Social media isn’t just one of the best ways to stay in touch with friends and family, its also a great way to network in business and put yourself out there as a professional. If you’re looking to get ahead in your industry or are aiming to find a job, one of the best social media tools to use is LinkedIn. This website started out as a networking resource, but has recently become more jobs oriented. Having a LinkedIn profile is a must, but to get where you want to be in your career you also have to understand how its used by recruiters.
The difference between LinkedIn and other job recruiting websites is that LinkedIn is more than just a place for people to post their resume or answer a job opening. A profile on this social media site serves to act as more than a simple list of skills and qualifications. LinkedIn is a way to brand yourself as a business professional, or convey who you are as a company. Employers are more drawn to using LinkedIn because they can get a better sense of who someone is by viewing their photo, profile, summary and endorsements. Other websites that post job openings leave the space open for anyone and everyone to apply for a job, bombarding employers with unqualified applicants and spam. Businesses looking to hire benefit more from using LinkedIn because they can seek out those profiles of professional whom are exactly what they’re looking for.
Recruiters and employers categorize LinkedIn users into two different groups; active and passive. Active members are those who are aggressively seeking a new job position or employment by not only perfecting their profile but also using the social media site to connect with business professionals and stay active in various groups and forums. Passive LinkedIn users on the other hand are not necessarily looking for a new job position, but are open to offers, networking opportunities and different possibilities. Hiring managers and employers prefer LinkedIn because it is easy to identify potential employees who are conducting themselves professionally and use the social media site to promote the work they can do.
Because the online world is growing so rapidly and more and more focus rests on social networking sites, its important for there to be smaller, specialized job boards available. LinkedIn has a number of different areas through which employers recruit employees with the specific skills and talents they’re looking for in a position. Employers can search for potential employees with particular requirements through a variety of targeted techniques including past or current employers whom they trust, references from trusted recommenders, keywords on profiles, and specified professional groups.
For whatever reason you are using LinkedIn, you have to understand who you are aiming to network with, what kind of job position you seek, or which type of employee you wish to find. A LinkedIn profile should be professional, well thought out, comprehensive and personal. Unlike other social media sites, LinkedIn is the number one go-to source for employers to recruit employees, so you want your profile to reflect the person you are, the work you do and the position you seek.
