expertise. Include links to blogs and articles written by you, courses taken, certifications obtained, awards won, etc. Make sure that your summary contains keywords related to your field of work or studies, and include a link back to your website. Finally, always keep the tone positive.

You don't need to worry too much about the number of followers or the total likes you have on LinkedIn either. These numbers aren't important unless you intend to sell something or gain exposure for yourself. Instead, try focusing on building meaningful relationships that lead to mutual success. After all, your goals are going to determine whether or not you succeed in life.

Will I get hired if I don't have LinkedIn?

This question really depends on the type of position you're applying for. There are certain industries like finance that require candidates to have a LinkedIn profile. Other positions require applicants to send résumés directly to the company and hope that they receive a response. Companies that conduct interviews usually prefer to see candidate resumes rather than LinkedIn profiles. On the flip side, companies that hire freelancers will almost certainly ignore your LinkedIn profile altogether.

So, while you can expect to land jobs based on your education, talent, skill set, and accomplishments, you'll probably end up being rejected if you don't have a LinkedIn profile. So, even though your chances of landing a job increase dramatically if you've got a LinkedIn profile, you still have to submit your résumé before you can actually apply for a job.

However, even if you haven't created a LinkedIn profile yet, you can still benefit immensely by signing up now. By following the tips we mentioned above, you can quickly turn your existing social media accounts into real ones. Once you do that, you can start posting content regularly on topics that interest you and interact with other members of your respective communities.

Is not having a LinkedIn a red flag?

No, it certainly isn't. What matters most is that you develop authentic relationships with others. Instead of trying to impress people with fancy titles and expensive cars, you'll be far better off showing how smart and capable you truly are. Remember that nobody cares how rich your father is or how awesome your last project was. They care about knowing what kind of person you really are. And if you can prove that you're trustworthy and reliable, they'll trust you.

That's why it's imperative that you build genuine friendships online. After all, you never know when you'll meet that perfect connection face to face later down the road.

Is deleting LinkedIn a good idea?

While you can delete your LinkedIn profile anytime you wish, deleting your account entirely is quite drastic. Deleting your account does not affect your previous posts or interactions with others. When you delete your account, you also lose access to all your data, including recommendations, messages, photos, videos, etc., but you can retrieve them within 30 days after deletion. Also note that you cannot recover deleted emails sent via LinkedIn.

In addition to that, you'll also have to wait until 2021 to log back onto your LinkedIn account again. Although that sounds pretty annoying, it's worth noting that LinkedIn offers plenty of features that allow you to stay productive during your downtime. Amongst them are:

· Find More Jobs: Use the Search tab to locate jobs posted in various categories around the world.

· Connect With Colleagues: Use the Company section to view companies that you've worked with previously or currently.

· Follow Up on Recruitment Opportunities: Keep track of recruitment opportunities that come along with each role you accept.

· Stay Updated: Sign up for updates on news stories, trends, and upcoming conferences.

· Read Content From Others: Visit popular pages, explore trending topics, and discover interesting articles.

These are just a few examples of the many features available on LinkedIn. Whether you choose to stick with it or remove it entirely, LinkedIn remains one of the largest networks on the internet today. It's free to sign up, easy to navigate, and packed with lots of great functionality. It's time to stop thinking about LinkedIn and get started enjoying its incredible services right away!

For more information, visit LinkedIN.com/help.

LinkedIn has become an important platform in recent years as more people have started joining this social media website. The site offers many features which make it easier to connect with others, share information, post updates, find jobs or recruiters, etc. It also provides several tools such as groups, events, newsfeeds, and so on to keep users updated about relevant topics. As a result, there are numerous ways through which you can utilize LinkedIn to improve yourself professionally or personally.

However, while most people know how useful LinkedIn can be, they might not understand all its potential uses. Some even think that LinkedIn is just another social networking website where people exchange messages and photos without much importance attached to them. This mindset will lead to missed opportunities if used incorrectly by someone who wants success in their career path. So let’s take a look at some of the possible reasons behind the popularity of LinkedIn among professionals and students alike.

What are some of the advantages of using LinkedIn?

There are two main reasons behind the growing number of individuals utilizing LinkedIn - firstly because it acts as a great way to build relationships and secondly due to its ability to provide access to valuable resources. Below we discuss these aspects in detail along with other reasons you should consider before making any decision regarding whether to join LinkedIn.

1) Build Relationships: Connecting with new people online is easy nowadays thanks to various platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, etc. However, the fact remains that no matter how big or small your circle of friends is, nothing beats personal connections made offline. That being said, LinkedIn allows you to expand your network and establish meaningful relationships with those whom you already know but have never met face-to-face. Moreover, you don't need to worry about wasting time searching for new contacts since LinkedIn automatically suggests new candidates based on your current location and interests. In short, creating meaningful connections is effortless via LinkedIn.

2) Access Resources: Since LinkedIn was originally built to facilitate communication between businesses and clients, it now serves as a powerful tool for companies looking to promote themselves to potential customers. Not only do you get to see details about your competitors' brands, products, services, sales figures, etc., you'll also discover a lot of free marketing material from reputable sources. For example, you can view company reports written by experts, read press releases, and access articles published by well known publications. These are extremely beneficial when trying to decide what kind of product or service to invest in. Also, if you're a student taking up a course related to a certain field, you'll be able to easily locate courses offered by educational institutions and research papers available online.

3) Enhance Your Professional Reputation: One thing that makes LinkedIn stand out amongst others is its vast range of features that allow members to showcase their skills and expertise. You can create profiles with detailed descriptions about yourself including work history, education, hobbies, awards received, affiliations, publications, certifications, languages spoken, etc. Additionally, you can add links to your own websites and blog posts, upload images, videos, documents, presentations, etc. All these elements combine to give you a sense of authority within your chosen profession. Furthermore, you can write blogs, participate in discussions, start conversations, and engage in activities like guest posting, commenting, answering questions, etc.

4) Find Jobs: If you want to change careers or move into a different line of work entirely, LinkedIn is definitely worth checking out. There are tons of job postings posted daily, allowing you to apply for positions directly from the comfort of your home. On top of that, you can apply for internships, volunteer gigs, part-time jobs, seasonal employment, and freelance projects. To increase your chances of landing a position, try applying with keywords that describe your ideal role (e.g. "accountant," "marketing executive"). Also, remember to include your resume, cover letter, references, and portfolio whenever applicable.

5) Recruitment: Whether you're unemployed, seeking a better paying job, or considering changing industries altogether, LinkedIn can prove invaluable during the hiring process. Employers often look for applicants whose profiles show evidence of professionalism, experience, leadership abilities, and motivation. Therefore, building a solid presence on LinkedIn gives you a competitive edge over others. Once employers realize you've got a strong connection base, they'll reach out to you instead of reaching out to everyone else.

6) Stay Up-To-Date: With thousands of organizations on LinkedIn, keeping track of trends and developments becomes quite difficult. But fortunately, the site provides plenty of options to streamline your workflow. First off, you can set notifications to receive alerts every time someone mentions you in their status update or comment. Secondly, you can follow specific people's feeds to receive regular updates about their latest achievements. Thirdly, you can subscribe to relevant communities and newsletters to get timely insights about trending issues. Finally, you can browse content created by your peers by clicking on the 'Explore' tab located next to each user's name.

What are the advantages of using LinkedIn?

If you're planning to switch careers or study abroad, then LinkedIn certainly comes recommended. Apart from helping you gain knowledge about prospective fields, the site also helps you develop essential soft skills required in almost any sector. Here are several additional perks associated with LinkedIn:

1) Network Effectiveness: Most people tend to underestimate the value of maintaining active contact networks. When you maintain consistent interactions with your colleagues, former classmates, and other acquaintances, you strengthen your ties with them. And this leads to greater trust, improved rapport, and eventually increased levels of respect.

2) Improves Communication Skills: Although writing emails, sending phone calls, or meeting people face-to-face is always preferable, sometimes you must resort to communicating via text message or instant messaging apps. Fortunately, these modes of communication enable you to practice your speaking and listening skills in real life situations. Plus, you can ask questions, seek advice, request feedback, and clarify doubts using chat functions found on the site.

3) Gives you a Competitive Edge: Many people fail to put enough thought into their resumes. They forget to mention key qualifications, leave gaps in their curriculum vitae, and misspell words. By contrast, most professionals on LinkedIn spend significant amounts of time updating their profiles regularly with accurate information. This ensures that their credentials match exactly to requirements listed on job applications. Hence, LinkedIn enables employers to screen out unsuitable aspirants quickly.

4) Helps You Get Noticed: Being noticed isn't necessarily bad, especially if you enjoy receiving compliments. After all, positive attention motivates us to perform better and achieve goals. Nowadays, however, being recognized for something good is rarer than ever. Consequently, LinkedIn plays a crucial role in boosting our self esteem and confidence.

What are the disadvantages of using LinkedIn?

Although there aren't too many drawbacks associated with LinkedIn, here are three common problems faced by its users:

1) Privacy Concerns: Due to the nature of the site, it is necessary to disclose certain pieces of private information like age, marital status, gender, physical appearance, religion, political affiliation, health condition, etc. While it's understandable that you'd prefer to remain anonymous, unfortunately, this is not feasible anymore.

2) Lack of Control Over Content: Another problem is the amount of spam sent to your inbox. Unfortunately, despite efforts taken by LinkedIn to remove unwanted messages and protect against phishing attacks, spammers still manage to send unsolicited mails filled with malicious software.

3) No Profiles Found: Sometimes, we encounter errors when logging onto the site. Or maybe we cannot sign in after months of being registered. Whatever the case may be, it's best to check the page thoroughly before proceeding further.

How is LinkedIn helpful for students?

Students often struggle to balance their schoolwork with extracurricular pursuits, leading to burnout. Thankfully, LinkedIn is a wonderful solution to this issue. Using the right strategies, you can successfully juggle both academics and non-academic responsibilities by turning your LinkedIn account into a virtual office space. Here are five tips to help you utilize LinkedIn effectively:

1) Create A Profile: Before starting anything, it's a good idea to fill out your basic info. Include everything you feel comfortable sharing with strangers such as your name, date of birth, address, email, and telephone number, etc. Next, choose a suitable picture to represent you. Remember to select pictures that accurately reflect your personality. Lastly, customize your bio section according to the type of audience you're targeting.

2) Use Groups & Events: Group pages allow you to join existing discussion threads and interact with other members. Likewise, event calendars ensure you never miss out on upcoming conferences and seminars. Both of these features come in handy when deciding upon major decisions concerning your academic studies.

LinkedIn has become an integral part of our lives as social media websites. It brings people together through their common interests and passions. You’ve probably heard of other popular sites such as Facebook or Twitter. But if you haven't yet tried out LinkedIn, then now might be a good time to do so! The site offers many useful features which will make working with others easier than ever before. Here's everything you need to know about this website.

As a student, you can use LinkedIn to search for your dream job, stay connected to a particular industry, and enhance your professional reputation. In fact, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), more than half of all jobs in America were found on sites like LinkedIn. If you're looking forward to getting into corporate life after graduation, LinkedIn could prove very beneficial to your career goals. 

Here's how LinkedIn works: When you sign up, you get a personal page where you can upload pictures, videos, documents, and resume information. Your profile also includes updates about your activities, education history, skills, and even connections. These connections consist of friends, family members, colleagues at work, and classmates whom you've met socially.

You don't necessarily need to fill out every section of your profile completely. However, there are certain sections that most users tend to complete first. For example, you'll want to start filling out your "education" section right away because employers look here when they conduct searches. The same goes for your "experience." After completing these two sections, you should proceed onto the rest of the fields available. Some of them include "skills," "contact info," and "publications".

If you decide to update your LinkedIn account often, you must keep track of who already knows you. This way, you won't forget anyone important in your life. Also, you'll want to think twice before posting any embarrassing photos or inappropriate comments online. Doing so could negatively affect your chances of landing a new job someday.

In addition to being used by millions worldwide, LinkedIn is still considered one of the top choices for potential hires. Companies around the world rely heavily on LinkedIn profiles to find qualified candidates. So whether you aspire to land a position in sales or marketing, you'll definitely benefit from creating a strong LinkedIn presence.

Now let's take a closer look at the pros and cons of using LinkedIn for students.

What are the benefits of LinkedIn?

Benefit #1 - Searching

When you create a LinkedIn account, you instantly receive a personalized homepage. From here, you can browse through categories based on specific topics, such as careers, education, hobbies, etc. Once you select a category, you can view information about companies within each sub-category. You can filter results further by selecting keywords associated with your interest. That way, you'll only see relevant content.

The best thing about searching for jobs via LinkedIn is that recruiters and hiring managers are able to access your profile easily. They can also search for you without needing to go through numerous pages manually. All you need to do is enter your email address and password.

Benefit #2 - Career Management

LinkedIn helps you manage your entire career path throughout your lifetime. You can set yourself apart from everyone else by adding achievements and accomplishments to your profile. And since your connections can read those posts, you can show off what you've accomplished while building trust among your peers.

This allows you to build relationships with influential individuals in your field. With their support, you'll be able to advance faster in your chosen profession.

Benefit #3 - Networking

One of the main purposes of networking is to meet people who share similar interests. A lot of professionals use LinkedIn to connect with potential clients, co-workers, customers, suppliers, vendors, investors, and associates. By joining groups related to your area of expertise, you can find opportunities to expand your skill set.

These communities also provide valuable resources and tips for improving your performance and advancing your career. So instead of wasting hours browsing random articles, you can focus on finding ways to improve your business.

Benefit #4 - Job Hunting

Most students nowadays will spend years trying to figure out what kind of degree will lead them towards success. You can use LinkedIn as a tool for making quick decisions on courses of study. Plus, you can save money by researching colleges and universities ahead of time.

Once you graduate, you'll be able to immediately apply for positions that match your qualifications. Since you created a unique LinkedIn profile during college, recruiters can recognize you as soon as you submit your application.

What are some challenges about LinkedIn?

Despite its popularity, LinkedIn does have several drawbacks. To begin with, it isn't free. Instead, you pay $29 per month or $99 annually for basic membership. There are also extra charges for advanced features and additional security measures.

Another challenge is privacy concerns. Although LinkedIn claims that you own your private information, you're required to give permission for sharing it with third parties. If someone breaches your privacy, there's no guarantee that they won't use your information against you later down the line.

Still another issue is spamming. Most businesses try to spread positive messages about themselves through advertising campaigns on LinkedIn. Unfortunately, this tends to annoy regular users. Many complain that ads interrupt their ability to concentrate on reading the latest news.

Finally, there are times when members feel uncomfortable posting information about themselves publicly. You might worry that someone will steal your identity, hack into your account, or embarrass you on social media. Even though these things do happen occasionally, you shouldn't lose faith entirely just yet.

While LinkedIn is undoubtedly effective, it's worth noting that other platforms exist just as well. One alternative would be to use Google+. Another option is Tumblr. You can check out my article describing why I prefer Google+ over Linkedln to learn more.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of Facebook?

Facebook was once thought of as simply another social media site. People started using it to chat with old friends, exchange contact details with strangers, share stories about their daily routine, and organize events. Today, however, Facebook has evolved into a multifunctional platform that serves as both a resource center and digital diary.

Advantages & Disadvantages Of Using LinkedIn

Pros

- Easy to Use Interface

- Great Resource Center

Cons

- Expensive Membership Fees

- Privacy Concerns

- Spam Messages

- No Free Features

Is it OK to not have LinkedIn?

It depends on what you're doing with your profile. If you plan to use LinkedIn solely for employment, then you should stick with it. Otherwise, I recommend keeping tabs on other options too. As long as you're aware of the risks involved, you should be fine. Remember that nothing bad will come to you if you choose to ignore LinkedIn altogether. Just don't expect to gain anything significant either.

So what are you waiting for? Create a profile today and discover the many benefits of using LinkedIn for students!