What Is LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is the most popular professional online platform for job seekers and businesses. Learn how to make the most of this valuable tool.

• Professionals may network, look for employment, join up as freelancers, and post articles on the social networking site LinkedIn.
• LinkedIn for Business gives business owners the ability to find and attract qualified workers and vendors, generate leads, and advertise their enterprise.
• You may tailor your membership to how you want to use LinkedIn using the many features and capabilities that LinkedIn’s free and Premium levels have to offer.
• This post is for professionals and small company owners who want to use LinkedIn to network, advance their careers, find top talent, and share their work with a specific audience.

A social media platform for the corporate world is called LinkedIn. The website, which was founded in 2002, provides a platform for professionals to network with current and former coworkers, expand their professional networks, debate company ideas, find employment, and hunt for new hiring.

Users of LinkedIn may discover more about their professional experience, areas of specialty, and affiliations in professional development organizations by seeing their polished, resume-like profiles, which are available to other site users. Users can add other users to their network after creating a profile.

The profiles also have status updates that inform a user’s network about their current projects and potential trip plans. A user’s public profile can also be viewed in part by those who are not signed in to LinkedIn thanks to a feature.

LinkedIn business profiles are for companies looking to expand and advertise their businesses, acquire new employees, and more. LinkedIn also provides tools and solutions for companies of all sizes.

We’ll look at LinkedIn’s many services and features for both organizations and individual professionals.

LinkedIn’s main features

Although the LinkedIn platform offers many features and services for both individuals and organizations, the following are its core and most popular aspects.

Keeping in touch:

People frequently switch employment when fresh chances arise. Users of LinkedIn are able to keep informed about the employment information and contact details of the people in their professional network.

Getting help:

LinkedIn Groups assist users in connecting with specialists through vetted introductions when their network of connections is unable to assist with a professional issue.

Searching for jobs:

Users of LinkedIn’s job search tool may see hundreds of job postings and submit applications straight from the website. Direct transmission of the application and the user’s LinkedIn profile to prospective employers.

Hiring new employees:

LinkedIn may be used by hiring managers to locate applicants with the necessary experience and in-demand professional abilities.

What are the personal features of LinkedIn?

Some of LinkedIn’s useful features for personal users are simple to miss when you’re a new member. You must first create a profile. Consider it your résumé for employment.

You may then start a blog, discuss your thoughts on articles, and join LinkedIn Groups. You can even look for employment or register as a freelancer.

To establish a strong reputation among your industry peers, you might share thought leadership articles or status updates on LinkedIn Pulse. This news gathering tool compiles excellent stories from reputable media sources together with posts from LinkedIn users.

Additionally, think about requesting LinkedIn talent recommendations from clients, colleagues, and coworkers. These suggestions serve as references for possible employers. What you share is entirely up to you.

What is LinkedIn for Business?

You are able to build a company profile on LinkedIn for Business. You may post jobs there, look up profiles of possible customers and suppliers, and do a lot more from there.

Particularly for B2B organizations, LinkedIn is a huge platform that is well suited to marketing. Microsoft bought LinkedIn in 2016, continuing its long history of serving business users.

LinkedIn is an excellent site for generating leads because it was created for professionals. To reach the customers that mean the most to your business, you may target potential customers by industry, company, job title, and more.

Is LinkedIn free?

A basic membership on LinkedIn is free, but your options are restricted. Only those in your network can send messages to you, and only the last five individuals to see your profile will have access to restricted information about them. There is a 100-result maximum for searches, and more specific searches are not available.

However, one advantage of a free LinkedIn membership is that it places you in the company of other professionals. You may make a portfolio, expand your professional network, join groups, start blogs, and more with a free LinkedIn account.

A free LinkedIn account is a great method for newcomers to connect with more established professionals.

What is LinkedIn Premium?

Upgrade to LinkedIn Premium if you want more advanced features. You can browse more search results than the usual 100 and save more searches than the three that a free account lets you.

Businesses who wish to manage several profiles from a unified dashboard should use premium accounts.

You may view all of the people who have visited your profile in the last 90 days if you have a Premium account. Additionally, sending and receiving messages from any other user is free for Premium LinkedIn members.

LinkedIn Premium paid options

There are four levels of LinkedIn Premium, including Recruiter Lite, Premium Business, Sales Navigator Professional, and Premium Career. All provide resources to assist enterprises with their needs, however each has various charges and restrictions.

Premium Career:

Five InMail’s (messages sent to individuals outside of your firm) per month, access to on-demand learning films, and application insights are all included with Premium Career’s $29.99 monthly fee.

Premium Business:

For $59.99 a month, premium business accounts provide more details about companies. Additional benefits include unlimited persons searches and 15 InMail’s each month.

Sales Navigator:

Core, Advanced, and Advanced Plus are the three account tiers available for Sales Navigator. With the Core level ($79.99 per month, invoiced annually at $959.88, or $99.99 per user, per month), you may create custom lists, get alerts on your leads and accounts, and perform extensive lead and business searches. Advanced adds the ability to publish material, measure interaction, and provide “warm” introductions from coworkers ($129 per month payable annually at $1,500, or $159 per user per month). For pricing on Advanced Plus, which includes advanced integrations, contact LinkedIn.

Recruiter Lite:

The most expensive tier, Recruiter Lite, costs $139.99 a month (or $119 monthly invoiced annually) and gives users access to a wide range of projects and tools for recruitment and searching. You receive 30 InMail’s each month as well.

What are LinkedIn Groups?

LinkedIn Groups assist users in expanding both their professional network and their contacts with people in the same sector. Groups offer chances to converse about each user’s reputation or status as a professional, ask questions, and develop relationships.

LinkedIn Groups are established as private locations where group members may see, post, and comment on each other’s interactions. Only individuals who have been invited to the Group may view and engage with posts, albeit each Group may establish unique requirements for membership. Users who are members of the same Group can also send message requests to begin conversing.

Here are some tips for maximizing your use of LinkedIn groups:

Be patient.

LinkedIn Groups are groups, much like Facebook Groups, some of which are close-knit and foster real-world connections. It could take some time to integrate with them. If you engage too soon, your relationship can come out as forced, which might deter people from hiring or recommending you in the future.

Introduce yourself.

Your profile should speak for itself; therefore, your opening statement should not be lengthy. Nevertheless, in the ideal scenario, you should include a salutation like “Hello, I’m pleased to be here,” “Freelance graphic design in the fashion business,” and a request for connections if you operate in the sector.

Browse previous posts.

Before posting anything, especially before requesting assistance, get a feel for the tone of the community. Otherwise, you risk destroying certain relationships before you even begin to work together. Additionally, gauging the vibe of the group might help you choose how much time to spend cultivating relationships. For instance, it merely takes a few minutes to look through several postings to determine whether a group is dormant or full of spammers.

How to use LinkedIn for hiring

One of the leading websites for job hunters is LinkedIn. LinkedIn has updated its hiring tools to provide a more efficient pipeline for candidates and leads in recognition of the crucial role it plays in connecting potential employers and employees. In order to help recruiting managers find the top people, it has merged a sizable number of already-existing technologies into a complete collection.

Using LinkedIn Skill Assessments to find the right fit

LinkedIn Skill Assessments, which are beneficial to both job seekers and recruiters, are one of the most important features. The following are some of the most useful aspects of the programme:

It helps job seekers stand out from the pack.

Users may gain favour with job managers and recruiters by taking part in skill assessments. According to company representatives, the function enables users to “create a stronger profile” that makes them stand out from the competition.

Job seekers will show up in more searches.

According to LinkedIn, applicants who have passed a skill assessment will be more likely to turn up in searches.

Job seekers will receive job recommendations.

Anyone who successfully completes an assessment for a talent that is in demand will get timely employment suggestions as soon as they become available.

It streamlines the candidate search for recruiters.

Recruiters and hiring managers may expedite the applicant search by using skill assessments. Employers won’t need to put up special tests to demonstrate a candidate’s skills. As an alternative, they will be able to quickly see who passed a LinkedIn Skill Assessment and move forward from there.

Recruiters can send assessments to applicants.

Assessments can also be given to candidates by recruiters. Although it won’t be required, it will make applicants stand out. The recruiter won’t know if a candidate takes an evaluation but fails it.

Attracting and retaining high-quality candidates

Hiring managers need to know how to entice and keep qualified prospects since the current market is driven by candidates rather than employers. The following LinkedIn advice and resources:

Be transparent about your workplace.

A remote workforce or hybrid work environment is preferred by roughly 87% of workers, according to Glint and LinkedIn statistics from 2021. In order for candidates to locate a position that fits their requirements or objectives, it is crucial to be transparent with them about the sort of workplace you are delivering.

Search candidates based on preferences.

In order to focus your search, you may also directly look for individuals based on their preferences for the workplace and get in touch with coworkers.

Use the Recruiter mobile app.

The Recruiter mobile app is another tactic to utilize throughout the hiring process. Every time a candidate replies to a message, this app alerts you. Using the Recommended Matches function, you can also browse through application profiles and look for candidates.

How to post a job opening on LinkedIn

Here’s how to publish a job vacancy on LinkedIn after you know how to utilize its hiring and recruiting tools:

1. Select Jobs from the top menu on your LinkedIn homepage.
2. Choose Post a Job.
3. Fill up the Description text box on the Employment Details page with information about your business and the job vacancy.
4. To add required abilities and knowledge, click the Add Skill icon.
5. Then click Next.
6. Choose how you want to be alerted about candidates on the Applicant Options page, and add screening questions to help you find your best hires.
7. Once you’ve read the job advert and are satisfied, click Post Job.

How to display your work with LinkedIn portfolio

Your LinkedIn profile has a prominent component called a portfolio. Examples of your work can be found in your portfolio. Viewers of your profile can browse through your examples to get a sense of your work style.

Consider it this way: If your CV describes your skills to others, your portfolio demonstrates them.

Here’s how to use LinkedIn as a portfolio to display your work:

1. Visit your profile on LinkedIn after logging in. Click Me > View Profile to do so.
2. Click Add profile section beneath your name in the first box.
3. Select Featured > Recommended.
4. Select Add a Post, add an article, add a Link, or Add Media by clicking the + symbol.
5. You may add any posts or articles you want to feature here by choosing Add a Post or Add an article.
6. Choose Add a Link, then input the URL of the material you wish to import to add a link to your document. Click Save after giving your link a title and description.
7. Pick Add Media and then select the desired file from your computer to add media. Give your material a title and a description, then click Save.

Common LinkedIn mistakes

Making the following errors might reduce your ability to use LinkedIn to locate new opportunities or significant relationships. Avert these potentially expensive mistakes.

Not writing your own summary

Write a third-person explanation of who you are and what you do yourself, as opposed to having a PR do it for you. Writing in the third person puts readers of your summary at a remove from you. Show them who you are because they want to know. The personal element that many individuals want to experience is removed when someone else writes your description.

Having a bad photo (or none at all)

A profile photo enables readers to engage with you right away by introducing them to your professional identity. They may be able to recognize you more easily if you have a photo when you attend an event or a networking opportunity.

It could be challenging for others to recognize you and establish a relationship without a photo. On the other hand, having a poor-quality photo might be nearly as awful as having none at all. Unprofessional photographs may have poor lighting, have other people partially visible, or show you in an unprofessional environment, like a party or bar.

Sending generic invitations

If you use impersonal language and don’t give other people a reason to interact with you, it’s simple for them to dismiss your communications. Building your network and making connections with others are the two main goals of utilizing LinkedIn. If others perceive you as someone who just offers a half-hearted invitation, you won’t be able to do this. Make sure you explain why you wish to connect, such as sharing connections, belonging to comparable groups, or being intrigued by their profile.

Not updating your profile

Users that don’t post or update their profiles frequently but suddenly start doing so when seeking for a new job are doing it wrong. The person’s manager and coworkers will be able to notice the ad after a period of inactivity and may suspect that they are seeking for employment elsewhere.

Due to the gradual blending of articles and changes over time, regular participation on LinkedIn will probably prevent this from happening.

Misusing LinkedIn’s blogging platform

On LinkedIn, anybody may write blog entries, but many users make the error of doing so to promote their brands or to share links to content they have written or generated. The people who establish themselves as prominent leaders with ideas worth studying or interacting with make the most use of the site.

Visit your LinkedIn site to start writing a blog post. Select Write Article under Start a Post. Once you’re done, choose Save.

LinkedIn for beginners

Starting out on LinkedIn is simple. Go to LinkedIn.com and select “Join Now” in the upper right corner of the page. The website will lead you through the process of creating your profile, adding individuals you know professionally, filling up your portfolio and experience, joining groups, and following hobbies. You may then browse the full website from there.

Click Work in the top right corner of the page to get a list of LinkedIn’s business resources and tools. Choose Marketing Solutions, Learning Solutions, Free Job Posting, Sales Solutions, Talent Solutions, and Talent Solutions. When creating your company’s LinkedIn profile, choose Create a Company Page.