What Is LinkedIn and How Can I Use It?

 I’m so glad you asked! LinkedIn is one of the world’s largest and most popular networking sites out there. It’s mostly used by business professionals who want to connect with each other, grow their network of connections, and share news and accomplishments of their company or personal professional growth! It’s also a site where companies can list job postings, and you can apply for said job postings right on LinkedIn, as well as interact with recruiters, customers, businesses, and colleagues. It’s a great way to show yourself as a business professional, with ways to list your skills, work history and experiences, your academic experiences and accomplishments, work accomplishments, certifications, degrees, and so on. 

It was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman after he gained years of experience working in Silicon Valley at companies like Apple and PayPal. He felt that business professionals needed a platform to take control of their professional lives and find the right people and information to conduct business. LinkedIn had reached 1 million users by 2004, and then 10 million users by 2007. 

Many business students here at Ohio Northern University use LinkedIn as a way to connect with business professionals outside of their university, connect with alumni, and grow themselves professionally. It’s a great way to put yourself out there to other businesses, especially if a student is looking for a job when they graduate. I personally use LinkedIn for myself and for looking for jobs and posting academic accomplishments. I do not post as much as I should, however. If I posted as much as I should be, I would probably get looked at by many more organizations and companies. Did you know companies can look you up if they are looking for certain people to fill a position they have open? They absolutely can. I always get notifications about how “you appeared in this many searches this week.” 

This is why it is important that you fill out every single category that LinkedIn will ask you to fill out. This will be things like the About Me section, your resume, your skills, your profile picture, background picture, work history, current job, and whether or not you are looking for a job just to name a few. Fill out everything that LinkedIn tells you to, and your first step towards professional growth is complete.

I gave a very brief summary of LinkedIn, but if you’re looking for something that will help you get noticed in the business world then LinkedIn should be your first step.