LinkedIn as a Tool
By: Amanda Michaels
LinkedIn started in May of 2003 and is an American business and employment oriented platform that is important to have at all levels of your career, even if you are still in college seeking your degree. It is a platform where you are able to network, seek jobs, build your professional brand, have the ability to research companies and their employees, and follow industry news.
On social media platforms when you meet individuals you add them on their social media to keep in touch with them. LinkedIn is a different platform where you are able to follow and connect with individuals that you meet, but on a professional basis called networking instead of in a friendly way. This allows you to build relationships with individuals that you have connected with, in the same career or interest as you, and potential business connections.
It is important to have a LinkedIn profile for when you are seeking out potential job openings at companies that you do or will want to apply for. LinkedIn is a great way to search for jobs, find out about openings in your area, and research a company prior to an interview, etc. If you are someone who doesn’t currently have a LinkedIn and want to do any of the above tasks, I would create a profile as soon as possible and make sure that it is always up to date even if you aren’t looking for employment currently; it will be a tool to use when you are. Within an individual’s profile they are able to add which company they are employed to and this links them to the company page when reviewing the page. This allows you to connect to employees of that company if you wish to reach out to them to connect or see what type of employees they hire as a company and who you potentially will be working with if you get hired.
Overall, LinkedIn is a great tool to have for all individuals that are seeking employment, building their professional brand, or researching companies prior to employment with them. It is a tool that is important to build up and is an image of you as a whole so make sure to watch what is posted. Employers have the capability to view your profile before they hire you since it is considered a social media platform. It is used during the background check when it comes to the interview process at a company. You can read more about the importance of LinkedIn here.