LinkedIn is used by around 135 million business professionals. It is a social network used by business owners, entrepreneurs to find new employees. There are many benefits and drawbacks of using LinkedIn which I will outline below.
In my opinion the advantages outweigh the drawbacks. Firstly, those who own small businesses find it hard to start up and find employees who fit the business criteria. Nowadays there are millions of unemployed graduates out of which most use LinkedIn as a platform to find jobs. This helps businesses to shortlist a group of users with potential for a certain job. The second benefit of LinkedIn is that it is a good way for small businesses and entrepreneurs to advertise their businesses because in this day and age there are thousands of businesses which are rarely known by consumers and the public. Those with degrees searching for jobs can become aware of these companies and get in touch with them. LinkedIn is also useful when keeping up to date with industry news such as topics on social media and social commerce. A major advantage for businesses of using LinkedIn is that they can find a group of vendors and suppliers which manufacture goods cheaper than their current suppliers. LinkedIn is a good way of creating business profiles and becoming ‘known’ in the industry. It also provides another channel through which Google can find your business. What I found very helpful for LinkedIn users is that they can link their other social networks such as Twitter and logs to LinkedIn. Overall I think that it is a very useful network and that I will be using it one day.
In contrast to its benefits, there are also reasons why it might not be worth your time. Firstly LinkedIn is mainly used by businesses (B2B). For example I may have a business and may use this network to search for suppliers who sell good quality products at a cheap price. Secondly, advertising is cost effective and is not a major target for businesses. Ads usually appear in the footer and sometimes in the column in the bottom right hand corner of the screen, but this is not enough to trigger a reaction from users. A drawback may also be the large amount of components. There are many steps that users need to go through to become a member and set up a decent profile. These include qualifications, skills, websites, contacts, etc. Users need to have a complete profile which looks professional and better than other users in order for it stand out and attract businesses and suppliers. A risk of using LinkedIn is that sometimes groups can include spam and viruses which can be dangerous if they come into contact with businesses.
So, to summarise in my opinion LinkedIn is a useful network but mainly for businesses and entrepreneurs to build their network and employee suitable users after viewing their profiles and conducting a range of steps. It can be used by anyone at anytime and does not require physically visiting companies during the searching phase.
Article by Paul Chaney on Dec 05, 2011 - http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/3199-Using-LinkedIn-for-Your-Ecommerce-Business-Pros-and-Cons
There could be a serious issue when people link their other social networking accounts to their linkedin profile. As we covered last year, a lot of people have been refused jobs or been caught by the employer publishing stuff on Facebook which resulted in disciplinary action. Although people may not post material of this nature when looking for a job, all of their history is accessible which could lead to a person being rejected.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do agree with you that Linkedin is a good site having briefly used it, and although there are a lot of users, it does give you a slightly higher chance of getting a job! No harm in trying! Just make sure you don't connect it to your Facebook profile ;)
I think that LinkedIn is a useful tool when applying for jobs. However, I certainly would never link LinkedIn to my other social networks, such as Facebook. I discussed in a previous post what damage this could do if you are not careful. But as long as you do not link your Facebook profile through LinkedIn, it can only have advantages. As the other comment says there is no harm in trying to find jobs through LinkedIn
ReplyDeleteI definatly think linkedin is great networking website. But personally i dont think you need to join all these networking sites to get a job these days.
ReplyDeleteA job is still a matter of connecting with the person who needs your services and proving you are the best candidate for the job. Being all over the Internet is not the only way to achieve this goal.
Whats also important is that linkedin isnt for everyone, especially the older generation who find a difficult to get online presense not to mention getting an amazing linkedin review from previous employers. some may prefer joining specific professional associations and making personal connections with people who can hire them.online networks take years of work before you look as impressive on the network as you are in person.
LinkedIn is slightly like an 'online cv' so it is great as a tool to look for employment or for recruiters to look for employees. With many graduate jobs they filter through degrees through education and institutions, therefore many cv's are not even looked at; LinkedIn provides a chance for everyone fairly. It is never a case of directly recruiting through social media, but it is the first step towards the process..
ReplyDeleteSafwan you are correct in saying you don't neeed to join a networking site to get a job, however many companies are using social media to recruit and networking could increase your chances of getting a job if you do it correctly and make a good impression; you get to communicate directly to a company or person of a high status sometimes who you would never probably be able to get a chance to.
You know i recently set up my linked in profile, actually it was last week thursday. so far i have found it incredible. simply because i had a motive for registering with linked in and that was to find and connect with leading people within the industry i want to get into. Linked in is a great way to advertise yourself and once i had entered in all my information, i wanted to get the right people to look at it. I noticed that you could connect with anybody once you have the first and last name. So i took out all the business cards i received over the last year and sent invitations out for people to look at my profile, within 2 days i had 29 connections and not just with friends that i talk about whats on television to but 29 connections of people doing what i want to do who can give me tips and advice or even opportunities in the industry i want to get into. I think thats impressive.
ReplyDelete