Why you should be using LinkedIn • Student Wire

You’ve probably already been told countless times from your lecturers, parents or employers. Get yourself on LinkedIn! It doesn’t take much time to make a profile and maintain it, and you can gain multiple benefits from using it. Showcasing its popularity with over 414 million members, there are many reasons that you should take advantage of this free and prevailing platform.

Enhance your employability

With over 3 million active job listings on LinkedIn, your chance of getting a job is much higher. Not only can you search for job opportunities, but employers can search for you. If you have the right skills or experience on your profile that they’re looking for, there’s nothing stopping them approaching you first. New job and volunteering opportunities are updated frequently and can be found under the ‘Jobs’ tab. Applying to jobs via LinkedIn can be done within a few clicks; making it a lot easier than long-winded job applications, cover letters and online tests.

Connect with like-minded others

LinkedIn is the perfect platform to connect with colleagues, past employers, potential employers, and others that share similar passions to you. The ‘Interests’ tab allows you to follow companies and groups that appeal to you, as well as use of the ‘Online Learning’ platform, this enables users to learn new skills online. Whether its meeting others with similar interests, participating in debates and discussions, following inspiring opinion leaders or learning a new skill, LinkedIn is the platform you’ve been looking for.

Networking

All the fun of meeting new people, but without the awkward small talk. LinkedIn is one of the best networking platforms, you never know who your next connection might be; a client, an exciting opportunity or maybe your future employer.

Use it as your online business card

Gone are the days of searching through 1000s of paper business cards to find the right person. They’re all stored in one place now: LinkedIn. Connecting with other people allows you to share your information including contact info, as well as the services and skills you offer.

It’s free advertising

This is a free platform to advertise your most important asset – yourself. Your profile acts as an online CV; showing work experience, education, skills, past jobs and a personal description. This is the perfect opportunity to showcase your accomplishments and achievements, as well as future goals and aspirations. You can display links and web addresses, therefore it’s the best place to promote your other social media accounts (keep it professional), as well as other projects such as blogs or published writing.

Reach a large audience

No matter what the message is that you want to share (but please, no updates about how cute your cat is), LinkedIn has the ability to make your message be seen far and wide. You can share your posts with an enormous audience, especially if your post is shared by your connections. This message can engage past, current or future employers/clients and keep everyone up to date with new information.

Receive news which is tailored to your interests

A daily customised news feed is delivered to you which differs in topics depending on who is in your network, the groups you have joined, the articles you share and the industry you work in. Trending news stories specific to your interests are promoted through notifications and on your news feed, allowing you to find news/articles that you actually want to read. The ‘Pulse’ tab shares stories that others in your network are interested in. These can be tailored to your interests, or even to your location.

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