You haven’t missed the boat, not yet. Even though LinkedIn has been around 10 years now, there’s still time for you to get in on the best business social media site on the web. If you’re not convinced yet, here are three great reasons why you should get started.
3 Keys to Success: Networking for an Internship
1. Networking
In the business world, networking is key. Sure, having a great resume is essential too, but a resume cannot reach out and make hundreds even thousands of connection like a LinkedIn page can. While your LinkedIn page can serve as a digital resume, it’s all the business contacts and all the people you meet through LinkedIn that ultimately will determine which job you get.
LinkedIn works. A quarter-billion people cannot be wrong.
2. The art of the passive candidate
The sad truth for the millions of unemployed is that most employers don’t want to hire people who are out of work. They want someone who already has a job and is in demand, and this is why they hire recruiters. This is what is known as the passive candidate — someone who is sought after instead of the other way around.
Having a LinkedIn account is the perfect way for recruiters to track you down, get a sense of who you are and if you will fit before they make contact. Applying the art of the passive candidate is a great way to look for a better job without actually having to look at all, and there is no better way to do this than with a LinkedIn page.
3. Take advantage of LinkedIn industry groups
Besides networking with colleagues and potential employers, LinkedIn offers a much improved groups area where discussions about your industry can be downright candid. Joining groups relevant to your expertise can help get your finger on the pulse of what’s going on, where the jobs are, who’s hiring. Make new acquaintances that can lead to a great new job using LinkedIn groups.
Things to remember when setting up your LinkedIn account
Make sure you fill out your profile completely. Go that extra mile and pack your page full of everything that can help you land that job. While a traditional resume should never be longer than two pages, your LinkedIn account, which serves as your online resume, can link out to work you have done and the companies for which you have done that work.
Include the best examples of your work. For example, if you are a content writer, link out to the best writing you have done.
Also be sure to include all your skills and expertise. This process may seem superfluous, but it does matter. When looking over your LinkedIn page, employers will want to know that you have the skills they are looking for, not just the experience and qualifications.
So why don’t you have a LinkedIn page? Pretty much everyone does, even incredibly successful business people like Gary Crittenden.
What are you waiting for?
